How can an infographic get better? Add moving parts. Our fantastic design team created and designed this first gifographic from Express Writers. In it, we’re showing you the major tricks of the trade when it comes to writing and optimizing great SEO content. Tell us how you liked our first gifographic, and for a limited time, we’re taking gifographic orders! Full transcript below. Transcript
A Guide To Writing & Optimizing Great SEO Content (Gifographic)
Here’s Why Creating Great SEO Content Is So Crucial To Your Marketing
Web traffic drives content marketing. The largest portion of content marketing success, 63%, is derived from website traffic. A big reason why you should focus on having correctly SEO optimized content on your site.
2/3 of B2B Marketers say content fuels their marketing. And if your content is well-written, answers questions, and is optimized for your buyers to find it, buyers are willing to finish 57% of your buying process without even talking to a sales rep.
Google loves it! Google has said that quality content is key to rankings.
Google Panda is the gatekeeper. The Google panda update has been launched primarily to ensure only high quality content ranks the best. This Panda algorithm looks into factors specifically that include how expertly the content is written, the quality of the source and author, if it is original and not duplicate, authoritative, complete, well-researched, and not-over populated with ads.
Optimized blogs are powerful. 8 out of 10 Internet users are reading blogs and social media, which accounts for a whole 23% of time spent on the Internet.
3 Major Types of SEO Content & Tips on Correctly Optimizing Them
Content is the fuel for what you publish on the web. Here are a few of the most common web content types:
Web pages. Web pages are one of the most commonly optimized forms of SEO content. Boost your web page ranking through the inclusion of related, well-researched keywords, well written title tags, meta descriptions, awesome headers, and high quality writing. Never skimp on the quality of the writing if you want the best results from your web pages.
Blogs. There are approximately 152,000,000blogs on the web and with that kind of competition it’s obvious that optimizing your blog for SEO is an important way to get it to stand out. Include high quality citations (links) that reference any statistics you include and shoot for 2,000 words of high quality, well-researched SEO content per blog or more.
Product Descriptions. When it comes to writing product descriptions, you want people to be able to locate them online quickly and easily. Don’t skimp on copy here either. Include keywords in your product descriptions and write descriptive headlines and meta content for each one.
Social Media. Did you know that social media can be optimized, too? Except with social media, you optimize your content so that it can be located and shared by people rather than search engines. So don’t write around your keywords; write your social content around your audience.
3 Rules of Thumb in SEO Writing
1. Keyword Amount: Stay under a 3% keyword density in your content (web pages, blogs, etc.) Using them naturally is your #1 rule. Headers, subheaders, and throughout the copy are key areas to use them. How to Calculate:
Keyword Density = (How many times you used the keyword / Total words in the text) x 100
Example: (20 / 800) x 100 = 2.5% 2. Don’t count your keywords. We mean it! Think of your audience, the quality of your content, how well you’re researching the content, and if the copy addresses every question the topic could raise. This is far more important than counting keyword density every time. Simply optimize naturally with keywords. 3. Find original sources when you’re stating a claim, and citate (link to it). See our sources at the bottom of this infographic? Those are our citations. You’ll want to actually hyperlink inside your blogs or other content where you’re making a statement or claim that you’ve read online. Make sure you use the original source when you hyperlink.
3 SEO Tools for the Web Content Creator
SEMrush is a powerful keyword tool that allows users to optimize their sites for SEO, create intuitive pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and conduct social media and video advertising research. When it comes to using SEMrush to find keywords for your ad campaign, you’ll want to look into niche-specific long-tail keywords that apply specifically to your industry. While it’s all well and good to target a high-volume search keyword, it’s also harder to rank for these keywords, which means you may be better off focusing on a less competitive, more specific keyword phrase that allows you to rank strongly from the get-go.
Wordtracker is another keyword research tool that allows users to search multiple sources for effective keywords. This tool can help you find keywords that nobody is competing on and will be an essential tool for SEO success.
BuzzSumo is an effective tool for finding the key influencers that can help you promote your content and get it noticed by a wide audience base. It can also help you find trending content topics and take inspiration for audience related content. Although it’s not specifically SEO, developing great topic ideas and feeding off of industry leaders is every bit as important as SEO optimization.
10 Key Factors of Great SEO Content
1. Write great headers! Aside from your body content, the most important piece of content for SEO is your header. A header tells people what the piece is about, grabs reader attention and gives a general overview of the topic. To make your header as interesting as possible, include your keyword and focus on writing a header that asks a question or addresses your readers’ fears. Create headers that are irresistible and make your readers want to click; include the keyword naturally. 2. Stay away from “stuffing.” Keyword stuffing is a dangerous practice that will get you in trouble with the search engines, decreasing your site’s rank and making it harder for users to find you. Plus, it just looks spammy. So when writing your content, shoot to use keywords naturally. They should be in your header (if it’s possible to include them while still feeling organic) and they should appear a few times throughout the body content. You want your keyword density under 3% for everything you write. 3. Optimize your keywords for many channels. Keywords are important for your website, but they’re also important for social media and email. To optimize for multi-channel visibility in places like blogs, web pages and social media sites, be consistent with your keyword phrases across all the platforms you use. 4. Write good meta content. That little bit called your meta description might be more important than you realize. Think of them as your organic PPC copy; what users will see if your content ranks high enough. 2-3 sentence is all you need there, and be sure to include your main keyword. Treat your title tags like a 4-8-word advertisement for best results. 5. Be unique. All of the content you create should be unique, so you’ll want to strike a balance between curated content and original content. This is one of the best ways to optimize your site for SEO. 6. Include citations. Find and mention industry leaders throughout your content to back up your content. Google cares about your sources and to rank well you’ll want to link to industry leaders. Moz’s MozBar can help you make sure you’re using good sites; the DA (Domain Authority) score should ideally be 50 or more. However, the DA metric isn’t set in stone, so use it with judgment. Additionally, in web content you’ll want to link strategically throughout your own text back to the most important pages of your site. 7. Have high word counts. Did you know that word count can play an important part of SEO ranking? To provide the most value for your audience and rank as well as possible in SERPs, write long-form content between 1,500-2,000 words. Seek to address every question that could be raised on your topic. 8. Make sure all of your content is well- Sounds simple, but it’s crucial. Content that is filled with typos, misspellings, poor-quality links, or too many keywords will harm your SEO ranking and drive readers away. Proofread everything (or hire a proofreader). 9. Earn great links. In addition to using good links in your content, you’ll want to earn high-quality links from the outside as well. The best way to do this is to create and publish useful content that includes your keyword terms and draws social shares. Over time, the links will come. 10. Post often and consistently: Content is the #1 ranking factor for SEO and when you post often, your content gets shared more, viewed more, linked to more and helps you earn better rankings. For best results, post to your various channels several times a week and never let a blog sit unattended for long.
When you need a lot of content for your site and you need it done right, these three options usually come to mind:
You can do it yourself.
You can hire a writer.
You can hire a freelance SEO writing service.
Freelance SEO Writing: Finding the Best Option for You
The problem with the first option, though, is that even if you are the best writer in the world, if you are running a business, you just don’t have time to consistently write that much and still make it quality.
However, you notice that I didn’t list ‘don’t worry about creating content’ as an option. If there is anything that we can all agree on in the world of marketing, it is that you need an online presence, and you need great content on that site. Brafton created an awesome infographic illustrating this.
This means your best option is often going to be paying someone else to do the writing for you.
Hiring a Writer
When you hire a writer, you can take on a fulltime employee, use an individual freelancer, or contract through a freelance SEO writing service.
With the first two options, you take a risk of hiring someone without as many credentials as you can find through full services. Not only that, but they may not have as full of a range as a freelance service.
With a service, you have a wide range of experience, knowledgeable writers who can specialize in whatever type of writing you want done.
When you are looking for a service, though, you do not want to just go with the first one you run across.
Five Things You Should Look for in Your Best-Fit Freelance SEO Writing Service
When you are looking for a freelance service, make sure they meet at least these five important qualities.
1. They can adapt your necessary voice to fit your audience.
Great writers come up with an interesting, unique voice that really resonates with their readers. However, great freelance SEO writing services – or writer – actually adapts yours. Your voice becomes theirs.
When hiring a freelance writer, you need to find one that, instead of having their own voice, has an easily adaptable voice.
They should be writing for your audience in the tone that you would use to talk to your clients. In order to ensure they have this capability, ask for a diverse portfolio.
If a portfolio contains amazing pieces, but they are all of one style, then you cannot be assured that they are adaptably or not.
A freelance SEO writing service is usually good at ensuring this because they can choose one of their varied writers who best fit your need. While a single author can have many voices, think about how many voices you can choose from when you have many authors who each have many voices.
2. They keep up to date with all of the latest writing trends.
The current content marketing structure is likely to look a lot different than the content marketing world of even next year. That is why good writing is not enough.
When you look for a writer or service, make sure they keep up with the growing trends. There are many ways they can show you they do this.
They can become certified.
They can take trainings.
They can demonstrate their knowledge and prowess through their own research. However, if this is the way they learn, you might need to periodically check to make sure they are staying up to date.
Services are usually good at doing this because they often require their writers to update their training as new issues arise. Therefore, when you use a service, you can be more assured that they are familiar with all new and emerging trends – it is after all their business – as well as know that it is likely easier to get proof of this knowledge.
3. They are talented writers.
This one should go without saying, but I am mentioning it anyway. You have to make sure you hire a freelance SEO writing provider that actually knows how to write.
While this alone does not make a good freelance writer, it is the most important. No matter how well rounded they are, a freelancer without writing talent is not a freelancer you want to use.
Here, it might not matter as much if you use a freelance SEO writing service or an individual. However, at least with a service, if you do not like the writer who is assigned to your project, you have the freedom to request someone else.
4. They are talented writers in the area that you need them to be talented in.
Just as important as hiring a talented writer is hiring a writer that is skilled in the areas that you need them to be. Creative writing versus professional or technical writing versus copywriting versus niche writing and on and on all are vastly different.
If you need a professional writer, it is probably not a great idea to use a fully creative writer – even if that creative writer is an incredible creative writer.
You can determine if a writer is good and if they are good at what you need them to be able to do in a lot of ways.
Ask for referrals.
Check their portfolio or website.
Read reviews and testimonials.
Ask for a test article in order to see their merits.
While you can find an individual that meets your needs, just remember that here to a service might be a good idea. They have all good writers, but they have writers of varied natures. This way, you are more likely to get the writer you need.
5. They are all-encompassing.
Writing services are good at offering you a wide variety of services. When you use one, they do all the work for you.
Look for a service that works with you start to finish.
They consult with you and brainstorm what you need.
They create an editorial calendar.
They can even do keyword research for good SEO content from the ground up.
They write and post the content.
They do the social media for the content.
Final Thoughts on Freelance SEO Writing Services
Using a freelance service can save you time and make you money, which makes it well worth the price you pay the service. However, if you don’t get the right service, you will be paying for service without reaping any of the potential benefits.
If you are in the market for a freelance SEO writing service, check out our online Content Shop.
It’s that time of year again. Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys are being prepped. New Year’s celebrations are being planned. SEO content predictions are being made. We published a 2014 Social Media Guide at the start of the year that talked about new trends, solutions, and predictions. We covered social media and marketing trends to live by in 2014.
Let’s take a moment to see just what panned out before we jump into a sneak peak of what we think 2015 SEO content will look like.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly of 2014
Predictions can be like the weather, sometimes good, sometimes bad, and every so often, downright ugly! We are happy to report that our 2014 SEO content predictions didn’t mirror the weatherman, whose reports end up wrong or slightly off. In a nutshell, here’s what we predicted for SEO content in 2014:
Audience engagement and an in-depth understanding of your audience would be vital.
Social media would grow in leaps and bounds becoming even more crucial to your SEO.
Mobile optimization would be a must.
Predictive tools would begin to replace analytical tools.
Facebook video ads, Twitter ads, and possible G+ ads would start to be incorporated in marketing strategies.
Video and mobile marketing would skyrocket.
Offline material would be just as important as online and would need to lead people to your virtual doorstep.
Easy to understand SEO best practices would be adopted.
A social media strategy would be vital to lead generation and audience engagement.
Engagement and inspiration would become the cornerstone on successful online presences.
2014 predictions the Internet over hung on the idea that social media would explode. Consumer engagement would radically determine success. And there would be a migration from best desktop display practices to mobile readership. Check out the growth social media saw in 2014:
There’s no denying that our predictions were spot on. 2014 has been the Year of the User. From algorithm updates to content creation, everything we’ve done has been based on what our target audience wants and needs. Those of us who created and stuck to a strong content plan, coupled with social media, audience engagement, mobile optimization, and SEO best practices have reaped the rewards. Facebook advertising and the takeover of predictive tools phased out, but everything else came true.
Based on what has worked and what has changed, what is in store for 2015? What should we be planning, and what trends should we watch?
What to Expect in 2015
2015 is shaping up to be a great year for SEO content. And there’s awesome news in the air. SEO best practices got a lot simpler in 2014, and they’re looking to get even simpler in 2015. In fact, we dare to say SEO is on its way to becoming as simple as the production of high quality, amazing content. End of story.
Okay, it’s not really the end. It’s never the end. But 2015 is gearing up to be the year of local search, organic ranking, natural writing, great storytelling, and some data and analytics thrown in for good measure. Let’s break down what to expect in the New Year.
Content Will Reign Supreme
Content has rapidly become an all-encompassing term. At its core is expertly crafted copy that speaks to the reader. It incorporates great storytelling, research, backed statements and facts, calls to action, and humanization. It’s neither simple nor impossible to create. And it will reign supreme in 2015.
We predict that content will become the new face of SEO. It will be at the core of everything we do, and it will organically build rankings. It will be the best SEO practice, a timeless optimization tool that will never go out of style.
What’s more, it comes in a variety of forms. There’s no such thing as black and white content. It comes in every form possible. And as we step into the New Year, here are some content ideas to contemplate:
Create and manage a blog, if you aren’t already.
Repurpose your content into new mediums like infographics and videos.
Expand into content types that are friendly for on-the-go audience members, like podcasts and videos.
Blast newsworthy press about your company to the media via a press release.
Mobile Traffic Will Invade
Epicnewmedia.co.uk predicts that mobile will be king in 2015, and we have to agree. We saw an epic boom in mobile traffic and search in 2014. The predicted migration happened, and you’re the proof. Just stop and think about how many times you use for mobile device—whether phone or tablet—to conduct an Internet search or check out a recommended website.
We use our mobile devices to stream and track content of interest. We’re practically chomping at the bit to check in on our social media. Mobile traffic will invade in 2015, staking a permanent claim to SEO.
In other words, mobile searches are about to overrun desktop. If you’re one of the thousands of businesses still ignoring mobile content, it’s time to change. If you don’t, you’re in for a sobering experience.
Currently, 48 percent of users who land on a business website that doesn’t perform on mobile take it as an indication that the business just doesn’t care. We predict this percentage to grow in 2015. Ignore mobile traffic needs, and you’re setting your business up failure.
Be Social or Die
Here’s the thing; Google uses social media to rank your website. In fact, social media affects your SEO in numerous ways:
Social sharing equates to link building. Link building has always been crucial to SEO. The more social sharing you receive, the more potential there is for an inbound link.
Social sharing equates to activity and authority. The more your content is shared over social media, the more activity Google sees. As more people share, comment on, and discuss your content, Google takes note. Before you know it, you’re seen as an authority. Google gauges the activity as something worthwhile, and your SEO grows.
Faster Indexing: Did you know that an extensively tweeted piece of content cuts indexation by up to 50 percent? The speed at which your content is indexed is affected by numerous factors, but social media activity is the key to cutting that time down.
In 2015, SEO and the success of our content will depend heavily on social media. Ready for the best part? We will have almost complete control over this factor of success simply by focusing on high quality, compelling, and relevant content creation. If you can supply excellent customer service and back it with compelling content, social media will skyrocket your SEO even further than it did in 2014.
Email Will Be Marketing Gold
Visual.ly predicts that email will continue to be extremely important. As people are mercilessly bombarded by data on the Internet, it will be marketing emails that make a lasting impression. In fact, they will be what make an impact.
In 2015, focus on your email. Do you have a subscriber list? Is it extensive? It’s time to build those lists and start leveraging targeted email campaigns. The more personalized and precise the email, the greater the results will be. It just may be your biggest conversion generator.
Fast and Friendly Wins
Google doesn’t like slow. Heck, you and I don’t like slow! Do you think our audience does? No!
We live in the age of one-click solutions and instant answers. If your website isn’t fast—on both the desktop and the mobile device—it’s a death sentence. The average user waits less than three-seconds for a page to load before saying, “Forget it.”
On a scale of one to ten, ten being epic, how user-friendly in your website? Keep in mind that friendliness isn’t just a homepage thing. It’s throughout every page on the site. It incorporates the manner in which you display your content, and what you choose to highlight and make stand out.
The average user doesn’t read. They scan. Your presentation and overall user friendliness will determine whether your content is worth a closer look. If it indicates to the user that it’s too complex or hard, they’ll click away. You’ll never get shares. You’ll never send up social signals. You’ll never succeed in SEO.
Local SEO
According to Greg Gifford, Director of Autorevo’s Search and Social and contributor to Search Engine Land, local SEO will be both necessary and easy. SEO is coming down to a very simple staple: What you do, both on and off your site, must work together to make your user experience awesome. Your SEO and local SEO will flourish if you work toward this goal.
Gifford says that mastering local SEO in 2015 will be as simple as being awesome and earning awesome links. So, how do you be awesome?
Home Page Content Matters: If your home page is a slider or banner and a few sentences, you’re in trouble. Potential customers and search engines need to know all about you. So put some meat on that page!
Limited Content Means Limited Results: We copywriters cringe at the customer who says, “Less is more.” We get that you don’t want to overwhelm visitors with a research paper, but give your audience more credit. They’re smart, smarter than you think. They don’t want a paragraph of, “We sell X and can do X for you. Call us now!” If you’re stuck in that mentally, get out. Now! As Gifford says, “Today’s shoppers want immediate information.” Pack it in on each page with useful content. Skimp on them, and your “less is more” concept will paint you a fly-by-night scam.
Keywords Died: They died a long time ago! Yes, we still use them. Yes, we still research them. But we do not, under any circumstances, at any time, stuff or spam our content and website with them! You got that? Stuff your celebratory turkeys this year, not your website. There are still a slew of websites relying on this outdated, dead tactic. It will murder your SEO and rankings in 2015. Google will see to it, personally.
Title Tags Matter: I once had a client come to me and say, “I want nine keywords in my title tag, so I rank well.” I nearly had a heart attack. Gifford puts it perfectly, “You’ve got about 500 pixels of width for your title tags…if [you stuff] 100 keywords…into your title tag, you just look desperate.” Do you know what Google does with desperate? It eats it for breakfast and drops it to the dark, dismal, lower reaches of that search with a million hits. Do you want to be number 908,456? No! So use those title tags to summarize the page, concisely and accurately. Drop your primary keyword at the beginning. Place your business name at the end. And you are officially an awesome title tag maker. Google (and your copywriter) will thank you.
Outsourcing: It Really Is Okay
In the past year, we’ve seen a trend indicating a lean toward outsourcing. Although we cannot speak for every industry, we can speak for what we know. And the outsourcing of content creation is a growing trend across all businesses that want strong online presences.
At the heart of 2015 SEO is content. Content is rapidly becoming the new face of SEO. Like never before it is crucial to find a content creation team. Longer content is equating to better rankings, better ROI, and all around better everything. Your task in 2015 is to become the content leader in your niche. Recognize that your best chance at doing this is through team effort because you cannot hope to do everything yourself and run your business.
2015 SEO Content: Join the Party
What are you looking forward to in 2015 SEO content? Do you have some predictions of your own? Share them in the comments. Let’s get a discussion rolling!
You’ve heard it repeated over and over, ad nauseum.
It’s a cliched phrase.
And yet, we’re going to say it again anyway (with enthusiasm!), because it’s true:
Content is king. (Or queen ?.)
In other words, it’s kind of a big deal.
Without content, you can’t rank on Google’s first page.
Nope. Never. It’s not going to happen.
This is because content does two things for search engines:
It provides information on what a web page is about, plus a roadmap for how the other pages within the domain relate to each other (called “interlinking”).
It answers a user’s questions and/or fulfills their search intent.
Both contribute to rankings.
To find out whether your page nails either one of them, search engine crawlers will look for major clues – dead giveaways that your web pages provide exactly what the user and the ‘bots are trying to find.
If you don’t have content on your website, these ranking clues will be nonexistent.
That means your site and pages will not get indexed, let alone hit the coveted top 10 or top 5.
Content MUST be at the base of your rankings strategy. According to Search Engine Land, “Get your content right, and you’ve created a solid foundation to support all of your other SEO efforts.”
Content is not only king or queen; content is key.
If you want high rankings for your content and pages, you have to have it.
How does it work? Why does it work? Let’s explore.
7 More Reasons High Rankings in SERPs Depend on Content
1. Content Tells Search Crawlers What Your Page Is About
How do search crawlers figure out what your page is about? How do they know which keywords to rank you for (and if your page is worthy of ranking)?
They crawl the entirety of your page, from the code to the content.
The code helps distinguish your page, but much of the clues to what your content is about comes directly from it (Google calls these clues “key signals”).
The parts of your content that help organize the information for readers is also helpful for crawlers. Think:
Headers
Sub-headers
Keywords and keyword placement
Link anchor text
Hierarchy of headers (H1s vs. H2s and H3s, etc.)
2. Content Is a Framework for Natural Keyword Use
Once upon a time, you could repeat a keyword on your page with zero context and rank for that term. According to Moz, this meant search results had extremely limited value.
Conversely, think about search results today and how relevant they are – how they answer the questions you have or fulfill your information needs. This is possible because search engine engineers have improved the way results match up with user queries.
Search ‘bots don’t just look for instances of keywords anymore. Instead, they look at:
The context of those keywords/phrases
The relevance of the content to the user’s search terms
In other words, natural keyword use matters more than your primary keyword appearing X number of times on the page.
And, of course, the best foundation for natural keyword use on your page is to write comprehensive content on your topic.
3. Content Gives Users What They’re Looking For
Think about doing an online search. Most of the time, when you type some keywords or a question into the search box, you want something.
Content fulfills your search intent, depending on what you’re looking for. According to Yoast, search intent falls into four categories:
Each type of search intent has corresponding content:
Navigational: Homepages
Informational: Guides, how-tos, articles
Transactional: Sales pages, landing pages
Knowing your audience and building content to match their search intent will help your site pages rank well. For Google, especially, satisfying users is #1.
4. Updated Content Keeps Your Website Fresh
Another factor for ranking that search engines look at is freshness – has your site been updated recently? Is someone taking care of it? Or has it been abandoned or forgotten?
The freshness of your content tells search crawlers that somebody is still keeping house. The lights are on, and yes, you’re home.
Publishing fresh content helps crawlers establish your relevance, but updating old content is helpful, too – it keeps the information you offer up-to-date and accurate.
Plus, according to Moz, “Websites that add new pages at a higher rate may earn a higher freshness score than sites that add content less frequently.”
This means publishing fresh content consistently will work in your favor for higher page rankings.
5. It Keeps Users on Your Page Longer
The longer visitors stay on your page before returning to a search engine, the more relevant it must be to their needs.
Makes sense, right? This concept is called dwell time, and it could be a Google ranking factor.
Similarly, “time on page” is the amount of time the user spends on your page before navigating off-page (the destination doesn’t matter).
Both concepts are relevance-related. That means, if your content fulfills your user’s search intent, they’ll spend more time on-page. If your content isn’t relevant (or, let’s face it, if it sucks), the user will leave more quickly – sometimes immediately.
If you keep your visitors on-page longer, it’s a good indicator of your page’s relevance, which can contribute to better rankings.
How do you create topically relevant pages? With quality content.
6. It Builds Connections Between Your Site Pages
Search crawlers can’t index your pages without links between pages. These links help the ‘bots understand how your entire site ties together and the various page hierarchies you’ve put in place.
Content with links to other pages on your site helps the ‘bots AND your users make connections between them. These are “breadcrumbs” that show the way, so to speak, so both crawlers and users don’t get lost navigating your website.
Without a defined link structure, your website will become a maze of pages that are too hard to navigate. (Image via Web Style Guide)
A logical link structure, including content pages that link to each other, helps create relationships that are easy to follow and understand. It’s a literal map to your website. (Image via Web Style Guide)
Interlinking your content pages in a logical way is a best-practice for higher rankings, because it makes your site user-friendly.
7. Great Content Helps You Build Links and Content Rankings
Let’s not forget one of the greatest advantages to publishing content on your website: link building.
It works like this:
If the content you publish is high-quality, in-depth, accurate, and meets your audience’s search needs, they’ll find it valuable enough to share.
As the piece is shared, your authority strengthens.
Based on the authority built from your high-value content, people may start linking to your pages as trusted information sources.
These are called backlinks, and they’re ultra-high on Google’s list of ranking factors.
Backlinks are literal clues that people trust you, like your content, and find it relevant to their needs. They are votes for your page to climb the rankings. And, according to Backlinko, Google counts these “votes” heavily in your favor.
In fact, the number of referring domains/backlinks a site has directly correlates to their Google position. If you have more, you’re more likely to hold the #1 spot.
Therefore, a GIANT key to high rankings in SERPs is high-quality content. You can’t build authority without it. And, without authority, no one is going to want to link to you and “vote” for your site.
Want High Rankings in SERPs? You Need Content
Undoubtedly, content is the way to rank highly and advantageously on Google SERPs.
Without content, you’ll be attempting to steer a boat with no sail, rudder, paddles, engine, or any other key part that makes it move forward.
Instead, you’ll float aimlessly and get nowhere.
If you want better visibility online…
If you want higher authority and rankings…
If you want your website and brand name to matter…
Citations and internal links are nothing new in the world of content or search engine optimization (SEO), but they are certainly starting to draw a lot more love and attention from SEO gurus and content marketers across the Net. Back at the beginning of the year, we published our top 10 SEO predictions for 2014, and prediction No.5 was all about link building. It’s interesting to see how link building has quickly evolved from a super important need for external links to a want for internal ones.
Link building is a well-researched strategy with industry experts like Moz and KISSmetrics backing it fervently. But with so much controversy resting on whether or not linking was dead at the outset of the year (it wasn’t), there wasn’t much talk about the specific kinds of link building that should be leveraged.
So, here we are speeding toward the final quarter of the year, and we’re already seeing noteworthy attention shifting to both citations and internal link building (using high quality, natural resources) as the next big thing in SEO content.
The Scoop on Citations
In the world of SEO, two types of citations are leveraged to boost optimization in an effort to promote more favorable search engine rankings. You have citations and co-citations.
Now, we all know what citations are, or at least we hope we all do! We see citations everywhere in content. They’re used when we borrow direct quotes, images, media, etc. Citations are all about giving credit where credit is due. Not only do they make the difference between proper credit versus plagiarism, but they are also send out signals of credibility and even authority. Here’s a good example of a standard online citation:
According to KISSmetrics, a “co-citation is when one website or band is mentioned (not linked) by two different sources.” Therefore, unlike the more classic citation we just displayed, we would mention KISSmetrics, avoid a direct quote, and not provide a link. Both types of citations serve as probable SEO boosts, and here’s why:
Backlinks Send Signals: When we cite a source and provide a link back that source, it can work in our favor. Think of it as a give and take relationship. You give a link back with a citation, the source takes it. In like manner, the source gives a link back to your content as able. This sort of backlinking sends a signal to Google, telling the search algorithms that your content must be worth taking not of since other websites are linking back to you.
Citations Build Credibility: The main reason we incorporate citations in our content is to build credibility. I could tell you all day long that you need to eat more vegetables because it’s healthy, but chances are you won’t take me too seriously. Now, if I give you hard evidence proving that eating more vegetables is crucial to staying healthy and you can check up on my research by visiting and checking my sources, you’ll suddenly take what I say a lot more seriously. This is how credibility is built. Opinions are great, but everyone has at least one. People want credibility and authority, two qualities citations rapidly build.
Citations Build Authority: What is an authority? When it comes to content, every industry on the planet is populated with experts who are considered authorities on the subject matter they specialize in. In the online arena, our businesses and brands have the unique opportunity to establish themselves as experts, authorities within our given industries. One means used to strive toward this establishment is citations. Cites are not merely a means of avoiding illegal copying or plagiarism. They are a means of proving our dedication to fact over opinion, truth over fiction.
Citations have been around since our high school days. Most of us didn’t get a true taste of them until college, and the manner in which we cite online is often far less formal than academic standards. However, there are still some forms of online content that benefit from a return to the more formal format of academic citations. Yet again, such formality can serve to increase credibility and build authority.
Regardless, this basic ingredient to quality writing is quickly gaining attention as a new trend in SEO. Citations are a means of drawing some favorable attention from the search engine gods, attention that can ultimately increase your ranking. If you aren’t actively leveraging citations in your content, it’s time to start.
Internal Linking Is In
Regardless of your current SEO expertise, it’s beneficial to brush up on the basics of internal linking before we briefly identify how it will impact SEO. According to Neil Patel in his KISSmetrics article about internal linking, this type of link building has three main purposes:
First, it aids in website navigation.
Second, it defines both the architecture and hierarchy of the website.
Third, it distributes two important qualities throughout the site: Page authority and ranking power.
Internal links were a Moz search ranking factor for local search, and now they appear to be gaining value. Internal links have all sorts of benefits, but they are starting to house SEO value.
According to Search Engine People, Google’s iron fist has tightened around link building techniques, and, as a result, on-site optimization (internal linking) has taken off.
Unlike the incorporation of external links, internal links are almost always natural, thus making them more positive to favorable SEO versus external linking. You can still link to websites outside of your own, but there’s a great deal to take into consideration nowadays. If your link profile becomes over-optimized with non-brand keywords and anchor-text pointing readers to deep landing pages, chances are Google isn’t going to be happy.
On the other hand, internal links are a strong means of building a sturdy link profile without much risk of over or improper optimization. Here’s how internal links can boost your SEO strategy:
Create a Juicy Menu: The navigation menu of your website is the perfect location to house a number of juicy text links. These links appear on every last page of your website, which means they can carry a large amount of SEO value. How exactly does it work? One of the most common anchor text links found in almost every site menu is “Blog.” If every page within your website links to your blog homepage, a strong signal will be sent out to Google that when a user searches for your brand name with the keyword “blog,” the search result page should serve up your blog homepage as the top result.
Link like Things: Your business likely provides products or services. You should endeavor to link products to products and services to services. The idea is for all of your products or services to link together with relevant anchor text. When your anchor text contains the right keywords, these naturally occurring internal links can carry a great deal of SEO value.
Leverage Sidebar Links: Most often displayed as contextual links, sidebar links lead both users and search engines inside your website. All of your anchor text should be keyword rich and super relevant to both your website and the pages they represent.
Don’t Forget Footers: Footer links or navigation is one of the most overlooked powerhouses for internal SEO. Not only are they perfect for mobile viewers who make it to the bottom of page and want to navigate elsewhere without scrolling all the way back up, but they also provide users and search engines with a footprint of your website known as a sitemap. You can separate your links into categories for added value.
Today’s SEO
2014 has marked an exciting year in search engine optimization. Looking back at all of the algorithm updates and changes in trending SEO tactics, a single theme stands out above all else. The top websites on the SERPs are natural. They aren’t stuffed with keywords, loaded with low quality content in favor of SEO boosters, or packed full of hundreds upon hundreds of links to websites around the Internet.
The top websites on the SERPs are primarily sites that invest in high quality content and focus on creating a website that caters to their audience. The basic, common sense approach is reaping the best results. Therefore, if we invest our time into building an organized and well-structured website populated with high quality content, we will be investing in better search engine ranking both now and in the future.
Citations and Internal Linking In A Nutshell
What’s the big deal about citations and internal linking? Both of these SEO tactics are designed to build page and site authority. The authority of our content and our website will greatly affect how it ranks as Google continues to push for high quality, relevant, and informative websites to top the SERPs. These SEO tactics are quickly becoming crucial players to implement, and implement well, versus overlook. Are you leveraging citations and internal links in the best way possible?
