Google is best known for being a search engine. Yet, the platform is increasingly moving into being a content provider. These pages provide additional traffic for many organizations. In some cases, in fact, content pages displayed in Google search results have no direct relationship to what people are actually searching for. This article offers tips on putting yourself ahead of the competition by targeting completely different keywords within your competitor’s and partner’s websites that takes into consideration Google’s new content-forward position.
Google is Becoming a Content Engine
Google is constantly evolving and changing how it delivers information to its users. Their new content layout allows readers to quickly scan through a page of text and find the most critical information they need. The structure shows the article’s title, a picture, and quick links to sections of the report. This is the type of content Google’s engine is producing, and it’s all powered by a cutting-edge algorithm.
Ranking at the Top of Search
You may think that Google’s algorithms are straightforward, but they’re not. As you start to understand how they work, a couple of things become apparent: they are complex and dynamic. For example, consider how Google ranks content. It isn’t hindered by factors like domain authority or inbound links. Instead, Google’s algorithm ranks Google’s content and content like Google’s at the top of search. But how can you craft your content to rank at the top of search?
Creating Human-Centered Content
Google is all about people. As a search engine, Google relentlessly seeks to deliver the best, most relevant results to its users. But how do you get Google to recognize your content as the best and most relevant to searchers? The answer is by focusing on providing helpful content first.
Google has a new algorithm for search results. Instead of giving more weight to content that ranks highly on search engines, it’s now focusing on people-first content. This layout will help businesses by allowing them to provide helpful tips about various topics without being drowned out by noise. It will keep readers more engaged, and it will help to get your targeted audience onto your page.
Google’s helpful content guidelines are very straightforward. The first guideline is simple: if you’re creating content, focus on people, not search engines. If you write with the user in mind and provide helpful, relevant information to them in a way that feels natural, Google will rank your page high enough so that it’s easy for users to find.
How to Craft Content that Ranks
You can do some specific things to help make your content more people-focused. For example, consider focusing on your audience’s problem and then explain how your product/service solves this problem. This all goes back to one key concept: to create content that appeals to your audience and helps them accomplish their goals.
A lot of businesses still get caught up in the content race. They want people to find them on Google and focus on creating content for search engines – often at the expense of serving their human audience. If you are a company, try not to come off as though you are trying too hard to sell a product or service. Instead, talk about the practical uses of what you offer and let your customers decide whether or not they would benefit from these services.
Questions and Answers Improve Search Rankings
Google also stresses the importance of giving users answers to their questions. If you can help answer questions in the most direct way possible—by writing about the topic in a question-and-answer format—this should be at the center of your content creation process.
Also, never underestimate the value of generating community around your site. In other words, if you can help connect users with other users and other areas related to what they’re looking for, they will have a better experience and be more likely to come back to your site again and again.
Striking a Balance
People look to Google search engines to find the information they need. However, before you begin writing, it’s essential to consider if you’re creating content for people or search engines. The ideal balance between these two is 50/50.
It is an important guideline to keep in mind when creating content. People want quality information; they don’t want spammy or irrelevant content. Suppose your intended audience notices that you’re trying to trick them into clicking on ads or participating in your surveys, for example. In that case, they’ll click away from your site pretty quickly.
Combining Multiple Sources of Information
You may think you are providing helpful content to your audience when you put several similar topics in one place. However, Google’s algorithms and users have different opinions on this matter. When you combine multiple subjects into one site, Google treats each page as if it is relevant for only one keyword, and you end up having a lot of wasted pages without enough specific keywords to satisfy searchers.
It’s essential to separate your niche, product/service-based content from your broad, informational range. As an example, consider a hypothetical website about dog breeders and pet adoption. It’s okay to have a “Dogs” page on your site that talks about dog breeders, but you should have a completely different page (or set of pages) for dogs focused on the general pet owner and their needs. These pages can link to each other, but they should never have duplicate content. Google does not want to see the same information on two different page. Instead, the engine will rank results higher when information is conveyed once and in a cohesive manner.
Key Takeaway
Google “helpful content” is a welcomed opportunity for websites and creators to step up and deliver valuable content for their audiences. However, the objective must always be writing for humans and creating helpful content. This will undoubtedly change the way some marketing agencies and freelancers approach their content strategies in the future.
