Power Up Your Content - Things You Can Start Doing Today
A new article on Search Engine Journal talks about how you can create better content by gaining a deeper understanding of what specific search queries and keywords actually mean with regard to user intent.
The idea behind this article is useful if you're trying to move up the search engine rankings - and let's face it, that's pretty much everyone! If you want to succeed, you should remember that content is meant to attract, delight, and engage the audience.
Easy, right? Well, it can be, if you remember the following things:
Understanding HOW People Search
The best place to start understanding this is to do keyword research. While it's essential, it's not the be-all and end-all of figuring out what customers want. That's because it really only works for the most common search terms used. In the real world, however, semantics play a major part in proceedings.
This is a graph of the closest semantic nodes for "children's shoes" as applied to Google. But, let's consider the term "conjunctivitis." It's not the correct word to use for the eye condition most people are concerned about when they enter that search term, and many searchers will use the term "pink eye" instead.
Understanding WHY People Search
Search intent has got a heck of a lot to do with what users intend to accomplish. They usually have an ambition or goal when they hit Google, and there are various ways to look at their intent:
You can't just use topics based on search terms. It would help if you thought about why and how users are looking too. When you do that, you will rank higher.
Understanding what people are looking for
This is just about what people really want to discover or learn. A good way to figure that out is to look at the top five organic results and work backwards. Those pages are there for a reason, and Google put them there. Cover the same topics and points with your own unique content.
There's far more in the original article about each of these three tips, and also on how you can bring these.
The idea behind this article is useful if you're trying to move up the search engine rankings - and let's face it, that's pretty much everyone! If you want to succeed, you should remember that content is meant to attract, delight, and engage the audience.
Easy, right? Well, it can be, if you remember the following things:
- Understanding HOW people search
- Understanding WHY people search
- Understanding WHAT people want to know
Understanding HOW People Search
The best place to start understanding this is to do keyword research. While it's essential, it's not the be-all and end-all of figuring out what customers want. That's because it really only works for the most common search terms used. In the real world, however, semantics play a major part in proceedings.
This is a graph of the closest semantic nodes for "children's shoes" as applied to Google. But, let's consider the term "conjunctivitis." It's not the correct word to use for the eye condition most people are concerned about when they enter that search term, and many searchers will use the term "pink eye" instead.
Understanding WHY People Search
Search intent has got a heck of a lot to do with what users intend to accomplish. They usually have an ambition or goal when they hit Google, and there are various ways to look at their intent:
- They're looking for information - on a subject, for example
- They're navigating or looking for a particular site
- The search is connected to a transaction
- They're looking for something local, like a stockist or supplier
You can't just use topics based on search terms. It would help if you thought about why and how users are looking too. When you do that, you will rank higher.
Understanding what people are looking for
This is just about what people really want to discover or learn. A good way to figure that out is to look at the top five organic results and work backwards. Those pages are there for a reason, and Google put them there. Cover the same topics and points with your own unique content.
There's far more in the original article about each of these three tips, and also on how you can bring these.
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