Content is key. Am sure that you have heard that phrase before. Am sure that you have heard that phrase in the seo circles. This is because content is very important in order to rank on google. Hence today, we will talk about creating content as part of our multipart SEO series. Today its How to Rank Higher On Google (Part 4: Creating Content). This forms the 4th part. If you have not read the other parts, this is the third part How to Rank Higher On Google (Part 3: Keyword Research & Optimization). This is the second part How to Rank Higher On Google (Part 2: Off-Page SEO). Finally, this is the first part How to Rank Higher On Google (Part 1: On-Page SEO). If you have not read the first 3 parts, we suggest that you go and read them before you proceed with this part.
Similarly, read step #3 here.
Step #4. Creating High-Quality Content That Ranks.
You cannot talk about ranking on google without generating content. You cannot tank your website on google without your website having quite a good amount of content. When we talk about content we mean things like pages, articles and blogs. These are the pages that tell google what your website is all about. If you do not tell google what your website is all about, then how will it know.
Now that we are talking about creating content, lets talk about how to do it.
1. Understanding Search Intent.
The very first thing you need to do before we can talk about creating content, is knowing the search intent. So what is search intent? Search intent is is the desired goal of the person searching on google. For example someone who wants to buy a smartphone. A person who wants to buy a smartphone will go to google and search “Buy smartphone online”, or “Best site to buy smartphone”. For such a person, the search intent of such a person is transactional.
This is something very critical. You need to know the search intent of the people that you are targeting. You need to know who is your target. Thus you need to know what your target people want. Therefore, you can use this knowledge to know exactly what kind of content you can make. Some of the main types of search intent are:
Types of Search Intent:
- Informational: “How to do SEO keyword research?”.
- Navigational: “Moz SEO tools”.
- Transactional: “Buy SEO tools online”.
- Commercial Investigation: “Best SEO tools for beginners”.
2. Structuring Content for Readability.
Now that you know what people you are targeting, you need to structure it for readability. Google favors content that is readable. Additionally google likes content that is structured properly for the reader. Some of the things to focus on for readability are.
- Short paragraphs. Short paragraphs are more readable than long ones. Google prefers content with short paragraphs.
- Use proper headings and subheadings. Use headers like H1, H2, H3,… properly. Make sure that your page or article has a H1 header and only one. Then make sure that your article has other subheadings properly structured hierarchically.
- Use bullet points and lists. Break down complex ideas using bullet points and lists. Google loves lists.
- Use bold and italics. Use things like bold and italics to make your content more readable and easy to go through.
3. Using Multimedia (Images, Videos, Infographics).
Google loves articles and pages with multimedia such as images, videos and infographics. Of-course this makes the page rich. The images and videos add more value to the page. Moreover, the infographics can be used to pass a lot of information in just one image.
For best practices for multimedia optimization:
- For images, use high quality and relevant images with descriptive text.
- When it comes to videos, embed them in order to increase the user time spent on the website. This leads to lower bounce rates.
- For infographics, summarize data visually to encourage shares and backlinks.
4. Optimizing for Featured Snippets.
Optimize your featured snippets so that it can appear properly on the google SERPs. A good snippet can lead to more clicks on google SERPs because people actually read it.
Types of Featured Snippets:
- Paragraph Snippet. Direct answer to a question.
- List Snippet. “Top 5 SEO tools for 2024” (bullet or numbered list).
- Table Snippet. Comparisons (e.g., “SEO pricing plans”).
Some of the optimizations you can do for your snippets are:
- ✅ Answer Questions Clearly in the First 100 Words.
- ✅ Use Structured Headings (H2, H3) for Listicles.
- ✅ Include FAQ Sections.
5. Writing Engaging & Valuable Content.
Now this is the real and the most important step. The actual writing of the content. The content that you write must be engaging. Additionally, the content must be valuable to the reader.
Best Practices for Content Depth & Quality:
- ✅ Use Data & Statistics. Back up claims with facts (cite sources).
- ✅ Tell Stories & Use Examples. Helps users relate to the content.
- ✅ Answer Related Questions. Address multiple related queries in one article.
- ✅ Use Internal Links. Helps with site structure and ranking.
6. Refreshing & Updating Old Content.
Finally, keep your content fresh and up to date. Do not have pages and posts that are 10 years old and have never been updated. Similarly, you must keep posting and publishing new content. Google crawlers are always looking for new content. Make your website the go-to source of google for new relevant content. When you do that, you will get a lot more traffic from google because it will rank your website higher. Thus keep publishing new and more content. Never tire never stop.
Conclusion.
This marks the end of our 4th part of this multipart series about How to Rank Higher On Google. This 4th part was about Creating Content. Now you know how to create great content that ranks on google. You must keep generating new great content so that google can rank you. Some websites ranking falls when they stay for so long without posting anything. Do not fall for that trap. Keep posting.
Tune in again tomorrow for the 5th part of this multipart series.
