Why Content is Integral to Success
When it comes to websites, design and development are important, but to semi-quote the great Duke Ellington, “It don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that…content.” A website full of quality, intentional, informative content sets you up for SEO success.
What Counts as Content?
Web content is any piece of text, images, videos, audio, application, or downloadable information found on a website. Content can come in the form of a blog, podcast, article, infographic, meme, tutorial, webinar, music, brochures, whitepapers, and more.
Optimizing for SEO Success
Creating content without optimizing it to rank on search engines is like starting a race and intentionally falling, then staying still for the entire race. You won’t get far and you definitely won’t win. Optimizing content comes in many forms, but it’s always important to remember to keep it audience-centric. This means that you need to understand who your audience is and write content for them. Keeping this in mind, the following are a few of the things to consider when writing content at all times.
Keyword Research
Identifying your audience will absolutely help when it comes to choosing priority keywords for your content. As a rule, I like to use multiple keyword researching techniques, including Google’s Keyword Planner, to decide which keywords to include in the content. Think about your audience, your services/products, and your competition. Think about what your audience would be searching for and go from there. I like to make a list of my high-priority keywords, medium-priority keywords, and low-priority keywords, then take a look at search volume and competition for each and reference all of this information often when writing content. Even after years of experience, it doesn’t hurt to take a look at the list sometimes to spark ideas.
Beware of Black Hat SEO
When using keywords, be sure to use them naturally. Let them be your guide, but do not keyword stuff, hide text, create duplicate content, or do anything else that would be considered black hat SEO. Google is getting smarter and if you are doing something untoward in an effort to increase your page ranking, there will be serious hell to pay. Not only is it unethical, it’s also damaging to your business. How? Simple: Google can and will blacklist you. That means that no matter what you do, you won’t show up on Google.
Image Optimization
A picture is worth a thousand words and an image on a website is more than just a pretty picture. First of all, make sure you’re compressing it. A good rule is not to feature an image larger than 1200 pixels. Anything much larger than that can significantly slow down your site speed.
Alt Tags
On an image, the alt tag is there as an alternative to the image. This is incredibly helpful when it comes to screen readers, which people with a visual impairment often use to read a website. Including accurate and helpful alt text on your images is one of many steps one must take to be compliant with the Americans for Disabilities Act. Additionally, search engines read alt text, so when it makes sense, remember to include a keyword where possible.
Image Title Text
An image title text is the content a user would see if they rolled their cursor over the image. It’s arguably not as important as the alt tag, but it doesn’t hurt to write a short description for what the user is viewing.
Page Optimization
Just as your images need to be optimized, so does each page of your website that you want to be found in a search engine query.
Page Title
Your page title is the headline that shows up on a search engine results page. I like to think of the page title as the chapter to your book (your website). It should give users a clear indication of what’s to be found on that page. There are a few things to keep in mind when writing your page title:
- Make sure it’s 60 characters or less (the closer to 60, the better)
- Include your business name
- Be smart with the keywords and don’t stuff
- Keep it specific to what can be found on the page
Meta Descriptions
The meta description is the summary under a page title. Google has made it clear that meta descriptions have no direct impact on where your page ranks in their results, but it can give users a reason to click on your page. A page’s click-through-rate (CTR) does impact rankings. When writing your description, remember the following:
- Make it 160 characters or less (the closer to 160, the better)
- Tell the user what can be found on the page
- Include a call-to-action
- Don’t forget the keywords
Google E-A-T
In August 2018, Google’s “medic update” algorithm update placed an emphasis on Google’s E-A-T (expertise, authority, trustworthiness). This important update was initially related to websites related to medical and health advice (hence, the term “medic update”). However, it also impacted YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) websites, which encompass anything related to financial or safety issues. Basically, the E-A-T update was put in place because Google wants to positively impact websites featuring content coming from experts, a place of authority, and trusted sources.
Expertise
An expert is someone who has a specific skill or knowledge about a certain topic. When talking about “expertise” when related to E-A-T, Google wants to see that expertise shared in a comprehensive way. To do that, you have to know your audience. If you’re presenting information that may be new to your audience, spell it out a bit more than you would for one of your peers. Take the time to explain key terms and details and don’t use lingo that wouldn’t make sense to the reader. In short, when it comes to the “expertise” portion of E-A-T, you want to be the expert who shares information that’s easily digestible, no matter the crowd.
Authority
If you can be the expert and back it up with authority, that’s even better. This is where it can get a bit tricky. Authority in this sense often comes from other relevant sources. For instance, having your article(s) and content shared consistently and organically on social media can be a sign of authority. If reliable sources (other websites) are linking to your content, that can be another sign of authority. In short, if your expertise is what you know, your authority is how much people care.
Trustworthiness
Finally, your trustworthiness is exactly what it sounds like. It’s all about how trustworthy you are as a source. Once again, tons of factors can affect this, including:
- Positive public opinion of you and your brand
- An easily accessible privacy policy
- A clear transaction policy, including refunds and returns
- Clearly cited sources when needed
- Secure domain with an SSL (https)
Just as it’s important to be trusted in your community, you should be trusted online and vice versa.
E-A-T Evaluation
There’s no exact E-A-T score and there’s no magical calculation to know whether you’re reaching key expert, authority, and trustworthiness. The point of remembering E-A-T is to do your best whenever including content on your website that fits these criteria, so you’re setting yourself up for success.
Keeping Content Fresh
Writing and publishing new content on your website is always a good idea. In fact, one of the many factors that Google uses when determining where your site should rank is the amount of fresh content on it. Keeping a blog or news section on your site is a great way to keep the content updated. I like to see these updated at least once a month. As for the overall more permanent content on each page, it’s nice to do an annual review of what’s working and what could be improved. Let Google Analytics and Search Console be your guide and go from there.
Professional SEO and Content Strategy in Des Moines
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