Creating high-quality content is a necessity for delivering real value to your audience.
It’s not enough, however, if you also want Google and other search engines to find your website. To do both, you need to create high-quality content that is optimised for search engines.
The key to driving more traffic to your website is to take both audiences, readers, and search engines into account, but make sure not to place the goal of high ranking content above people. Your primary goal should always be to create appealing content to readers. Once you’ve managed to do that, you can learn how to improve your ranking on Google.
Here is a list of ten things to consider when your goal is to write content that is appreciated by both your customers and Google:
1. Use the right keywords
In every search, the top results on Google collect the majority of the traffic. Therefore, to maximise the visibility of your content, you must be able to choose the right keywords.
Focus on finding relevant long-tail keywords that consist of three or four keyword phrases. These longer keywords are ideal because customers tend to have very specific requirements when they use search engines, and competitors are less likely to use them.
2. Pay attention to headlines
Your headline is the first thing that your potential customers see when they type their search query and skim through the results page. Your headline needs to catch their attention and convince them that your website will provide the right information.
Learn to know your customers and what they’re looking for. Consider inserting a question or number in your headline. Questions and lists will draw clicks to your website.
3. Write unique content
Creating unique and relevant content should be your main focus. People use search engines first and foremost to find useful information. Be careful to avoid keyword stuffing since it will only lower your ranking in the search results. Instead, use them naturally.
Also, try to engage your readers so that they can share it with others, too.
4. Optimise meta-descriptions
Meta-descriptions are those parts that appear right after your headline and provide a summary of your page. Since they influence people’s decision whether to enter your page or not, it’s important to make the most of your meta-descriptions.
To optimise your meta-descriptions, use the right keywords and appeal to your customers by answering their questions.
5. Make it easy to read
Keep in mind that 55 percent of visitors spend 15 seconds or less reading your content. This means that you need to ensure that your content is easy to skim through. Avoid using jargon, long sentences, and paragraphs. Instead, opt for simple terms, bulleted lists, and subheadings that make it faster to find answers.
6. Include links
You should have a healthy link profile with both relevant internal links and outbound links. Internal links help your readers find your existing content, so include links to related subjects that you’ve covered in earlier posts. Outbound links to other reliable sources are a good way to build credibility. Remember to anchor the links with relevant keywords.
7. Optimise for mobile devices
Mobile searches cover nearly 60 percent of all searches. It pays off for you to optimise your content for mobile devices and to ensure that it’s easy to navigate across platforms.
8. Remember formatting
When determining the ranking of different websites, Google uses an algorithm that searches for specific keywords and related phrases. This data allows Google to identify the purpose of your website. This is where proper formatting can improve your ranking. Make sure to follow formatting rules and use correct categorisations.
9. Place link quality over quantity
It’s a better strategy to insert links organically and target high-quality domains than focusing on the number of your links. Forget about quantity and “black hat” SEO when writing your content.
10. Proofread your content
A crucial last step in the process of creating new content is proofreading. You don’t want to give your potential customers an unprofessional impression because of spelling errors. If your content could use some editing, there are tools and services for this purpose.
For example, you can check the following:
Grammarly – a proofreading application that allows you to correct mistakes in spelling, grammar, word choice, style, and punctuation.
FreeEssayWriter – a website providing writing and editing services that can help you polish your texts.
ProWritingAid – a writing software that guides you throughout the writing process and includes a grammar checker, writing mentor, and style editor.
Readable – text analysis tool that offers statistics about the readability of your content.