I have been writing a lot of content recently, so I thought I would share some of my strategies to get a few articles on the first page of Google for the respective search terms. Although content writing can be a tedious task, there are strategies I have tried that helped me get my articles ranked quickly.
When you launch a new venture, one of the most important questions you will be asked is “Who are your customers?” Keywords are your best indicator of your audience’s needs and search engine optimization. Suppose I am an expert on investing in energy stocks, but people are looking for ways to invest in growth and tech stocks. I need to weigh my options.
Although it is not true that you should always choose the most popular keywords, you need to ensure that your content has value and is being searched for by people. This is usually validated through keyword research. It can work in your favor to write to keywords with lower volumes but are more competitive to make an impact in the rankings.
Once you have identified your audience and their needs, writing content that is useful for them is essential. Although you may think you have the best content, only some people look for academic journal-like writing when searching for something online. Your essay should be more human.
“What could make this more convenient for users?”
Each time I ask this question, the article is improved a little more. Let’s look at a few improvements that worked (graphics and formatting, summaries).
Graphics
Although I am not a graphic designer, think about the best content you have seen and the most shared content. They often have a great graphic to show a concept or summarize an article. If I have to ask myself how I can improve the theme for the user, the first thing I think of when I ask is how I can make the content easier to digest with a graphic. A graphic that highlights or summarizes critical concepts. This makes it easier for users to read and adds much value. In addition, my articles rank higher after I add quality images or infographics to them. Also, make sure you tag your graphic with the relevant keywords.
Summaries
Similar to graphics, people need the ability to digest thousands of words of text more quickly and people who search on Google aren’t looking for a novel. The users will find it helpful to add summaries to my articles at the top of the page. They can quickly pick the highlights and then read the rest of the article in bullet points.
Formatting
Formatting your content correctly is another way to increase readability. You wouldn’t be able to read a block of text that is 2,000 words long. Good headings, bullet points and lists make it easier to read the article. You’d find it easier to read and digest the content. You can create a skeleton structure in your head to make the content more digestible. This makes it easier to understand for Google and possibly put into a snippet.
Headlines
Unfortunately, the internet is full of so much good and free content that it can be difficult to stand out. Although I don’t like clickbait (which is not good for users), good headlines are essential to your articles. You are more likely to click on Excel tricks if you search for them. Because there are a million of them, people won’t click on the next headline “Best XYZ”. Be creative and original.
Metadata
Metadata is key to this. Metadata is a key way to optimize content for search engines. Metadata is the meta title, description, and keywords (ignore it for now) that are set up for a page. When a user visits the page, the title is different to the Google meta title.
Meta titles and descriptions are important for search engines. Make sure you include your target keywords when writing them. If we write an article about Excel Tricks we would want to include the term “Excel Tricks” in our meta title or description. This is because that is what we are trying to rank for. The metadata also shows up in the search engine as the title or description.
Site Speed
SEO includes the technical aspects of your website and pages. Site speed is a key area of focus for me. I have seen it increase my rankings time after time. I have done mini-tests in which I checked my search ranking using incognito, tested my site speed with GTMetrix, re-indexed my page (with Search Console), and moved up a few spots in the search results. Site speed is important when deciding what pages to place on your site.
Although words won’t slow down your site, large videos, non-optimized photos, and too many tracking tools can impact your page speed and your overall ranking. This is a key point to remember and you can use a site speed tool for monitoring and diagnosing. This is a search engine play that I think benefits the user experience, but it also helps me. It’s not what you want to do.
Interlinking
Strong interlinks are another way to improve your content for search engines (and users). An interlinking strategy includes links to the page/article as well as links to other pages and articles. Let’s write an article about Excel tricks. In each trick, I suggest linking to a page or video that explains how to use the trick.
A few of the more in-depth articles on each trick may also include a link to the entire Excel tricks article. It makes it easier for search engines to crawl your site and link together your content. This keeps users interested in your site as they can look at related articles or delve deeper into a topic.
Get a Recap and Learn More About Digital Marketing
Your website can reap the benefits of content marketing. This content marketing guide covered some tips and tricks, but let’s review the main points you need to remember.
- Optimize for keywords that you want to rank for, based on relevancy, competition, and volume.
- It would be best if you always strived to make your content useful and interesting for users. This includes creating summaries and graphics and any other useful information you can think of.
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