The update tweaked the 200-ish factors making up Google’s ranking algorithm, with the purpose of promoting content to satisfy the user, and winnowing out that which holds less value, ranking it lower in search results. While some technical factors like keyword-title match and unique referring domains still hold a lot of sway, the newer mix gives more weight to factors that indicate high-quality content; word count, dwell time and media inclusion.

Comprehensive, in-depth content that aligns with the user’s search intentions ranks higher than shorter content that matches only on keywords. This is a major way in which Google had changed to recognize and promote high-quality content, and the reason why a search like “SEO best practices” delivers entries on the ranking factors and quick guides to setting up effective content, in addition to Google’s SEO handbook.

Long-form content goes hand-in-hand with dwell time, or the amount of time that people spend reading the information contained on a page. Points are subtracted from sites with high bounce rates—when users land on a page and don’t immediately find a reason to keep reading, they navigate away and your search ranking takes a ding. The word “storytelling” is thrown around a lot in today’s content marketing circles, but this is where one basic element of storytelling—the narrative hook—plays a role of critical importance.

Another factor that not only directly boosts search rankings but also serves to capture and hold the user’s attention is the inclusion of quality media. Content with at least one image dramatically outperforms text alone; apart from the obvious benefit of leveraging the image fields that are searchable by crawlers and contribute to your ranking score, media immediately captures interest and compels the reader to keep reading, increasing your dwell time.

Takeaway: as search engines evolve, they continue to prefer quality content. What makes good quality? A thoughtful narrative and captivating images boost SEO rankings and foster longer dwell time—another factor that influences rankings.