A common question asked by any business with an online presence is ‘how can I help my website rank higher?’. As a search engine optimisation company, we’re in the perfect position to answer that question!
There are several factors you must consider, the most common three being:
- Quality content
- Optimised images
- A proficient linking strategy
We have several other blogs that can help you with the latter two points. Here, however, we’re going to explore the importance of quality content.
A high performing SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) strategy is so closely linked with content marketing, they are virtually intertwined. Look at these benefits of producing quality content:
- Forms a connection with your site’s visitor
- Educational content for the reader
- Proving yourself to be a thought leader in your field
- Building a solid reputation
- Standing out against the competition
- Increasing your search rankings
Consider what the point of your website is, at its very core. However blunt and unappealing to the consumer it may sound, its point is to make sales. That’s a universal truth. With this in mind, and aside from all the great benefits listed above, the most important benefit of producing quality content is to drive more traffic to your site which, in turn, creates more sales.
What Is the Biggest Source of Website Traffic And Why Is It Organic Search?
Your website is undoubtedly the home of all your best content; everything that proves you know exactly what you’re doing. If you take a quick look at your analytics, you will find out what topics your visitors want to see. These will, of course, be the pages with the most visits and the most time spent on them. Ideally, these will be the pages that lead to sales.
The best online source for quality leads is organic content, without question. By choosing the perfect keyword or phrase, you’ll be able to hone in on the user intent. What are we talking about, you ask? Well…
Say you’re selling… trainers. With so much competition out there, ranking for the word ‘shoes’ is going to be virtually impossible. Narrowing down the search so that it applies to your brand is a sheer necessity and is something a search engine optimisation company can help you with!
By typing in something simple like ‘shoes’, or even ‘running shoes’, no one is likely to find your brand. On top of this, the searcher might not even be interested in buying shoes! With this in mind, it’s important to analyze your audience in more detail. As a hypothetical shoe salesman, you’re far more likely to make a sale by implementing key phrases, such as ‘running shoe shop London’.
Depending on what type of search query your brand attracts, you can begin to qualify the leads by way of user intent. Your search volume must equal quality; something impossible when focusing on broad keywords and phrases. Volume, itself, is equally important too, as it provides a higher chance of conversion. Tools, such as Google Trends, can be particularly helpful in clarifying the volume of traffic you should expect from a specific search query.
Determining an exact ROI for content marketing alone is a difficult endeavour. SEO results can be tracked and measured, however, and will directly reflect the SEO activities our search engine optimisation companymentioned above.
Cost-Effective
Organic search is the most cost-effective avenue of marketing by far. SEO done with care and consideration will never be cheap exactly, but the ROI is exceptional! Whilst professionals will be needed for many elements, there are ways you can help out to keep the costs down. Writing your own content, for example, if you’re proficient at writing copy.
Write For Your Audience, Optimise For Google
Whilst this concept is a struggle for many, it’s hugely important! Your website’s content needs to hit two targets; it must appeal to potential customers whilst also providing the answer to a problem.
If your content is effective, people will be prompted to take action. Whether this means they fill out a form, contact you or even buy your product, your copy should direct them to an end result. In reality, SEO copy is basically sales, under the guise of imparting knowledge. That being said, it should certainly still be informative, helpful content, written in a way that attracts attention. The previously mentioned keywords and phrases should be organically slipped into the copy, too. See if you can work out what key phrase we’ve squeezed into this blog…
Yes, Size Does Matter…
…Or it does to Google, at least! At the time of writing this blog, Google favours blogs of around 1,700-2,400 words, but this just isn’t feasible in many cases. Anything upwards of 1,000 words is definitely worthwhile content and you shouldn’t attempt to pad it out with useless filler. Doing this will ultimately turn people away, leading Google to believe you’re providing uninteresting content. This, of course, will have an adverse effect on your SEO.
With search engines expecting at least two blogs a week, consistently pumping out engaging content can become quite difficult. This is where a search engine optimisation company, like VerriBerri, can help you thrive!
Blogs with 1,000+ words rank much better than those that don’t. Blogs of around 300-500 words may be penalised by Google for being ‘thin content’. Regardless of the content, Google may decide that it offers little to no value, thanks to the length. If this is the case, you will have wasted your time writing something that will potentially harm your site. When in doubt, let the professionals handle your content and SEO!
Contact Us
Hopefully, you’ve found this blog useful in understanding the importance of quality content. Not to mention all of the resulting benefits to your site! But if you’re struggling with the time or know-how, or just fancy outsourcing the job, please do get in touch! Our search engine optimisation company is also a full–service agency, meaning we can offer as much help as you need. You can call us on 01376 386 850, or click here to get in touch.