Digital marketers, especially SEOs are far too accustomed to reacting to Google’s changes; especially Google algorithm updates. For years, marketers have claimed to have found the holy grail of ‘content mixes’, sure to appease Google and their future algorithm updates, only to find their rankings drop at the next update.
Many fail as a result of Google’s secrecy - nobody knows the intimacies of Google’s algorithm, and that makes it difficult to write pro-algorithm content. However, over time, some patterns have emerged that indicate certain actionable content can withstand Google’s algorithm updates . We’ll be sharing those with you today.
A High Bar Has Been Set
With digital competition at an all-time high, and SEO knowledge not being the rare, technical magic it used to be, businesses can no longer get away with producing ‘okay’ or ‘good’ content - as everyone else is.
Businesses must excel in their content and really set themselves apart from the competition, justifying to Google’s algorithm why your content should be placed ahead of others. Despite Google implementing new ranking features, such as their User Experience Update, content remains the heavyweight ranking factor.
Anticipate What The User Wants
Great content has always been easy to read and therefore digest. Anticipating what it is your website visitors want is key to providing valuable, digestible content that they will love and subsequently Google will love.
If you can produce content that the user wants, even before they know they want it, then you have something Google will be more likely to rank. This means that the content, user experience, the performance of the page and so on all meet and exceed what the users want.
The trick is just to make sure that you know what your users, your target audience, wants and hand it to Google on a silver platter. Make it easy for Google to ingest it and dice it up and do what they want with it and maybe if you’re lucky they will send people to your website so that the user can continue to experience that thing that they want.
Understand Your Audience
Knowing your audience is critical to content marketing success. Content that ranks well on Google is written in a way that indicates that your brand understands it’s audience.
By understanding your audience, you’re able to alter your language, tone-of-voice and content type to match your audience's preference, increasing engagement and conversion rates - both important Google ranking signals.
However, if your business is relatively new, you may be asking yourself: "How do I get to know my audience?"
There are a number of ways your business can learn more about its target audience. Buyer personas are often a good place to start.
The customer persona is a tried-and-true tactic used by businesses everywhere to better conceptualise their target demographics. Here, you’ll work to create an outline of your ideal “target customer.”
In most cases, this takes the form of a fictional character, whom you shape with bits of information like education level, family life, career and income, and maybe even details like a name and personality traits. This helps you conceptualise and “talk to” your average target customer, and it serves as an ideal tool to get your other team members up to speed. If you'd like to learn more about buyer personas, check out our blog on How to build a persona.
Write for Users, Not the Search Engine
Build the best type of content for your audience. The best type of content depends on who your audience is, how they get to your content, and what query they used to find you. If you can give them the answer they are looking for, even if they don’t really fully know their question, then your content will be more likely to rank — and stay ranking — in Google search results.
If you don't have the time yourself but want to benefit from great copywriting, get in touch with our marketing professionals today.