Creating winning SEO strategies take a lot of planning and organized execution.
If you are creating content and getting frustrated with it not ranking, then I hope this article will help. SEO is not easy, and there are a lot of different elements that play a role in how and if you rank for keywords you may be targeting.
The below are some simple – yet basic things you should know in order to succeed. I will go deeper into all of these specific items over time – but this can give you a general understanding of how to rank and why you may not be.
Why Your Content Isn’t Ranking
There is no one size fits all answer to this question!
There are a lot of reasons why your content may not be ranking.
The first thing you need to do is make sure it’s actually relevant to what people are searching for, or what readers are craving. Using a keyword research tool can help you find what your audience may be using to search, this is step 1 in being successful with SEO.
You also want to make sure there aren’t any major spelling or grammar errors that are pushing it down the list.
You may also be getting penalized is if you have too many ads, pop-ups, or other interruptions. If people are clicking off your website instead of staying on the article they landed on, search engines may see this as a problem.
There should also be plenty of links to other pages on the site within your content. Links are important for people who are looking for more information.
You should make sure your post includes an image if possible, especially when you’re using a video or slideshow that can’t be indexed through text. If you want to use copy instead, include keywords in the title and throughout the text to help the search engines understand what your content is about.
Content Doesn’t Always Stand Alone
When you’re writing, you will probably want to include keywords related to your business and area of expertise just like any other SEO article out there.
However, if this is all your article contains, it may not be fulfilling an important purpose for your website. As for our topic, we must emphasize a winning SEO content strategies.
Your article should tell a story, not just include keywords. Engage the reader with what you have to say, rather than focusing on selling or sharing links. People are naturally drawn to content that is interesting and informative, so providing articles that are too sales-driven may turn readers away after they get their information fixed.
If you’re using a slideshow or video, this is where you want to include links that are related to the content. You can even try including some links within the text, but make sure they are natural and don’t distract from what your article is saying. Your goal is to provide information so readers can get an idea of whether or not they want to visit your website or read more articles.
With that being said, you don’t want every article you write to be “evergreen.” If people are coming back to search engines at a certain time of year for information on something, in particular, it’s good practice to give them what they need and move on to something else in your library.
This year is shaping up to be one of the best years for winning SEO content strategies. This is because there are many new tools that can help you reach your audience more effectively, and bring in more traffic to your website.
Try these tips out, and let us know how they work for you!
An effective content strategy for a winning SEO content
This can make or break an SEO campaign. While the ability to deliver relevant, useful content is necessary to engage users and generate traffic, it’s not always easy to produce content that performs well in search engines. Your initial research might have yielded great results, but what happens when you’re tasked with creating five new pieces of content every week?
This year, put focus on your content strategy. Here are seven tips to help you create winning SEO content strategies this year.
- Make Your Content Effortless to Digest – Users shouldn’t have to dig for information—especially if they’re arriving at your site through an organic search result. If it takes more than three clicks or a long page to find exactly what they’re looking for, users will probably move on. Similarly, search engines are constantly watching how users engage with your content. If people leave your site quickly after arriving from a search result, it could hurt your rankings.
- Think Beyond the Web Page – Keep in mind that not all of your web content needs to be on your site. If you publish something great—a data sheet, an eBook, a case study or a white paper—take advantage of it. You can share these assets almost anywhere: on social media sites, as part of a press release or in a guest post on another website.
- Plan for Mobile & Multimedia – There’s a good chance that the majority of your users are accessing your website on mobile devices. According to Google, more searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries, including the US and Japan. Also, multimedia is becoming even more important. From images to slideshows to links with short videos, there are endless possibilities for how your content can engage users.
- Personalize Your Content – Don’t be robotic. If you’re writing about people, make sure your content sounds like it’s coming from a person—not an automated system or some random brand trying to sound cool (readers can usually smell this kind of thing). Also, try adding personality to your articles where appropriate. Don’t just parrot the same format every time you publish—mix it up!
- Write for Your Audience – The days of marketing your products with fluffy content are over. Users have grown tired of being sold to, so now it’s crucial to invest in quality, useful content that offers something valuable . This is true whether you’re providing information, building trust or telling a story that connects with readers. With so many other businesses vying for their attention, you have to earn it.
- Don’t Get Caught in the Clutter – Break through all of the noise by creating content that sets your brand apart from everyone else in your industry . Make yourself stand out by offering something unique with your content. And, if possible, write about an emerging trend in your industry so you can remain ahead of the competition.
- Change Up Your Content Strategy Each Year – Adjust your strategy for every season and consider creating new types of content to distribute throughout the year . Instead of just publishing blog posts, think about other ways you can distribute content, such as videos or images. Also, consider the seasonality of your industry and determine if there are any events you can build content around. The important thing is to remain flexible with your winning SEO content strategies so it can evolve with your business needs.
Winning SEO Content Strategies This Year (And Every Year!)
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to creating content is assuming that your writing will speak for itself. As eloquent as your writing may be, there are many other elements that play into how well an article ranks on search engines. Here is a list of tips to help ensure your success with this year’s content strategy!
- Google Trends – it is important to be aware of the keywords people are using when doing searches on sites like Google. This will help ensure that your article is relevant, and can impact where you rank for specific keywords. Make a list of these, and include them in the body of your article. It can be a good idea to include them more than once.
- Get Social – social media plays an important part of your content strategy, especially when the goal is to create popular articles that will rank well. Using sites like Twitter and Facebook can help expand your audience, and get people talking about your article. Make sure to use relevant hashtags on Twitter to get the word out, and when you post your article on Facebook, include a link to where people can find it. Use a social media tool to help automate your workload and keep your content fresh.
- Make it Relevant – this may seem like a no-brainer, but creating relevant content will always help you in the long run. Make sure that the topic of your article is something that not only interests you, but also your target audience. It is more likely that people will be engaged if they are reading about something they care about.
- Write for Humans – some content creators may feel the need to use jargon or complex language in order to create a sense of authority with their writing. Although this can be effective, it may have the opposite effect if your audience doesn’t understand what you are trying to convey. The key is to write for humans, not search engines. This means writing in a clear and concise fashion that people can easily understand.
- Featured Snippets – featured snippets can be tough because they take up prime real estate on Google SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). This is where having relevant keywords come in handy, because you are more likely to be chosen if your article contains them. Make sure to include these keywords at the beginning of your article, and use them throughout to boost your ranking.
- Use Images – images can really help an article stand out when it comes time for people to share it on social media. This is where the #hashtags come in handy, because if they are used on Twitter or Instagram, they can appear as an image for people to easily click on. Photos are also very effective when ranking for specific keywords on search engines, so use them whenever possible!
- Finding out what works – testing content strategies is the only way to be sure that they are effective. The best way to determine what works is to simply try it out! Try different methods, and see which ones get the biggest response from your target audience. Be sure to keep track of these results in a spreadsheet so you can analyze them later.
- Outsource – content creation can be a luxury, but it doesn’t have to break the bank. There are many sites where you can outsource your writing for a reasonable price, and this is a good way to expand your business without going over budget.
- Join Communities – participating in community forums can be a great way to connect with potential customers. By joining conversations, you show that you are willing to go the extra mile for your audience, and can help build rapport. This is also a good opportunity to share your content because members are likely interested in what you have to say.
- Don’t Give Up – there are plenty of other people who create content about the things you are interested in. This makes it harder to rank for certain keywords, but it is possible! Just keep at it and your efforts will pay off in the long run.
Simple steps to improve your SEO
In the past, search engine optimization (SEO) was a term that dealt with higher rankings and more traffic to a website. With the evolution of the web, SEO has become a lot more sophisticated – helping websites achieve high ranking positions in search engines as well as increasing engagement and improving conversion rates.
- Enhance On-Site Content – One of the best SEO content strategies is to focus on enhancing your website’s on-site content. On-site content, or core pages that are hosted on your domain name, should be absolutely informative and free of any spelling mistakes or grammar errors. Adding information to these pages, such as tutorials, glossaries, videos etc., will help Google find them easier and provide an extra edge to your website.
- Optimize Your Site For Mobile Devices – Another one of the best SEO content strategies for this year is to optimize your site for mobile devices. With more than half of all Google searches happening on mobile devices, it’s critical that your website performs well on these platforms as well. More importantly, you need to ensure that all of your pages are responsive and do not look deformed on smaller screens.
- Analyze and Monitor Your Content – A great way to enhance your website’s content and keep it up-to-date is by analyzing and monitoring it. If you have regular, fresh content added onto your site, Google will perceive it as more valuable and index it higher.
- Improve Your Site’s On-Site SEO – Apart from the on-site content, you need to ensure that your website is optimized well for search engines. You should have an XML sitemap created, along with good page titles and meta descriptions so that Google doesn’t struggle to crawl your site.
- Optimize Your Off-Site Content – Another great SEO content strategy for this year is to optimize your off-site content by publishing guest posts on reputable websites and blogs. This practice will help you gain more exposure, increase your website’s credibility and most importantly, improve the overall ranking of your domain name in Google’s eyes.
- Don’t talk for Robots – You need to keep your content informative while still making it interesting and easy to read for humans. Writing for search engine algorithms is a bad idea as they focus on keywords and specific phrases that not only look unappealing but also drive away human readers. Ensure that all of your content is written in an engaging and appealing way without any technical clutter.
- Employ A Reputable SEO Company – To make sure your website benefits from all the above-mentioned strategies, it is highly recommended that you hire a reputable SEO company . These agencies can help with technical optimization, come up with better content ideas and keep track of your website’s overall performance.
- Monitor Your Competition’s SEO Strategy – Lastly, you need to monitor the competition and keep track of what search engine optimization strategies they are using to rank higher in Google. This way, you will be able to stay one step ahead of the rest by adapting their ideas for your business’ benefit.
Conclusion
SEO is a moving target and the strategies you’ve employed for your website last year might not be working anymore. To keep up to date with all that’s going on in this sector, follow the above tips to stay ahead of the curve this year.
In conclusion, make sure you focus on enhancing your website’s on-site content, optimizing it for mobile devices and keeping an eye on the competition to stay relevant in 2022 and beyond.
