The Value of Quality Content

For many people starting out with SEO, Google is simply a robot, an algorithm designed to look for key factors when ranking pages without really understanding what it’s looking at. Well it’s time to change that mind-set and start treating Google as a person.

Forget the tricks, keep it simple

Gone are the days of relying on keywords and gimmicky tricks to rank higher. In 2015, it’s great content you need to be focusing on. No matter how many SEO tips and tricks you try implementing, if your content is lacking in length or simply in overall quality, Google isn’t going to show you much love.

Filling your website with quality content needn’t be a daunting task though, at its core it’s quite simple.

Write your page content for people, not Google

Interesting, easy to read content is not only more likely to be ranked higher by Google, it’s also more likely to engage visitors and help drive conversions. We often get asked why we don’t write the content when we build our clients’ websites, the answer is obvious, as much research as we do into your business, we will never know it as well as you do.

You know your business inside and out, tell your visitors about it!

Let’s forget about websites for a minute. Imagine you meet someone at a trade show or networking function and they ask about your business and what you offer. You’re going to talk their ear off! They’re clearly interested, so you tell them as much as you can. Writing your website content should be no different.

Fill your pages with as much information about your business as you can. Assume whoever is reading your site knows nothing about who you are or what you offer, leave no stone unturned in educating them! Things that seem insignificant or obvious to you, might not be for a potential visitor. If it’s relevant to your business, there’s no reason to leave it out.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail!

Before writing your content, understand what you have to write about, who are you writing it for and how are they most likely to discover your site. Compile a list of all aspects specific to your business, then break down each area into keywords relating to your content. This should be your starting point for writing long copy, have a clear plan and then elaborate around each point.

One thing to bear in mind when writing your content is to keep it as broad as possible while remaining on topic. Take a step back and think, “If I was looking for my service, what would I search for on Google?”. Chances are, there are multiple ways to describe the core services of your business. Try using synonyms and variations of key terms as you write, particularly if there are words you are repeatedly using. The more ways you describe what you do, the more opportunities you offer for potential visitors to find you.

Be wary though, don’t get caught in the trap of trying to force keywords into your text for the sake of having them there. While having these keywords in there is important, it needs to be natural and flow properly. After all, remember you’re writing this content for a person to read, not a robot.

Fill the page! Blank space won’t attract visitors

It seems simple but people often overlook it when writing content for their site. As important as writing quality content is, if there isn’t much of it, then the work you’ve been doing is going to waste. Make sure you’ve exhausted everything you have to say about that particular topic.

While there is no guideline for how much content is enough, it’s quite simple to test. Once you’ve finished writing your content, look at your page, is it full? Are there images or video breaking up the text? Does it look like a finished page? If the answer to any of those questions is no, you probably need to find some more content to add.

When it comes to SEO there is a lot to consider but ultimately it’s simple. Write good, long content relevant to your business and you will rank better on Google. Forget the tricks and start typing.