Over the past years, we’ve heard numerous digital marketing consultants and SEO experts say that “content is king.” The idea has been strengthened since Google itself shifted its algorithm to favor quality content over backlink quantity and keyword usage.
This is partly the reason why companies today maintain a blog and try to share as much useful content on Social Media and other web pages. Whether entrepreneurs like it or not, content is largely useful to increase a web page’s ranking – this is because:
Keywords, Keywords:
This is the most integral thing when it comes to content – keywords. Without the right keywords, there’s no way for Google to know if your website/blog is related to a certain topic or not. Target customers and random citizens won’t even know if you are offering what they are looking for if you won’t use relevant keywords on your site.
However, in actual SEO practice, it is not simply about using the right keywords and placing them all on your website or content. This still has to be done strategically. Choosing keywords and their placing has an impact on how search engines like Google see or read your blog/website.
Moreover, the content itself should be informative, useful and engaging. This means that it is coherent and helpful to any user who might be searching for such info. Keywords may help search engines ‘understand’ what your page is all about, but the overall content quality will ultimately affect rankings.
Adds up to Popularity Factor:
Quality content that proves to be useful to your target readers can give your web pages/blogs a popularity boost. When the market finds your content useful, informative and engaging, the easier for it to be promoted through shares and likes. You don’t even have to do much of the talking (and sharing), your readers will do it out of their interest. Your content could spread like good old word of mouth.
With more readers (or click-throughs), likes and sharers, Google will eventually detect that your content is something noteworthy – and it will improve your page’s ranking on a certain keyword that is used or related to your content.
Most Cost-Effective Tactic:
It does not cost much to build up your website’s content base. With a little creativity and determination, you can eventually build a rich resource that can be useful for both users and search engines. Spreading your content does not cost much either since you can organically do it through your social media accounts.
Additional costs may be required if you decide to boost a particular post, but if you want to rely on organic likes and shares, the only investment you need is time and creativity.
Now, most website owners might restrict themselves when it comes to content. Sure, blog posts are the easiest way to ensure that the keywords you desire to use can be mentioned a couple of times, but there are other ways for search engines to detect keyword relevance.
The prime example of this is by inserting keywords on meta-tags or simply ‘tags’ that can also be used in meta-descriptions and Google pay-per-click ads. Moreover, Social Media posts can also carry such keywords (given that the posts are made public and are searchable/indexable by search engines).
Entrepreneurs and website owners should take note that one keyword-rich article would not cut it. Google determines content relevance using many factors. Although in-house content counts a lot, having verified/active social media pages, quality backlinks (through guest posting or organic links) and reader engagement matters. Any other SEO tactics could also affect overall search engine ranking.
Coming up with highly engaging content is, however, a big challenge when it comes to content creation. Quality content does not just mean that a piece is well-written and error-free, quality content is also defined by how well it could evoke emotions from readers to the point that it will be hard for them not to share or like the post. Most digital marketers now consider Instagram/Facebook stories as part of creating engaging content – though it may not be helpful when it comes to improving SEO efforts, given the nature of such posts.
Author Bio:
Gemma Reeves is a seasoned writer who enjoys creating helpful articles and interesting stories. She has worked with several clients across different industries such as advertising, online marketing, technology, healthcare, family matters, and more. She is also an aspiring entrepreneur who is engaged in assisting other aspiring entrepreneurs in finding the best office space for their business. Check out her company here: FindMyWorkspace
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