How true is the quote, “Content is King?”. You see it everywhere. But how much impact does it have on SEO? Is there any value to SEO without content?

We are going to dig deep into this contraction and find the answers that could help your SEO strategies.

This blog covers what content means, how SEO plays a role in content and some effective tips to create content optimised for SEO.

What is Content?

Content has many forms. It is anything that –

• Provides valuable information
• Is entertaining
• Provides a solution to a problem
• Answers your queries
• Is fun to engage with

Content can exist in many formats. Most people associate content with blog posts but it is not just limited to it. Content can also be in the form of infographics, images, videos, audios, podcasts, social media posts, webinars, memes, forums, e-books, whitepapers, press releases, illustrations, and more.

Content is what drives traffic to your website, provided that it is optimised for SEO. Content is what makes the audience engage with your brand or business. Great content can influence and inspire them.

Great content can make a huge difference in your marketing strategies.

“When taking a content-first approach, our job as marketers is not to create more content … it’s to create the minimum amount of content with the maximum amount of results. — Robert Rose”

Content needs consistent effort and fresh information. If you’re writing about something that has already been written a thousand times before, then you can not expect it to rank better than the rest unless you’re writing better than the others and adding new information to it.

Great content is new, fresh, and optimised. It is focused on the audience rather than on ranking in the SERPs.

Are you providing the right content that is audience-focused? Contact Webi7, one of the best digital marketing agencies in Bangalore for a free consultation. They provide a customised growth marketing strategy that is enriching and effective for the growth of your business.

Why is Quality Content Impo rtant?

Search engines have spider bots called crawlers that look into your site’s content. They gather all kinds of information and bring them back to the search engines for indexing.

The index is then run under algorithms that match the data with a search engine user’s query. If the data matches, then the search engine will mark your page as useful and rank it.

If it doesn’t, then you need to rethink your content strategy.

That is why it’s so important to provide the right content which is high in quality and optimised for SEO. Especially if your goal is to rank on the SERPs.

Have you ever wondered why popular SEO sites like Backlinko, SEJ, Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, and SEMrush perform so well? How are they getting so much traffic?

Well, they all have one thing in common. Quality content.

You must have read some of their blog posts and they are no less than 2000 words. They provide detailed information with plenty of visuals, examples, and case studies all in one place.

Plus, they’re original and well-researched.

You don’t go search for information on other sites once you read their blogs. Take Backlinko’s definitive guide for example. Or their tutorials.

 

You can find everything you need on their blogs. That’s how much value they provide. People link to their sites, share them on social media and go back to their sites often for more such information. All helping SEO on a big level.

They are the best examples of why quality content is important for SEO and how it plays a major role in SEO.

Not just in SEO, but quality content also shapes the brand’s image, gaining trust from the users which helps the business grow. Or better, boom.

It doesn’t have to be limited to blog posts. Content can also be useful in the form of videos, like Nathan Gotch’s tutorial videos. His content is quite simple, easy to follow, and understand. Anyone, literally anyone can watch and learn from it. You don’t have to be marketing savvy.

You can see that he’s got over 20,000 subscribers. There are many other videos like his, but what makes his content unique?

That’s because he provides the best content in the most comprehensive way possible. No fluff gets straight to the point and is quite clear.

Unlike most digital marketing related tutorials on youtube which are hours long, he covers the same topics in a lot less time and in a much better way.

Other examples of great content include Vogue’s magazines (which get you hooked!), SEO.co’s podcasts on Spotify, etc. They provide quality content that people love to consume. You can find inspiration from them and implement some of their tactics and techniques in your own content.

So how Does SEO comes into the Picture?

SEO is Search Engine Optimisation, a strategy in digital marketing that involves using specific techniques to drive quality and quantity organic, relevant traffic to your website.

Without SEO, your content will be useless. It will not reach anybody, it will not be read or seen or heard, and it won’t get any traffic. SEO is the driving factor which makes the content get seen or heard by maximum people.

Google has one mission – to provide the best user experience with high-quality, organised information that is accessible for everyone. 

So SEO ensures that your content satisfies Google to fulfill that mission and impresses the users.

Here are the Reasons why SEO is Important for Content:-

• It fuels the content for rankings and user experience and content fuels SEO. They go hand in hand.
• It optimises the content for maximum visibility and readability.
• It ensures that your content is found when people search for it. This is possible with the right keywords.
• It brings relevant traffic to your content. “Today it’s not about ‘get the traffic’ — it’s about ’get the targeted and relevant traffic.” – Adam Audette, Chief Knowledge Officer, RKG.
• You can find relevant, new topic ideas that can be included in your content to provide maximum value for the readers.
• SEO can help your content get backlinks from other relevant sites.
• Ensures that your content is created with search intent in mind.
• Ensure your content targets the right audience.

How to Write Quality SEO Content that’s Effective (with the latest Techniques):

SEO content is any content that is created to rank in the search engines. Not all content is created for SEO. Some are made to reach a specific objective but that doesn’t mean you can ignore the users or audience.

Whatever content you write or create, it has to give importance to the audience.

Here are some tips to write effective SEO content that can rank in the SERPs.

1.Include keywords – It is the #1 step and the most important one in writing SEO content.

There are three types of keywords – Short-tail, middle-tail, and long-tail keywords. Use one of each in your content.

To include keywords, you need to perform keyword research using proven keyword research tools like Ubersuggest, SEMrush, Keyword tool, etc.

You can also use a chrome extension keyword surfer for easy and quick keyword ideas.

Include keywords that have less competition and search volume as they are easy to rank for. Include them in the title tag, meta description, and URL. Try to include long-tail keywords in the title tag as they are easy to rank for.

Bonus Tip – Use amazon and Udemy for extra keywords and topic ideas. Just head over the search bar and enter a keyword. When you enter search, you will get books and courses lists from which you can find topic ideas.

Add them in your content to provide more value to it.

You can find keyword ideas from the table of contents part.

Finding topic ideas from Udemy.

2.Optimise the Title – Use a headline analyser tool and EMV Score checker to optimise your title. Keep the score to above 50 in both. Make sure to add a relevant keyword in the title.

Your title is the most important element of your content. It will determine whether a person will click on it or not. So write a title that’s catchy, inviting and i=evokes curiosity in the user.

The best performing titles start with –

• How-to <do something> – a detailed guide
• <no> Best <tools, techniques, places, recipes> for <its purpose>
• Top # <list>
• How <brand/celeb> does <something the reader wants to do>
• <no> reasons why <something> isn’t working/works/<somethings the reader should do>
• Secrets of <something the reader is dying to know>

3.Include Links – Linking out to relevant content from high-authority sites will improve the credibility of your site. It also provides extra information useful to the users in place so they don’t have to search on multiple sites.

When you consistently provide high-quality content, people will start linking to you. Link building is great for SEO and improves your site’s authority. It takes time but it has to be a part of your SEO strategy.

4.Include Visuals, Graphs – No one likes reading text-only types of blogs or articles. Adding images, graphs, charts, videos, infographics, etc.

Not only does it look visually appealing, but also improves the engagement rate.  Content with a lot of visuals makes it more readable.

Break the paragraphs into short sentences. A chunky paragraph with more than 5 sentences is likely to be ignored. Keep each para 1-2 sentences short.

Formatting and presentation is very important to keep the engagement rate high and provide the best user experience.

5.Use the latest SEO Techniques – SEO is always changing to keep up with Google’s algorithm and using outdated techniques can do no good.

So keep your SEO knowledge updated with the latest trends and techniques by reading and following blogs on Backlinko, Moz, Ahrefs, SEJ, SEMrush, etc.

6.Search Intent – Most digital marketing companies and content writers ignore this.

Before writing, ask yourselves these questions –

What is the person looking for when they search for this phrase or keyword?

What problems are they trying to solve?

What kind of solutions do they want?

Write for your audience while keeping the search intent in mind, so that you are providing the exact kind of information users want and they don’t bounce off your site.

7.Share the Content – Once you upload the content, it doesn’t stop there. You have to promote it for maximum visibility and reach.

Share it on social media, through emails, and press releases. Write a short effective copy when sharing on online channels so that people click on it.

Don’t just say, “hey, I wrote this new blog that you might be interested in. check it out.”

Instead, say this, “Hi there! Are you having trouble getting enough traffic to your site? Then worry not! We have created a list of techniques that you can use to double to your traffic in no time! It has some secret tips and updated information that will help your SEO. Do check it out!”

That way, you’re addressing the user’s problem. You are providing a solution for that, and then provide them with a link to your post. That is more effective than the former statement which can come across a bit salesy.

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Conclusion:

Above all, if you want your content to perform well and rank better than your competitors, then you just have to provide useful information that tops all others.

Research in-depth about your topic and cover everything you possibly could related to it. Convey your message in the most comprehensive way possible.

In other words, write an eight-grader. Keep the language simple and clear.

Don’t just write the same thing others are writing about, in the same way. Add more information that they missed out on, like your personal experiences which are unique. Readers tend to relate a lot better when they read real-life examples. That gives them hope  in solving their problems.

The best performing content is more than 1800 words. That’s just the average count. Google has declared word-count a ranking factor. In fact, blogs that are ranking in the first page of SERPs have about 2500 or more words.

You would think that long-form content is not read. But contrary to that, they are the best performing ones and people love to share long-form content.

It’s not easy for your content to rank fast. Unless you’re writing something shocking and very new to the audience. But it’s not impossible either. With consistent effort and using the right SEO technique, your content can rule the internet. A part of it, at least.