web content ranking

In previous years, content marketers have held to the standard that “less is more.” As a result, we’ve kept web pages short, blog posts concise, and gotten a lot of practice condensing huge topics into 300 to 600 word shots. If you’ve struggled with this practice, you’re in for a treat as the trend to web content ranking makes a hard right turn.   Google Hummingbird Sets the Standard for New Web Content In 2013, we weathered more changes in search engine optimization than any other year in the history of SEO. Since 2011, Google was dropping hints via Panda and Penguin updates; that search and ranking models and algorithms would change. Hummingbird marked the new SEO focus: quality web content containing substance.   For those of us manning the SEO trenches, we’ve seen innumerable marketing hypes come and go. However, Google’s algorithm updates have resulted in more than just hype; an entirely new trend and best practice has emerged: content-driven search engine optimization for higher web content ranking.   The Meaning of ‘Content-Driven’ What does ‘content-driven’ mean when it comes to SEO? It means your SERP (search engine results page) ranking will be directly related to your content quality. Google is listening to what consumers want, and they want to be educated buyers. As a result, it is imperative that your content contain well-written and relevant material in relation to your business, brand, product, or service.   Content-driven optimization is happening as soon as a web page is created. As we create the web content, we inherently make our target audience the focus. As Eddie Choi says in his ClickZ article about content-driven SEO, “the semantic logic then follows naturally to hyperlink the texts, pictures, videos, and external and internal citations.” As a result, we connect ourselves with similar or associated social profiles. Google’s algorithms then “read” all of this information and increase your ranking accordingly.   In essence, optimization is happening when the content is written. It’s not an afterthought or second process built in later.   The New Secret Ingredient: Longer Content = Higher Rankings As we said at the outset of this article, the standard of “less is more” is dead. We used to cram keywords and keyword phrases into a short piece of web content to push search engine rankings. Those days are in the past, never to be repeated—at least as far as we can tell from Google’s rapid push to arrive at 100 percent of search keyword data returning with “(not provided).” What does this mean in terms of word count?   Word count is about to go up. Google has indicated that content containing about 2,000 words versus 300 to 600 will rank higher. Skeptical? So were we. So, we tested the waters:   At Express Writers, we took it upon ourselves to test whether or not long content really does matter. So, we switched over to 2000 word blogs approximately mid-November, 2013. These were posted daily with 1 to 2 stock images per blog, SEO optimized, and socially shared (as we did with all of our previous 300-600 word blogs). Mid-December, our rankings took a huge increase. We had about 7 keywords in the top 3 rankings on Google, and mid-December after we switched to 2000-word blogs, we achieved no less than 35 top keywords in the top 3 rankings. Folks, the cat’s out of the bag. IT WORKS!   2014 Web Content: What to Keep & Toss The new trend in web content is all about giving the audience what they want: a one-stop shopping experience. Your audience wants all the pertinent information from you, not 2 to 3 other websites that all drop breadcrumbs about the same topic. This means your readers want all the best info in ONE lengthy article. The best way to prepare such an article is to understand exactly what SEO is today: Analytics Content Marketing Social   Notice, “keywords” is not included in this list. The surest way to kill your search engine optimization efforts in the New Year is to riddle your content with keywords and phrases over and over. Google’s algorithms are acutely attuned to synonyms. Flooding content with the same keyword or phrase is no longer necessary; variations are completely acceptable and absolutely encouraged!   Keep in mind that your audience is composed of intelligent individuals. They might even understand more than you think, especially when it comes to technical information. Avoid talking down to them or reusing the same keywords over and over. Such methods are outdated and will quickly turn potential customers—and Google rankings—away, swiftly killing your New Year’s marketing.   The Secret to Making a Difference The new frontier of search engine optimization focuses heavily on: Quality content Relevant content Longer content Social media presence Customer reviews   Your web content plan should therefore focus on at least four primary areas: Product or service sales Company information Customer support Education, information, and resources   Keep in mind that today’s content marketing is not a “one-size-fits-all” plan. You might have a fifth or even sixth, content area that fits your business and fleshes out your plan even further. However, you will need to include these four primary areas at minimum to ensure the building blocks for SEO are present.   One of the most groundbreaking changes to the SEO frontier is Google’s move away from static. Neither Google nor your market is static. This means it’s time to rethink your strategy for ranking placement: You’ll need a local, national, and international plan so that searchers from any location will find you. Mobile searches are hot and heavy for the New Year, which is why marketing in each category equates to survival. Local search terms are vital. Anyone searching by mobile in your locale will find you, if you have local search terms built into your content. Customer reviews are about to be huge. This means what customers are saying about you means higher or lower search engine rankings. … Read more