content and seo

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