What is SEO Content? What Makes GOOD SEO Content?
What is SEO Content? What Makes GOOD SEO Content?
What’s the best way to win a sword fight?
What was Steve Jobs’ astrological sign?
Is this mole on my back normal?
If you have Googled, you have come face to face with SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. SEO is the process that goes into making web content attract visitors through search engines, which in 2017 mostly means Google.
By the end of this post, you’ll understand:
-Why your “SEO content writer” is stuck in 2012
-Why keyword density as a concept should die forever
-One easy thing you should do after hitting publish on an article to drive extra traffic to your site.
But first! Let’s dive into the basics…
What is SEO content?
Among all the topics floating around on the internet today concerning online marketing, SEO is the most misunderstood topic by far. But, SEO content is not complicated, once you understand the gist of it:
People come before the search algorithms.
We all know what happens when you type an inquiry into a search engine and hit “enter”:
A list of results pops up that is most like what you just typed in.
Those results appear as a result of SEO.
To stick to the KISS mindset (keep it simple, stupid): SEO is a method of optimizing content for search engines to help it rank higher than other available content in organic search results.
Organic search results are the listings which appear on the results page of a search engine because of their relevance to the search terms.
For example, Google displays their search results based on the relevance and authority of the web page. So, how exactly are relevancy and authority measured at Google?
- Relevance is determined by the content based on factors such as where and how often you use certain words in that piece of content.
- Authority is determined by the number of trustworthy links that point to that page.
Those trustworthy links are called “backlinks”, and if you are in SEO you need to focus on them relentlessly.
Backlinks are simply hyperlinks from one web page to another – which are attached to keywords.
So, to break it down:
- SEO is the process of optimizing a website for easier location.
- Content is any type of information that lives on the web.
When combined…
SEO content is web content that is created to optimize a website for a higher ranking in search engine results.
But, just how do you create good SEO content that major search engines like Google will boost to the top search results for their users?
Let me give you some insight into creating GOOD SEO content:
Good SEO content gets links.
I don’t care if you have created the Mona Lisa of web content- if it doesn’t earn links, it doesn’t quality as good content from an SEO perspective.
If a piece gets links, it is good SEO content. The quality of the article doesn’t actually matter.
When you hear SEOs talk about good content being the key to SEO, what they are really saying is: “Good links are the key to SEO. And good content often attracts those quality links.”
Even most great pieces of content, whether infographics or Skyscraper posts, require some promotion in order to attract those links.
If your content has those quality links (no matter how you got them), Google considers it good SEO content.
Good SEO content has good engagement metrics.
Engagement metrics are important, and Google likes to see frequent site visits, long site visits, low bounce rates, and clicks on the page.
Bounce rates refer to the percentage of single page visits in which the user leaves your website from the landing page, never browsing to any other web pages.
So, good SEO content should be driving these engagement metrics:
Content that encourages the reader to keep reading, content that ends with a CTA (call to action) leading the user to another page on the site, content that leads them to share the content.
Good SEO content is repeatable.
Have you ever found a hairstylist that cuts your hair, just right?
It doesn’t matter how long you might have waited to get it cut or even if you switch up your style, they get it right – every single time.
Good SEO content should be similar to a good hairstylist…
You should have a template that you follow that achieves consistent results. If it is truly good, it is repeatable.
You’ll have some misses alongside your hits for sure, but good content follows a template that you can repeat for success at least 7-% of the time.
Good SEO content achieves a business objective.
You might desire to educate prospects about your brand…
You might want to demonstrate your competitive edge…
Or, you might just be looking to close a sale.
Start by asking yourself a few questions to narrow down your objective:
- Are their influencers I want my message to reach?
- Where in my funnel (top, middle, bottom) is this content designed to reach?
- Does my company need direct sales, branding, traffic, or a combination?
Regardless of what your objective is, good SEO content should achieve whatever business objective you have in place.
Before hitting publish, you need to make sure you have your KPIs (key performance indicators) ready so that you can objectively determine whether a piece of content is a success or not.
Good SEO content is syndicated across several outlets.
The process of syndication is taking content already published on your own site and giving one or more other parties permission to post a copy on their site. It can be a complete copy or a partial copy.
From Facebook to LinkedIn to Medium – as a marketer, your goal is to BE EVERYWHERE…
The outcome is simple:
The more outlets you are on, the more people you reach. And, the more people you reach, the better results you see.
In addition to reaching a bigger audience, you also reach a more diverse audience.
By syndicating your content, you reach a target audience you might not otherwise come in contact with.
Good SEO content is personal.
Building your audience starts with smarter, high-quality content. Something that adds value to the reader’s life…
Not the normal mumbo-jumbo that you copied from Wikipedia, but a value laden article that connects the reader with the content.
Your job is to entice them to stay on your site for longer, click on more pages, and share with their friends and colleagues.
From the beginning, start with a captivating statement – a personal story or a question or scenario most readers can relate to.
Write in the first person like I’m doing here and you’ll have a greater chance of resonating with readers.
Good SEO content does not have a percentage of keyword density.
Many writers still advertise their “SEO expertise” as knowing the correct keyword density for your article…
Beware: They will not provide you with good SEO content.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, keyword density was a hot topic. Webmasters and SEO experts regularly calculated the ratio of keywords to the total word count of a given piece of content.
The goal was to stuff as many keywords into the content as possible – without exceeding the limit – so that it would rank higher without being flagged as spam.
This method is known as keyword stuffing.
Now, search engines are a lot smarter than they used to be. Synonyms and what is known as LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) technology means that Google can understand your article is about painting your dog purple without you having to mention “paint my dog purple” even once in the article.
So, while throwing a keyword into your content where natural doesn’t hurt, modern search engines are far more focused on the quality of the content and the intent behind the keywords.
Final Thoughts
To put everything we’ve learned into one simple focus:
Good SEO content is quality content that gets links and has good engagement metrics. Bottom line, end of story.
You have no interest in reading an article with no focus or meaning, one that is stuffed with an awkward keyword that offers no explanation or direction…
Well, guess what?
Neither does anyone else.
Rather than focusing on outdated practices like hitting a minimum keyword density, focus half your time on creating quality content and the other half on promoting that content for beautiful, beautiful backlinks.
