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.
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.
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
According to a Conductor report, consumers are 131% more likely to buy from a brand after they read that brand’s content. In fact, most people are introduced to a new company via the company’s blog. It’s a great way to find out more information regarding the product they’re interested in while also feeling that they have more of a connection with you and your business.
People still do crave connection. Only, they now crave it from more than just friends and family, but also from the companies where they shop. (It’s a good feeling when a company seems to be talking specifically to you.) People are more likely to purchase a product or use a service if they feel that connection.
7. People Love to Get Personal
As we said, people like to feel connected to companies with which they do business. You can make customers feel like they know you by providing information about yourself and the people who run your business. Before you go and make a generic “about” page, think about your target audience and write your information accordingly.
For example, by focusing on the community of nerds and geeks, a small group called Geek Girl Pen Pals has been attempting (successfully) to get people back into the art of letter writing. They write their information in a way that suits their target audience. The people who use this site feel connected to the leaders by reading their information, reading blog posts on the site, and following them on social media. Get a little personal with people and you will see your site rank higher in the searches, gain new customers, and keep your existing ones.
3 Tips to Conquer Google’s Algorithm with Content
You may find yourself rethinking your content strategy due to Google’s search algorithm, and we’re here to give you a few final tips on how to make your content relevant for Google:
1. Assess and Analyze What Users Search For
Assessing and analyzing what people are searching for will help you create relevant content that will rank on Google. Find the keywords people use when searching for topics in your field. Once you’ve figured out which keywords (and their synonyms) to use, it is time to figure out which type of post people are more likely to look for when searching your topic.
A few of these “favorite” type of posts include:
How-to’s: People like to read articles that explain how to use something, how to create something, or how to do something new. Pinterest has made this even more popular.
“Top __” lists: You know these lists. The ones you see on Buzzfeed, or AFI’s Top 100 Movies of All Time. We all enjoy these lists. They’re a great way to learn about new topics or to feel validated in our behaviors (see the “Top Things About Being an Introvert/Extrovert” articles, like this one from Time).
FAQs: We know there are particular questions everyone has about a product or topic, so why not create a FAQ for your company’s blog? It’s a great way to get people to read more about your business and get answers to their specific questions.
What other types of content should you be creating? Get the lowdown in our FREE Master List of Copywriting Services.
2. Assess the Look & Usability of Your Website
After getting those readers to come and read your content, you need to make sure to keep them.
Make sure your site isn’t filled with clashing colors, tiny type, and instant play music or instant play commercials. We know, you really like Pharrell’s Happy, and it totally works for your product, but people do not want to be sitting in the library and have a peppy song unexpectedly blare from their device. Even if your site reflects your brand colors, make sure it won’t stress out the eyes OR the ears.
3. Get Social
Lastly, getting social will help your site rank and bring in more readers.
Get social media buttons on each post, directing people to your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Having social sharing buttons is another great way to attract more people and help you outside of Google’s new search requirements. People who find your article are more likely to share said article if they have an available social sharing button to use. It is a quicker and easier way to share something they enjoy than copy-and-pasting your link.
It’s Time to Double-Down on Content
Now that you have read the various ways to improve your content and meet some of Google’s latest updates, it is time to go and implement them. Changing your content and content strategy to fit Google’s algorithm will not only help you rank higher, but will help you get more readers and keep those readers long-term.
Why are you still reading? Get out there and make your content + website the best they can be.
On January 13, Google announced a core algorithm update called the January 2020 Core Update.
Immediately, site owners took to social media to express their dismay on (yet another) major change that could affect the years of hard work they’d put into reaching a top spot on Google’s SERPs.
Some posted despairing memes. Others begged Google “not to be cruel.” Yet others worried how their keyword rankings would be affected as the new update rolled in.
Should you be worried about it? Most importantly, what changes should you make to your site so you don’t lose your Google rankings?
Let’s explore this massive update in today’s brand new blog.
[bctt tweet=”Should you be worried about @Google’s January Core Update? What should you do to maintain your rankings? Find out in this new guide by @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
January 2020 Core Update: All You Need to Know (Plus Tips on How to Survive It) – Table of Contents
January 2020 Core Update, Explained
Experts and Content Creators Speak Up about the January 2020 Core Update
The Top Sites Impacted by the January 2020 Core Update
How to Optimize Your Site to Survive the January 2020 Core Update
5 Aspects of Content That Ranks Well on Google
1. Originality 2. Comprehensiveness 3. Expertise 4. User-Friendly and Trustworthy Presentation 5. User Value
5 Tips to Update Your Content and Continue Ranking Well Despite Major Google Updates
1. Write Content You Can’t Find Elsewhere 2. Improve Content Found on High-Ranking Sites for Your Keyword 3. Proofread to Perfection 4. Step into Your Audience’s Shoes 5. Forget Keywords
Moving Forward after the January 2020 Core Update
January 2020 Core Update, Explained
Google’s number one goal is to provide value to users. Because of this, it has made thousands of changes per year in recent years.
However, not all of these changes are noticeable. Most of them are tiny tweaks.
The January 2020 Core Update is different. According to Google, this update will have more noticeable and actionable effects for content producers and webmasters.
[bctt tweet=”The January 2020 Core Update is different. According to Google, this update will have more noticeable and actionable effects for content producers and webmasters.” username=”ExpWriters”]
What it boils down to is Google making a brand-new list of the top sites with the most value in 2020.
If your site takes a hit and falls in the SERPs, it’s not because it’s a bad site. It’s simply because users are changing. There are a ton of new sites online. And there are sites which have been online for some time, but whose value was never fully discovered.
Of course, top marketers and SEO experts had their own opinions.
Rand Fishkin’s interest was on the bolded ads, favicons, and brand icons featured in the update.
My theory on why this took so long to get to desktop: Google knows it obscures ads & thus increases ad CTR (according to @jumpshotinc data from 2019, the mobile change yielded ~15% more ad clicks), and wanted to wait until a quarter in which they needed to show that growth. https://t.co/5bMQoCLbS2
A few days after the release of the update, Glenn Gabe tweeted his findings on the “volatile” splash it had made.
The Jan 2020 core update volatility seems to be calming down, which makes sense. Danny announced on Thurs that the update completed, although we could see the effects for a week or two. But to me, major volatility should be done. Here are some of the trackers showing volatility: pic.twitter.com/b3nGzW8O31
The Top Sites Impacted by the January 2020 Core Update
In the few days since the January 2020 Core Update rolled in, various sites in different sectors showed significant change in SERP rankings. Let’s look at the winners and losers (so far).
1. Sites with Improved Rankings Since the January 2020 Core Update
According to data from Sistrix, sites in the health sector enjoyed gains since the update rolled in. OnHealth.com and verywellhealth.com saw a 37.7% and 34.72% change, respectively.
Source: Sistrix.com
Other sites with improved ranking include a football site, a movie tickets site, and two news sites. Could this have to do with trending news (the British Royal Family and the Holocaust) and entertainment content?
2. Sites with Lower Rankings Since the January 2020 Core Update
The data shows car buyer and finance sites also taking hits since the update rolled in. Could this be because of the pricing information within the sites? It’s interesting to note that boxofficemojo.com (a movie site just like fandango.com) also shows information related to money.
How to Optimize Your Site to Survive the January 2020 Core Update
Like tons of content creators and webmasters, you’re likely scratching your head over all this information. Luckily, Google has some advice on how to optimize your site for the update.
Let’s go deeper into what it takes to create the kind of content Google always ranks well, no matter what changes it makes to its algorithms.
5 Aspects of Content That Ranks Well on Google
When you add these killer components to your site, you don’t have to spend hours analyzing why one movie site enjoyed gains since the January 2020 Core Update, while another movie site took a serious hit.
1. Originality
Take a look at this piece on cats purring by WebMD.
The article is informative, plus it comes from a trusted domain. On the other hand, look at this one from WHISKAS.
A piece like this isn’t counted as plagiarism, as nothing is copied word-for-word from WebMD. However, almost everything is the same. There’s no originality and nothing new added to it.
The result? Although WebMD ranks 422 on Google global engagements, Whiskas ranks 1,752, 296.
2. Comprehensiveness
Comprehensive content dives deep into a topic rather than merely scratching the surface. It provides statistics, charts and graphs, guidelines, and relevant images. After readers go through the article, they feel they’ve gained an insider view into the topic.
Length is an important factor to consider when it comes to content comprehensiveness. It’s almost impossible to dive deep into a topic with a 500-word blog. According to various sources of data, the best length is between 2,000 and 3,000 words.
3. Expertise
When searching for medical advice online, what would you prefer to read? A blog written by a well-known doctor or one by an anonymous person who simply rewrites information they find online?
Expertise is important to Google rankings. Sites owned by people who’ve established authority in their industry do much better than random sites without clear credentials.
4. User-Friendly and Trustworthy Presentation
Imagine reading through a site teaching you how to use English grammar and noticing typos and the misuse of adverbs. Even if this site were owned by an authority in language, you’d still click the back button to look for something else. This shows how important it is for content to be free of sloppiness and errors.
Presentation also affects user experience. For instance, think of how annoying it is to read a blog and have a ton of distracting ads crop up. Or imagine opening a site on your mobile device just to find it’s not optimized for mobile users.
5. User Value
Google’s number one goal, as mentioned, is to give real value to real people. This is what all the updates boil down to.
So, ranking well on Google isn’t about keywords. It’s not even about meta data, rich snippets, and title tags (although they help). What ranking well on Google IS about is making people’s lives a little better each time they visit your site.
[bctt tweet=”Content that continually ranks well on Google has these 5 killer components: 1) Originality 2) Comprehensiveness ☑ 3) Expertise 4) User-friendly, trustworthy presentation 5) User value ❤” username=”ExpWriters”]
5 Tips to Update Your Content and Continue Ranking Well
So how do you take the five aspects of good content mentioned above and add them to everything you write? Use these smart tips.
1. Write Content You Can’t Find Elsewhere
Choose a blog on your topic that ranks highly on Google. Read it thoroughly. Then, ask yourself this question: “What can I add to my blog that isn’t dealt with here?”
For instance, look at this piece from Wired titled Why Do Cats Love Boxes So Much?
To add unique information to your blog on this topic, you could dive a little deeper and do some research on how cats in the wild “withdraw and hide.” Provide information and details beyond what everyone else has already written about.
2. Improve Content Found on High-Ranking Sites for Your Keyword
Type your keyword into Google. Then, go through the sites that rank highest on the SERPs. Are they good? In-depth? As a reader, what satisfies (and dissatisfies) you about each article or blog? Your next step is to find ways to make your content an improved version of the highest-ranking content on Google.
3. Proofread to Perfection
Follow this five-step guide to ensure your content sparkles every single time.
Go over your content quickly to get a first impression.
Scrutinize each paragraph to see if it supports your big idea.
Attack your blog’s organization – ruthlessly pull sentences and paragraphs apart until they flow well.
Read it out loud to nail your tone of voice.
Read it again, this time from bottom to top.
4. Step into Your Audience’s Shoes
Why did users look up your topic? What do they fear, dream, desire? When you know your audience, you’ll know what they’re looking for in your content.
5. Forget Keywords
Write naturally. Use keywords because you’re dealing with the topic they surround, not because you need to reach a 3% keyword density.
[bctt tweet=”Want to survive @Google updates? 1) Write content you can’t find elsewhere. 2) Improve on high-ranking content. 3) Proofread to perfection. 4) Step into your audience’s shoes. 5) Forget keywords. ✅” username=”ExpWriters”]
Moving Forward after the January 2020 Core Update
The bad news is the January 2020 Core Update is huge.
The good news is it doesn’t matter.
Yes, your site can take hits and lose rankings. But in the long run, if you focus on becoming your users and knowing what they need, your site will always do well in Google search. You’ll rise above the January 2020 Core Update, or whatever updates rock the SEO world in the future.
Looking for expert blogs, articles, and more that are original, trustworthy, and comprehensive? We write content that ranks well in Google, no matter the updates. Check out our pricing.
Big news in the Interwebz! Officially on October 26, 2015, Google released news that it has begun using an artificial intelligence page ranking system called “RankBrain.”
This AI (Artificial Intelligence) system is designed to help Google organize and categorize all of its search results and news of it is currently breaking the Internet. For those of you who are unfamiliar, here’s the skinny on the new RankBrain technology.
What is Google RankBrain?
Google RankBrain is an AI system that Google designed to assist in processing search results. The system operates by teaching itself how to complete a task and is currently being used to search the billions of pages in Google’s ranking indexes in order to find the ones that are most relevant and most valuable for a given search query.
Because the release is so new, it’s still a little unclear whether or not RankBrain is a part of the entire Google Algorithm known as Hummingbird, but sources like Search Engine Land believe that it is.
There are dozens of components that make up Hummingbird and many SEOs believe that RankBrain is simply the latest. This is fueled by the fact that Bloomberg Business reported that Google RankBrain won’t handle all searches as the algorithm would, and is only responsible for a portion of them.
According to Google, RankBrain has been live since early in the year and has been fully rolled-out for several months now. RankBrain will affect a huge number of queries and, as queries continue to roll in, the AI system will continue to become more advanced and learn to make predictions about certain search patterns.
In fact, RankBrain is already beginning to get better at predicting a page’s rank than its human counterparts: according to recent information, engineers involved in developing the software were asked to guess where various pages would be ranked according to Google’s ranking signals.
“RankBrain” makes me conjure up this image… remember those crazy Boston Dynamic dog-like bots?
While the engineers guessed correctly 70% of the time, RankBrain got it right 80% of the time. (Better than human?)
People who want to learn more about exactly how the AI properties of RankBrain function can consult this blog post (although the technology is not called RankBrain in the post).
How Does Google RankBrain Work?
The details on this are still foggy but right now the best guess is that RankBrain is used to interpret searches that are submitted to Google and to match them with pages that may not feature the exact keyword phrase that was searched for, but which are relevant nonetheless. This is an expansion on previous Google technologies that allowed the search engine to present pages that didn’t feature the exact search terms entered – so that people searching for “running shoes” would also see pages that targeted the keyword “sneakers” and so on and so forth.
Right now, Google receives over 3 billion searches on a daily basis and, in 2007, the search engine giant reported that 20-25% of those search terms were totally unfamiliar. In 2013, that number scaled down to 15%, which was still significant for such a huge machine (it amounts to about 450 million search terms each day that Google has never seen). The 15% estimation holds true today and, presumably, RankBrain is a way to refine and categorize those queries in order to deliver better results for Google users.
How RankBrain Is Involved in Google’s Ranking Signals
When it comes time to rank a webpage, Google uses a wide variety of so-called “signals” to determine how to rank the page in the index. Things like bolded words, mobile-friendly pages, and local listings are all signals that Google uses to rank a page. These signals are processed by various parts of the algorithm in order to determine which pages show up in SERPs and which do not.
According to Google, there are more than 200 big-time ranking signals used when ranking each page. Many people believe that these 200 signals then give way for up to 10,000 sub-signals. This is important to know because, seemingly out of the blue, Google is now saying that RankBrain is the third-most important ranking signal in existence right now. Although we know that this is a huge development, since we don’t know exactly how RankBrain will look in the coming months, it’s hard to tailor content to this development as it stands now.
The Future of Google RankBrain
Right now, many SEO experts believe that the presence of RankBrain may indicate a future trend toward voice searches.
Because people don’t issue voice searches the same way they issue text-based searches, search engines and marketers alike need to start adapting now.
For example, a person who wants to issue a voice search may ask “Where can I get a bagel in NYC?” while a text search may look more like “bagels NYC.” The fact that RankBrain is capable of learning, adapting to, and predicting a variety of new search queries indicates that the Google engineers may be predicting an AI system that can eventually answer basic questions and even complete easy puzzles.
This, ultimately, is an extension of a program called The Knowledge Graph, which Google released in 2012. The Knowledge Graph was Google’s way to reach toward becoming more intelligent about the connections between words. With the inception of this program, Google moved toward doing what it called searching for “things not strings.” This meant that Google went beyond searching only for information that matched a string of letters and began, instead, searching for pages that provided answers to the questions a person was probably asking through their search queries. For example, The Knowledge Graph allows searchers to enter a term like “when was Nixon born?” and get an answer complete with maps without ever specifying that you mean President Nixon.
As RankBrain becomes more established, it seems evident that the service will combine with other Google technologies, such as rich answers (more on these in a moment) to create an intuitive search experience that allows the search engine to see and predict patterns and decipher complex, long-tail queries that may not target specific keywords. RankBrain is designed to translate those queries and present the correct information to the searcher in a format that doesn’t require him or her to navigate away from the search page. This, in turn, will help decrease the number of search queries that Google can’t understand and will create a more satisfying search experience for searchers and Google engineers alike.
The Future of Search & the Increase of Rich Answers
The trend toward more information with every search has already been exhibited through Google’s rich answers. Instead of displaying a simple response when a query is issued, Google progressively upped its rates of rich answers, which is an attempt by the search engine to answer queries in a way that doesn’t require users to click through a website. Rich answers include things like snippets, charts, tables, maps, forms, sliders, and images. Consider the following example of a rich answer:
Recently, a study conducted by Stone Temple Consulting revealed that of 850,000 search queries entered, a whopping 19.45% of them result in rich answers.
This, along with the introduction of RankBrain may well point to the fact that Google as a whole is leaning toward a more intuitive, intelligent search system that helps users find exactly what they want in a single search while also picking up the slack for 450 million unfamiliar search terms.
Although the scope of RankBrain is not yet clear, it seems evident that the new program is a sliver of the big picture and that RankBrain is primed to make a big impact on search results forever.
Google isn’t exactly an impulsive company and, while the search engine giant tests many things, it only launches huge changes when it’s reasonably certain that they will make a positive impact that aligns with Google’s overall mission and projections. Additionally, the fact that RankBrain is now the third-most important ranking signal in all of Google is a huge deal and serves to further reinforce the idea that Google engineers are gearing up for big changes in the way people search the web.
So How Do We Prep for Search Changes Across all Content?
For marketers, these impending search changes have the potential to offer huge branding benefits if content is designed correctly.
For now, though, we have yet to see exactly what RankBrain will do and how it will affect queries. As always, we will keep you posted as we learn more but, for now, the same thing as always holds true: create original, high-quality content, post it often, do good keyword research, and be active on a variety of social media outlets. That is the key to search query success.
Find quality copywriting in our Content Shop to get well-written, thought-leadership content your readers will love.
Google really wants you to mind your P’s (though I guess they care nothing about your Q’s.) First there was Panda and Penguin, and now there is the Phantom.
The Ms. Manners of web traffic has secretly updated its algorithm (again) and made havoc for many content creators out there. Let’s take a look.
What is Google’s Phantom All About?
Earlier this month, HubPages, which as its name suggests is a huge hub of pages on informational content of all sorts, saw its traffic drop by 22 percent seemingly overnight. Other sites, such as WikiHow and eHow saw drops as well, though not as significant.
What had happened? No one was sure because Google is keeping tight lipped, but we do know it has something to do with what Glenn Gabe, a search engine expert, coined “the phantom” or, since this is not the first time Google has so covertly turned Internet searches on its head, “phantom 2.”
Basically, as far as the experts can tell, Google made a change to its algorithm that has the potential to hurt many websites who rely on Google to get traffic.
But what does this mean for you and your website as you try to create a Google-friendly body of content?
What All the Google Updates Have In Common With the New Phantom
I have talked about this before: you have to write good content. Forget for a second the fact that readers want good content and if you do not give it to them, they are not going to read what you have to say. So who cares if you pop up on Google or not? Let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s focus on Google.
What do Panda, Penguin, and Phantom have in common other than they all start with P and they were all Google updates (and they are all nouns)? They were all created, at least allegedly, to weed out weak content.
Panda. This update was created in order to make low-quality sites or weaker content rank lower on the Google totem pole. What this meant was that higher-quality sites with strong content got bumped up in the rankings and made it to the top of Google searches. And let’s face it, who is going to page 10? The higher you are, the better your chances of someone clicking on you.
Penguin. This update was created in order to punish “link baiters.” Link baiters are the websites that post links back to themselves all over the Internet in order to appear like a quality site. (If you have ever wondered why someone would take the time to leave a comment on a post about, well, pretty much any topic, in order to mention their completely unrelated and often gibberish sales pitch with a link back to their site, now you know the reason.) Google was not fooled by this scheme and fixed their algorithm to reduce the success of these link impersonators.
Phantom. Now, there is the phantom. At first, Google was not commenting on the update, and so we were all left to speculate. What was pretty popularly decided was that Google was targeting informational sites and How to sites that had lower level quality content. However, we have since found out that this was a little misleading. According to a press release by ASEOhosting, Google is not targeting informational and How to sites. Instead, they are simply targeting sites with poorer quality content, which happens to include some informational and How to sites.
What this tells you is that the content game is survival of the fittest. If you create strong content, you are going to beat out weaker content. And the stronger your content is, the less you have to worry about Google. If everything they do is done in order to make life easier for quality content, you know that you are going to remain on top as long as you keep creating the best content.
Lesson: Do Not Write Bad Content
I am not repeating myself here. Write good content and do not write bad content are not synonyms. You could write good content and bad content if you wanted to. I would advise you not to, though. Google does not reward good content, it simply punishes bad content.
Ari Levi discusses Gabe’s, the search engine expert’s, assessment of the phantom in a CNBC article. What Gabe found was that even informative, well written pages were being ranked lower. In other words, an entire domain was being hurt because of its bad content even if it also created good content.
Basically what this means for you is that it does not matter how good some of your content is if the rest is awful. It is not enough to start writing good content, you have to stop writing bad content.
How Do You Write Good Content and Avoid Bad Content?
It is easy to say that you will get rid of your weaker content and start churning out good content. It is a lot harder to actually do it. With everything else you have going on in your career and business, how are you supposed to start over from scratch if you have not already been creating strong articles?
As difficult as it may seem, there are some foundational easy ways that you can do this.
The first, and perhaps easiest, is to outsource. Hire someone else to write your content for you. Professional writers know what they are doing not only because they are good writers with a passion for words, but because they have to stay on top of things. Their job is to research what makes good content, how to properly use SEO, and what Google wants. They get training and alerts when the rules change. They make a living by consistently giving you good, quality content. So you might as well take advantage of them.
If you do write your own content, whether entirely or even just some of it, do your research and perhaps get some training. Make it a point to keep up with these changes. Follow some blogs that talk about web writing. Maybe even take a training course on content creation.
When you write, write for a human being. Yes. Make sure you know and use important keywords. Yes. Think a little about what Google might like. However, do not write for Google, write for your audience. But more about that in a second.
Never write something just because you want to post something. Always have a meaning and a purpose behind your words.
Be trustworthy. Back up your claims with research. Don’t just say, “Buy us because we are the best.” Say why you are the best and convince your readers that you really are.
Worry a Little Less About Google, a Little More About Your Readers
I mentioned it above, but it is important enough to merit its own section: worry more about your readers than about Google.
Google is smart. Google is kind. Google is important. But in the end, your readers are more important. Who cares if Google thinks you should be number one on people’s search results if the reader does not agree. They might click on you, but they won’t click back on you if you do not convince them to stay.
When you write, think about your readers. What do they want to hear? What do they want to know? Base what you write on those facts. In the end, it is the readers’ opinion and thoughts that will make a sale or conversion. So focus on them, and you will not have to focus as much on what Google is plotting in its secret lair hidden away from prying eyes.
Here is the thing, though. If you write what your readers’ want to know, then not only will it make your content better, but it will make you fall right into their searches anyway. That list of keywords your SEO guy sends you did not come out of thin air. It came from data about what your potential audience has been searching for.
If you write what they want, then they are going to be searching for what you write. It’s simple logic. So ultimately, if you write for your readers, you are going to rank higher in Google anyway. Win, win.
Cross Your Fingers and Hope for the Best
In the end, you can do everything I am writing, and Google can change the game again tomorrow. Even Gabe, who is a well-respected expert, admits to being at a loss as to what should be done and how to handle Google.
A lot of your web writing life is trial and error, guess and predictions. However, if you consistently create good content, you do not have to worry about all that. Google wants readers to find you, and even without searches, readers keep the very best websites bookmarked.
So what should you do about the phantom? Give it what it wants – high quality content that readers can trust. And you should be doing that anyway with or without Google.
Google is always updating, with an algorithm change at least every few weeks. Now, in a move to help people find great, accurate content, Google is working on a content accuracy algorithm that will help direct people to accurate sites quickly and easily.
We recently wrote a guest blog on SiteProNews about this very topic, which had a lot of traction inside just 24 hours. Because of this, we wanted to look into the topic further and provide even more data about this hot topic.
Accurate Content: Does Google Care and Why?
Social media has been abuzz lately with the latest Google news to come down the line. It is big enough that it didn’t just spark interest for businesses and SEO experts, but it also got your clients’ attention. People readily assume that content is always accurate because, if it is on the Internet, it has to be true! Or, at least, that is what many people believe. This, however, makes many people fall victim to false news from satire news sources without any verification about the particular topic. Very few people will double check by searching Google for the topic and won’t go to Snopes to see if anything has been written. Because of this, Search Engine Journal says that Google is deeming it necessary for websites to have accurate content.
One of the main reasons Google cares about people getting truthful content is that they have a strong desire to provide people with excellent, expert content and accuracy plays a big part in that. If you don’t believe me when it comes to Google wanting to give readers the best content possible through search results, just take a look at all of the various algorithms they have introduced over the last few months and years.
How Will Google Determine Accurate Content?
According to the Search Engine Journal article I shared above, Google has an interesting plan to check for accuracy. It seems complicated, but Google is planning to build an algorithm that cross checks your content against a number of verified, reputable sources. They haven’t said exactly what these places will be, but a few that come to mind could be places such as Huffington Post, or industry related websites. For the copywriting industry, this could be Moz or HubSpot. This way, Google can tell for sure if you are writing something that is truthful or if it is misleading. This doesn’t seem like it will be too much of a detriment to too many businesses, but it is wise to make sure you know what is going on and ensuring all of your existing and future content is accurate.
How Could This Impact Your Website?
If you are readily publishing accurate content already, you will not have too much to fear from this change. However, if your content has the chance to be somewhat inaccurate or completely so, this could have a huge, negative impact on your site. I don’t have any statistics at the moment as this algorithm is still in works by the Google team, but if it is anything like other algorithms, you can expect to see a few things. Some of the repercussions could be loss of rank on the search engine results page and being slapped with a not-so-fun penalty. Depending on the severity, it could take you a bit to recover. Don’t be too alarmed though! I plan on giving you some concrete ways to check your content’s accuracy before this algorithm is put in place.
What are the Perks of Accurate Content?
There are several great perks when it comes to having accurate content. First of all, it will set you up as a leading voice in your industry. If you write accurate content, you will not only look good to your clients, but also to others in the industry. Secondly, it will help you generate great, fresh content all the time. Another perk I see to accurate content is that it is significantly easier to write naturally when you are telling the truth. Writing naturally is a big part of content writing, and writing truthfully will help with that.
The Top Two Ways to Ensure Your Content is Accurate
Now that I’ve looked at this new algorithm some, I am going to give you something to take away. Here are the top two things I suggest to help you write accurate content, as well as making sure your current content is accurate.
Do Research on Reputable Websites. When you write your content, a great way to get accurate content is to do your research on reputable websites such as Huffington Post, or leading websites in your industry. You should also always make sure to fact check your own content by comparing the research to multiple reputable sites just to be careful.
Get a Content Audit. One of the best ways to make sure you have accurate content is to get a content audit. This will look over your web pages to show you what is working, what should be changed, and giving you an idea on how to tweak your future pages. You can also use a content audit to make sure that your content is accurate before the Google algorithm hits.
Don’t hesitate to check out our article on SiteProNews linked in the intro for more ways you can write accurate content.
Authenticity is the New Sexy
Creating authentic content is the best way to convince readers and clients that your business is the one to be trusted. It has always been an important element in content creating, but now with Google’s impending algorithm, the importance has skyrocketed. Take this opportunity to check and see if your content is currently accurate, and always make sure you write accurate content in the future. If you want to ensure every piece of your content is accurate, you can trust Express Writers. We provide content audits to look over content, which will help you prepare for the new algorithm. In addition, our expert team of copywriters always writes excellent, accurate content. Don’t hesitate to ask us questions about how we can help you with great content!
