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

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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

Does Your Company Have a Personal Business Writer?

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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

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

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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

10 Benefits of Hiring a Content Manager to Support Your Outsourced Content Team

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The demand for consistent, high-quality content has never been greater. As businesses seek to grow their online presence and engage with customers through blogs, newsletters, and social media, many turn to outsourcing to meet these demands. Outsourcing offers flexibility and scalability, but it also brings challenges. This is especially so when managing large teams of writers, editors, and designers. That’s where a dedicated content manager becomes essential. A content manager can be the key to getting the most out of your outsourced content team by ensuring quality and efficiency. Let’s explore the top 10 benefits of hiring a content manager.  10 Benefits of Hiring a Content Manager to Support Your Outsourced Content Team In business, you don’t have to do it all alone. Your best bet is to build a skilled team that can lend their support as you build your brand. So, if you’re outsourcing content creation, you need a content manager to lead the way. Here are 10 reasons why you could benefit from hiring a content manager. 1. Ensure Consistency and Brand Alignment A major challenge when working with multiple freelancers or agencies is maintaining a consistent brand voice. Without someone managing the process, you may end up with content that feels disjointed or off-brand, which can confuse or alienate your audience. A content manager is responsible for ensuring that every piece of content aligns with your brand’s tone, style, and values. They create and enforce brand guidelines, ensuring consistency across all platforms, no matter how many different people contribute to the final product. By maintaining this cohesion, your audience experiences a unified brand presence that builds trust and reinforces your company’s identity. 2. Streamline Communication Between Teams  When working with an outsourced team, communication can easily become a bottleneck. Freelancers and agencies often work remotely, in different time zones, and on varying schedules. Without proper coordination, this can lead to delays, misunderstandings, or overlooked instructions. A content manager acts as the central hub for communication, ensuring that writers, editors, and designers all receive clear direction and feedback. This streamlined communication helps prevent mistakes, keeps the team aligned with your goals, and ensures deadlines are met without confusion. 3. Improve Workflow Efficiency and Organization  Content creation involves many moving parts, from initial brainstorming to writing, editing, revisions, and final approvals. Without proper oversight, this process can quickly become chaotic, especially when managing multiple freelancers or agencies. Alternatively, some teams don’t have enough people to lend a hand with many roles left unfilled. About 58% of B2B content creation teams struggle with a lack of resources. Not having the right people, the right tools, and an ample budget can create a lot of frustration. A content manager designs and implements an organized workflow that suits your business’s unique needs. By developing a customized content creation process, they ensure every task is completed on time, in the correct order, and with minimal issues. This efficiency leads to faster turnarounds and higher-quality content. 4. Provide Personalized Content Strategy One of the biggest advantages of having a content manager is the ability to develop a long-term, personalized content strategy. Rather than focusing solely on individual content pieces, content managers look at the big picture. They assess your target audience, business goals, and current market trends to create a content strategy that drives long-term results. This strategic approach ensures that your content isn’t just filler. Instead, it’s actively working to achieve your business goals. At Express Writers, we take this personalized approach seriously. Our dedicated content managers work closely with clients to build custom content strategies that address their specific needs and help them stand out in their industry. 5. Review Content and Quality Control   Quality is non-negotiable when it comes to content marketing. Whether it’s blog posts, social media updates, or email newsletters, every piece of content reflects your brand. With an outsourced team, you need someone who is dedicated to maintaining high-quality standards across the board. Content managers ensure every piece of content meets your standards for accuracy, grammar, tone, and style. They’ll also make sure your content is optimized for SEO so you can trust it’ll perform well in search results and reach the right audience. 6. Facilitate Scalability As your business grows, so does your content production. However, scaling content efforts can quickly become overwhelming without proper management. A content manager ensures that your team can grow without sacrificing quality or efficiency. They manage the influx of new content requests, ensuring that your team scales smoothly and continues to deliver top-notch content on time. 7. Save Time and Reduce Stress Managing content creation can be a full-time job. Business owners, marketing managers, and executives must often juggle content production alongside their core responsibilities, leading to burnout and reduced productivity in other areas. By hiring a content manager, you offload the day-to-day coordination of your content efforts. They handle everything from communicating with writers to managing deadlines, allowing you to focus on high-level strategy and business growth. 8. Facilitate Long-Term Content Success Content marketing is a long game and success doesn’t come overnight. A content manager looks beyond short-term goals, focusing on long-term success. They continuously monitor and analyze the performance of your content, adjusting as needed to improve results over time. This forward-thinking approach helps you stay ahead of trends, adjust to changes in your industry, and continually refine your content strategy to ensure long-term success. At Express Writers, our content managers are committed to building long-term partnerships with our clients. We adapt strategies over time to keep your content fresh, relevant, and effective. 9. Provide a Single Point of Contact When you work with an outsourced content team, you often have multiple freelancers or agencies involved in different aspects of the project. This includes writers, editors, designers, SEO experts, and more. Coordinating between all these individuals can be overwhelming. A content manager serves as your point of contact, streamlining communication and ensuring all team members stay aligned with your goals. This single point of accountability makes … Read more

How to Do a Content Audit to Maximize Your SEO

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You regularly visit the doctor for checkups, even if you aren’t sick. You go to the doctor to PREVENT you from getting sick. By keeping up with these visits, the doctor can give you a status report on your health and catch any issues while they’re still minor and easy to solve. Without those checkups, you might not receive medical care until an issue has begun wreaking complete havoc on your system and causing irreparable damage to your body. Your website also needs regular checkups, which marketers call content audits. They are a crucial website health checkup that gives you the status of your website’s performance while also alerting you to any issues before they cause more significant problems. Without a content audit, you’ll miss out on vital health updates and won’t know there are issues until your site shows severe damage, such as a drop in traffic or conversions. It also alerts you to what’s performing well and new opportunities to continue growing your site. Let’s unlock the secrets of the content audit through this guide so you can begin giving your site its much-needed regular checkups. What Is a Website Content Audit? A content audit is a complete check of your content. Content includes all the assets on your website, such as blog posts, landing pages, and web pages. Leave no page overlooked. Yes, that does sound like it takes time. That’s why most people perform these at least once annually. About 61% of marketers perform content audits two or more times in a year. But, it’s not a task you want to skim over as you may miss crucial signs of issues or new opportunites. What exactly are you looking for? Here are a few signs of issues: Errors Outdated content Repetitive content Poor content As you perform a content audit, you will decide what needs fixing, updating, or deletion. Ultimately, you’ll create a more positive user experience as readers encounter fewer errors and confusing or outdated content. The regular updates also keep your content relevant and running smoothly, boosting your search engine ranking. Why a Website Content Audit Is a Must Could you run a website without a content audit? Technically speaking, yes, you could. But that would be like living in a house without ever cleaning it. The house might remain standing, but the dust buildup and grime will scare away visitors and even cost you your health. A content audit keeps your website looking updated, active, and valuable to your target audience so they feel welcome and eager to explore further. Here are the top benefits of conducting regular content audits: Performance Insights: You’ll gain insights into your content performance. If you want a successful website that attracts monthly traffic, you need to create content with high-performance rates. Reviewing your analytics during your audit builds a clear picture of your topics and formats that generate the most traffic, engagement, and conversions. Audience Understanding: Knowing your audience drives your content, and your final goal is to connect and convert that audience. You want to understand their interests, pain points, motivating factors, and life changes. Understanding what content your audience engages with gives you glimpses into those details and what they might find most valuable. Improved Ranking: When you refresh and update content, it becomes more appealing to both your audience and Google. High-quality, valuable content ranks higher in search results, boosting organic traffic. These benefits offset the time and effort you invest in content audits. You’ll see better traffic, higher search engine ranking, and improved visitor impressions. One SEMrush report found that about half of those who regularly updated their content saw higher engagement and ranking. How to Do a Content Audit to Maximize Your SEO Are you excited to start enjoying those benefits on your website? Dive into the five steps of performing an SEO content audit to get you started. Because of the time a content audit takes, we highly recommend scheduling it in your calendar so you have enough time blocked out to dive into your content performance and make the most of your findings. If you’re a small site, a day may be enough. Larger sites will require several days to fully analyze. 1. Define Your Goals Before you invest a single dime or hour in your content audit, you need to answer the why behind the audit. Your goals will provide context to your audit and focus on what you hope to accomplish. Without goals, your audit would easily take several weeks rather than days because of reading through hundreds of articles and pages. You don’t need to read through everything. Just the data that’s most relevant to your goal. Some ideas to inspire you include: Improving your SEO Fixing technical errors Identifying missing content Understanding website visitors Boosting engagement Increasing conversions Once you have set one or more goals, you will also know what metrics to focus on so you don’t drown in all the data you’ll uncover during your audit. 2. Take Inventory of Your Site’s Content It’s time to roll up your sleeves and begin the hard work. To truly understand your content and its performance, you’ll want to inventory what content currently lives on your website. It’s the only way to ensure you review every page for quality, value, and optimization. The longer you have had a site with regularly published content, the longer this step will take. We use spreadsheets to keep your content organized. You can detail the key points you want to track on the sheet and easily share it with relevant parties. Start by adding these columns to your spreadsheet: URL Date audited Title Description Content type Keywords Alt tags Last updated Internal links Some other columns you might add, depending on your goal, include: Shares Comments Word count Content goal While you can type this information manually, we highly recommend exporting as much as possible. If you work with HubSpot, it can export much of your website content for you, … Read more

The Ultimate Guide to SEO Content Writing: How to Rank in Google

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Content strategy

SEO content is one of the most consistently effective ways to attract web traffic. In today’s increasingly competitive environment, however, writing SEO content that ranks in Google is hard to do. In fact, about 7.5 million new blogs are posted every single day, which means standing out from the crowd is harder than ever. How do you contend with extreme competition? It all comes down to your content. Good SEO content writing drives traffic, but it also takes work. In this blog, we’ll break down the top factors behind Google SERP and give you 7 simple steps to achieving your content dreams. Google’s Top Factors for Ranking Content Google’s search result algorithm is incredibly complex with hundreds upon hundreds of factors that distinguish good content from mediocre or subpar webpages. This complexity helps prevent exploitation—for instance, if SEO keyword density was the only factor, any blog could instantly rise to the number 1 listing by simply spamming the keyword more times than anybody else. The unfortunate side effect of this complexity is that it can be difficult to know what Google will choose to promote and why they choose to promote it. Since Google’s algorithm (and, just as importantly, its massive collection of data) is one of the world’s most valuable trade secrets, marketers don’t have direct access to how it works. However, the factors that Google seems to favor can be broken down into eight categories of factors. Here are some of the most important factors in 2024: High-Quality Content. Google wants you to continue using their search engine, especially as Microsoft makes a renewed push for their AI-enabled search engine, Bing. They want to deliver high-quality, human-written, informative content that answers their users’ questions. Since your audience also wants to read useful, helpful information, one of the simplest ways to drive SEO traffic to your website is simply to write useful, helpful content. Backlinks. Links to other websites gives your blog credibility—not just in the eyes of your readers, but in the eyes of the algorithm as well. SEO Keyword Usage. While keyword density isn’t the only factor that drives placement, SEO keyword usage is one of the primary ways Google looks for relationships between queries and results. Engagement. If audiences share your content on social media sites, engage in comment sections, and interact positively with your website, this can serve as a vote of confidence for the SERP algorithm. While this depends on audience action, it isn’t totally out of your hands, either—your SEO content can encourage engagement, thereby boosting your SERP. Other factors that aren’t related to the quality of your content itself, such as the technical performance of your website or your UX design, can also play into Google’s results placement algorithm. The 7-Step SEO Content Writing Checklist Armed with some knowledge of Google’s algorithm, here are some practical steps to writing good SEO content for your website: 1. Study Other SEO Content Examples One of the best and simplest ways to improve SERP is to simply do a Google search for the keywords you want to be ranked for and read the top results. See what other content does right, and incorporate those strategies into your own content. It’s important to understand, however, that this doesn’t mean simply copying their words. Derivative, repetitive content doesn’t perform well on Google, and outright plagiarism can be unethical and even illegal. However, studying the results can net you valuable insights. This deceptively simple process is one of the easiest ways to boost your SEO content’s performance. 2. Conduct Industry-Specific Keyword Research As you consider the type of audience you wish to attract, you should familiarize yourself with the language they use. What are the concerns of the industry you’re targeting? What types of questions are they hoping to answer? What industry-specific language do they use? If your SEO content uses the same language as your target audience, it’s more likely to return as a top result from their searches. 3. Analyze Your Competition Andy Warhol once said a version of the phrase, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Before him, Pablo Picasso said the same thing. Before him, Oscar Wilde. While you should never steal another website’s words (not only because it’s unethical but also because it would rank poorly), you should steal inspiration. What do you like about your competitors’ websites? Do they incorporate humor in an engaging way? Do they provide targeted answers to their audience’s questions? What topics do they write about? By analyzing your competition, you can hone your own ideas of what type of SEO content you want to write. 4. Consider Outsourcing with SEO Content Writing Services If Google’s algorithm was simple, writing great SEO content would be simple too. In reality, writing high-quality, helpful, informative content takes time. Outsourcing your content to SEO content writing services like Express Writers can give you back time in the day while increasing your organic web traffic. We make dreams come to life by turning our clients’ visions into realities. Outsourcing your SEO content writing can save you time and money, increase your results placement, and—maybe most importantly—help you avoid the headache of writing and researching SEO blogs yourself. 5. Pay Attention to Formatting While Writing Formatting is important because it’s part of the way web crawlers parse information on the screen. That’s why SEO keyword placement (e.g. where keywords appear within your copy) is so important—keywords in titles and headings have greater weight for SERP than keywords in the body of your article. However, that’s not the only reason formatting should matter to you—formatting is also important for your audience. The average reader only spends 53 seconds on a website. That means you’re in a race against time to capture your audience’s attention and imagination. Good headings help to orient your audience and contextualize what they’re reading. 6. Take Time to Edit and Polish Your Work Before Publishing Part of quality writing means writing that’s free of grammatical and spelling errors. It’s … Read more

6 Reasons to Hire SEO Content Writers Trained in SEO Best Practices

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How to Hire Your Best SEO Content Writers: 4 Key Qualities to Look For

Did you know the top result of a Google search gets approximately 32% of all clicks? So, it’s no wonder content creators fight to climb to the number one position in the SERPs. Secure that spot, and you’re sure to generate tons of organic traffic for your website. The only problem is that not everyone is well-versed in the world of SEO best practices. When that happens, you have a couple of options – either learn how to do it yourself or hire SEO content writers to tackle the job for you. We’ve compiled some reasons why it’s beneficial to outsource your SEO content writing to folks with a deep understanding of best practices and optimization. There are also a few things you’ll want to make sure your writer knows. What’s the Difference Between SEO Copywriting and SEO Content Writing? Now that you’re moving to hire content writers for your business, you might wonder if you should hire SEO copywriters or SEO content writers since there are some differences between the two. As you likely already know, search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing your website and its content to boost visibility in search results. Because search engines like Google search for the most helpful and valuable content to share with users, it’s important to publish quality content your target audience is actually searching for. First up, SEO copywriting focuses largely on converting that traffic into leads and sales for your business. These copywriters handle the creation of things like email campaigns, sales pages, product descriptions, and website copy. Overall, SEO copywriters focus their skills on persuasion and inspiring someone to act. Meanwhile, the goal behind quality SEO content writing is creating people-first content optimized for search engines through keyword optimization. Writing this way allows you to focus on providing value through content and use optimization as an additional asset to generate more organic traffic for your website. SEO content writers typically craft blog posts, guest posts for other industry sites, service pages, and landing pages. 6 Reasons to Hire SEO Content Writers Trained in SEO Best Practices You’ve decided to start with updating your blog strategy, so SEO content writers are the best choice for your business needs. Is it going to be worth the investment to pay for SEO content writing services? Or would it be better to tackle everything on your own? The size of your team will determine whether you should outsource or hire for your internal team. Meaning, it’s important to understand some reasons why you should bring on a writer with SEO content experience: 1. They Can Create High-Quality, Well-Written Content Poor writing can make your business look unprofessional. If someone stumbles upon your website for the first time and discovers content riddled with bad grammar and spelling mistakes, they’re less likely to trust that you know what you’re talking about. Hiring content writers who have a high-level understanding of the language you write in is essential to successful content. A professional writer will craft high-quality, well-written content that appeals to your readers and adds value. This will help you get sustainable results with your content. These SEO writers use content to make connections with your audience and should have industry experience that positions you to be successful in your niche. That means that they can convince people to take action because they’ve offered them a solution to a problem. SEO content that provides value and is well-written is the smartest thing you can do for your content marketing strategy, and it starts with a professional content writer. 2. They’re Knowledgeable on SEO Best Practices It’s safe to say the world of SEO is pretty competitive. After all, other creators in your industry target the same keywords you’re after. And much like you, they want to secure that coveted spot at the top of Google’s SERPs. For that reason, you want to hire content writers who are well versed in SEO and can keep up with this ever-evolving industry. Your ideal writer will take time to understand your target audience and branding. This will allow them the space to utilize keywords while still putting people first. Whether they do keyword research for you or you have a content strategist, these writers understand how to implement your keywords throughout your content so it’s well-optimized but never forced. Since Google regularly updates its algorithms, ensure that the writer you hire is committed to staying on top of all the changes and adapting their writing style. This step is essential to using data and metrics successfully in your content. If your writer doesn’t understand why they should be using a certain keyword or how to do that on multiple levels, you could risk a drop in your rankings. A content writer trained in SEO has the knowledge to optimize your content because they know the best on-page strategies. Because, while creating engaging meta descriptions, complex header sequences, and even keyword distribution might seem easy, a master understands how to blend these tactics the best. And this seamless mix of SEO and expert writing chops will get you closer to the perfectly crafted content you need. 3. You’ll Generate More Traffic and Conversions Because your content writer understands how Google and other search engines crawl and catalog content, you’ll be able to see the results of this investment more quickly. Your monthly page views can skyrocket because of the uptick in organic traffic. And all of it is because you have a writer who understands search intent from your target audience through SEO. As your traffic increases, you’ll likely start seeing more engagement throughout your website. People will visit multiple pages, stay on pages longer, and start leaving comments. Even better? Amazing copywriting can boost your conversion rate. People will start filling out your contact form or joining your subscriber list because they trust you know what you’re doing. This usually converts visitors and subscribers into paying customers that you can retain with ease. That … Read more

7 Content Writing Trust Builder Techniques

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7 Content Writing Trust Builder Techniques

Now more than ever, brand trust is a deciding factor in your customers’ purchases. What is brand trust? It’s how much your customers trust your reputation – your promises and how you deliver on them with your products and/or services. Customers have expectations about how your brand operates, communicates, and serves them. If those customer expectations are fulfilled time and again, trust gets built. According to Edelman’s 2021 Trust Barometer report, trust now comes second after price when they’re hovering over that “purchase” button in their virtual shopping carts and considering following through. In other words, if the price is right, the next thing your customer thinks is, “Do I trust this brand? Do I trust they’ll deliver what I want/need from this product/service?” If the answer is “YES,” they’re more likely to purchase. Winning brand trust, therefore, is mega-important. A BIG part of that is proving yourself, over and over, in your brand content. That’s what this guide is all about: how to build brand trust with proven content writing techniques. Because if your content isn’t building trust with your audience… It’s worthless. Let’s dive in. ?‍♀️ [bctt tweet=”Trust now comes second after price when customers are deciding whether to buy your products/services. (via @EdelmanPR) How do you BUILD that trust? With these 7 techniques ?✅” username=”ExpWriters”] The Importance of Brand Trust Customers expect SO much from the brands they give their loyalty to – and with good reason. Brands can have a tremendous impact on society, for good or ill. With our products/services, we can make someone’s life easier. We can solve their annoying problems. We can give them joy, utility, time savings, expertise, entertainment, knowledge, growth. That’s not all. With our practices and policies, we have the power to change the conversation on so many issues our audiences care about, whether they’re environmentally-minded or socially-minded. And the bigger your business grows, the more influence you have. So, to build brand trust with your audience, to put it in cliché terms, you need to practice what you preach. You need to put your money where your mouth is. Publishing GREAT content is a perfect place to start. Here are some tips and techniques. 7 Content Writing Techniques That Build Brand Trust 1. Define a Brand Voice and Tone – and Stick to It If your brand as a whole could talk, what would it sound like? How would customers feel if they had a conversation with it? Now imagine each time your customers interact with your brand, it sounds different, like it has a multiple personality disorder. In your emails, you sound peppy and young, like an inexperienced teenager. On your blogs, you sound stiffer and a little too formal. In your social posts, you take on the persona of an older sister with all the right advice. “What is this brand really about?”, your customers might wonder. They might be confused and put off. That’s why pulling off a single voice and tone across ALL your content is essential. Your brand voice needs to be reliable, not all over the place. Your customers should know what they’ll get when they read your content or interact with your company. To make it happen, everyone who touches your content needs to have the same set of guides to follow. Your brand personas, style guide, and image/branding should be documented with rules for writing to and interacting with customers. No brand guides? Then you’ll leave all your creators guessing at how you want to sound, which surely will lead to a brand identity crisis. ? 2. Invest in Consistency This next tip ties into #1, above. Consistency is the ribbon of caramel sauce that should run through your entire content marketing ice cream sundae. Consistency is synonymous with reliability. Stability. Predictability. All things that breed trust. Here are some additional actions that help you stay consistent in content marketing: Post regularly – Ultimately, you want to be a regular presence in the lives of your audience because more contact builds trust faster. The more you show up with great content, the more chances you have to convert them. The key is to post consistently while not compromising on quality – a sweet spot that many creators find challenging. Write with depth always – You should always strive to answer user questions thoroughly in your content. This requires depth, supporting research, and more words than what you’d think. (Hint: That 500-word post probably isn’t going to cut it. Long-form content gets 77.2% more links on average than shorter content AND performs better.) Anticipate that the reader has questions, then go above and beyond providing the answers. Use consistent branding – On your image assets, website, and social pages, keep your branding consistent. It should all read as different pages from the same book. Creating a seamless look among your pages and content helps users remember your brand better, and may also lead to as much as 33% more revenue, according to a Lucidpress study. [bctt tweet=”Consistency is the ribbon of caramel sauce that should run through your entire #contentmarketing ice cream sundae. ?” username=”ExpWriters”] 3. Stay Audience-Focused Is your audience top of mind, all the time? If they’re not, they should be. If you forget to focus on them, who else rises to the top? Most likely, you. Your company. And that’s a no-go for many reasons. Think about it. When a company starts talking about itself and how great it is, that they’re the best in the industry with so many incredible products/services/features, do you start nodding off? Yep. Me, too. The last thing I want to hear about is the company’s greatness when I’m consumed with finding the right solutions for my own problems. Drill that into your brain: Customers do not care about how great you are. They care about solving their problems. That means you should: Aim to be helpful always – If you earnestly want to help your customers, an earnest desire to help will … Read more

The 4-Step Guide to Writing Web Content for Your Business Website

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4 Essential Steps to Writing Web Content for Your Business Site

So, you started a business, and, what’s more, you’ve kept that business running. It’s all great. You’re working on your own terms. You have customers, and more keep trickling in… But could you do more? Could you increase your lead generation so you don’t have to keep greasing that squeaky wheel? Yes, you could. You CAN. How do you start bringing in more leads in the background so you don’t have to market so hard? Easy. You need content baked into your marketing. ? Content does it all: Builds trust with customers Solidifies your authority in your niche Gets you found via Google Search Nurtures your audience And, once you know how to write great web content, you can rinse and repeat so your business website will be full to the brim with helpful, useful, targeted content that nurtures prospects and converts them to loyal readers, subscribers, and even buyers. Sound good? In this guide, we’ll get into the “how” of writing web content, including 4 simple steps. But first, let’s touch on the “why” – why does content marketing work now more than ever? ? Why Web Content Works Now More Than Ever Getting content on your business website is more important than ever before. Why? Because publishing content helps your business marketing align with the way consumers shop. Consumers these days are savvy: They research their purchases because they want to know if their choices are “worth it.” They read reviews and follow recommendations from friends and influencers. They buy from brands they trust. (According to a Raydiant survey on consumer shopping habits, customers are more likely to leave behind physical businesses with no online presence in favor of an online substitute IF they feel no loyalty to the physical business. 48.7% said they replaced products they previously purchased at physical stores with online alternatives.) They go looking for information on just about anything that pops up during their day. (Do you have a Google trigger finger? Do you look up questions online on just about any topic? So do your customers. Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Google searches have topped 6 billion/day.) Content works because it builds your online presence, positions you in Google search, and draws in today’s conscious, research-geared consumers. [bctt tweet=”How do you start bringing in more leads in the background so you don’t have to market so hard? Easy. You need content baked into your marketing. ? More on content’s power + 4 steps to writing web content:” username=”ExpWriters”] 4 Key Steps to Writing Great Web Content for Your Business Now that you know why you should create web content, it’s time to think about how. How do you write web content that accomplishes the goals we mentioned earlier (lead generating, audience nurturing, authority building, Google ranking)? Start with these 4 key steps. Think of them as the necessary prep work you need to do before you start putting down sentences and paragraphs. Rinse and repeat for every piece of content you write. (And here’s the great part about doing the prep: the actual writing part will come much, much easier. ✨) Step 1: Establish Goals for Writing Your Web Content First up: What do you hope to get out of writing and publishing web content? What do you hope to gain? Do you want… More web traffic? Greater brand awareness? More leads? More customer engagement? Higher loyalty to your brand? You can achieve any or all of these goals with your content. Choose the ones most important to you, and focus on them. They’ll guide you forward, especially when you start planning content topics to write about. Step 2: Consider Your Audience Over and over and over again, a question you should be asking yourself before writing web content is who are you writing for? You’re NOT writing content for yourself. You’re not writing for your brand or clients. You’re writing for the people who need the solutions your brand or clients offer. “Who are you writing for?” is vital to know, but once you figure it out, don’t get too comfortable. Your audience isn’t a static entity, but rather a living, breathing, ever-changing organism. They’re people, and people’s needs and desires grow and change right along with them. If you keep asking “Who am I writing for?” regularly, and research to get the answer, you’ll have a good grasp on what they need from your content: What questions do they have about your subject/topics? What are their unique problems? What solutions can you provide? This laser focus on your audience is essential. It’s what differentiates successful content that gets read from the stuff that gets lost in the online content trash heap. No time to research or write your web content? We can do every step for you. Hire our team today. Step 3: Search Engine Optimize (for Readers, Then Google) So, you know your audience. (If you don’t, go back to step #2 and get clear on this. You can’t move forward without that knowledge.) Now it’s time to leverage your audience insight and use it to pinpoint your content topics and keywords. Why? When we talk about digital content, SEO is major. It outperforms paid advertising – in terms of web traffic, trust and authority, and lead generation. It appeals to our Google-happy age where everyone is typing questions into the search box. If you’re out there answering those questions in the form of quality content, you’ll see the benefits in multiple forms of ROI. Do Keyword, Topic, & Competitor Research Don’t just guess what your readers want to read. Do the research. Get data to back up your assumptions, and get data that helps you make new ones. Research the keywords you’ll target in your content. Find topics around those keywords. (Need help? Check out our guide on How to Find SEO Keywords.) Do competitor research to see what’s resonating with their audiences. Find content you could improve on, and write your own, better … Read more

5 Reasons You Need a Content Writer

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5 Reasons You Need a Content Writer

I know why you’re reading this blog. Dream with me for a minute. ? Imagine a near-distant future where we’re all gathering together freely once more. ? You and I are attending the year’s biggest content marketing conference. Before we head to the event center for talks, presentations, and meet-and-greets, we agree to meet up at that quaint little coffee shop on the corner near our hotels. We sit at a table by a window looking out onto a sunny city street. Bright-eyed, early shoppers pass laden with bags, and businesspeople in suits and blazers hurry by on their way to their first morning meetings. We sip our coffees and chat idly about the upcoming events of the day. We even indulge in a little gossip. After my last sip of espresso, I ask, “So, how is your company’s blog doing?” You reply with a pained sigh, and lifelessly mutter: “It could be doing so much better.” I lean in and give you my full attention while you lay out a laundry list of problems: You can’t keep up with the consistent blogging schedule you need to get anywhere. You’re hyper-focused on quantity and obsessed with pushing out content just to get it out there. Ergo, much of your content is just okay, while most of it is downright rushed and bad. You haven’t even thought about SEO. Writing isn’t your forte, nor is it the specialty of anyone else on your team, so you struggle mightily when it comes time to create content. Your main competitor, on the other hand, has an incredible blog and is jumping ahead of you by leaps and bounds with the audience they’re drawing in. And the list goes on. You sit back in your chair, rubbing your temples. Just thinking about the situation gives you a headache. You know what I’m going to say. I say it anyway. “You need a content writer.” You Need a Content Writer: 5 Reasons to Invest in Your Content Even though this is an imaginary situation, the point still stands. If you’re like most small brands, some or all of this is ringing true. In a survey on the state of content writing in 2020, Mantis Research and Typeset found most small business owners, marketers, and communications professionals experience a disconnect between knowing what successful writing looks like and actually achieving it. 76% say they know what successful writing looks like, but only 45% think their content is extremely/very effective. Nearly half of all business communicators struggle to understand what their audience wants to read. Those with only moderate success with content writing struggle with most aspects of the process: writing and publishing consistently, maintaining quality over time, writing headlines, writing for SEO, writing concisely, getting the words to flow, and meeting deadlines. [bctt tweet=”Most small business owners & marketers experience a disconnect between knowing what successful writing looks like and actually achieving it. How do you close the gap? ➡⬅ Get yourself a content writer ?” username=”ExpWriters”] As you can see, you’re not alone in your struggles. But there IS a solution. You need a content writer, and I’m here to tell you why. (Imagine me giving you this advice over that same cup of coffee from our hypothetical friendly chat. ☕) 1. You Don’t Have Time I talk to business owners and even marketing specialists every day who respond to my question about their web content the same way you did. Sometimes, I just want to reach through the phone, shake them, and ask “Why do you think you’re not doing better?! It’s because you don’t have time!” I want to, but I don’t. At any rate, the reason you can’t keep up with a busy writing schedule is simple: You don’t have time. You’re too busy actually running your business. Thankfully, the solution is pretty simple, too. Hire a content writer. Not only do we have the time to develop your content for you (because this is our job and what we spend our days doing), but we do this all the time, so we can make it happen more quickly than you can. You don’t have the workflow down. We do. 2. Content Writing Is More Than Writing When you hire a content writer, you’re not getting someone who will write generic content that may or may not apply to your business. You’re hiring a team member who will take an interest in your business and will be eager to learn how you work, who your audience is, and where your big successes and failures are now. Once we have all the information we need, we’re going to be doing more than writing – we’re going to be communicating with your audience on a level you’d never have time to maintain. Not only that, but content writers are experienced with writing for SEO — including keyword and topic research — as well as editing, writing for social media and other content formats, and more. Content writing means we have to be good at a little of everything – and that’s good for you. Want to learn to master content writing, yourself? Start here ? Check out the Unlearn Essay Writing course. 3. A Good Content Writer Brings a New Perspective A common mistake of CEOs and business owners who also do their own marketing and advertising? They’re just too close to their own products. They can’t see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Your content writer, on the other hand, is coming to the table with no biases and a fresh perspective. They’ll look at your product with zero prior knowledge of its existence, in many cases. A content writer who’s worth his or her salt will take an interest in your business and will work tirelessly to understand it while maintaining their clear-eyed objectivity. It’s this objective stance that helps them write creative and innovative content that doesn’t rehash the same old tired clichés plaguing your industry. That’s our job. We … Read more

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