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Having a site rank highly on Google and other search engines largely comes down to having excellent SEO content. It isn’t always easy to figure out what exactly great SEO content is, how it’s made, and whether your existing content is working the way you intended without a professional SEO digital marketing agency on your team.
Google doesn’t reveal its exact algorithms to marketing professionals, but they have given content creators and website owners helpful information on creating content that will rank well.
This guide will cover the components of SEO content and how to write it yourself to give your site a boost in visibility. The same general rules and goals apply to virtually any content you might create, regardless of topic or your industry.
What is SEO Content?
SEO (search engine optimization) includes any measures you take to increase your odds of getting found in organic (AKA unpaid) search results. SEO content uses keywords, as well as site architectural features like headings and outbound links, to get found by Google’s “spiders.”
Keywords should be relevant to the topic you’re covering and the topic you’re covering should be relevant to your products or services. Likewise, your content should stay on topic as much as possible throughout a webpage,as it is ranked on how relevant it is to what your visitors are searching for, based on a myriad of factors.
How to Write Great SEO Content
While various factors weigh in when writing content for your audience, there are some features that all good content should contain.
Original Content
Your content should be original to your site. That doesn’t mean you can’t write about something that others have written about previously or that all of your information must be brand new.
It does mean that you can’t copy from other people to get your content. Copying and pasting content from another site or writing verbatim what someone else wrote will often get your site flagged for plagiarism. This will not only hurt your ranking in the search results, but may also land you in legal trouble. Use other pages to research, but create your original content, written in your own words.
Valuable Information
The next thing that Google looks for is how valuable the information is to their readers and how authoritative it is on the topic. Try to provide information that users are looking for, and use keywords to reflect your topic that also relate back to your products or services. Using a keyword tool to see what users are looking for is an excellent way to nail down what you should focus your content topics on.
Site Structure
The way your site is structured is also essential. Google’s crawlers will look for inbound and outbound links, site loading time, headlines, and keyword tags. Keeping these features in mind will tell search engines that your site is reliable and has the information people are looking for.
Keywords
Including the right keywords is vital for ranking well in organic search. You can use various keyword tools to show you what people are searching for and information such as how many monthly searches a keyword is getting. One of the most valuable and well-known tools is Google’s own Adwords keyword tool, but there are others on the market at different price points that have advanced tools for crafting SEO content that converts.
Google Featured Snippets
Google allows you to answer a user’s question in search results. You can use a SERP analysis tool to determine if your chosen keyword has a featured snippet, determine how it is structured, and ask the snippet answers in one of your page subheadings. Then, answer the question directly under the subheading. Try to write an answer that is better and more informative, but also more concise than the existing snippet. You will need to ensure you use the same structure as the existing snippet. This may take some time and some A/B testing to nail down, but it can be done with a little effort.
Stay Current
Update your existing content regularly. Google prioritizes fresh, new content over older posts. You can keep your site updated by freshening up existing blog posts and web pages regularly to keep them ranking well. You can always spice up your old content with links to newer articles that are relevant to keywords or subtopics within them.
Outrank Existing Content
Also called the “skyscraper” method, you choose existing content you want to outrank. Please write your post on the topic, but do it better than the original. How do you outrank the existing page? Consider why it is high ranking in the first place. Is it valuable and informative? Does it cover the topic in-depth? Understanding why it is doing well will help you create something better. Make sure any updated information you include improves with greater detail and higher value than the original.
Future Proof Your Business With The Best SEO Portland Has To Offer
Your local competition and global chains are working to one-up their competition and gain new customers. To survive in a more competitive online world, making sure you utilize the very best SEO practices is essential to find success.
It’s important to remember that SEO is not a one-and-done process. SEO is always ongoing and the search algorithm constantly changing. With all of the responsibilities required with running your own business, you might not have the time to manage this all on your own.
That is where we come in.
At Stoute Web Solutions, we specialize in creating custom website care plans, managed WordPress hosting, SEO, and web design services. Based in Portland, Oregon, we are ready to help your business grow and specialize in working with small and medium-sized businesses with affordable SEO services and web design.
If you would like to take your business to the next level, please reach out to us to schedule a consultation today.
