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If you’ve spent any time in SEO circles you’ve probably heard the expression “Content is King.” It’s because search engines are all about content – their job is to “read” it, index it, and match it as closely as possible to the search intentions of their users. The higher the quality of content, the more effectively search engine spiders can bring searchers to their desired destination — and bring qualified visitors to your website.
But what does high-quality content mean in the world of SEO? Correct use of grammar? Valuable insights? Newsworthy copy? A clever turn-of-phrase? Lots of SEO keywords?
The answer is Yes to all these questions. Your first priority is to understand what your target audience will define as content quality, and you are probably the best judge of that. There are, however, some important SEO-focused quality measures that will help the search engines to rank your website higher. Perhaps not surprisingly, these are tips that most journalists use to make a story rank higher in the minds of their human readers too. At the end of the day, these are qualities that make content worth reading – by anyone.
- Clear, well-articulated, and focused content. Each page of your website (or contributed content that links to your website) should have a clear main point, expressed simply and clearly in the title, heading and first sentence. As any good journalist will tell you, don’t wait to tell readers what your page is about. Search engines would agree.
- Unique, original content. The more you can differentiate your website content from your competitors, the more you’ll stand out. Like a newspaper reporter looking for a unique angle, the search engines will ignore (or worse, penalize you) if you duplicate copy found elsewhere. Be clear on your unique selling proposition, and tell it in your own original way.
- Fresh, new content. Ask any reporter – news is hot! Fresh, frequently updated content lets a reader know your site is vibrant, active, and worthy of repeat visits. Search engines will read it as a sign of reliability and a signal to return to your site often. If you can add content regularly (with a blog, for example, or new pages), you can expand your range of content and enlarge the “funnel” of keywords that point visitors to your site.
- Action-focused content. Journalists know that action makes for a good story. Good marketers know that a “call-to-action” can turn a prospect into a lead and ultimately into a sale. It is also a good way to draw a website visitor deeper into your site, and convert them into a paying customer.
- 5. Keyword-rich content. The journalist analogy is a stretch here, as reporters don’t intentionally fill their stories with loaded words for calculated effect (or do they?). While human readers don’t fall for such tactics, search engines do, and they’ll rank you better for keywords that are prominently (but naturally – no stuffing!) featured on a page.
At Sound Web Solutions, we’ll help you develop high quality content geared to improve your search engine rankings. We can:
- Suggest SEO-friendly edits to your website that will help it rank better in the search engines
- Help you re-purpose existing materials (white papers, research, press releases) into fresh, new content that can bring new visitors and links to your site
- Have our copywriters create new, original, high-quality, keyword-rich content
- Train and mentor you to create your own blog or other SEO-focused content
