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Content Rules Everything Around Me (C.R.E.A.M.)
In any SEO related research you find these days, having good content is still one of the most important aspects of search engine optimization. As the phrase goes–content is king–or as I like to put it, “C.R.E.A.M, get the money (dollar dollar bill, ya’ll).”
But what makes good content for SEO? Does Google favor long or short copy? How hard should we work to get our keywords placed in the content? Where do video and images fit in?
We’re going to outline some of the best practices to use in the creation of quality content for your site.
Write for your audience – The first rule of content is that it has to be compelling.
In order to place your article in the “high-quality content” box, it needs to have relevance and value. So, pay attention to your desired audience, write for that audience, and write something that offers substance; that is unique and useful.
Focus on writing naturally. Don’t worry about how your content will rank with Google; worry about how it will rank with your readers. As they say, “Follow your heart, and the money will come later.” They do say that, right?
Keywords – Going with our earlier statements about writing naturally, it only makes sense that keywords should appear naturally.
It is officially safe to say that ‘keyword density’ is a defunct concept. We don’t want to get in the habit of trying to stuff keywords into our content in ways that appear forced or unnatural.
That said, there are legitimate ways to get keywords into your content naturally and effectively. You can start with keyword research. There are a number of online tools you can use for your keyword research (try Google AdWords Keyword Tool, Google Trends, Wordtracker Free Keyword Suggestion Tool, just to name a few).
Our goal should be to optimize our keywords for what is actually being searched. For instance, let’s say you own a surf school and you want your next blog to be about surfer etiquette. If ‘how to avoid other surfers’ is a more commonly used search query than ‘surfer etiquette,’ you might want to consider using the more commonly used term.
Also, using related keywords and grammatical variations can make your content more relevant for search engines.
Don’t Fear the Long Tail – Shorter keywords can be super competitive.
Try inserting long-tail keywords from your keyword research. Those longer related terms can be much easier to rank. They also tend to have higher traffic quality, as those visitors will have greater motivation and are more likely to convert.
Show off that big brain of yours – We’re seeing evidence that articles that are more in depth get more likes and shares than shorter, more superficial articles.
We’re also seeing that the average site that ranks on page one of Google has more than 2,000 words. Let’s take advantage of this by getting in depth with our content.
Share your knowledge and expertise and provide real insight in your content creation. Even if your content is longer, if you’re staying on topic with your expertise, your readers will be more engaged. The more you inform your audience, the more likely they are to share your information.
Sharing is Caring – Sharing your content via social media will definitely get you traffic.
The more ‘shares’ you get, the more likely that Google will recognize your content as relevant and popular. So blast it over your all of your social media channels, encourage your friends and family to share it (as long as they do it from their own computers. Google reads IP addresses), and do the work to find industry influencers, forums, blogs and newsletters who will be willing to share your content.
Don’t neglect your title tags and meta descriptions – Without getting too technical, I’ll explain what title tags and meta descriptions are for the uninitiated. A title tag is, simply put, the title of the document or web page. It’s meant to be an accurate description of a site’s content. It also creates value in the search engine results pages.
Meta descriptions are HTML attributes that also describe the content of a site, but can be much longer than title tags. Meta descriptions should also contain your highest-ranking keywords. Work with your tech guy to optimize your title tags and meta descriptions to make it easier for Google to find and categorize you (you want this).
Go with God… I mean, Google – If you don’t have a Google Plus business page at this point, you’re behind the curve. Google Plus is going to play a larger role in SEO. In addition, Google will be introducing Author Rank, which will begin ranking authors and not just the sites that host their content.
Once you get your page set up and verified, and build your AuthorRank (and actively update your page), your content will gain an extra shot of authority, no matter where you post it.
Creating content can be awesomely fun. Staying informed with the latest SEO trends, and focusing on a few key initiatives isn’t particularly time-consuming, but it can yield awesome results, and take your content to that place only reserved for rock stars and fighter pilots.
If you have any questions regarding content creation, or would like to know more about the impact it can have on your rankings, please email or call us, and we will be happy to answer your questions.
This post was written by downtownecommerce_admin
