We are very nearly into the 2020s and still, there are so many businesses relying on SEO tactics that are almost a decade out of date to try and climb search rankings. There was a time when stuffing six or seven instances of a keyword into a single paragraph would work, but Google’s algorithm wised up to such tactics, realising that they do nothing to serve the actual user.
If you read a piece of content, wanting to learn about where the best place to buy ovens in Manchester is, this would not serve your purpose, as well as looking highly unprofessional:
“If you are looking for the best place to buy ovens in Manchester, then read on as you can buy ovens in Manchester from us today. To buy ovens in Manchester, head on over to our shop that stocks a wide range of ovens to buy in Manchester. Speak to a member of our team for more information to help buy ovens in Manchester.”
We get it. You want to rank for ‘buy ovens in Manchester’, but what purpose does it serve the customer after they click your link? The only thing you can expect with content like the example above is a high bounce rate and low conversions (if any at all).
Offer Value to your Customers
Your customers are looking for value in the content on your website, especially for informational ‘how to…’ and ‘why?’ search queries where the user is clearly looking for an answer. Google’s algorithm is updated every day, with some updates being far bigger than others, and with that has become an intelligent tool that considers contextual value, as opposed to simply looking at buzzwords.
Create content for your audience, and not for ranking purposes, because that is what SEO is in the present day. If you write content purely to serve your audience, the chances are that it will be SEO-friendly and has a good chance of ranking well. Of course, you should also ensure that your content is properly optimised with at least one or two natural keyword placements, as well as other offsite digital marketing services to give your page that extra boost, but by and large, it is valuable, well-written content that is king.
SERP Analysis
Not sure what the people who are searching for your keywords are looking for? It’s easy, check the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) and review the top five to 10 pages in the results and consider what they offer. Things to look for include:
- What type of page is it? (Product/service page, blog post, category etc…)
- Word count (How long should the content be)
- Key points (Read the content and list all the points brought up in the top-ranking pages)
- Metrics (Check the domain’s DA, TF and CF – this could determine how likely you are to be able to displace the page in the SERPs)
- Keyword difficulty (Software such as Moz, SEMRush and Google Keyword Planner offer keyword difficulty scores – the higher the score the more difficult the keyword will be to rank for)
- Other media (Does the page utilise images and/or videos?)
Conducting this research will help you to form an informed approach as to how your page and content should look. Far too many businesses try to offer their audience what they want without first considering what their audience is searching for.
Don’t Outsource to a Cheap Content Writing Service
Writing is an art and a good piece of content can take you far, especially if it is marketed well. Bad writing cheapens your brand and only serves the purpose of helping your customers – sloppy spelling mistakes and grammar, no matter how good your product and/or service is, will lower the user’s trust in you.
That means employing the content writing services of a quality writer, if you cannot do this yourself, to create content rather than outsourcing to the cheapest option. As with anything, you normally get what you pay for and there is a reason why their service is available at a low fee.
Think of your users as the humans that they are and stop trying to outsmart an AI tool that is already infinitely smarter than either you or I. Creating valuable content will take you a long way to achieving your business’ ultimate digital goals.