In the SEO arena, content is king. All other things being equal between your site and a competitor’s, the one with better content will win in the search results. But how do you create that kind of high-quality content? In this post, we’ll explain what quality content is and how you can make sure your website’s content outranks your competition.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
What is high quality content?
The best way to figure out what high-quality content looks like is to hit Google’s search results and take a look at the top three pages Google lists for a given search term. You’ll notice that these pages often share a thing or two in common, particularly about the way they structure and write their content.
Pages that make it into Google’s top results for a particular search query are often there because of one thing: the content on those pages answers the search query best. When users find a helpful answer to a question or solution to a problem, this sends a positive signal to Google, who ranks the site higher in the search results. The higher the ranking, (generally) the more traffic your link will bring to your site. And if your content is top-notch, this will result in more customer conversions and potential sales for you.
If your users like your content, Google will, too! But how to you write content like that? Dive in and find out!
How to create high quality content
1. Write for your customers
Many businesses often make the mistake of thinking their website is all about them, when in reality, it’s about their customers. It is okay to want to tell your users about your company, products, and services. But you need to make sure you filter everything through the point of view of the customer. Ultimately, your customers are only interested in one thing as it relates to your business, and that is how you can help them solve their problems.
Read More: Mistakes People Make When Writing Content For Their Websites
To create high-quality content for your users, you need to understand what they are searching for online. What questions are they asking? What words are they using? This is where solid keyword research comes in. If you use the same words your customers use, you have a higher chance at achieving those rankings.
2. Cultivate trust
If you expect customers to stick around long enough to read more of your content or buy your products, they need to trust you. Establishing a relationship of trust with your customers doesn’t happen overnight; it takes time and effort. However, there are a few things you can do right off the bat to help customers begin to trust you:
- Stay away from stock photos
- Add ratings, reviews, and testimonials to your product and landing pages
- Set up HTTPS for your site
- Add security seals to your cart and checkout pages
- Keep your content up-to-date
3. Make your content easy to read
Google’s Gary Illyes once tweeted that you should read your text out loud. If it doesn’t read nicely or sounds strange, it probably won’t rank either. No one wants to read something that’s hard to understand, boring, pretentious, or stuffed with keywords. If you write content that your audience doesn’t understand, you won’t be helping them solve their problems or answer their questions. As a result, you’ll push them away back to Google, which Google interprets as a sign that your website isn’t the best result and shouldn’t be ranked high in the search results.
To make sure people stay to read your entire blog post, keep things simple and well-structured. Remember: people don’t usually read online articles from start to finish. Instead, they scan them. Divide your article into sections with descriptive headings and focused paragraphs to help make your text scannable. Also, try to limit difficult words and keep the majority of your sentences on the shorter side, as difficult words and long sentences can slow down and discourage your readers. Lastly, bring some style to the table; this can help differentiate your content from your competition.
4. Match your goals to your users’ search intent
Search intent is the reason why someone searches for something online. Are they looking to buy a product? Do they simply need an answer to a question? Or are they researching something and trying to learn about a particular topic? When creating your pages, think about what your users are searching for and what they expect to find. Then, think about your own goal(s) for that page, and make sure they match up.
If your customer’s goal is to buy a product, they might search for something like, “Buy [product x]”. You want them to land on the page where you sell your product(s), not on an informational blog post. Landing on a page and not finding what you want is frustrating, and it will cause your users to leave your website rather quickly.
Considering the search intent of your visitors will help you maintain focus on your website, so you can create the kind of content your users expect to find and will benefit from. Think about the mission of your website, the purpose of every page. Match that purpose to a keyword your customers would use while searching online. Not sure if your assessment is correct? Check the Google search results and see what your competitors are creating!
5. Structure your website well
This one goes outside the scope of the content itself and focuses more on making your website easy to navigate. The easier it is for your visitors (and by extension, Google) to find your most important content, the more likely it is that those key pages will rank higher in the search results.
How do you make sure they can find your most important pages? Keep your menu focused. If there are a lot of links that are important to your customers, consider having different menu levels. For example, you could have a top bar menu with login links and social media, while the main menu of the site lists your shop’s categories or products. Additionally, make sure your customers can easily navigate to your important pages in a couple different ways. The easier it is for them to find the content they need, the better their experience and the happier they will be.
Create content that will wow your customers!
Before you start publishing page after page, or post after post, take the time to make your content attractive. Write for your customers, not for yourself. Make sure your content is easy to read and up-to-date. Keep your customers’ search intent in mind and do everything you can to cultivate a relationship of trust with the customer. Check out our guide to writing blog posts if you need some more help with this!
Although well structured and readable content might not instantly take you to the top position in Google, it will definitely have a positive effect on your SEO in the long run. Trust us: this is time very well spent!
Read More: 8 Things Every Good Website Should Have