Core Terminology Covered
- Topical authority
- Topical coverage
- Entities
- Content velocity
- Semantics
- Top-of-funnel
- Keyword research
- Keyword clustering
- Content roadmap
- Natural Language Processing (NLP)
- E-E-A-T and YMYL
- Content design
- Algorithm updates
Why Businesses Should Write Blog Content
Writing blog / resource content is a singular aspect of an SEO strategy, and plays a role in the bigger picture of proving to Google that you are an authority on a subject matter. From a user experience perspective, blog content helps businesses to connect with their target audience. This manual will take you through building out your website’s topical authority on an entity by showing comprehensive topical coverage. This involves the production of high-velocity, high-quality blog content that not only addresses user needs but also aligns with Google’s E-A-T and YMYL guidelines. Additionally, implementing content design principles ensures a high quality user experience that keeps audiences engaged, and converting.
Enhancing Topical Authority Through Building Topical Coverage
What is Topical Authority?
Topical authority in SEO refers to a website’s or content’s perceived expertise and relevance in a specific subject or topic area. It signifies that a website is a trusted and knowledgeable source on a particular subject matter, making it more likely to rank well in search engine results for related queries. Google’s algorithms increasingly prioritise topical authority as it aims to provide users with the most relevant and trustworthy information, making it a crucial aspect of successful SEO and content strategy.
The Importance of Topical Coverage
Topical coverage in content and SEO primarily concerns the breadth (quantity of pages or pieces of content) and depth (the extent of information covered within those pages or pieces) of content dedicated to a specific subject or topic. It revolves around the idea of creating an extensive and informative content database that thoroughly explores every facet of a chosen subject matter (entity). Instead of fixating on isolated keywords, topical coverage aims to provide a comprehensive resource that addresses a wide array of related subtopics, questions and inquiries, enriching the user experience. Achieving effective topical coverage requires not only producing a substantial volume of content but also ensuring that each piece delves deeply into its respective subtopic, contributing to the overall authority and relevance of the website within that niche.
Comprehensive Content Creation
- Businesses can build and reinforce their topical authority by creating content that covers a core entity exhaustively. This approach, known as topical coverage, enables businesses to delve deeply into specific subjects, offering extensive insights and addressing various facets and questions related to the entity.
Building Credibility and Authority
- Comprehensive coverage positions a business as a thought leader in its industry, making it a go-to resource for information and insights related to the covered topics.
What is an Entity?
In SEO and content marketing, an entity is a thing or concept that is singular, unique, well-defined and distinguishable. In terms of Google and other search engines, entities are objects or concepts that are connected and present on the internet. For example, a person, a location, or a concept can be considered as an entity. Entities help search engines to understand the context and relationships within the content, offering more relevant search results to users.
Importance of Entities in Content Strategy
Contextual Relevance
- Focusing on a core entity allows content to have a clear, central theme.
- This helps in providing context to the search engines about what the content is primarily about, aiding in serving more relevant search results to the users.
Enhanced Content Structure
- It allows for more organised and structured content, making it easier for both the users and search engines to navigate and understand the content.
Improving Semantic Relationships
- Identifying a core entity helps in establishing semantic relationships with related topics and subtopics.
- This enhances the content’s depth and breadth, contributing positively to SEO.
Semantic SEO
Semantic SEO is a search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy that focuses on understanding the intent and context behind search queries to deliver more relevant and meaningful search results. It takes into account the semantics, or the meaning and relationships between words, rather than just individual keywords. Semantic SEO aims to provide users with search results that not only match their specific keywords but also fulfil the broader intent of their query.
This approach has become increasingly important with advancements in search engine algorithms, particularly Google’s, which have evolved to better understand the natural language and user intent.
Semantically Related Content Topics
Explore topics that are semantically related to the core entity. It helps in covering all aspects related to the core entity, offering comprehensive information to the users and improving the content’s relevance and authority.
Example: If the core entity is “Content Marketing”, related topics could include “Content Strategy”, “Content Creation”, and “Content Promotion”.
Subtopics
- Break down the related topics further into subtopics.
- Provide detailed information on each aspect, enhancing user experience and satisfaction.
Example: Under “Content Creation”, subtopics could be “Blog Writing”, “Video Content”, and “Graphic Content”.
Questions (FAQs)
- Address frequently asked questions related to the core entity and related topics/subtopics.
- It enhances the content’s usefulness, potentially increasing the traffic and engagement.
Example:
– For “Content Marketing”, questions could include “How to create a content marketing strategy?” or “What are the best content promotion techniques?”.
Content Velocity and SEO
Google’s Preference for Regular, Quality Content
Search engines like Google prioritise websites that consistently publish high-quality and relevant content, offering them improved search rankings. This phenomenon, known as content velocity, is essential for enhancing a site’s visibility and SEO performance.
Blog Content and Top-of-the-Funnel Traffic
Informational Nature of Blog Content
Blog content is typically informational, aiming to inform and educate users. This makes it ideal for targeting top-of-the-funnel traffic, comprising users at the early stages of their research into a topic.
Leveraging Blog Content for Brand Awareness and Recall
Making a Lasting Impression
Brand Awareness
- By consistently offering informative and valuable content, businesses can ensure that their brand remains at the forefront of users’ minds. This awareness is crucial for capturing traffic and converting them into leads and customers.
Positioning for Future Inquiries
- As users progress in their research and are ready to make inquiries or seek professional services, a business that has effectively utilised blog content stands a higher chance of being remembered and chosen for further engagements.
How to Create High Quality Content
Keyword Research
The first step in writing SEO-friendly blog content is keyword research. Keyword research is the foundation of SEO and content marketing. It involves identifying popular words and phrases people enter into search engines in order to create content around those terms.
Use keyword research tools to find relevant keywords with good search volume and lower competition.
Keyword Research for Blog Writing
Keyword research for blog writing shares similarities with regular keyword research for a website but also involves some nuanced differences. While the primary goal remains understanding what users are searching for and how to target those keywords effectively, blog-specific keyword research tends to focus more on creating informative, engaging, and shareable content. Blog keyword research is often geared toward creating content that addresses specific topics, questions, or trends within a niche. It’s about providing in-depth information, insights, and solutions to engage and educate readers.
Short, Medium & Long Tail Keywords
Short Tail Keywords: Short tail keywords are brief, usually one to three words in length, and they are highly generic and broad. These keywords often have high search volumes but are also highly competitive. They provide limited specificity and can be challenging to rank for due to their general nature. Examples of short tail keywords include “shoes,” “digital marketing,” or “health tips.”
Medium Tail Keywords: Medium tail keywords are slightly longer and more specific than short tail keywords, typically consisting of three to four words. They strike a balance between the broad appeal of short tail keywords and the specificity of long tail keywords. Medium tail keywords often have moderate search volumes and competition levels. They are valuable for targeting a more defined audience while still attracting a reasonable amount of traffic. Examples of medium tail keywords include “running shoes for beginners,” “digital marketing strategies,” or “healthy meal plans.”
Long Tail Keywords: These are longer, more specific keyword phrases that typically have lower search volumes but can be highly relevant to a particular blog post. Long tail keywords often reflect user intent more accurately, and they are valuable for capturing niche audiences and addressing specific queries.
For example, while a website may target a primary keyword like “digital marketing,” a blog post within the same niche might focus on a long tail keyword like “best social media marketing strategies for startups.”
Blog content is usually written to target medium-long tail type keywords.
How to Conduct Keyword Research
Use Keyword Research Tools
- Utilise tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMRush, or Ubersuggest to find keywords related to your niche or industry.
- These tools provide information like search volume, keyword difficulty, and related search terms.
Analyse the Competition
- Analyse the top-ranking pages in Google for your target keywords.
- Note what they are doing well and identify gaps in their content that you can fill.
Consider Search Intent
- Try to understand what users are looking for when they enter a particular keyword.
- Tailor your content to match the user’s intent (informational, transactional, navigational).
Use Your Common Sense & Industry Knowledge
- No one knows your business and industry better than you. There may be wording, jargon or phrases used in your industry by customers that keyword research tools are unaware of. Even if these keywords register low amounts of search volume by tools, you should always trust your gut and go for them anyway.
- You may find they are easier and quicker to rank for as well since no one else is targeting them due to them not appearing in the research tools!
Keyword Research Tools
- Google Keyword Planner: A free tool by Google that provides keyword ideas, search volume data, and competition levels.
- Semrush: A comprehensive SEO and keyword research tool that offers keyword suggestions, competitive analysis, and more.
- Ahrefs: Known for its backlink analysis, Ahrefs also provides powerful keyword research features including keyword difficulty and search volume data.
- Moz Keyword Explorer: Moz’s tool offers keyword suggestions, search volume, and keyword difficulty scores to help you find valuable keywords.
- Ubersuggest: Neil Patel’s free tool provides keyword ideas, search volume, and competitive data, making it useful for basic keyword research.
- SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool: Part of Semrush, this tool offers in-depth keyword suggestions and filtering options.
- KeywordTool.io: This tool provides keyword suggestions not just from Google but also from YouTube, Bing, Amazon, and other platforms.
- AnswerThePublic: It visualises search query suggestions in a unique way, helping you discover questions people are asking related to your keywords.
- Long Tail Pro: Focuses on finding long-tail keywords, which can be less competitive and highly targeted.
- Keyword Surfer: A Chrome extension that provides keyword data directly in Google search results, including search volume and related keywords.
Keyword Search Volume Metrics
While these third-party tools offer valuable insights, they may not always provide accurate search volume readings. Recognising the limitations of these platforms is crucial for developing an effective and realistic SEO and content strategy.
Keyword research tools generally offer estimations of the search volume for specific keywords, often relying on various data sources, algorithms, and methods to generate these figures. However, these are still approximations and may not accurately reflect the real-time search behaviour of internet users. Search engine algorithms and users’ search patterns continually evolve, making it inherently challenging for any third-party tool to guarantee up-to-date and precise search volume data.
It’s important to remember that these are third party tools, and not Google itself. Even Google’s own Keyword Planner which gives keyword search volume data is incorrect. ‘Real’ data is intellectual property of Google, and something that Google does not want to just ‘give away’.
Since Google does not publicly disclose exact keyword search volumes, those other third party keyword tools often utilise data from APIs, clickstream data, and other sources to estimate search volumes. As these are indirect methods, they can miss the mark, providing businesses with skewed data that may not reliably inform SEO and content strategies.
It is important to use search volume as a guide and not as gospel!
Another factor contributing to the inaccuracy of third-party keyword tools is regional and temporal variation in search patterns. Keyword search volumes can fluctuate due to seasonal trends, geographical preferences, and emerging topics or events. While some tools offer region-specific or time-bound data, it is still a broad approximation and may not capture the full complexity and nuance of actual search behaviour.
Utilise Google Search Console for Real First-Hand Data
Google Search Console (GSC) provides valuable insights into how your website appears in Google search results and how users interact with it. Impressions are one of the key metrics in GSC, and they represent the number of times your web pages were shown in search results to users. Here’s how GSC impressions work and why they can offer more accurate search volume data than third-party keyword research volume tools:
Impressions in Google Search Console
- Definition: Impressions, in the context of GSC, refer to the number of times your web pages are displayed in users’ search results when they perform a search query that triggers your pages to appear.
- Data Source: GSC gathers this data directly from Google’s search engine, which means it’s based on actual user interactions with search results.
- Accuracy: GSC impressions are highly accurate because they come directly from Google’s database of search queries and user interactions. They provide a real-world view of how often your web pages are seen in search results.
Comparing GSC Impressions to Third-Party Keyword Research Tools
- GSC vs. Third-Party Tools: Third-party keyword research tools estimate search volumes based on various data sources, including clickstream data, user surveys, and data from other search engines. While these tools can provide useful insights, they are estimations and may not always align perfectly with Google’s actual search data.
- Accuracy: GSC impressions are more accurate because they reflect the real search behaviour of Google users. They are not estimates but actual counts of how often your pages are shown in search results.
Benefits of GSC Impressions
- Granularity: GSC impressions provide detailed data on how individual pages on your website perform in search results, allowing you to identify which pages are most visible.
- Query-Level Data: GSC also provides information about the specific search queries that trigger impressions for your pages, giving you insights into the keywords users are using to find your content.
- User Intent: GSC impressions can help you understand the intent behind user queries, which can be valuable for content optimization and SEO strategy.
Understanding Keyword Clustering and Its Impact on Content Structuring
Keyword clustering is a tactic used in SEO and content creation that enhances the structure, relevance, and performance of your content in search engines. Understanding its mechanics and integration into your content planning and creation process is helpful for optimising your online visibility and engagement.
What is Keyword Clustering?
Keyword clustering involves grouping semantically related keywords together. This tactic enables businesses and content creators to structure their content effectively, ensuring comprehensive coverage of a topic and its related aspects, and improving the content’s relevance and SEO performance.
Semantically Related Keywords
Keywords within a cluster should be semantically related, meaning they are contextually and meaningfully connected. For example, a keyword cluster around “best protein powder” might include semantically related keywords like “best protein powder for weight loss”, “best protein powder for gaining weight”, and “best protein powder for vegans”.
How Does Keyword Clustering Work?
Research and Identification
- Start with thorough keyword research to identify relevant keywords for your niche or topic.
- Utilise keyword research tools to find keywords and analyse their search volume, competition, and relevance.
Grouping Keywords
- Group semantically related keywords together.
- Ensure the keywords within a cluster share a common theme or topic, enhancing the context and relevance of your content.
Creating Content Around Clusters
- Use keyword clusters to guide your content creation (both your topics and the outlines of your articles).
- Each cluster can be the basis for a piece of content or a section within a larger content piece.
Example of Keyword Clustering
Non-clustered keywords related to Protein:
Protein powder benefits
Whey protein powder
Plant-based protein powder
Protein for muscle growth
Protein for weight loss
Protein powder for women
Protein powder for men
Natural protein powder
Organic protein powder
Low-carb protein powder
Vegan protein powder
Casein protein powder
Pea protein powder
Collagen protein powder
Hemp protein powder
Soy protein powder
Egg white protein powder
Rice protein powder
Paleo protein powder
Keto-friendly protein powder
Gluten-free protein powder
Muscle recovery protein powder
Post-workout protein powder
Meal replacement protein powder
Now let’s cluster the keywords:
Protein Powder Types:
Whey protein powder
Plant-based protein powder
Vegan protein powder
Casein protein powder
Pea protein powder
Collagen protein powder
Hemp protein powder
Soy protein powder
Egg white protein powder
Rice protein powder
Protein Powder Benefits and Uses:
Protein powder benefits
Protein for muscle growth
Protein for weight loss
Muscle recovery protein powder
Post-workout protein powder
Meal replacement protein powder
Specialty Protein Powders:
Natural protein powder
Organic protein powder
Low-carb protein powder
Paleo protein powder
Keto-friendly protein powder
Gluten-free protein powder
Target Audience:
Protein powder for women
Protein powder for men
Impact of Keyword Clustering on Content Structure
Guiding Content Outlines
- Keyword clusters can guide the structure and outline of your content.
- Design content to comprehensively cover each keyword in the cluster, ensuring all related aspects and queries are addressed. This is how you can successfully work toward achieving topical coverage.
Enhancing Content Relevance and Context
- Structuring content around keyword clusters ensures your content is contextually rich and relevant.
- It enhances the content’s ability to address users’ queries and potential follow-up queries effectively, improving user satisfaction and engagement.
Improving SEO
- Search engines favour content that is well-structured, relevant, and comprehensive.
- Keyword clustering contributes to these factors, boosting your content’s search engine rankings.
Facilitating Internal Linking
- Use keyword clusters to effectively interlink content on your website.
- Internal linking between content pieces within a cluster enhances the user experience and contributes positively to SEO. For example, clusters can have sub-clusters, and if you write a page of content covering the cluster, you can also write secondary pages covering those sub-clusters more effectively. This will provide an internal linking opportunity from cluster -> sub-cluster.
Designing a Content Roadmap
When designing a long term content roadmap and looking at the bigger picture, to demonstrate topical authority to Google and users, we need to take into consideration topical coverage, as well as semantically related content.
What is a Content Roadmap?
A content roadmap is a strategic plan that outlines the creation and publication of content over a specified period, typically aligned with an organisation’s broader marketing or content strategy. It serves as a guiding document that helps content teams or creators visualise the content journey, set priorities, allocate resources, and ensure consistency in messaging and themes.
Methods for Discovering Content Topics
Using Keyword Research & Clusters
Once you’ve identified target keywords and clusters, the process of generating blog content topics becomes remarkably straightforward:
- Choose a Cluster: Start by selecting a keyword cluster that aligns with your content goals. For example, if you run a fitness blog, a cluster might revolve around “strength training.”
- Explore Subtopics: Within the chosen cluster, explore the individual keywords. These keywords become your subtopics. For “strength training,” subtopics might include “best exercises for building muscle” or “nutrition for muscle gain.”
- Content Ideation: Use these subtopics as the foundation for your blog content. Each subtopic can be a potential blog post. You can delve deep into each subtopic, offering valuable insights, tips, and solutions.
- Diversify Formats: Don’t limit yourself to standard blog posts. Consider creating videos, infographics, podcasts, or interactive content based on your keyword cluster.
- Interlinking: As you create content, interlink between related posts within the same cluster. This not only keeps users engaged but also strengthens your site’s SEO.
- Expand and Update: Over time, revisit your keyword clusters. New trends, questions, or developments may emerge within your niche. Expand and update your content to remain relevant.
Using Real Customer Questions & Feedback
Businesses can leverage real customer questions and feedback as a valuable resource for shaping your content strategy. By actively listening to the queries and concerns of your audience, you can identify common pain points, informational gaps, and areas where your products or services need clarification. These insights can then serve as a foundation for creating content that directly addresses customer needs. Whether through blog posts, FAQ sections, video tutorials, or in-depth guides, crafting content that provides solutions and answers to real customer inquiries not only establishes your business as a trusted authority but also enhances customer satisfaction. This customer-centric approach helps companies build stronger relationships with their audience while delivering content that truly resonates and fulfils their information requirements.
Using Industry Knowledge and Common Sense
Draw on industry expertise and common sense. Identify relevant subjects based on emerging industry trends, addressing common pain points, answering frequently asked questions, providing unique insights or perspectives, incorporating customer feedback and inquiries, and being generally hands-on with your industry.
Competitor Research
Identify and analyse top-performing competitors in your niche. Explore their websites, blogs, and social media platforms. Pay attention to the type of content they are posting and the engagement levels they are receiving. The topics that generate the most likes, shares, and comments typically resonate most with your audience in that industry. This exploration will offer you insights into what you find valuable, helping you craft your own engaging content.
Beyond manual assessment, use SEO tools to analyse competitors’ website rankings, keyword, and content strategies. These tools can identify the keywords competitors are ranking for, and the type of content that is driving traffic to their sites. By understanding which keywords are most effective for them, you can integrate these terms into your own content strategy to enhance visibility and reach. Additionally, these tools will give you traffic performance estimation data for the pages on those competing sites. If an article performs well for them, and it’s relevant to your business, then it may perform well for you as well.”
Semantically Connecting Related Content Topics
Understanding Semantic SEO
Semantically related content topics refer to topics that are related or similar in meaning. Search engines use semantic search to understand the context and intent behind a search query, delivering more relevant results.
Topic Clusters
- Organise your content into topic clusters where a “pillar” page acts as the main hub, and additional content (cluster content) links back to the pillar page.
- This interlinking shows search engines the depth and breadth of content on your website.
LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) Keywords
- Include LSI keywords, or synonyms and related terms, in your content.
- This helps search engines understand the context of your content.
Content Frameworks and Guidelines
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
*Important to be aware of considering it is what Google’s algorithm is based on
NLP is a field of artificial intelligence that helps computers understand, interpret, and respond to human language in a valuable way. Google’s algorithms use NLP to understand the context, sentiment, and intent behind a user’s search query.
Integrating NLP into Your SEO Strategy
Write for Humans
- Write content in a natural, conversational tone.
- Google’s BERT algorithm uses NLP to understand natural language, so ensure your content is human-friendly and not just optimised for bots.
E-E-A-T and YMYL
These guidelines play a significant role in determining the ranking and credibility of your website.
E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness
E-E-A-T is Google’s expanded framework that encompasses Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Initially, it was E-A-T, but with an update in December 2022, “Experience” was added to the mix. This framework is used by Google’s Quality Raters to evaluate the quality of content and websites.
Why Does E-E-A-T Matter for SEO?
While E-E-A-T itself is not a direct ranking factor, Google aims to serve results that exhibit strong E-E-A-T. This means that high E-E-A-T can indirectly influence your website’s ranking. Furthermore, it enhances user trust and can lead to increased conversions, making it crucial for business websites.
Understanding the Components of E-E-A-T
Experience: Quality content often reflects the creator’s firsthand experience with the subject matter. This demonstrates authenticity and reliability, making your content more appealing to users. For businesses, sharing real-life experiences related to products or services can build trust and credibility.
Expertise: Google’s Quality Raters assess whether authors have topical expertise. Businesses should showcase their knowledge, qualifications, and credentials to establish themselves as reliable sources of information. Consider having subject matter experts review and contribute to your content.
Authoritativeness: Establishing your brand’s reputation within your industry is crucial. Encourage authoritative figures in your niche to link to your content, demonstrating your credibility. This can be achieved through thought leadership, guest posting on reputable sites, and consistent high-quality content.
Trustworthiness: Trust is paramount, especially in the online sphere. Transparency is key – clearly state who wrote the content, fact-check rigorously, and cite trustworthy sources. For business websites, providing secure transactions and contact information can bolster trust.
YMYL: Your Money or Your Life
YMYL stands for “Your Money or Your Life.” It refers to topics that could significantly impact users’ health, financial stability, safety, or overall well-being. Examples include finance, medical advice, and legal guidance. Google places high importance on the accuracy and trustworthiness of YMYL content.
Why Does YMYL Matter for SEO?
Misinformation on YMYL topics can have severe consequences. Google aims to deliver high-quality, trustworthy information for these subjects. While YMYL itself isn’t a ranking factor, adhering to its guidelines is crucial for businesses in these niches to maintain credibility and user trust.
Tailoring Content for E-E-A-T and YMYL Guidelines
Business owners can tailor their content to align with E-E-A-T and YMYL standards by following these strategies:
Create High-Quality, People-First Content
Craft content that addresses users’ needs, provides valuable information, and leaves them satisfied. Regularly update and refresh outdated content to maintain its usefulness.
Highlight Author Information
Introduce your team and authors on an “About Us” page. Individual author pages can showcase their expertise. Leverage subject matter experts and ensure their contributions are well-credited.
Use Credible Sources
Link to official sources, studies, and reputable websites to bolster the credibility of your content, particularly in YMYL niches.
Build a Positive Brand Reputation
Manage your online reviews and respond professionally to both positive and negative feedback. A positive brand image enhances trustworthiness.
Leverage User-Generated Content
Encourage customers to share their experiences through testimonials, reviews, and social media posts. UGC can act as a trust signal and build brand loyalty.
Stay Informed and Adapt
Keep up with industry trends, Google’s updates, and changes in your niche. Adapt your content strategy to align with evolving E-E-A-T and YMYL standards.
Producing Content
After the comprehensive process of keyword research, topic identification, and creating a content roadmap, it’s time for business owners to dive into the actual content creation for their websites. Here is a straightforward guide to help you transition from preparation to writing impactful content.
Where to Write
As a business owner, choose a platform or software that is conducive to your writing style and needs. Many opt for Google Docs due to its simplicity, accessibility, and collaboration features. This cloud-based platform allows for seamless sharing and editing, making it an excellent choice for teams.
Writing the Content
Begin by referring to your prepared content outlines and keyword clusters. Ensure your writing is clear, concise, and consistently focused on the needs and interests of your target audience. Integrate your identified keywords naturally within the text, headings, and subheadings, maintaining a balance between SEO optimisation and readability.
Utilise Content Optimisation Tools
To elevate the quality and SEO-friendliness of your content, employ a content optimisation tool like SurferSEO or Inlinks.
These content optimisation tools utilise machine learning to scrutinise top-ranking content on Google for your chosen topics. They offer invaluable information such as:
- Essential words and phrases to include
- Optimal headings and subheadings
- Relevant topics and subtopics
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to address
- Suggested word count
Content Production Tools
Content Optimisation Tools
- Clearscope
- Surfer SEO
- Inlinks
- Thruuu
- Semrush SEO Writing Assistant
- Frase
- Page Optimizer Pro
- Marketmuse
- Content Harmony
- SE Ranking Content Marketing Tool
Writing Assistance Tools
- Grammarly
- ProWritingAid:
Plagiarism Checker Tools
- Copyscape
Implementing Suggestions From Your Content Tech. Stack
Incorporate the suggestions from the content optimisation tool, and other software such as writing assistance tools to refine your content further. Tailor your headings, subheadings, and FAQs based on the provided insights. Ensure your content encompasses the recommended words, topics, and subtopics to enhance relevance and comprehensiveness.
Review and Edit
After the initial draft is completed, take the time to meticulously review and edit your content. Ensure it aligns with your brand voice, provides substantial value to your audience, and meets the SEO guidelines suggested by the optimisation tool. Remember everything discussed in this document!
Google’s Self Assessment Guide to Creating Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content
Source: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
Content and quality questions
- Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?
- Does the content provide a substantial, complete, or comprehensive description of the topic?
- Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond the obvious?
- If the content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources, and instead provide substantial additional value and originality?
- Does the main heading or page title provide a descriptive, helpful summary of the content?
- Does the main heading or page title avoid exaggerating or being shocking in nature?
- Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
- Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopaedia, or book?
- Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
- Does the content have any spelling or stylistic issues?
- Is the content produced well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
- Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
Expertise questions
- Does the content present information in a way that makes you want to trust it, such as clear sourcing, evidence of the expertise involved, background about the author or the site that publishes it, such as through links to an author page or a site’s About page?
- If someone researched the site producing the content, would they come away with an impression that it is well-trusted or widely-recognised as an authority on its topic?
- Is this content written or reviewed by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well?
- Does the content have any easily-verified factual errors?
Content Design
After successfully creating well-optimised written content, the next crucial step for a business owner is to focus on Content Design. It’s the art and science of crafting and structuring content in a visually appealing and user-friendly manner. In the digital era, it’s not enough for businesses to simply write content. The presentation and structure of this content play an essential role in its effectiveness and its ability to engage readers. This is where the significance of Content Design emerges. It’s a vital element that transcends beyond just words on a page, evolving a mere text into an immersive and interactive user experience.
What is Content Design?
Content Design is an approach centred on forming and delivering content in a way that the audience finds valuable and easy to interact with. It’s more than just filling up a webpage with words and images. Content designers meticulously plan and implement how information is presented, focusing on users’ needs and creating an effortless and engaging journey through the content.
Impact on Performance Metrics and SEO
Bounce Rate
- Problem: High bounce rates indicate that users are leaving the webpage quickly, often because the content is hard to navigate or does not meet their expectations.
- Solution: Effective content design engages users right from the start, reducing the bounce rate.
- SEO Benefit: Lower bounce rates are a positive signal to search engines, potentially improving the page’s ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs).
Scroll Depth
- Problem: If users aren’t scrolling, they may be missing important content.
- Solution: Proper content design ensures that the content is laid out attractively, encouraging users to scroll and engage more with the information.
- SEO Benefit: Increased scroll depth indicates to search engines that users are engaging with the content, positively impacting SEO rankings.
Time on Page
- Problem: Minimal time spent on a page can imply the content is not valuable to the user.
- Solution: Content that is well-designed keeps the user’s attention, increasing the time they spend on the page.
- SEO Benefit: A higher time on page signals to Google and other search engines that the content is useful and relevant, enhancing the page’s SEO.
Influencing Customer Interaction and Conversions
Content design is not just about aesthetics or SEO; it’s about the user’s journey and interaction with the brand. A positive, engaging user experience built through robust content design fosters a stronger relationship between potential customers and your brand.
Enhanced Brand Image: An efficiently designed content reflects professionalism and attention to detail, enhancing your brand’s image.
Increased Conversions: Users who find the content engaging and easy to navigate are more likely to take desired actions, leading to higher conversion rates.
Customer Loyalty: Exceptional content design contributes to a satisfying user experience, increasing the likelihood of customers returning and advocating for your brand.
Content Design Element Examples
- Visual Elements:
- Include: Images, infographics, and videos.
- Purpose: Break up text and make content more engaging and easier to digest.
- Interactive Features:
- Include: Quizzes, polls, and interactive infographics.
- Purpose: Encourage user engagement and interaction.
- Clear and Concise Layout:
- Include: Headings, subheadings, bullet points, and numbered lists.
- Purpose: Facilitate easy scanning and navigation, helping readers find relevant information quickly.
- Responsive Design:
- Include: Mobile-friendly and accessible on all devices.
- Purpose: Ensure a seamless user experience across all device types.
- Call to Action:
- Include: Clear and compelling calls to action.
- Purpose: Guide users towards desired actions or next steps.
- Accessibility:
- Include: Text alternatives for visual content, high contrast for readability, and easy navigation.
- Purpose: Make content accessible to all, including individuals with disabilities.
- Use of Colour and Fonts:
- Include: Consistent, readable fonts and engaging colour schemes.
- Purpose: Enhance readability and visual appeal, keeping users engaged.
Algorithmic Updates
Google Search’s helpful content system
Originally theorised to have been released to combat the fast-rising evolution of AI content, Google’s Helpful Content System is a set of algorithms and processes designed to elevate user experience by promoting helpful, reliable, and people-centric content in search results. It’s a system tailored to prioritise content that genuinely benefits users rather than content created solely for the purpose of achieving high search engine rankings (which the majority of AI written content is).
How Does It Work?
The primary goal of the Helpful Content System is to reward content that provides a satisfying and informative experience for visitors. Here’s how it operates:
Visitor Satisfaction: The system assesses whether visitors to a page feel satisfied with their experience. Content that leaves users feeling informed and content receives a higher ranking.
Content Value: It identifies content that offers substantial value, such as original information, insightful analysis, or comprehensive descriptions of topics. Content that goes beyond the obvious is favoured.
Trustworthiness: The system evaluates the trustworthiness of content, including clear sourcing, evidence of expertise, and background information about the author or the site. Content from recognized authorities in a particular field is prioritised.
User Engagement: Google’s core ranking systems emphasise content that provides a good page experience, focusing on factors like page loading speed, mobile-friendliness, and safe browsing. These aspects contribute to overall user engagement.
Why is Google’s Helpful Content System Important for SEO?
Better Rankings: Content that aligns with the Helpful Content System’s criteria is more likely to rank higher in search results. This can significantly increase your content’s visibility to users searching for relevant information.
User Trust: Prioritising user-centric content enhances trust and credibility. Users are more likely to engage with and trust websites that consistently deliver helpful and reliable information.
Long-Term Success: As Google continues to refine its algorithms and ranking factors, focusing on helpful content ensures long-term success in SEO. This approach aligns with Google’s commitment to providing valuable search results.
User-Centric Approach: Google’s shift towards rewarding people-first content encourages content creators to prioritise the needs of their audience. This not only benefits SEO but also enhances the overall user experience.
Algorithmic Updates
Released in 2022, Google updates the Helpful content system around every 6 months.
Google algorithmic updates are changes made to the complex set of rules and calculations that Google uses to determine the ranking of web pages in its search results. These updates are essential for Google to ensure that its search engine provides the most relevant and high-quality results to users.
The algorithm update process
Google has a team of engineers and data scientists who first identify the need for an algorithmic update, and then work on developing and testing the new algorithm. They consider various factors, such as user behaviour, content quality, and website structure, to create a better algorithm.
Rollout – Once the update is deemed ready, Google rolls it out gradually across its search engine. This rollout may take several days or weeks to complete. During this period, some users may experience changes in search results.
Website Re-ranking – As the new algorithm is applied, websites across the internet are re-evaluated based on the updated criteria. Websites may see changes in their rankings, either positive or negative, depending on how well their content aligns with the new ranking factors.
*Unfortunately, Google does not release specific details about the criteria used in algorithmic updates for several reasons. While they provide general guidelines and best practices for webmasters, they intentionally keep the inner workings of their algorithms confidential.
It’s important for website owners to understand that algorithmic updates can have varying impacts on different websites. While some sites may experience positive movements in their rankings, others may see negative shifts.
Here’s why this happens:
- Changing Criteria Weightings: Algorithmic updates often involve adjustments to the weightings of different ranking factors. What worked well for SEO in the past may not be as influential in the new algorithm. Google may prioritise different aspects, such as content quality or mobile-friendliness, which can affect rankings.
- Evolving User Behaviour: Google’s updates also take into account changing user behaviour and expectations. If users begin to prefer certain types of content or interactions, Google may adjust its algorithms to reflect these preferences.
- Competition: The competitive landscape in search results is constantly changing. New websites may emerge with high-quality content and strong SEO strategies, impacting the rankings of existing websites.
- User Intent: Google aims to better understand and match user intent with search results. If an algorithm update refines its understanding of what users are looking for, it may reward websites that align with this intent.
- Quality Assessment: Algorithm updates often involve improvements in assessing content quality, trustworthiness, and relevance. Websites that fail to meet these criteria may see a negative impact on their rankings.
- Technical Factors: Technical aspects of a website, such as page speed, mobile optimisation, and security, play a significant role in rankings. Changes in these technical factors can affect how a site is ranked.
Even if a website owner follows best practices and has historically performed well in SEO, they may still experience negative movement in rankings, and therefore traffic loss due to algorithmic updates.
Food for thought: An example scenario
A gardening website might have the best page of content on the entire internet about ‘how to grow tomatoes’. The page ranked in the #1 position for many years, for keywords such as ‘how to grow tomatoes’, ‘growing tomatoes’ etc. This article generated thousands of clicks to the website each month. However, due to a shift in the way Google wants to serve results to users following an algorithmic update, Google may demote this page of content, in lieu of something new. Nothing in the page of content was changed, and it was still the best article of its kind on the topic. Google can all of a sudden decide that a web page such as a Reddit forum with real people discussing the best ways to grow tomatoes in a forum style discussion may better serve users. In this case, Google is experimenting with its E-E-A-T guidelines and asks the question of what users who are searching for ‘how to grow tomatoes’ would find more useful (think of the ‘E’ in E-E-A-T – “Experience”). Do users searching the topic want to find one singular website telling them ‘how to grow tomatoes’, or the forum discussion with hundreds of comments from ‘real’ people about many different ways of growing tomatoes from their first hand experience.
Unfortunately for hard working website owners, this can be hard to accept. They have done nothing wrong, but will unfortunately lose traffic due to the shift in algorithm.
So what can website owners do to negate this happening to them?
Great SEO results come to those who are patient and persistent. The keys to SEO are:
- Everything above in this document! And…
- Being persistent in doing what you believe is right for your website and it’s users
- Being innovative, and giving your users the best possible user experience
- What you assess is working well – validated by feedback data
- Being patient that Google will favour you by following the guidelines
- Earning high quality backlinks from trustworthy and authoritative sources
