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4 Agencies Who Have Used Express Writers

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Expert blog plans

Since Express Writers was founded in 2011, we have had the pleasure of working with tons of incredible clients from around the world. In fact, we’ve served over 5,000 clients since our virtual doors opened. Many of those clients are agencies who decided to outsource their content creation to us. Our team has created a wide array of content for them, everything from long-form blogs to web page copy, video scripts, and more. They entrust us with such an important task because they’ve come to expect the highest quality from our writers and a team that cares about their content from our leadership. Not only that, but they’ve seen firsthand the results that come from publishing valuable online content. And that’s what keeps them coming back to our team time and time again. Sounds great, right? But what exactly has the experience been like for some of the agencies who have used Express Writers? Keep reading to learn about the results four different agencies received. Marketing Labs Saw Their Monthly Website Traffic Double Matt Janaway, CEO of Marketing Labs, made the decision to contact Express Writers upon realizing that the two copywriters on his team couldn’t possibly handle all the work that was pouring in from their expanding clientele. He couldn’t risk them rushing assignments or stretching themselves too thin, nor was he in a position to hire a third full-time copywriter. So, the only option was to outsource. Otherwise, Janaway knew the final product would suffer. As a result, he turned to us, joining the list of agencies who have used Express Writers for their content creation. Janaway had three main requirements for the copywriters who tackled his projects: quality, speed, and knowledge of content and digital marketing. Describes our team perfectly, don’t you think? Here’s what Janaway had to say about reaching out to us: “Our only other real option was to use an alternate supplier for the content due to the scale. I know of some but was impressed with the quality and speed of Express Writers in previous projects. So it was a no-brainer for me.” After contacting us, our team took the reins and got to work immediately. We successfully created and implemented a content plan for the Marketing Labs blog. We even took it a step further by cleaning up and optimizing product description copy for one of their clients. And the results were impressive! Here’s what happened: Website Traffic Doubled: Marketing Labs saw their monthly website traffic double from 25,000 page views to 50,000 page views. That’s one of the most common metrics we see increase with our clients because optimized content ranks higher in search results, ultimately attracting more readers. A Blog Gained Over 2,000 Social Media Shares: As a creator, it’s always a good feeling when you see someone sharing your content on social media. So, you can only imagine how thrilled the Marketing Labs team must have been when they saw one of their blog posts reach over 2,000 social media shares. That’s a powerful way to boost website traffic and generate brand awareness. Their Client’s Revenue Skyrocketed: Our writers thoughtfully crafted new product description and web copy for one of Marketing Labs’ clients as well. That client saw a 77% increase in revenue year-over-year after their content had been successfully optimized. Does it get any better than that? It’s results like this that remind us why we love to create content and serve our clients. After all, it’s our mission to ensure they see a return on their investment every time they work with us. We couldn’t be more grateful for clients like Matt Janaway who entrust us with their content. Ryan Stewart Received an In-Depth, Publish-Ready Ebook When Ryan Stewart of The Blueprint Training turned to Express Writers, he shared that his agency no longer did content creation. Knowing what a huge undertaking it is to create great content, this wasn’t surprising. But when Stewart found himself with an ebook he wanted to publish, he knew he needed to get outside help since his agency’s team members couldn’t take on the job. He came to Express Writers having written 30,000 words that needed editing. He also wanted to add between 20,000-30,000 more words to the ebook by way of ghostwriting. And that’s where our team came in. One of our trained Authority-level writers took on this task. Within three and a half months, we were able to help Stewart complete his ebook and finally get it ready for publication. When you consider the research required and the amount of content that needed writing, that was an impressive turnaround time! Here’s what Stewart had to say about his experience with us: “I can vouch for the quality [of content]. I’m really impressed… You guys have done a tremendous job. Unless you have somebody in-house, it’s definitely worth it to go out and contract a company like Express Writers to get the right stuff done.” Nfusion Solutions Saw Their Content Ranking on the First Page Isn’t it every creator’s dream to see their content ranking on the first page of the Google search results? When that happens, it’s a clear sign that you’ve done your job well. Not only that, but it opens you up to a world of opportunities as more website traffic will surely begin flowing your way. For agencies that use Express Writers, you can expect to see your content begin to earn rankings. Our team previously worked with Joe Bell, the CEO and co-founder of Nfusion Solutions. We helped him develop a content strategy and wrote copy for the company website’s product-specific pages. Although Bell felt his niche was a tough one, our writers tackled his projects with ease. Afterward, he shared with us that, in just a few weeks, his new web pages were already ranking on the first page of the Google search results for their desired keywords. That’s just what optimized content can do for you! It’ll bring in tons of traffic, … Read more

SEO Content Services: What We Do and Why We Do It

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SEO Content Writing

A crucial step to getting discovered online is taking the time to optimize your content for search engines like Google. If you choose not to factor SEO into your content, you’ll miss out on tons of search traffic. Instead of attracting people to your website, they’ll likely find the content they’re looking for from one of your competitors, causing you to miss out on engagement, sales, and more. Although we know SEO is important, it’s something that many content creators have struggled to master. Trying to understand the best practices and keep up with algorithm changes from Google can be tricky. Instead of handling everything yourself, why not find SEO content services from a reputable agency and outsource? That’s where Express Writers can help. To give you a better understanding of how our content agency works, let’s talk about what we do, how we do it, and why we’re so passionate about creating first-rate content. What We Do at Express Writers Since 2011, the team at Express Writers has been crafting high-quality content for clients from a variety of industries (marketing, finance, tech, legal, etc.). It’s our expertise and our dedication to the craft that has allowed us to serve over 5,000 clients, ultimately completing more than 40,000 projects. Plus, our wide range of services can match any of your custom content needs. After all, we understand the importance of quality content as part of your overall marketing strategy. The content you publish is typically the first impression people get of your brand. If they like what they read and see you as an expert in your field, they’re more likely to come back for more and potentially purchase your products and services in the future. Here at Express Writers, we have flexible options that meet the highest standards: ●      General, Expert, Specialist, and Authority Content: The four different levels of our SEO content services allow us to cater to budgetary needs and technical know-how. ●      Contract-Free Model: You don’t have to worry about being locked into any sort of contract when booking a project with Express Writers. ●      Managed Agency Service: We also provide content at scale for agencies looking for a team to handle all of their writing and editing needs. Our team also understands SEO, meaning they can craft expert web pages and other content formats that will rank high in search results. Just visit our Content Shop to check out all of our available services along with complete details and pricing. How We Do It Did you know that Express Writers hires writers based on their industry experience? The specialists on our team have years of on-the-job experience and advanced degrees, allowing them to create accurate, high-quality content to establish your brand as an authority in its field. The management team then matches you with the perfect writer for your project from our growing team of writers and staff, ensuring we deliver the best quality with our SEO content services. After completing the writing, your piece gets passed to our meticulous editors. They review the content to fine-tune the copy or catch any minor typos before we deliver it to you. This is just one way we’re committed to making sure the content you receive is done right the first time. Why We Do It Here at Express Writers, our team understands the power of great content. Through the content you publish, you’re able to attract people to your website, showcase your expertise and authority, and generate conversions. With our help, you can outsource the entire content creation process (everything from planning, to writing, and even finding stock photos) to our team, allowing you to scale your business more rapidly. Get Quality Content From Express Writers Whether you’re an agency, a marketer, or an entrepreneur, we offer top-notch SEO content services to help you get recognized online. Instead of stressing about SEO, let the experts take over and create content designed to boost your search engine rankings and build trust with your audience. Contact us today to learn more about how our team can meet your content needs.

How to Use Keywords in Your Content for Maximum SEO Impact

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New Year’s Tip: How to Involve Great SEO Keyword Research in Your Content Writing

We’re facing a content revolution the likes of which we’ve never seen before. There are more than 500 million blogs across over 1.8 billion websites on the worldwide web. More than 2 million new blog posts are published daily. That’s right – 2 million. Every. Single. Day. There are also more people turning to search engines for information than we’ve seen in the past. Before the pandemic, Google search traffic hovered around 3.6 billion searches per day. Since March 2020, it’s consistently been 6+ billion searches per day. That’s enough to make your head spin! So much demand, so much new content… How on earth are you going to compete so your content makes it to the top of that information flood? To start, do you know how to use keywords in your content correctly? There’s a reason some websites consistently land prime spots in featured snippets and page one of Google’s results. Want to know their secret formula? Great content + strategic focus keywords + search engine optimization (SEO). That’s it. Those three primary components are what separate the high traffic content from the bottom-of-the-barrel, lost-in-the-void content. While you should absolutely learn as much as you can about SEO writing and how to produce phenomenal content, this discussion is going to focus on the keyword aspect of the ranking equation, including how to research and use keywords in your content. Need help with your writing projects? Our specialty content service partners you with an expert writer to create in-depth authority content optimized for the keywords YOU choose, starting at $84. [bctt tweet=”There’s a reason some websites consistently land prime spots on page 1 of Google’s results. Their secret formula? 👩‍🔬 ➡Great content + strategic focus keywords + search engine optimization (SEO).⬅ Learn how to use it on @ExpWriters:” username=””] What Is a Focus Keyword? Let’s start with the basics. A focus keyword is the search term you want your content to rank for in search engines. This means, if you’re writing about creating click-worthy social media content, for example, you want your post to be one of the first shown in Google when someone types “how to write engaging social media posts” in the search box. The best focus keywords are known as long-tail keywords. These are phrases that are longer and more specific than shorter, more common keywords. In the example above, “social media” would be a broad, general search term, but “how to write engaging social media posts” is a highly specific search phrase. When someone types that long-tail keyword into Google, their search intent is clear. They’re looking for instructional content. They don’t want the history of social media, or a link to Facebook, or instructions to reset their Twitter password, all of which are topics that could technically fall under the general “social media” keyword. Long-tail keywords are niche-based. They have a lower search volume and therefore less competition, which means you have a much higher chance of beating out a dozen websites for the top spot compared to thousands of websites fighting over a more general search term. The search demand graph below demonstrates how long-tail keywords earned their name: It’s much better to be on page one for a long-tail keyword than it is to be on page 397 for a popular keyword. Spoiler alert: Even if that popular focus keyword has a ton of traffic potential, nobody is going to click all the way to page 397 to find your content. [bctt tweet=”It’s much better to be on page one for a long-tail keyword than it is to be on page 397 for a popular keyword. 1️⃣📏🎯” username=”ExpWriters”] Long-tail keywords also have much higher conversions associated with them. This goes back to search intent – people looking up long-tail keywords have a specific goal, especially if they’re starting their search with “how to.” There’s no guesswork involved. You know what your targeted visitor is looking for, and you can provide it. Successful content marketers aren’t pulling random long-tail keywords out of a hat like magicians. They’re investing their time in keyword research related to their market niche so they can take a strategic approach when using those keywords in their content. Hey, content strategy can be tricky. If you want to formulate a winning content marketing strategy with optimized keywords, we’re here to help! How to Research a Keyword with SEO in Mind Keyword research is a critical first step in any content marketing strategy, before you write the first word of your article. Skipping this step all but guarantees your content will flop! We talked about finding long-tail, low-competition focus keywords. However, those keywords MUST be relevant to your market niche if your content is going to perform. So, how do you find that optimal sweet spot between relevancy and low competition? Start by making a list of broad topics that: Genuinely interest you Pertain to your industry, market, and/or niche Are relevant to your audience We’re not looking at long-tail keywords yet in this stage. All we’re doing is coming up with general search topics, and then we’ll get more detailed from there. Once you have a solid list of ideas, start thinking about subtopics for each category. Consider the search intent of these terms – how will your audience likely be using this information? What are they searching for beyond just the general word or phrase? Keyword research tools such as Semrush, KWFinder, and Ahrefs can help you analyze your subtopics to discover search volume, ranking probability, and synonymous keywords and phrases to target. Another tip is to rely on the power of Google. Type in your keyword and scroll to the bottom of the search engine results page (SERP). Here, you’ll find alternative phrases based on what people have been actively searching for on Google, so you know these results will be relevant. Ideally, you should have at least one primary keyword (the main focus) and one or two secondary keywords (related terms). If you choose a … Read more

How Important Is Content to SEO? Google Says It Could “Likely Matter More Than Any Other Factor”

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How Important Is Content to SEO? Google Says It Could “Likely Matter More Than Any Other Factor”

When Google says an SEO ranking factor is important, marketers need to sit up straight and listen. Why? Considering Google controls more than 90% of web searches, it’s safe to say they’re an authority on the subject. With that kind of monopoly, Google’s ranking factors and page-quality guidelines are what drive SEO best practices, which is important for content marketing. Before the pandemic, Google search traffic averaged around 3.6 billion searches per day. But since March 2020, that search traffic has grown to more than 6 billion. That’s an extra 2.4 BILLION more daily searches than there used to be! SEO drives that traffic to the best content on the web. It’s such a successful marketing strategy that SEO has been shown to drive more than 1,00% more traffic than organic social media. 53.3% of all website traffic originates from organic searches. So, what’s the connection between content and SEO, and why does Google place such a high value on content? It’s all in today’s blog. First, let’s start with the basic question… What Is SEO? SEO stands for search engine optimization. While it technically includes all search engines, the main focus is Google (for reasons we already covered). Then why is content important for SEO? Simply put, content and SEO go hand in hand. SEO content writing is the practice of writing optimized web content with the primary goal of being ranked in the top results of a search engine results page (SERP). Great content that isn’t optimized for search engines isn’t going to perform well. Neither will phenomenal SEO methods executed on poor content. While content and SEO are two different subjects, they must work in tandem in order to form a successful content marketing strategy. [bctt tweet=”Content and SEO go hand in hand. ? Great content that isn’t optimized for search engines won’t perform well. Neither will phenomenal SEO methods executed on poor content. Learn to put two and two together via @ExpWriters ➕” username=””] A Guide on Content and SEO: 5 Steps to Optimize Your Content for Search Engines Let’s rewind back to Google and why the search engine giant believes content is so important for SEO. Google’s primary function is to generate the most relevant, helpful articles when someone types a topic or question into the search engine. So, logically, it makes sense that Google is going to prioritize content that is high-quality and serves to help, educate, or entertain based on what the searcher is looking for. Marketers put a lot of effort into making educated guesses about which factors Google uses in its ranking algorithm. But the importance of content isn’t even a guess – Google tells us how critical it is in their SEO starter guide: Google hit the nail on the head when it claimed “users know good content when they see it.” They do. That’s why two driving forces behind what constitutes as good content can be traced back to acronyms in Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines: E.A.T. (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): 3 factors Google uses to rate content quality Y.M.Y.L. (Your Money or Your Life): Content that can potentially impact a reader’s financial, physical, and/or mental health and happiness Below, we’ll explore how to optimize content for SEO while ensuring high relevancy and quality. 1. Research Would you try to build a house without a blueprint? I certainly hope not! The same principle applies when you start pumping out content without doing any research or preparation beforehand. It all starts with a focus keyword within your niche. You also need to understand your audience’s search intent. If you’re targeting the keyword “birthday cake,” what are your targeted readers actually looking for? A local bakery? A recipe to bake a birthday cake at home? Your content needs to target the correct audience. Pro tip: Google is a FREE way to easily find synonymous keywords. You can generate a list of suggestions when you type your focus keyword into the search bar. You can also discover more synonymous keywords at the bottom of the SERP page where Google suggests related searches. [bctt tweet=”Pro tip: Google is a FREE way to easily find synonymous keywords. You can generate a list of suggestions when you type your focus keyword into the search bar. ?✅” username=”ExpWriters”] Keyword research tools will give you a better idea of how traffic and competition affect your focus keyword. While there are free keyword research tools available, I don’t recommend them. After researching paid vs. free keyword tools in the SEO content writing course that I teach, I discovered that some of the free tools provided misleading data. My top 3 keyword research tools I highly recommend: Ahrefs Semrush KWFinder It’s tempting to target keywords that have high average monthly searches. But, especially if you have a new website, resist the temptation. Relevancy is much more important than search traffic. Look for easily attainable long-tail keywords that are specific to your audience and don’t have much competition. 2. Content Content is your most important ranking factor. I’ll say it again for those in the back – content is your MOST IMPORTANT ranking factor. Your content needs to: Be high quality Provide useful information Be relevant to your niche Be free of typos and grammatical errors Have a smooth flow that readers can follow Be at an average-to-low reading level for most viewers Cite trustworthy sources with links to credible websites (be sure to link directly to the source, not a link of a link) Your keyword, of course, is a critical piece of the puzzle. But keyword density is dead, so get it out of your mind. Instead of worrying about keyword density, you should be more concerned with strategic placement and topical content. If your writing stays on topic, you’ll naturally be using your keyword frequently enough for search engines to pick up on it. In addition, make sure you place your focus keyword in your title and URL. Use synonymous keywords throughout the article, especially in subheaders. … Read more

What Google Penguin Cracked Down On, and Why That Still Matters Today

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Post Penguin 2.0: How Do I Build SEO Friendly Web Content?

Google is the most popular search engine in the world – it captures over 86% of the market. In 2020, Google processed a mind-blowing 7 billion searches a day! Here’s a review of the top three searches from the past few years: 2018: World Cup, Hurricane Florence, and Mac Miller 2019: Disney Plus, Cameron Boyce, and Nipsey Hussle 2020: Election Results, Coronavirus, and Kobe Bryant When people perform searches, Google sifts through a flood of online content and ranks it by relevance and popularity. Over 90% of visitors click on first-page Google results because those websites are synonymous with quality content. How does Google keep its top results high quality? In 2012, Google introduced Google Penguin – a complex algorithm for detecting and penalizing websites that try and cheat the system through fake links and keyword stuffing. What Is Google Penguin? Ranking high on Google search isn’t a matter of luck. Google is very clear about what they expect from websites. It posts its Webmaster guidelines publicly for everyone to read. Websites that follow these guidelines have a higher chance of ranking near the top of results. What happens when website creators break these guidelines? That’s a question Google wanted to address in their 2012 search algorithm update. Developers designed Google Penguin’s algorithm to search for indicators of websites manipulating the system to steal top result spots – then penalized those websites by pushing them further down in search results. [bctt tweet=”Developers designed Google Penguin ? to search for indicators of websites manipulating the system to steal top result spots – then penalized those websites by de-ranking them. Learn why it still matters for SEO today.” username=”ExpWriters”] Some of the indicators Google Penguin looked for were poor-quality links. These are spam links or links that people purchased with the sole purpose of making a website appear higher quality than it is. Google reported over 3% of search results saw the effect of Google Penguin’s new algorithm. How Update 4.0 Changed Google Penguin Google Penguin went through seven significant updates over the years: Google Penguin – April 24, 2012 Google Penguin 1.1 – March 26, 2012 Google Penguin 1.2 – October 5, 2012 Google Penguin 2.0 – May 22, 2013 Google Penguin 2.1 – October 4, 2013 Google Penguin 3.0 – October 17, 2014 Google Penguin 4.0 – September 23, 2016 The last Google Penguin update, Google Penguin 4.0, brought an end to separate updates. Instead, Google Penguin became part of the core algorithm. The algorithm itself didn’t change. What changed is how Google connected to Penguin. With Google Penguin as part of the core algorithm, websites saw immediate results in their search rankings. Website content creators no longer look at Google Penguin updates for the latest guidelines on website content, but at Google’s algorithms as a whole, since they’re now the same. Another change that took place with Google Penguin 4.0 is how Google punished websites that cheated the system. Screenshot: Search Engine Journal The new update doesn’t punish websites as severely as previous versions. The first Google Penguin updates penalized whole domains for spam links – causing webpages to sometimes drop out of results entirely. Penguin 4.0 only penalizes subpages and specific URLs. The new Penguin update also allows websites to regain their rankings faster by correcting faulty links. The 5 Steps of Google’s Search Algorithm Today What does Google’s algorithm look like today – and how can your website rank on the first page? Google lists five steps that it takes every time someone performs a search. Using these five steps to customize your content, you can gain high rankings while avoiding penalties from Google Penguin. 1. Interprets a Person’s Meaning When you enter a search into Google, the search engine analyzes not just the individual words – but the semantics of your search. This analysis consists of correcting misspellings, including synonyms in results, and identifying the context of the search. Content creators benefit from this algorithm because it means you don’t have to know the exact words people are searching for. Your blog post on “The 5 Best Ways to Clean Your Car” also has a chance to rank when people search “best ways to clean your vehicle”. 2. Finds the Most Relevant Results Have you ever heard of keywords? They’re one of the two most important ranking factors. A keyword is a term or phrase that’s used repeatedly on a page. Repeating a keyword helps Google identify that page as a relevant result for a topic. For example, this post’s keyword is “Google Penguin”. When people search for information on Google Penguin, Google will see how often this post mentions their algorithm and is more likely to suggest a reader visit our website. Not all keywords are equal. Over 92% of keywords get fewer than ten monthly searches. That’s because people don’t always search for the keywords content creators use. If you want to know what keywords people search for, try two easy methods: 1. Begin a search query on Google and write down Google’s suggested searches. 2. Search your page’s topic – then scroll down to the bottom of your search results for related searches. [bctt tweet=”Want to find out what keywords people actually use? ? 1) Search for a topic on Google. ? 2) Write down Google’s suggested searches (the autocomplete text that pops under the search box) and related searches (at the bottom of the page).” username=”ExpWriters”] You can learn how to use keywords most effectively on your site by enrolling in the Expert SEO Content Writer Course. 3. Assesses the Quality of Websites How does Google know if a website is reliable? First, Google’s algorithm looks for popular websites. As people visit, comment, and interact with your site – your site moves up in rankings. Second, Google looks at inbound and outbound links. When other websites link back to your content, Google sees this as a sign that you produce high-quality content. The more sites that link to your website, the … Read more

The Scoop on Backlinking & Content: How Should Getting Links Fit into Your Content Marketing Today?

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The Scoop On Backlinking & Content: How Should

Here are some questions that haunt many a marketer… Does backlinking really matter that much? If so, how do we “get” backlinks? The resounding answer to the first question is yes, absolutely. The second part is a little bit trickier. Backlinks do help your visibility in Google search. But you don’t need to work on “getting” them. There’s a better, more organic way that leads to stronger results. Let’s discuss. ➡ Should You Focus on Backlinking as a Content Marketing Strategy? No. Does a good backlink profile help you rank better in Google? Absolutely. Do you need to spend hours per week on a link building strategy to earn them? Absolutely not. Even further, you don’t need to have a backlinking strategy to build a brand with real authority that lasts over time. Instead, building your backlinks should be a byproduct of building a great brand. If you put the latter first, you’re skipping over an important step. What should you do, instead? Earn your links, don’t build them.  Now, this is the longer road, and it takes more commitment, but it’s more sustainable, too. Ultimately, building your authority over time will also build stronger backlinks to your site, naturally. In contrast, focusing on building backlinks to the detriment of your content strategy as a whole is akin to building a house of cards versus a house of solid stone. Backlinks you weasel out of thin air can vanish in a second. Backlinks you earn as part of a strong content strategy and a strong brand presence will stay with you and grow over time. So, how do you accomplish it all? 1. Focus on Consistency Be consistent in how often you publish content, and only publish the best quality you can produce. Invest in a consistent brand presence across your website, web pages, content, and even your social media channels. Keep it up over time. 2. Focus on Growing Your Expertise Add value to your industry by growing your expertise and sharing your original ideas over time. As you grow as an expert (whether you read tons of books, take online courses, or just continually reflect on your experience as an entrepreneur and common industry pain points), you’ll also have some amazing wisdom that blooms alongside your knowledge. Share it! Your original thoughts and ideas will separate you from the pack of “experts” sharing regurgitated information. When you have something fresh to add to the conversation, that’s valuable to your audience, who are looking to learn from you. 3. Focus on Guest Blogging Once you’re in a rhythm of creating great content, lend some of your energy to creating content for publication on guest blogging platforms. This how you reach a bigger audience that overlaps with yours, not to mention grow your brand and build your authority on a bigger scale. To find guest blogging opportunities, just google “your industry” + “publications to guest blog for.” Remember to only publish stellar content, and always include your site link in your bio/author byline! [bctt tweet=”Building backlinks should be a byproduct of building a great brand. If you put the latter first, you’re skipping over an important step. What should you do, instead? Earn your links, don’t build them. ? More on @ExpWriters:” username=””] Now that we’ve cleared up why you shouldn’t laser-focus on your backlink strategy at the expense of your brand (i.e., don’t put the cart before the horse! ?), let’s take a deeper look at the inner workings of backlinking. How Backlinks Have Changed Over the Years Link building, or backlinking, has changed a lot since it started. Years ago, the standard was to focus on what was known as low-influence linking to build up your credibility. Low-influence links were links that pushed domain diversity even if they were not necessarily links that were perceived authorities in a given sector. The idea was to amass hundreds of links that pointed to domains all over the place that would lead back to your site and raise your ranking. Domain diversity would theoretically lend itself to credibility and therefore boost your overall visibility. It worked once upon a time, but in the end, domain diversity proved to be fruitless as opposed to lucrative. Links like that are not the way to go today. Instead, you want to focus on quality over quantity, but what exactly does that mean? I’m glad you asked. The Differences Between Quality Links and Quantity of Links As was stated, it was common practice to link to hundreds and hundreds of low-ranking sites to raise your rank, but over time, it made more sense to work smarter and not harder. That means working for quality links compared to the quantity of links. In other words, you wouldn’t want to include a link to a power tool company when you are reading an article about nutritional well-being, right? On the other hand, if you wrote an article about post-workout foods that help you recover faster, then you want to link to studies from credible and well-established sites that support your claims. Quality links point back to relevant content and trustworthy websites. You want to focus on the best links that are relevant to your content and go to top-ranked sites. Cultivating quality links takes an extended amount of time to build credibility, but once it is established, it lasts compared to the low-influence links of the past. Know Where to Place Your Links Did you know? There’s a strategic way to place links in your content. In every quality content piece you come across, the link placement is not random – there’s a rhyme and a reason for every single link you see in the material you read every day. On web pages, have you ever noticed there are links both in the content itself as well as at the bottom of the page, in the footer or navigational area? The first example is a screenshot of an article from political site ThinkProgress. You can see that ThinkProgress … Read more

5 of the Most Horrible, No-Good SEO Content Mistakes (& How to Avoid)

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5 of the Most Horrible, No-Good SEO Content Mistakes (& How to Avoid)

What’s holding you back from incredible visibility in Google search? Is it your strategy? …Or is it your execution? The best content plan in the world won’t get you anywhere if you’re making these simple yet deadly SEO content mistakes. 5 SEO Content Mistakes Plaguing Your Marketing (& Fixes) These SEO content mistakes are super common but totally rectifiable. If you’re committing any of them, don’t worry – I have some practical solutions to bring your content back to life. [bctt tweet=”What’s holding you back from incredible visibility in Google? Is it your strategy? …Or your execution? The best content plan in the world won’t get you anywhere if you’re making these simple yet deadly SEO content mistakes. ?” username=”ExpWriters”] 1. Targeting the Same (or Similar) Keywords in Multiple Content Pieces Want to know a great way to shoot yourself in the foot with SEO? Lose track of the content pieces you’ve published, including which keywords you’ve already targeted. Then accidentally target a keyword you’ve already tried to rank for in a new blog. If the search intent for that keyword hasn’t changed over time, the blogs will end up being incredibly similar – too similar. Now you have two pages on your site competing for the same search intent, traffic, and clicks. As a result, neither will do very well in search engines, because you’re essentially splitting the spoils. (There’s a technical, dramatic term for this problem: keyword cannibalization.) What to Do Instead First, keep track of your content pieces in all stages of the creation process, from the initial idea to the final published blog, article, what-have-you. This means a content calendar is your best friend (Airtable, Trello, and Notion are nice options). Include information on the keywords you targeted for each piece. Second, be careful with search intent. Some keywords may be worded very differently from those you’ve already used, but have an identical search intent (i.e., the reason why a user types those keywords into Google). For example: “Which iPhone should I buy” and “best iPhone to buy right now” only share a few words, but the search intent behind them is identical. Instead of creating two content pieces targeting each keyword, you should choose one to focus on while including the other inside the piece as a related keyword. 2. Writing Overwrought, Irrelevant Meta Descriptions What a worse SEO content mistake than skipping out on writing unique meta descriptions for each page of your site? Writing bad ones. The difference between a good meta description and a bad one: Whether it entices your reader to click your link in the results… Or turns them off entirely. Whether it’s relevant enough to appear in Google results… Or so irrelevant that Google skips it in favor of auto-filling text from your body content. Relevance, in particular, is huge. [bctt tweet=”A GOOD meta description for #seocontent: ✅ Entices your reader to click your link in Google (vs. turning them off entirely). ✅ Relevant enough to appear in the results (versus Google auto-filling).” username=”ExpWriters”] Look at this meta description from an Eater article ranking for “best burgers in the U.S.”: As you can see, Google auto-filled the description with snippets of the body content from the article. They often do this when no meta description is specified. Yet, Eater did specify a meta description, as you can see from their source code: It reads, “Introducing the burger lover’s ultimate bucket list, from classic iterations to the best bistro burgers.” What’s the problem, here? Why didn’t Google use it? Irrelevance. The keyword is missing from this description. The description mentions a “bucket list” – but is that what the article is really about, or what people are seeking when they search for this keyword? No. A “bucket list” doesn’t necessarily signify “best.” The above description looks pretty awful next to this one from a higher-ranking piece on the list: What to Do Instead If there’s even the slightest chance that Google will skip over the meta description you painstakingly wrote in favor of auto-grabbed text, what’s the point of writing one? This: With a strong meta description, there’s a huge chance to grab your reader and convince them to click in just a sentence or two. Written well, a good meta description can enhance your click-through rate in the search results. You just have to make sure it’s relevant enough for Google to grab, and helpful enough (and persuasive enough) to catch your reader’s eye. A few tips: Meta descriptions can’t be too long – under 160 characters is the standard. To ensure you write within that restriction, use a tool. Yoast SEO is great. So is the Meta Tags tool. Talk to your reader. Tell them what the content is about and what’s in it for them if they read it. Use your keyword. Once is enough. Get creative with wording. Use strong verbs. Avoid useless adverbs, which pad out the character count unnecessarily. 3. Using Unhelpful, Poorly Structured Headings (Or Not Enough Headings) I hope you’re already implementing headings in your SEO content writing. This is a basic must-do for a few reasons: Headings help Google understand what your content is about. They help users find the information they’re looking for. They break up long blocks of text for better readability. Headings help organize and structure your content (especially important for people who may not be “reading” your page at all, but using screen readers or some other assistive technology). Think of headings as helpers. They provide additional meaning and help your reader make sense of your piece as a whole. That’s why, if your headings are lackluster, generic, or formatted incorrectly, they’ll hinder instead of help. Take a look at this example of a content piece with unhelpful, incorrectly structured headings: Note the vague wording (“ones” in place of using the actual keyword, “backlinks”) the incorrect use of heading levels (H2s used when H3s were needed), and the use of headings solely for formatting purposes (a … Read more

5 Google SERP Features You Need to Know About & How to Create Feature-Worthy Content

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5 Google SERP Features You Need to Know About & How to Create Feature-Worthy Content

Ranking in position #1 on Google is no longer a guaranteed win. Even if you manage to hit the top spot, you will often (not always!) get upstaged by SERP features. Well, that begs the question… First, what are SERP features? They’re special snippets that Google displays to help users find the information they’re looking for faster and easier. Prime example: I want to know how far the sun is from the moon. I open Google and ask: How far is the sun from the moon? Google answers, not just with a list of search results, but with more information presented in SERP features like Knowledge Cards, Related Questions, and Rich Snippets: Some of these features edge out the regular search results – the Knowledge Card, for instance, is in the top-left position on the page, where the #1 result would usually appear. Here’s the thing: Your pages, content, and information can show up in these highly visible, highly desirable spots in SERPS. In many cases, a SERP will have multiple features that take over the page. These essentially become position #0 and will be the first things users see. Position #0 is like the gold at the end of the rainbow for us SEO content creators. By now, your main question has probably morphed into “How do I rank for a SERP feature?” along with “Which features are worth aiming for?” In today’s blog, I’ve got you covered with a list of the SERP features you should care about and tips to rank for each type. Let’s go. 5 SERP Features You Should Know + How to Rank for Them 1. Featured Snippets 2. Related Questions (“People also ask”) 3. Local Packs 4. Knowledge Cards/Panels 5. Rich Snippets How to Find and Track Your Ranking SERP Features in SEMrush Last But Not Least: Organic Search Results Are Still #1 [bctt tweet=”How do you make your content worthy enough to sit on the throne of @Google’s SERP features? ? @JuliaEMcCoy shares 5 SERP features you should know and the best ways to rank for them.” username=”ExpWriters”] Why Scoring a SERP Feature Can Seriously Boost Your SEO Results It’s self-explanatory why scoring one of these positions is AWESOME, but, here are some facts on the matter: According to Ahrefs, Featured Snippets steal away 8.6% of clicks from the organic #1 search result below it. From the same study, Ahrefs found when SERP features appear on a results page, clicks on that page drop overall – probably because people are getting the information they need from the SERP features! A related study found that the above is especially true for pages with Knowledge Graphs, Related Questions, and Featured Snippets. Most importantly, winning SERP features isn’t only for pages in the #1 spot. As long as you rank in the top 10, you have a chance at winning one of these covetable spots on the page. [bctt tweet=”Scoring a SERP feature can steal those clicks from the #1 organic position. For example, Featured Snippets steal away 8.6% of clicks from the search result below it. ? Know more about how ranking for a SERP feature can help you.” username=”ExpWriters”] To sum it up, SERP features do all of this: They’re super visible on search results pages. They steal clicks from the #1 organic position. They lessen the number of clicks on the page overall. They aren’t just for the top 3 ranking pages, or even the top 5 – if you rank on a page, you can edge into a SERP feature. Sounds good, right? Okay, let’s get into the “how.” 5 SERP Features You Should Know + How to Rank for Them 1. Featured Snippets The Featured Snippet is probably the SERP feature with which you’re most familiar. This one shows up at the tippy-top of the page and features an answer to the search query pulled from the text of a web page (usually, the page also ranks for that query). Express Writers currently ranks for a bunch of Featured Snippets, including this one pulled from our post on the Top 100 content marketers: [bctt tweet=”Featured Snippets are @Google’s SERP Features you’re most familiar with. They feature an answer to the search query pulled from the text of a web page. @JuliaEMcCoy shares more about these features and how you can rank for them ?” username=”ExpWriters”] How Do You Rank for a Featured Snippet? Since Featured Snippets usually appear as answers to search queries framed as direct questions (“What do pangolins eat?”, “How far away is the sun?”, or “What is SEO?” are good examples), you need to frame your written content as a definitive answer. Here are some tips: Research long tail keywords phrased as questions to use in your content. These are often great related keywords to include along with your focus keyword. Include those question keywords directly in your content, then answer them. (You can see we used this exact tactic for this sub-section.) Aim to help people in your content. Be informative, factual, and accurate. Format your content to help Google detect your answers. Bold the most important information, or put the answer to the question on its own line. 2. Related Questions (“People also ask”) Another opportunity on the SERPs for ranking is the Related Questions snippet. This SERP feature lists other questions related to your original query that users have asked Google. You’ll find this snippet under the heading “People also ask”. How Do You Rank for Related Questions? Ranking for Related Questions means you’re trying to get featured as an answer that appears when users click the question they want to know more about. Example: Typically, Related Questions are 30 words in length. To rank for this feature, a good practice is to craft a 30-ish-word answer that definitively addresses the biggest question users may have about your main topic. For best results, do this fairly early on in the copy. [bctt tweet=”To rank for the Related Questions SERP feature, better create an … Read more

7 Ways Content Is Setting the Trends for SEO & Google Algorithms

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7 Ways Content Is Setting the Trends for SEO & Google Algorithms

There’s just no veiling this fact, folks: Content has been king for a while now. Bill Gates forecasted this all the way back in 1996. In 2013, Entrepreneur told us to ditch the cold call sales technique and invest in blogs and Twitter instead. Notable sources like Copyblogger forecasted 2013 would be the year of the writer. There are over 6 billion web pages in existence, both active and inactive. About half a million new pages are created and published daily. That’s a lot of web content to sift through, and Google is there to make sure specific pages get to the top. That begs the question: How is content impacting it all? How Is Content Setting the Trends? So how exactly is content setting the trends for how Google looks at, ranks, and values their indexable pages? Worthy question. Let’s take a dive through that sea! ? [bctt tweet=”About half a million new web pages are published daily. That’s a lot of content to sift through, and Google is there to make sure specific pages get to the top. ? @JuliaEMcCoy asks: How is content setting the trends?” username=””] 1. People Want Relevancy They want topics relevant to their likes, as well as topics that flow with current trends. If you’re still busy waxing eloquent on how amazing Brave was while everyone else is going on about Frozen, you’re like the person who wears socks with their sandals. Relevant topics are the only way you are going to gain and maintain readership. This might seem a little frustrating, especially if your topic doesn’t seem to be the most relevant out there, but finding ways to make it mesh with its surroundings will help immensely. You can use some SEO copywriting tips such as creating an eye-catching title, having a strong start to your content and having a strong call to action. This will help readers feel your topic is relevant, get you further up on that Google search page, and, in the end, get you more readers. 2. People Want Content Content is important to the average web browser and internet user. Information — literally on any topic under the sun — is all around us and out there for the curious. We can google any topic or question and get an answer in seconds. In today’s information explosion, good, trustworthy content matters. It satisfies our curiosity, answers our questions, alleviates our fears, and eases our pain. Readers like to get information quickly, but they also want to know they’re receiving it from a knowledgeable source. If your content is too short, people may suspect you’re not as knowledgeable as you seem, especially in the age of article regurgitation. It seems everyone is an expert on spitting out the informational bare bones, but not many are experts in delving into the juicy meat of a subject. “But what about those casual browsers?” you ask. By offering a heartier wealth of information, you have the potential to turn those casual readers into intent readers, hungry for more information. 3. People Love In-Depth Discussions You’re used to hearing that you need to have short and concise blogs to attract more readers, but the reality is Google ranks blogs with higher word counts and quality content. This is because they believe people are more likely to stick with an article that’s longer than the short, concise article we’ve all been told is important. People want to see that lengthy post. They may not read every single word, but they’ll believe you are the authority on your topic if the post is longer. That might seem strange, but think about how you feel when you search for an article. Do you prefer a site that seems much more knowledgeable, with lengthy descriptions, or one that barely gives any discussion on the topic? 4. Quality Is Mega-Important in the Game of Google While long, in-depth content is a factor in ranking with Google, another important factor is the quality of your content. If all you do is write specifically for the search engine and sacrifice quality in hopes of getting more viewership, you’ll find that you rank a lot lower than you initially thought you would. Google wants to make sure the content they rank is quality, something that is filled with interesting and engaging information. Whatever your niche, make your content incredibly valuable to people interested in your product or topic. Give facts that aren’t too well known, try to stay away from the generic, overdone articles. Find ways to implement relevant pop culture references to connect what you are discussing with something that the majority of people love. If you are a little confused as to what’s relevant, just pop onto Facebook, wade through all the Buzzfeed quizzes and find the stuff people are posting about. When it comes to finding your site at the top of a Google search, the more quality blogs, or content, you have is important. It is another part of the new Google algorithm, according to Jeff Quipp over at the Huffington Post. You also want to be seen as an authority on your topic. Need more insight on ranking in the top of Google? Get our in-depth checklist right here. 5. Authorship Matters In the game of Google, you rank, or you lose. There is no middle ground. Well, OK, it isn’t as intense as Game of Thrones says it is, but close enough. You want your page to rank in order to get those readers. Readers don’t like to sift through page after page to find what they are looking for, so eventually they will give up the further down the search page they go. If Google sees you as an authority in your field, they will rank you higher than those whom they do not deem to be experts. By combining quality content with Google authorship, your page will surely find itself ranking high. 6. Blogging Is Important for Gaining (and Keeping) Customers … Read more

SEO vs. Advertising: Does SEO Content Outperform Advertising? (Hint: Heck yeah, it does.)

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SEO vs. Advertising: Does SEO Outperform Advertising? (Hint: Heck yeah, it does.)

SEO vs. advertising. It seems like a focus of hot debate … but is it really? Marketers selling you advertising space would love to debate the finer points and point out all the technicalities. But that’s exactly what they are – technicalities. With no real foot to stand on in 2021. According to research by Bright Edge, SEO makes up 53% of all web traffic that your website experiences. Just over half of your readers and customers find you in Google. ? Paid search? A measly 15%. ?️ But if that one data point is not convincing, plenty of other research out there backs it up. The debate of SEO vs. advertising isn’t even a thing. Here’s why an SEO content marketing approach outperforms paid search, and the statistics that prove it. 4 Big Reasons Why SEO vs. Advertising Isn’t Even a Real Debate Did you know that total Google searches more than doubled last year? In March 2020, we averaged around 3.6 billion Google searches per day. You can now hop onto Worldometers and watch it hit 7 billion every day. ? Show that to the people groaning about how SEO is dead. SEO will be dead when search engines are dead, and Google is going nowhere anytime soon. [bctt tweet=”Research by @brightedge says SEO makes up 53% of all web traffic to your site. Paid search makes up a measly 15%. ? This + 4 more reasons why SEO outperforms ads via @JuliaEMcCoy ?” username=””] But the ubiquity of Google use is just one reason why SEO is such a better investment than paid advertising. Here are four more reasons why a strong SEO strategy will outperform even the cleverest of advertising. 1. SEO is the Long-Term Game The internet is an amazing tool, chock full of mind-blowing opportunity … but there’s a catch that a lot of people seem to still not get in 2021. Success online requires consistency and long-term planning. Or as I like to put it, consistent quality over time brings success. SEO is that element of time in your work. The longer you focus on producing high-quality, keyword optimized content that attracts and delights your audience, the more you’ll build a presence in the search engines. In turn, the more you’ll land in front of eyeballs as Google rewards you for your hard work. And when I say long-term, I mean long-term. HubSpot once found that it takes about 400 blog posts before companies saw a significant spike in web traffic. Where do most people give up? Somewhere in the 30-40 post range. Nowhere close. ? Consistent quality over time brings success. If I had my own Triangle of Success, it’d look like this: [bctt tweet=”#SEO is a long game. ? The longer you focus on producing high-quality, keyword optimized content that attracts and delights your audience, the more you’ll build a presence in search engines & the more you’ll land in front of eyeballs. ?” username=””] 2. SEO Encourages Organic Traffic Organic traffic is traffic to your site resulting from people finding you naturally in the search engines. This means they typed something into Google and your website came up in the results. Organic traffic is the single most powerful means to get an audience and sales. Bright Edge found that some 53% of all web traffic comes from organic search. According to them, SEO drives 1,000% more traffic than even organic social media. Likewise, Backlinko once found that the number one result for any Google search averages a CTR of 37.5%. Even Google notes that the ROI of organic traffic is 5.3 times greater than that of paid advertising. And before you tell me that SEO doesn’t really work, consider this. According to Ahrefs, 90% of all websites get no organic traffic from Google. Is that problem with SEO … or is it with your site? ? Need help with SEO, stat? Get my FREE guide on how to rank in the top of Google. Look at all of these people who are not using SEO correctly (if at all)! Source: Ahrefs 3. People Use Ad Blockers The second big reason why SEO vs. advertising isn’t an actual argument involves the sheer percentage of your readers who are using ad blockers. The number has steadily increased in the U.S. over the past five years, from 21% to 27%. If you’re relying on ads to power your brand’s visibility, you’re now missing out on a solid quarter of your audience. Likewise, as privacy becomes a greater concern for internet users, whole web browsers are springing up that include ad block features. (For example, Brave’s usage stands at a minuscule 25 million users, but it’s a little different story when you consider that total users have doubled in the past year alone.) Of course, you could force your visitors to turn off their adblockers to view your content … but do you really want to be that site? Google results with uBlock Origin turned off… …and Google results with uBlock Origin turned on. See the difference? 4. Everybody Uses Google Last but not least is the fact that everyone uses Google. In January 2021, it was found that Google comprises 92% of all web search traffic. In other words, that’s where users search when they need to search for the answer to a question. (The other 10% was a mishmash of specialized search engines.) Sure, you could rely on Google ads, but you’re again facing the problem of ad blockers hiding your ads from viewers. Optimizing for Google, however, makes sure that you end up directly in the path of people searching for you. Without people feeling like you’re trying to sell them something. ? Go Where Your Audience is Looking There you have it. SEO vs. advertising isn’t even a real debate in 2021 and I’ve covered four big reasons why. From the fact that SEO is a long-term game to the reality that everyone uses Google, hopefully now you can … Read more

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