5 Ways to Improve Your Content and Keep Google Happy
Running a business is like having a never-ending to-do list. You cross one task off the list and three more appear!
So when someone asks you about your SEO, your first thought is probably something like, “WTF is SEO?” or “Great, another thing I need to think about”.
I’m not going to lie. SEO can be daunting. And like anything scary, it’s best to take a deep breath and chip away at it slowly.
SEO explained
So what is SEO? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It’s the process of optimising your website to rank better on Google (and other search engines) and be seen.
Why is SEO important? Visibility on Google = more traffic = increased sales.
For example, if you Googled the best Indian restaurant in your area you would probably choose one of the first three search results, wouldn’t you? Because who really cares to scroll further? This is the power of SEO.
SEO is important because:
The #1 driver of traffic to your site is Google search (51%)
Top 3 Google search results get 75% of all clicks
70-80% of users never click past the first page of search results
Users focus on organic searches more than paid Google ads (70-80% of clicks)
How do you “SEO”?
So now you know why SEO is important, how do you improve it?
Google search results are ranked by relevance. And there are over 200 factors it considers when measuring relevancy—both on-page and off-page.
One of the most important SEO factors is content, and this is what I’ll be focusing on for this blog.
Here are 5 ways to improve your content and keep Google happy:
1. Give your audience a reason to stay
How helpful is your website to your reader? Do they take one look and leave, or do they stick around to check it out? If you want to rank higher on Google, you have to create useful content.
Think about it like this: your target market is asking a question and it’s your job to answer it. What do they want to know? Will they land on your website and know exactly who you are and what you do? Create quality content and give your audience a reason to read on.
Here are some tips:
Write original content (don’t copy and paste off the internet)
Try to engage your reader with conversational copy
Start a blog that adds value (what do you know that your reader wants to know?)
2. Know your keywords
When you search for Indian food, Italian restaurants won’t come up in the organic search results. This is because Google only wants to give you relevant content. One of the ways it measures relevancy is through keywords.
There are many keywords people use to find the same thing. Let’s stick with the Indian food example. When you’re searching for Indian food, you will search one of a number of keywords e.g. “Best Curry Perth” or “Cheap Indian Perth”. Some keywords are more popular than others (more people are searching for them) so it’s wise to know these popular keywords so you can include them in your copy.
How do you find them? Research. Keyword research is the process of finding out what keywords your target market are searching, as well as their:
Categories (informational, navigational, transactional)
Popularity (number of searches)
Competition (how many websites are trying to rank for them).
Perth SEO copywriters and specialists can research keywords for you, or you can learn to do it yourself, but this can be time-consuming. When in doubt, outsource.
3. Make it easy
There’s nothing worse than big chunks of text on a website. People will take one look and then bail.
Make your content easy to read. This will not only keep your audience on your website for longer but will make it easier for Google to crawl your site. Both of these help with SEO.
Here are some tips:
Incorporate keywords into your copy without keyword stuffing
Break text up with headlines
Keep paragraphs and sentences short
4. Blog regularly
There are many benefits to blogging, but I’ll focus on two:
Google prefers fresh content when ranking websites. If your competitors are blogging regularly and are SEO-friendly, they’ll likely rank higher
Because of the number of Google searches (3.5 billion every day), blogs enable us to target specific keywords and gain more traffic
A good example: You Google "How to whiten teeth?" You’ll get a bunch of blogs on teeth whitening websites. Why? Because good copywriters know people searching for teeth whitening tips are ready to buy teeth whitening products.
And what if you don’t buy a teeth whitener? It’s still good news for that website because remember, Google rewards websites that people find useful!
5. Sort out your Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
I notice a lot of websites without title tags and meta descriptions. It’s a dead give away that your content needs attention. More importantly, these bad boys help Google decide on your relevancy.
Not sure what a title tag or meta description is? A title tag names the web pages on your site. These are the links you see on Google search results and the tabs in your browser.
A meta description, on the other hand, describes the web page. It tells people what your web page is about.
What makes an SEO-friendly title tag?
Accurately names the web page to reflect its content
Is about 50 characters long
Includes the keyword you are trying to rank for (preferably at the beginning)
Includes the business or brand name
What makes an SEO-friendly meta description?
Briefly explains what your website is about
Includes the keyword you are trying to rank for
Is 50-160 characters long so it appears neatly on Google search results
The gifts of quality content
SEO may be frightening, but getting your content sorted is a step in the right direction. And with this in mind, I also recommend working on the technical side of your website.
Site speed, mobile-friendliness, backlinks and crawlability are just some of the issues that get in the way of successful SEO. If these elements of your site are lacking, you’ll struggle to improve your ranking.
Quality content is an integral piece of the SEO puzzle. It will help you become more visible on Google and gain more traffic, and this means more clients or sales! But it will also:
Give your business credibility
Establish a connection with your target market
Keep your audience coming back
Generate leads
So, what are you waiting for? Choose one of my tips and improve your content today.