Content Marketing – Express Writers

How to Win with Zero-Click Search SEO Adaptation

July 22, 2025July 18, 2025 by Rachel Moffett

The rise of AI-powered search engines and zero-click results is reshaping the online space, forcing marketers and content strategists to rethink how they measure success. You’re not alone if your website traffic is dipping, but your conversions and on-site engagement are increasing. And you’re not doing anything wrong. That’s what you can expect in the era of zero-click search SEO adaptation. We’ll explore zero-click searches, why they matter, and how to optimize your content for this evolving search environment. We’ll also discuss why traditional metrics like click-through rates (CTR) are becoming less relevant and what marketers should focus on to stay competitive and drive meaningful results. Zero-Click Searches: Explained What are zero-click searches? Let’s break it down. Zero-click searches are queries answered directly on the search engine results page (SERP), so the user doesn’t need to click through to a website. Think of Google’s featured snippets and the AI-generated answers now populating the platform. These days, a majority of Google searches result in zero clicks. The data above shows that, in 2024, 58.5% of Google searches in the U.S. and 59.7% in Europe did not generate clicks. In other words, zero-click searches often mean users get their answers instantly, and usually don’t need to go further. It’s convenient for the user, but potentially frustrating for the publisher who invested in that content. Yet here’s the twist: this shift isn’t necessarily bad. It just requires a change in strategy. The New SEO Strategy: Adaptation Is a Must Traditional SEO focused heavily on driving clicks. There’s nothing wrong with still wanting to generate traffic. However, with AI-generated summaries and snippets giving users instant answers, we must adopt a new strategy: zero-click search SEO adaptation. This approach acknowledges that success can’t be measured solely by traffic volume anymore. Instead, it looks at other metrics to determine how your content is performing. This includes: Time on Page: How much time are they spending on a single page? Scroll Depth: Are they scrolling to the bottom of the page or stopping halfway? Conversion Rates: How many people convert by completing a form or purchasing? On-Site Engagement Metrics: How many people are engaging? How many are returning visitors? How many pages are being viewed per session? Why would we want to track these metrics? When traffic is low, we want to learn about the behavior of the users visiting your site. Those who click through are often further down the funnel. They’re more informed, curious, and ready to act. The Reality of Declining Top-of-Funnel Traffic With AI surfacing top-level queries right on the SERP, fewer users visit your website for basic information. Before you panic, it isn’t all bad news. This means your site may see: Lower traffic overall Higher engagement per visitor Lower bounce rates Higher conversion rates This isn’t a decline, necessarily. You’re reaching people who are further along in their decision-making process. As a result, you may see people exploring your website more or making purchases. Your Guide to Zero-Click Search SEO Adaptation How can you adapt your strategy to zero-click search optimization? Let’s break it down. Step 1: Restructure Your Content Strategy If most zero-click search results address the top-of-the-funnel questions, you need to invest more in middle and bottom-of-funnel content. The way to pivot is to create content for different search intents. For example: Top-level content (e.g., “What is X?”) should still exist but can be shorter, more concise, and optimized for AI or snippet capture. Middle-funnel content should answer comparative or evaluative questions like, “How does X compare to Y?” or “What features should I look for in X?” Bottom-funnel content should target purchase-related or decision-making keywords like “Best X for [use case],” “Where to buy X,” or “[Product] reviews.” It’s also smart to use a pillar-cluster model. Create pillar pages exploring high-level topics, then link to more focused cluster pages with specific keywords and subtopics. This helps AI and search engines understand the depth of your expertise. Step 2: Focus on Conversion-Ready Users Remember: not all traffic is created equal. One engaged, ready-to-buy user is worth more than 100 casual browsers. So, you’ll want to use on-page signals to nurture leads. You can do that by: Including clear calls-to-action (CTAs) based on visitor intent Offering downloads, checklists, or calculators to encourage engagement Embedding videos or interactive content to increase time on page Rather than focusing on impressions and CTR alone, you should start prioritizing: Engagement Rate: How many users engage with something on-page? Dwell Time: How long are they staying? Lead Conversion Rate: How many take the next step? These are the accurate indicators of content success in a zero-click world. Step 3: Make Peace with the AI Layer AI isn’t going away. It’s becoming the first touchpoint for many users. That means your top-level content isn’t wasted, but it’s being repurposed by AI to answer questions. That visibility still builds trust, even if you don’t get the click. For example, if your content is used in a featured snippet or quoted in an AI-generated summary, users may recognize your brand and return when ready to engage more deeply. To optimize for AI, try: Using clear headers and structured content Answering questions in the first few lines Writing with a natural, conversational tone Providing concise, factual, and trustworthy information Step 4: Reevaluate Your Keyword Strategy AI search is increasingly semantic and contextual, meaning it’s not just about matching keywords. It’s about understanding intent and creating your content with that in mind. Instead of stuffing the page with exact-match keywords repeatedly, try using variations naturally throughout the text so you don’t get penalized. Also, structure content in a way that answers a question, offers an opinion, or presents data. Let’s use this blog post as an example: Overusing the “zero-click search SEO adaptation” keyword would turn off Google and readers. So, it helps to use similar keywords such as “zero-click search” and “what are zero-click searches.” This post is also formatted with H2s and H3s, as well as bullet … Read more

How to Promote a Blog Post to Generate Traffic to It

February 6, 2025January 28, 2025 by Sarah Damron

Blogging is only half the battle. Promoting it is the other half. While blog posts are valuable for nurturing existing customers and reaching new ones to bring in more traffic, effective promotion is necessary for content to be noticed. The greatest challenge lies in discovering robust strategies that maximize reader engagement and boost your content’s visibility. If you’re unsure how to promote a new blog post, these tried and tested strategies effectively generate more traffic for brands. Email Marketing Email remains one of the best ways to communicate with your subscribers and potential customers, as well as promote your blog posts. A few tips when marketing content through email include: Teasing subscribers with snippets to pique their interest. Using eye-catching CTAs to encourage them to take action. Personalizing the email by including warm greetings and the subscriber’s name. Sending follow-up emails to remind them to check out the amazing content. When sending a teaser email, keep it simple. Short intros, non-distracting graphics, and a link to the blog post are more effective than lengthy content. Did you know you can also repurpose your blog post into emails? Split them into smaller topics for variety and link each topic to the original blog post. Marketing your blog post through email gives you direct access to subscribers via their inboxes. It’s also inexpensive, and the results are measurable by analyzing email opening rates and click-through rates. When using email marketing as a promotional strategy, let your readers choose a frequency for receiving mail that won’t overwhelm them. Also, segment your audience so that you promote your blog posts to the right audience and increase your chances of getting them read. Share on Social Media Platforms Social media platforms like Facebook, X, and Instagram are great avenues for networking, microblogging, and media sharing. If you’re wondering how to share a blog post on social media, an effective approach is to share teaser points along with a link to the full article. You can also take advantage of WhatsApp Status, Facebook and Instagram Stories, and Twitter Threads that disappear after 24 hours. An effective way to use these status and stories features is to break down your blog post into key points and turn them into multiple statuses, then include a link in the last status. YouTube Stories, on the other hand, last longer. They disappear after 7 days, but they’re only available for channels with 10,000 subscribers. If you’re not eligible, promote your blog post through a short YouTube video and include the blog’s link. With social media sharing, you’ll enjoy increased visibility due to a large audience. It’s also cost-effective since sharing is free unless you’re using paid ads. You also get real-time feedback through comments, likes, and shares, and gradually build a community as readers interact with your post. When choosing a social media platform, consider which suits your audience’s demographics. For instance, Instagram is popular with Gen Z while Facebook caters mostly to Millenials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers. Share on Content Publishing Platforms Content publishing platforms allow you to create and publish longer content than is possible on social media. Popular ones include LinkedIn, Medium, Blogger, and WordPress. Platforms like LinkedIn and Medium, which have numerous users, have inbuilt audiences where your posts are recommended to users, helping you reach a wider audience. They also contain engagement metrics such as shares, comments, likes, number of views, and average time spent by readers on your articles. Other platforms like Substack can integrate with email to further promote your blog posts to your subscribers. WordPress has SEO optimization features to help your blog post generate traffic. These content publishing platforms are user-friendly, making them easy to use for non-tech persons. They reach a wide audience and encourage community engagement, and you can monetize your content through ads or sponsored posts. When choosing the best publishing platform, consider your audience. For instance, LinkedIn caters to professionals seeking B2B content while Medium has a broad readership. Get Help from Influencers Influencers have a significantly large fan base, and they also have the power to influence their fans to make certain decisions. With their wide reach, influencers can promote your brand’s blog posts to reach a wider audience and generate more traffic. Search your industry or niche to discover which influencers fit your needs. There are influencer search tools such as Upfluence and Promoty which make it easier to find them. When you find the right one, collaborate with them on ideas such as allowing them to take over your social media for a day, and helping you promote your content to your followers and the influencer’s followers. When seeking influencers to promote your brand’s blog posts, consider settling for ideas that benefit both you and the influencer. Therefore, your blog posts should be relevant to the influencer’s followers. Also, look out for influencers with a genuine connection to their audience and whether their previous collaborations with other brands were successful. Generate Backlinks to Your Blog Posts Links from other websites to your brand’s website are a signal to search engines that your content is credible enough to be referenced. That is a big boost to your visibility and has the potential to increase your website’s traffic. Here’s how to promote a new blog post by getting quality backlinks: Create valuable content that people want to link to as their point of reference, and ensure you also link to credible sources. Write for other reputable blogs (guest blogging) in your niche and include a link back to your website or a relevant article. Get on Quora, Reddit, and other Question and Answer sites. Answer questions expertly there so that when you leave a link readers will want to click on it. When using backlinks as a means of promoting your brand’s blog posts, remember to choose quality over quantity. A few quality links to and from reputable brands are better than many low-quality links that can harm your SEO. Promote Your Content Through … Read more

How Many Keywords Should I Use for SEO Without Being Penalized?

February 6, 2025January 21, 2025 by Sarah Damron

You probably know how essential keywords are to your website traffic. Keywords help search engines crawl your website and rank it highly, letting your website appear on the first page for search queries related to your website content. Considering this, it only sounds logical to stuff your content with as many keywords as possible. However, this goes against SEO best practices and may lead to your website being punished and ranking lower. This might sound counterintuitive, but there is a method to the madness. In this article, we help you understand the intricacies of keywords and how to avoid ending up on the second page or, worse, being removed from the search engine’s index. Understanding Keywords: What Are They? There is little to take away from the literal meaning behind the word “keyword.” It might be misleading to some. As the name suggests, a keyword is essential to website content. However, keywords can sometimes be “key phrases.” By definition, a keyword is a word or phrase that defines the topic of your content. In other words, a keyword is a word or phrase that users would use to find information in your content. For example, the keyword that might have brought you to this article would be “How many keywords should I use for SEO?” How Many Keywords Should You Use in SEO? When it comes to search engine optimization with keywords, how many are too many? There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution to how many keywords should be in any content. As a general rule of thumb, it is largely accepted that SEO keyword density should amount to between 1-2 percent of the total content word count. This translates to around five keywords for every 500 words. However, it is essential to remember that content quality trumps keyword density. Search engines prioritize the human experience, so keyword stuffing should be avoided. For highly technical articles, it may be impossible to try to avoid heavy keyword usage throughout the length of your content. This is because they may often be descriptive or integral in conveying the critical intent of your chosen topic. In such cases, as a marketer or website owner, you should focus on writing high-quality and engaging content that effectively answers the user’s search query. This will indicate to search engines that your content is relevant and consequently avoid hurting your ranking and visibility. How Many Keywords for SEO Count as Keyword Stuffing? Keyword stuffing is a practice that manipulates search engines into ranking content highly simply because it is chock-full of keywords. This black hat technique could lead to your website being punished. You might have encountered content that barely sounds logical while attempting to find an answer to your search query. “Are you looking for a home in NY that is more than a house in NY? Then this home in NY is just what you need.” The previous statements target the keyword “home in NY,” but they make no sense to the reader and are an excellent example of keyword stuffing. Consequently, keyword stuffing is less of a numbers game and more of a technique that prioritizes keywords over the user experience. The consequences of keyword stuffing are explored further in this article. Keyword Diversity: Exact Match vs. Variations Keywords funnel users to your website through search engine rankings. However, several keywords exist depending on their relationship to the search query. Exact match keywords match the search query verbatim. Exact match keywords appeal to search engines by signaling high relevance for a specific search query. One downside of exact-match keywords is that the user’s search query must match your keyword’s meaning, translating to a narrow reach (the very high relevance may offset this). On the other hand, variation keywords may retain the SEO keyword’s meaning with slight changes in article usage, contain similar phrases, or be closely related to the keyword. Variation keywords have the advantage of having a broader reach with a slight compromise on relevance. Keyword Diversity: Best Practices Exact-match and variation keywords have their shortcomings. Pairing both keyword types ensures your website content ranks highly without over-optimizing, which may contribute to keyword stuffing. Additionally, your content reads naturally, which helps with SEO and prevents your content from sounding generic, which may be off-putting to users. Keyword Semantics vs. Keyword Synonyms As you might have noticed, an SEO strategy is the safest way to ensure you stay on the right side of search engine rankings. Understanding the differences between keyword semantics and synonyms is crucial to drafting a winning strategy. So, what is the difference between the two? Keyword Semantics Keyword semantics are variations of the keyword that meet the user’s search query. Taking this article as an example, the keyword “how many words for SEO” can be replaced with keyword semantics such as “keyword density,” “keyword optimization,” or “keyword count.” In simple terms, keyword semantics target the same idea with different languages. Google and other search engines have extremely advanced algorithms that can identify keyword synonyms and semantics with pinpoint accuracy. These algorithms allow you to create high-ranking content for your website without risking keyword stuffing. Keyword Synonyms Keyword synonyms are SEO keywords with the same or nearly the same meaning as the search query or the target keyword. For this article, the keyword synonym of “SEO keywords” could be “SEO terms.” Keyword synonyms allow you to diversify your content and rank for multiple search queries without overusing a single keyword. Why Over-Optimizing Can Lead to Penalties Search engines crawl websites to determine their relevance to users when answering a search query. Consequently, they tend to prioritize user-friendly content while punishing any attempts at keyword stuffing. Google and other search engines use complex algorithms to determine keyword density and can pick out keyword stuffing by referencing keyword usage with other high-ranking content. Additionally, keyword stuffing tends to increase a website’s bounce rate and engagement, indicators that are picked up by search engines for low-quality content. Ultimately, this causes … Read more

What Is a Bounce Rate on a Website in 2025 and How to Increase Your Engagement

February 6, 2025January 9, 2025 by Adam Oakley

Google — the 800-pound gorilla of the search engine space — loves flexing its might. The giant search engine has been rolling out updates that change online marketing at an unprecedented rate. Worse still, Google has thrown out the old playbook and is hellbent on rewriting the online marketing rules. Besides major algorithm updates such as the Helpful Content Update, Google has quietly implemented smaller changes that can, over time, tank your site’s ranking and ruin your business. One of the silent killer updates is the recent redefinition of the website bounce rate. Dig in as we explore what has changed and what you can do to keep your cash register ringing. What Is a Bounce Rate on a Website? Traditionally, bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who click away from your site after visiting only one page. So, if 1000 people click on your site from the search results page and 150 of them leave immediately, your bounce rate is 15%. Naturally, a high bounce rate is undesirable. It shows that your content isn’t spot on and misses the mark by a long shot. If people don’t stay on your site long enough to engage with your content, you can’t convince them to take any action. Your sales and conversions will tank because potential clients aren’t getting into your sales funnel. It gets even worse if you’re using paid ads to drive traffic — you may not recoup your ad spend. Worse, still high bounce rates can tank your search rankings. Google uses bounce rates as a ranking factor, so high bounce rates could cause you to lose your top spots on the SERPs. Bounce Rate After GA4 Update Thanks to Google rewriting the playbook, the bounce rate is now the inverse of engagement rates. It’s now the percentage of your unengaged sessions. As mentioned earlier, Google treasures and prioritizes engagement — it’s part of its core mandate to match web users with accurate search results. As a result, GA4 has been calibrated to prioritize calculating engaged sessions. As per Google’s definition, engaged sessions occur when a visitor: Lingers for more than 10 seconds Engages in a website’s key event Views at least two pages To calculate your site’s engagement rate, you’ll need to divide the engaged sessions by the site’s total sessions. For instance, if you have 1500 engaged sessions out of 1800 sessions, your engagement rate would be 83.3%. Subtracting 83.3% from 100% brings your bounce rate to 16.7%. How to Calculate Bounce Rates in GA4 Once you understand what Google considers an engaged session, you can easily calculate your site’s bounce rates. The formula is pretty straightforward: GA4 Bounce Rate = (Unengaged Sessions/Total Sessions) x 100 For instance, if 25,000 users visited your site last month and 20,000 of the visits met the GA4 engagement threshold, your bounce rate would be: (5,000/25,000) x 100 = 20% Finding Bounce Rate in GA4 In the usual fashion, Google has thrown a wrench in the works with the latest GA4 update. It’s eliminated standard reports, so you must customize your own. Luckily, that doesn’t take a herculean effort. Here’s how to customize your bounce rate reports in GA4: 1. Sign into Google Analytics as an Administrator or an Editor. 2. Click Reports on the left side menu. 3. Locate the report you wish to customize. 4. Click Customize Report on the top right corner of the screen. 5. Click Metrics in the Report Data menu. 6. Click Add Metric. 7. Click Engagement Rate and Bounce Rate. 8. Click Apply. Why Bounce Rate Matters Bounce rate is a crucial online marketing metric because it grades how well you connect with your audience. High bounce rates indicate a low resonance between your content and the target audience. However, the average website bounce rate varies wildly across industries. Bounce rates range from 27.92% in the clothing niches to a mind-boggling 48.22% in the IT sector. Comparing your site’s bounce rates with your industry’s standard can help you take timely corrective measures. Tracking bouncing rates is crucial for sites that rely primarily on content marketing to drive traffic. You get detailed feedback on content performance. If your audience finds your content helpful and engaging, your bounce rate remains low. Conversely, high bounce rates signify that your content doesn’t meet the needs of your target audience. Additionally, low organic traffic engagement means there’s a disconnect between the content and the search intent. How to Improve the Bounce Rate of a Website While many factors can affect the normal website bounce rate, none of them holds a candle to content quality and relevance. Ensuring your content matches search intent and addresses the needs of your audience is half the battle. Here are eight proven ways to increase your engagement rates: Address your site’s technical performance: Technical errors, such as slow loading speeds, create a poor first impression. Web users are quick to leave pages that take more than 3 seconds to load — they don’t stick around long enough to read your content and review your offers. Improve user experience: Intrusive ads and pop-ups are annoying and will likely cause visitors to click away. Use pop-ups wisely and ensure the ads don’t ruin the user experience. Refine your storytelling: Weaving compelling stories into your content can skyrocket your engagement rates and inspire readers to share and bookmark your content. Update your content frequently: Web users abhor outdated information because it wastes their time and does not meet their needs. Peppering your site with fresh and up-to-date information creates a positive first impression and earns the trust of your readers. Refine your buyer persona: Refining your buyer persona offers rare insights into your target audience. It lets you understand their needs, preferences, and pain points, which informs your ability to create compelling content that resonates with them. Craft compelling meta descriptions: Web visitors read the meta description to determine if the page’s content addresses their needs. Detailed and persuasive descriptions drive more clicks … Read more

How to Generate Backlinks That Will Boost Your Website Search Engine Ranking

February 6, 2025December 26, 2024 by Rachel Moffett

If you build it, they will come. This may be true for magical baseball fields in Iowa. But to boost your website’s search engine ranking, you need to do more than just build a site and wait. Search engine ranking, or where your website lands on a search engine results page, is inherently linked to website traffic volume. The higher you rank, the more traffic you tend to see. Many factors play into how well your site is ranked, including quality of content, page authority, and even URL length. One of the most important, and often overlooked, elements of achieving a desirable ranking is generating high-quality backlinks. A backlink is created when another website links to yours. Search engines view these links as recommendations or votes of confidence for your site. The more authority a linking site has with a search engine, the more valuable that backlink is to your authority. Below is a simple diagram depicting types of hyperlinks. Read on to learn how to generate backlinks to your website like an SEO expert. Why You Should Generate Backlinks Because the cool kids are doing it. No, really. Envision a quality backlink as that popular friend at school who will introduce you to the people you want to know. Generating backlinks is a way of networking your website to gain audience and authority. And much like when you network in person, the more people who link to you, the stronger your industry presence becomes. Rank Higher on Search Engine Results Pages A recent SEO study conducted by Backlinko found that the “#1 result in Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than positions #2-#10.”. Additionally, sites with backlinks from many different domains ranked higher than sites with less diversity in their links. The following chart depicts the correlation between backlinks and ranking. See an Increase in Referral Traffic A high-quality backlink, from a trusted source with a solid web presence, can provide a steady stream of new traffic for your site. Even “no follow” links, or those that don’t directly count toward search engine ranking, can ultimately benefit your website’s SEO by increasing traffic to your site and adding diversity to your backlink portfolio. Get Indexed by Web Crawlers Faster Search engines use website crawlers (also known as spiders) to gather and parse internet content. These search engine bots scan a website’s pages and index its information. Then, when you perform an internet search, an algorithm is applied to this index and the websites with relevant content appear on the search engine results page (SERP). Given that there are billions of web pages, the spiders start with a list of known sites and look for hyperlinks to add to the crawl list. More popular and authoritative sites tend to get crawled first. Getting a backlink from a quality source can put you on the fast track to getting noticed on SERPs. Increase Authority and Brand Awareness Think back to the school metaphor. If a friend you trust and admire introduces you to a new person, you might immediately feel more positive toward them given the common ground. Similarly, when someone clicks on your link from a site with authority, it can help improve your authority through association. Website backlinks from popular companies can also help increase your brand awareness. It’s like distributing your product through a major retailer versus selling it at a local market. The more people who see your name, the more potential customers you have. 4 Website Backlink Strategies That Will Boost Your Ranking An experienced backlink generator knows that link building can yield bountiful results, but they also know it can be a long and arduous process. Luckily, there are many ways for you to successfully generate quality backlinks and rank higher on search engines. A little bit of hard work and patience will go a long way in helping you develop a robust backlink portfolio for your website. Here are four industry-proven backlinking methods. 1. Generate Foundational Links on Social Media and Business Review Sites Aptly named, foundational links are some essential building blocks of an SEO strategy. These types of backlinks are a natural step forward after publishing your website and they’re the first chance for your site to gain traffic and get crawled. The links that you place on your business’s Facebook page or LinkedIn profile to direct people to your site are two common examples of foundational links. Social media links don’t technically count in page ranking, but they’re still a valuable contribution toward your internet presence, especially when first starting your SEO campaign. Guest posting for websites in your niche is also a good starting point. In these posts, you can include relevant links to your website that help build your backlink portfolio and boost your domain authority. Bonus — you get the benefit of building professional relationships with your peers. Internal links, though they’re not technically backlinks, can be considered foundational as well. They are hyperlinks on one part of your website that link to another part of your site. These early internal links can help you begin to rank on SERPs for low-competition keywords in your niche that you highlight with anchor text. 2. Pack Your Pages with High-Quality Content People Want to Share While this should be a no-brainer, you’d be surprised how many website owners leave their pages devoid of good content. A sparse number of blog posts or a lot of poor-quality posts can equally work against your domain authority. Consistently publishing content that’s of high value to your industry, combined with an effective backlinking strategy, is a surefire way to get noticed. Start by doing industry research into trending topics and keywords and studying the content of popular competitors to get an idea of the type of well-ranking web pages. Note that content format also affects ranking. For example, “why” posts and infographics tend to get more clicks than listicles and general posts. Once you’ve compiled your research, write similar (but still … Read more

Best AI Content Detectors and 5 Ways to Avoid Failing an AI Detector

December 24, 2024 by Rachel Moffett

The rise of AI content creation has introduced both opportunities and challenges for writers, marketers, and businesses. On the one hand, AI tools promise efficiency. Conversely, they blur the line between human creativity and machine-generated text. This is where AI content detectors come into play. These tools help identify AI-written content so you can ensure originality in everything you publish. However, it’s important to note that these tools aren’t foolproof. Even human-written content can sometimes fail detection if it lacks quality. In this article, we’ll explore the best AI content detectors, how they work, and practical steps to ensure your content stands out while passing detection tests. How an AI Content Detector Works An AI content detector uses advanced algorithms to analyze text patterns and sentence structure to determine whether the content is AI-generated or written by a human. They will flag various issues, including: Repetitive Language: AI often overuses specific phrases or structures. Overused Clichés: A clear sign of lower-quality or AI-generated writing. Unnatural Tone: AI-written text sometimes lacks the rhythm and flow of human writing. These tools aren’t perfect, though. Poorly written human content can mistakenly be flagged as AI-generated, especially when stuffed with keywords or riddled with generic phrasing. This highlights the need for higher writing standards so your content can stand out above the rest. The Best AI Content Detectors for You to Try Ready to give these tools a try? Here are some of the best AI content detectors. 1. Grammarly’s AI Writing Tool Grammarly is a popular tool among writers as it’s a must for improving grammar and style, but did you know there’s an AI detector, too? Grammarly will scan your text for AI in real time and tell you the percentage of your content it thinks is AI-written. By breaking your text into smaller sections, it’ll highlight content typically written by tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and more. However, a paid Grammarly subscription is required to see which areas are likely AI. 2. Copyleaks Copyleaks is an award-winning AI detector that has been studying human writing for nearly 10 years. With almost a decade of experience collecting and analyzing data, it’s a great one to check out. It features an easy-to-use interface and can provide detailed reports that explain why specific text has been identified as AI. This feature makes it easy to rewrite content, but you need to subscribe to use it. 3. Originality.ai For a tool that does it all, Originality.ai is sure to be your friend. Not only is it an AI content detector, but it also serves as a plagiarism and fact checker. It’s said to have a high accuracy rate and can support multiple languages if you’re not creating content in English. It does require a subscription, so you’ll need to be prepared to sign up if you want to take advantage of its features. 4. ZeroGPT ZeroGPT was designed to detect AI-written content, specifically from platforms like ChatGPT. Copy and paste or upload a document to get your results. ZeroGPT will scan up to 15,000 characters for free. Should any of your content come back as an AI red flag, it’ll highlight problematic sentences so you can efficiently rewrite them. Should you want to use its premium features, a subscription is required. 5. QuillBot Once your text is uploaded, QuillBot will share the percentage of your content that’s AI-generated, AI-generated and AI-refined, human-written and AI-refined, and human-written. Any text that could be AI is highlighted to make it easy to see where you can improve. QuillBot also includes paraphrasing and grammar tools to quickly refine content before publishing. Non-Software Methods for Identifying AI Content As mentioned, these tools aren’t 100% reliable. Luckily, there are manual ways to spot potentially AI-generated text. Here’s what to look for when editing your content: Inconsistent Tone: Does the writing shift back and forth between being overly professional and casual? This change in tone can indicate AI wrote the text. Unusual Phrasing: Sometimes, AI creates odd sentence structures that can leave your content choppy. Generic Examples: If examples lack specifics, it could be a tell-tale sign of AI. Repetitive Patterns: AI can often repeat sentence structure, words, or ideas. These methods, paired with an AI content detector tool, will deliver the best results so that Google and its readers don’t perceive your content as AI-generated. Why Human-Written Content Can Fail AI Detectors Ironically, human writers can fall into patterns that make their work appear AI-generated even when it’s not. And when you’ve spent hours bringing your content to life, there’s nothing more frustrating. This happens because you’ve likely fallen victim to some of the most common writing culprits. The first mistake is keyword stuffing. If you’re overloading text with targeted terms, you risk disrupting the natural flow of your work. It becomes choppy and disjointed because it’s written more for a search engine than your human reader. Using generic phrasing, such as vague or repetitive language, mirrors AI tendencies and can put your content at risk of being flagged. Even content that lacks depth can read like a hastily generated response from an AI tool. The takeaway? Good writing isn’t just about avoiding AI detection. It’s about meeting higher standards of originality and engagement to rank well in search results and appeal to your readers. 5 Best Practices for Avoiding AI Detection Issues Are you worried about your human-written content failing an AI-written content detector? You aren’t alone. Here are some best practices you can implement to avoid any issues moving forward. 1. Write for Humans First The internet is saturated, and the pressure to stand out online is greater than ever. Everyone wants their content to land at the top of Google’s search results. Unfortunately, many are taking the wrong route to get there. Writing solely for Google or relying entirely on AI-generated content isn’t going to deliver the results you want. Instead, the best thing you can do is write with your human reader in mind. Focus on storytelling … Read more

7 Tips to Create Browsable Content for Web and Mobile Optimization

December 19, 2024 by Sarah Damron

There is a very high chance you are reading these posts on your smartphone. Smartphone usage is increasing, right along with smartphone capabilities. Phones have changed so much over the years. In your teens or young adulthood, you most likely only used cell phones to make calls, send text messages, and play the game Snake. Now, you have the entire internet at your fingertips. Because smartphones act as computers for many uses, users are no longer only restricted to using a computer for their daily browsing. After all, why haul around a heavy laptop when you can shop, game, and browse on a lightweight smartphone? Browsing content on mobile devices comes with its unique challenges. Is your content prepared for mobile optimization? We’ll walk you through seven tips on how to optimize your website for mobile readers by making it more browsable. How Is Mobile Usage Changing Content Marketing? A startling 95% of the U.S. own a smartphone. By 2025, an estimated 72% of internet users will be using smartphones to access the internet. That means three in every four website visitors may be logging on from their phones. Mobile optimization for this change can take many forms. You’ll first want to look over the technical aspects of your site. Make sure your site runs on both web browsers and smartphone browsers. A crucial part of optimizing for smartphones is keeping your images, video, and other media small so they don’t bog down mobile devices. You will also want to ensure your smartphone navigation is easy to use. Once you have your technical details ironed out, it’s time to dig deeper into your content on the device and how people interact with content on their smartphones. Think of the last time you read an article on a smartphone. While you may have sat down to read the article thoroughly, much of phone usage includes scrolling and quickly browsing. The user may not even have a specific end goal in mind. When you want to access something on the laptop, you must be intentional about the process. After all, laptops aren’t convenient to pull out anytime to check a quick fact. Those who use laptops do so with a specific purpose. However, phones are accessible at all times. Because of how often your smartphone visitors might visit your site to browse rather than sit down and digest content, you will want your content to be easily digestible for readers who want quick snippets on the go. What Are the Benefits of Browsable Content for Mobile Optimization? You don’t need to target serious readers ready to study your 2,000-word blog post to succeed. Mobile optimization through browsable content has several benefits. These benefits are not just for those reading on a smartphone but also for people browsing on their computer. Readers Can Find Information Easily What is one of the easiest books to navigate? I would argue it’s the dictionary or an encyclopedia. All the information is divided into chapters and in an organized manner. You can search by topic and first letter to find what you need to know. Browsable content has an organization that allows users to quickly identify what they need without spending hours scanning your copy, making your content convenient for smartphone users. You Can Keep Your Audience Engaged Longer There is a widely cited fact that people have an attention span of just 8.25 seconds. This may feel accurate with how short everything is becoming in the world. Ads are shortening, people speed up their videos (we all know you do it for those Loom videos!), and the use of short-form videos like TikTok is becoming more popular. There is even evidence that filmmakers are shortening their shots in movies to hold the viewer’s attention longer. However, how accurate is that information? Netflix’s data shows a different story, as people can spend hours watching a show. Social media usage also reflects how long people spend scrolling. That’s because how you engage with content will drastically alter your attention span. That’s why you might have no problem binge-watching your favorite show on TV but struggle to read a financial report from your CFO. When you create browsable content, you help connect with the reader and hold their attention longer. It’s a more engaging format, especially if paired with top-quality content. Your Content Is Easier to Digest Having small sections of content broken up is easier for people to process. It’s like reading a book broken up with chapters where you can focus on one topic at a time, helping you absorb the information in small increments rather than all at once. Because people who browse content on mobile devices can do so from anywhere, distractions may often exist around them. They aren’t just reading your content in a home office on their computer. They could be watching TV, on a lunch break, or riding the metro to work. Keeping your content easy to absorb makes reading more convenient in busy environments and on the go. You Can Rank for Snippets Browsable content helps with reading and improves your search engine ranking. Google is also catching on that more and more people prefer bite-sized nuggets of information. That’s why you will see a People Also Ask section, and now Google offers an AI Overview. Both items pull snippets of information from online content so readers can find quick answers. When you create quick answers for your readers, Google can use those short, easy-to-digest answers in their snippets, improving your search engine ranking alongside your readability. 7 Mobile Optimization Tips to Create Browsable Content If you want the benefits of browsable content, use these seven tips to optimize your blogs for mobile and web browsing. 1. Add Frequent Headings Headings will be your best friend for browsable content. They are like your chapter headings that tell people what they can find in each section. Break up your content with frequent headings to make finding exact information easy. They can … Read more

Does Your Company Have a Personal Business Writer?

December 17, 2024 by David Ingram

Your published content is your business’ ambassador to the world. The way a company communicates — whether through a blog, a brochure, or a website — shapes how customers perceive its brand. Yet, many businesses struggle to create compelling content that connects with their audience and drives valuable action. Most of these are likely lacking one thing in common — a dedicated business content writer. Recent content marketing data illustrates a growing demand for professional writing expertise in various forms of business content. Companies publishing 16 or more blog posts per month generate 4.5 times more leads than those publishing fewer than four. Moreover, long-form content — typically between 1,500 and 2,500 words — consistently ranks higher on Google than shorter pieces. However, if you’re currently getting your business content out by asking team members to wear a writer’s hat a few hours a week, these are challenging hurdles to clear. But dedicated business writers don’t just churn out words to a requested volume — they craft messages tailored to engage, inform, and persuade. They make your content feel authentic to the audience you actually want to reach in a format representative of what your brand stands for. Having a professional business writer behind your content is an investment in your company’s growth. In today’s saturated content market, someone who can translate your vision into effective, targeted messaging will help your business stand out against a drab background of generic fluff. Why Businesses Need Content Writers If you’re unconvinced your business would benefit from a personal business writer, consider the following details. 1. Challenges of Creating High-Quality Content The publishing pace and length of competitive business content can easily become a grueling death march for many small to medium-sized businesses. Without a dedicated resource, content creation typically becomes a side task for employees juggling other responsibilities. And the result is often rushed or inconsistent messaging. In their own words, 84% of B2B businesses report that creating quality content at scale is a significant persistent challenge. Over time, these gaps and inconsistencies hurt branding efforts and cause missed opportunities to connect with potential customers. 2. Business Writers Elevate Branding A professional business writer focused exclusively on crafting compelling, consistent content will help you define and refine your unique brand. By aligning all written materials — blog posts, website copy, white papers, and social media updates — on a common axis of intention, a business writer ensures your customers know what to expect from your brand. In today’s information-saturated market, consistent branding is indispensable for success, as 60% of B2B buyers say well-written, informative content across media types significantly influences their purchasing decisions. Beyond messaging, a skilled writer will also adapt content to different platforms and mediums, helping you communicate your message in the most engaging manner for each context. 3. The Importance of Professional Communication Clear and professional communication establishes trust and credibility. Conversely, sloppy or poorly written content will likely make your customers wonder what other important details you skimp on or ignore altogether. In today’s world where almost nothing is written without at least the assistance of auto-correction, the potential pitfalls of poorly written content include far more than just trivial typos or an occasional errant apostrophe. You won’t strike your customers as professional and authoritative if your content contains inaccurate technical terminology. Nor will you seem casual and warm if your writing is stilted and dry. Regardless of the image you wish to project, there are many more potential mismatches of medium and message than there are glove-like fits. Types of Projects a Personal Business Writer Can Handle A dedicated business writer can do more for you than just write blogs. Important content projects you can hand off to your writer include the following content types. 1. Website Content Many of your potential customers get their first impressions of your business from your website. And they do so with alarming haste. Studies have shown users begin to form positive or negative first impressions of websites in less than half a second and most will navigate away from pages in just five seconds if they don’t like what they see and read. As such, homepages and service pages need clear, engaging — and search-engine-optimized — language to capture attention and communicate effectively. A dedicated business writer ensures the tone and style align with your brand while delivering content that drives visitors to take action, such as making inquiries or purchases. 2. Blog Posts and Articles for Thought Leadership Regularly publishing high-quality blogs and articles is one of the most reliable ways to establish authority in your industry. A professional writer crafts informative, well-researched content that resonates with your audience and boosts your search engine rankings. Thought leadership articles help build trust by addressing customer pain points, offering solutions, and positioning your business as a go-to resource. 3. Marketing Materials: Brochures, Emails, and Sales Pages Marketing materials play an important role in acquiring and retaining customers. Brochures, email campaigns, and sales pages require a compelling copy to convey your unique value proposition. A skilled writer will know how to balance persuasive language with professionalism, giving you diverse materials to drive conversions and develop customer loyalty. 4. Social Media Content and Campaign Strategy Social media demands concise, attention-grabbing content tailored to the highly specific user preferences of each platform. You can give your business writer a single message or concept and they can tweak the core content to match the highest performing length, formatting, style, and tone of different social media. With professional writing, your social media presence becomes a powerful tool for increasing visibility and interaction. 5. Internal Documentation Clear, well-written internal documents enable effective communication within your organization. Policies, employee handbooks, and training manuals created by a business writer ensure that employees understand expectations and procedures, reducing confusion and keeping everyone on the same page. 6. Whitepapers, Press Releases, and Reports Whitepapers, press releases, and reports require meticulous research and a polished presentation. A dedicated writer will deliver … Read more

What Is Brand Consistency and Why Is It Important for Content Marketing?

December 12, 2024 by Sarah Damron

When you go grocery shopping, you select specific brands and items because you know what they taste like or how they pair with your meals. You would be very disappointed if one day you bought your favorite nacho cheese dip and it tasted much spicier than usual. It might even be enough to put you off that brand and encourage you to try a different one. Consistency is key to loyalty. Without being someone customers can rely on, recognize, and easily discover, you will have trouble maintaining customers. Learn the secret behind brand consistency in content marketing and five tips to help you improve your brand consistency. What Is Brand Consistency? Brand consistency is creating a recognizable and predictable brand. Brand consistency runs deeper than your products. It’s about creating consistency in every interaction and publication. No matter what you do or sell, it should all relate to the brand image you are trying to build. In content marketing, brand consistency includes: Consistent images Consistent content Consistent video More importantly, brand consistency is creating a personality for your brand. Just like your fashion choices, hobbies, and food help define you, your imagery and content will represent your brand. If you want a definition your customers can see and relate to, you must invest in brand consistency. Brand Consistency Examples You will become more than a brand name if you have a consistent brand. Think about the last time a friend described a brand in a way other than the name. For instance, if someone asked if you wanted to grab dinner at “The Golden Arches,” you would know they were talking about McDonald’s. If someone told you to “Just Do It,” you would instantly think of Nike. For some brands, like Starbucks, you just need to mention the product and they will be the first name that pops into your head. Below, you will see how Google uses color to create brand consistency, so no matter which app people use, they still have that tie back to Google. HubSpot’s resource center shows how consistent branding on your website helps unify your posts. Even though they cover a wide range of topics, they connect all their posts. The posts have similar writing styles and imagery. Just look at those post headers. Each has the same fun image style and orange color palette, giving the entire resource page a cohesive feel. Why Is Brand Consistency Important? Branding consistency builds a personality around your brand. Interacting with branded content feels similar to buying name-brand food versus eating generic store-brand food. It is familiar and often better quality. Here are four of the top benefits of building a consistent brand. Increases Trust People are more likely to trust you when you are familiar and predictable. Next time you go to Starbucks, look at the side of their cups. The baristas use lines on those cups as guides so they know precisely how much ice, coffee, and milk to add. In addition, they have consistent recipes for how much sweetener or shots of espresso to add to drinks. Because of those guides, you can always expect a similarly flavored drink. Imagine if, one day, the baristas decided to measure with their heart rather than those guides. You would never know whether your drink will be sweet or bitter. Eventually, you will lose trust in the coffee shop and go somewhere where you can predict the flavor of your beverage. By being a consistent brand through consistent content marketing, your audience and customers know what to expect and trust you because of that consistency. Builds Relationships Would you buy a product from a good friend’s business or a stranger’s business halfway across the country? Building relationships with your customers transforms your business into a trusted advisor. Your clients are more likely to turn to you for advice and products. That relationship comes from being someone your customers can get to know. As a brand, you should keep your personality and appearance the same across your content so your customers can recognize you and become comfortable with your brand, like a friend. This helps your audience connect with you. Encourages Loyalty Loyalty is the natural outcome of building trust and relationships. When someone trusts you and feels connected to you as a friend, they are likelier to remain loyal to you. About 72% of customers are loyal to one or more brands. There is comfort in reliability and predictability. When customers find a brand they can connect with or like the products, they will remain loyal. Establishes a Recognizable Brand We touched on this point earlier when discussing how easy it is to recognize Google’s apps. Building a consistent brand means more people recognize you across different platforms or even if you have other tools and products. Apple computers are so recognizable that animated movies will feature an Apple laptop, but switch out the logo with any other design, and viewers still know what brand it’s supposed to be. You can build brand recognition through consistent colors, design, speaking style, and logos. Not only will customers be able to find you easier, but you will also stand out among your competitors. 5 Ways to Improve Your Brand Consistency in Content Marketing Follow these five tips to unify your brand and create more consistent content. 1. Unify Your Imagery Brand consistency largely depends on what your content looks like. This includes: Colors Fonts Styles Formatting Here’s a look at two major chocolate companies: Hershey and Ghirardelli. You’ll first notice they both promote chocolate, yet they look entirely different. Hershey uses bright, fun colors and thick, bold text. All their imagery and colors reflect their brand and ideal audience. Ghirardelli has a more luxurious theme. The colors are natural browns, greens, and blues. This reflects their regular customers. Choose imagery for your social media, blog post images, and email templates that reflect your audience and who you want to be. Then, stick with those colors and … Read more

Do You Need a Niche Writer? Explore 9 Niches Our Experts Cover

February 6, 2025December 10, 2024 by David Ingram

Would you let the receptionist at your doctor’s office diagnose your illness? Probably not. Then why would you hire a generalist writer to cover niche content? It can be tempting to let your business slide by with generic website content as long as you’re ranking in search engines. But to truly turn those clicks into conversions, you need to stand out from the generic competition. You need a niche writer. What Is a Niche Writer? A niche writer specializes in creating content for a specific industry or topic. Cruise travel writers and engineering technical writers are two examples. Unlike content generalists, niche writers deeply understand industry terminology, trends, challenges, and customer needs. For instance, a legal writer will understand compliance standards and legal jargon, while a medical writer will know how to create accurate and empathetic content for healthcare providers and patients. This level of expertise ensures that the content resonates with its intended audience, builds trust, and positions your brand as a thought leader. In today’s AI-focused world, having a niche writer on your team is necessary. Generic content often gets lost in the noise, but in-depth, industry-specific content written by experts can set you apart. Why Hire a Niche Writer? You may have heard the term “jack of all trades, master of none.” A content generalist is sort of like this. They may have writing talent and SEO skills but lack the depth of knowledge required to serve your customers’ specific needs. Expert writers not only provide accurate and relevant content but also inspire customers’ trust and loyalty through increased brand authority. Niche writers offer benefits you can take to the bank. One business even saw a 300% increase in organic revenue by adding expert content to their website. Here are a few reasons why using a niche writer can be a total game-changer for your business. Earn Customer Trust and Loyalty with Topical Authority Your customers are smart. They know the difference between surface-level content and truly insightful information. And they’re more likely to trust and stay loyal to a company that provides the expert knowledge they need. An Edelman Trust Barometer special report found that consumer trust drives business growth more than ever. Over half of consumers surveyed proclaimed their loyalty (and their money) to brands they trust. By investing in a niche writer, you show your audience that you understand their needs, pain points, and goals — and that they can trust you as an industry authority. Grow Your Customer Base with Higher Rankings A website with in-depth, well-researched coverage of a topic will land higher on a search engine results page than one with a few superficial articles. This is partially thanks to topical authority — a measure of how well your content is valued within its industry by search engines. Additionally, Google’s updated E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) ranking guidelines emphasize the importance of high-quality, first-hand insights, reinforcing the need for expert-driven content. Backlinko’s 2024 SEO analysis highlights this shift, showing that expert voices are now more critical than ever. Customers naturally gravitate toward brands that demonstrate credibility through professional authorship. This trend is echoed by Surfer SEO’s recent survey, where 90% of SEO professionals identified topical authority as essential to their strategy. A niche writer understands the nuances of your industry. They know specific phrases and search terms your target audience uses. They’ll craft content that naturally incorporates these keywords while providing real value to readers, leading to higher rankings on search engine results pages. Better rankings mean more visibility, more clicks, and ultimately more conversions. Avoid Spreading Misinformation In some industries, accuracy is non-negotiable. Imagine a medical article providing outdated or incorrect information, or a legal guide omitting critical compliance details. Inaccurate content can lead to serious consequences for your readers — and your reputation. Expert writers ensure that your content is well-researched, up-to-date, and credible. 9 Niches Our Experts Cover Finding a talented and knowledgeable writer isn’t easy. We source writers who are not only skilled in their craft but also subject matter authorities in their field. We make sure our niche writers are relevant, coming from industries with some of the fastest-growing businesses, according to Merchant Machine’s global analysis. Here are nine (of the many) niches our experts cover. 1. Financial Money may not buy happiness, but it does power economies. Our financial writers understand complex topics like investment strategies, retirement planning, tax laws, and financial regulations. We hire financial experts with experience across all sectors like crypto, accounting, banking, and insurance. Whether you need whitepapers for institutional investors or blog posts for everyday savers, our financial writers create content that’s clear, actionable, and tailored to your audience’s knowledge level. 2. Medical The healthcare industry thrives on trust and accuracy. From patient education materials to marketing content for medical devices, our writers specialize in creating content that is both empathetic and scientifically accurate. Wellness, fitness, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology are just a few areas we cover. Need proof? Read our article about why hiring a medical writer can be a critical choice. 3. Construction In an industry built on precision, our construction writers lay a strong foundation for your niche content. We write for contractors, architects, and suppliers, covering topics like sustainable building practices, industry trends, and project management strategies. Our writers can craft everything from case studies about successful projects to instructional guides for specialized equipment. 4. Manufacturing Manufacturing is the backbone of innovation, and our manufacturing writers bring technical expertise to this critical sector. Whether you’re a small-scale producer or a global industrial giant, we craft content that showcases your products, processes, and achievements. Think product manuals, whitepapers on industry advancements, or marketing materials that demystify complex manufacturing processes. 5. Legal The legal industry relies on precision and compliance, and our legal writers deliver on both fronts. They can create content that simplifies legal concepts for a general audience or dive deep into legal nuances for professionals. From writing about contract law to producing content for law … Read more