The goal of providing content for your site is to produce hits. That is the whole purpose behind posting it online. So that the world will see it and read it. So how do you provide superior content to increase your rankings?
There is more to content than just text. Content does not have defined parameters, but it does include other things besides words.
When people talk about the content of a page or site they mean articles, product description, blogs, pictures, videos, and so on. Search engines such as Google have algorithms that tend to consider a number of variables when listing content from a search.
Search engine algorithms consider all types of content. Although, it is thought that the algorithm gives higher priority to content that include videos and images.
Some believe that spam pages are just trying to get hits so they don’t work to connect the proper videos and images to the text content. They simply include keywords to increase their ranking as well as the amount of visits that they get.
Keywords are important in spite of the rumors that keywords are losing their importance. Keywords are not losing importance rather it is their use in context that is gaining importance. However, it is important to use the proper keywords for your content. For instance, you wouldn’t want to use the keyword ‘politics’ for a veterinarian blog. Instead it would do best to say ‘vet’ or ‘veterinary care’. It is important to use keywords in the title, description, content, and the metadata as well.
Search engines are watching for the frequency of related search terms in the content, title, metadata, and so on. The appropriate frequency (not too often or not often enough) will increase the page rankings as well as categorize the sites. Categorization aids in separating the content so that ‘plant care’ doesn’t show in the same results as ‘plant workers’.
The organization of page also helps to increase the rankings. Search engines use the Flesch readability test in their algorithms to determine the overall readability of a page.
Of course, you may be wondering why readability is so important to rankings.
How long would you stay on a page that was practically nonsense? Now how about an organized, properly written page? Would you continue to return to the page of gibberish, or would you find more value in the well thought out page? This is why page rankings include readability as a measure, and why the Flesch readability test is part of the search engines’ algorithms.
Length are also considered in rankings. It used to be that blogs or articles could be short and sweet, and 500 words or less was a good length. It has been determined by search engines that users prefer longer length. For an increase in page rankings the SEO rules state the longer the article the better the ranking.
Of course, there is a ‘within reason’ clause. There are instances where a lengthy post is unnecessary. Informational or product descriptions should stay succinct and short.
It is generally considered by SEO experts that the ideal length should be about 1,500 to 2,500 words. This should get you an increase in page rankings, and should be taken into consideration when writing an article or blog.
The significance and quality of content is looked at as well. If the quality is good, and the information is worthwhile then your readers are more likely to keep coming back. However, if the content is not worthwhile, and the quality is not all that great then your readers are more likely to visit other sites.
Search engines consider the value and quality of the content in their equations. That is why it is so important to have original, valuable content that will gain you return visits and social media referrals. Although not directly linked to content, loading speed can affect your rankings. Having well thought out, original content will mean nothing if your page takes a long time to load up. Time is important to readers, and so search engines take it into consideration.
The best way to solve this is to create a completely functional site, and not overloading it with content. Having an optimized webpage increases your rankings on search engines. Authoritative sites have a tendency to link out to other sites. Scholarly papers require sources to back up their information. For similar reasons search engines also prefer pages that link to more reliable pages.
Another form of links are linkbacks which are links from other sites to yours. These types of links can create a sort of reputation for your page. If reputable sites link back to you then you gain hits from those links in addition to a higher page ranking. However, if the sites linking back to you are less than reputable your ranking will suffer as a result.
With mobile use on the rise it is important to ensure that your page has a great mobile appearance in addition to the way it looks on a computer. Approximately 50 percent of an individual’s digital media time is conducted via a tablet or smartphone. It isn’t just looks that you need to be careful of, but also speed. As we mentioned before loading time is very important when it comes to creating great SEO content.
Keywords for mobile are also quite different from those on a computer. People will type just a couple of words on a mobile device whereas they will type longer search terms onto the computer. The more content your site has the higher up in the ranks you will be. SEO pages have a great deal of fascinating, fresh content that is constantly updated. The more outdated your content the faster you fall in rankings.
There are ways that you can determine how often you should be updating your content. Current events and short forms should be done anywhere between once a day to a few times a day. Normal blog topics should be done a few times a week. For blogs with a variety of topics or long form the time table should be about once a week.
It is important to stick to whatever schedule you have so that your content will have sufficient, current content to satisfy both your readers and the search engine algorithms.
Call to action blogs are articles or descriptions that are properly composed can also help to improve rankings. These types of articles or descriptions invite the readers to participate, and tend to increase reader numbers. This type of content brings more hits, higher ranking, greater domain authority, and an improved standing. Call to action content is generally short and informative. Start by telling your readers what kind of action you are wanting them to take. Is it a raffle, shopping a sale, or going to a rally? Whatever the action it is your job to tell them about it and why they should do it.
After you give them the what and the why it is time to give them the information about the product, the brand, or the services. Although call to action is not generally used to create build repeat business it is good for it. Mostly call to action content is used to generate new business connections.
Be certain to check the language of the call to action before posting. Is it saying what you need it to say? Is it clear about what you want them to do? Does it sound commanding or does it sound shy? It should be powerful as well as enthusiastic. You want your readers or customers to want it more than you do. If there is an end date then make sure that information is in there as well. End dates tend to bring about a sense of urgency making people want to take part before the time runs out.
So what should you take from all this? Your brand and your reputation depends upon creating content that will thoroughly engross your readers and customers. By optimizing your content for search engine algorithms you are able to raise your ranking as well as your authority thereby surpassing your competition.
Trying new things is great just as long as if fits with the rest of the content on the site. Everything on your pages should have a reason for being there, and should increase awareness of your brand, product, and service.
Put your page at the forefront of consumers’ minds by making yourself easy to access, and time efficient. Include a call to action, and you will be well on your way to increased readership!
If you need help with content marketing then contact with Ottawa SEO company Salient Marketing or if you are in Gatineau then get in touch with SEO Gatineau today.
