Content. Content. Content. SEO. SEO. SEO. Do you feel like you’re spending every waking hour creating relevant website content only to find it in the “dark”? Or equivalent, the second page of Google’s search engine results. 

Although Google’s algorithms are a secret kept in the same vault as Wonka’s chocolate recipe and website owners are left to some guesswork, we’re here to help. Bring your content to light with our three best practices for creating website content that not only engages your clients, but makes the search engines happy, too.

#1 Creative Keyword Research: Are you using search terms that are relevant to the products and services of your core business? Lets take it a step deeper. Are you using search terms that are relevant to the products and services of your business, have regular search engine inquires, and are in a manageable realm of competitiveness? These are critically important questions to ask yourself when deciding which keywords and phrases you plan to focus on in your content. Answer all three questions for each focus keyword and you’re well on your way to SEO excellence!

Need help researching potential keywords for your business?

Google AdWords Keyword Planner is a great tool to conduct your research and to better understand the ranking potential of each.

#2 Engaging & Beneficial Website Content: Regular search-optimized blog posts engaging your customers will drive traffic to your site. Clear and concise copy will retain and extend their visit. Both website traffic and amount of time visitors spend on your page are factors to your search engine rankings. When Google sees someone visit a site and stay a while, it tells them the content was beneficial. When a visitor quickly leaves (or bounces) it tells Google the visitor did not find what they were looking for or the content wasn’t beneficial. So the next time you rush through your blog post, toss a few words on the screen and share it, take a moment to step into the shoes of a potential visitor and ask yourself, how does this content benefit them?

Having a hard time keeping up with your blog? Create an editorial calendar to map out your blog post timeline and content ideas. If you have a strategy and tactics in place, and the discipline to regularly execute them, success can be achieved.

#3 Strategic Keyword Placement: So, we have our keywords and our content. Now how do we properly combine the two? Most importantly, keyword stuffing is a thing of the past, a misguided tactic to improve SEO and shows poor content strategy. Search engines like Google are smart, very smart. They can decipher relevant content by connecting related keywords and phrases. Furthermore, repetitive language doesn’t read well and will leave the reader confused. A confused reader is not likely to venture onto the next page, or stay on your site long (which we now know isn’t good for our SEO). Therefore, be tactical with your keywords. Each page should have minimal focus keywords utilized in titles, headings, and naturally woven into the text. Following these guidelines will help you produce great content and a higher organic rank.

Remember: The end goal for Google and other search engines is to return results that are relevant, useful and reliable. Create optimized, engaging, clear and concise content and you’re one step closer to understanding the Google Algorithm (we can’t help you with Wonka’s secret recipe).

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