Boost Your SEO Ranking

Boost Your SEO Ranking: 5 Content Creation Tips

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Time to Read: 4 minutes

Everyone knows the importance of “page one rankings” on top search engines such as Google. However, obtaining those coveted first-page spots takes hard work, time, and consistent content creation. When structuring your content creation and content marketing strategy, try these five tips to help boost your SEO rankings.

Write for an Audience First, Search Engines Second

In previous years, content writers had the luxury of manipulating search engines by stuffing web pages and blog posts with specific keywords and long-tail phrases. While this was ideal for writers, SEO professionals, and business owners, it was terrible for readers. Imagine clicking on a search result, only to find a myriad of keywords and a page filled with very little relevant information.

As a result, search engines began to favor content that provided authentic and relevant answers to user queries. Neil Patel (from neilpatel.com) suggests using informational keywords such as “how to cook an egg” to draw in an audience. By writing for an audience first, you will organically include the keyword(s) throughout your written content, while providing solid answers and information to the intended reader.

You Still Need to Optimize Your Content

While your core focus should be on providing quality content to your audience, the audience must also be able to find your content. Optimizing marketing content for search engines is a crucial step in boosting your SEO rankings. At the absolute minimum, AddThis recommends including the following factors in your content optimization process:

Of course, there are many more SEO techniques that can help your content rank higher on Google, Bing, and other popular search engines. It is recommended that you start with the basics and work your way up from there.

Don’t Skip Over the Meta Description

You’ll notice that the meta description of your web content or blog post is included in the basics of site optimization. While this factor won’t necessarily make or break your search ranking, it can help improve your click-through rates via popular search engines.

Think of your meta description as sales copy rather than yet another content optimization task. Use your meta description to stand out from the other search results and attract users to your website. Otherwise, your content will just fall among the other pieces of written work fighting for the top spot on Google. Remember to include a relevant keyword too!

Re-Optimize Old Content

Often, content marketers and writers don’t have time to create new content. When this is the case, target your efforts on old content. Ask yourself:

  1. What can I do to make this piece of content rank higher in search engines?
  2. Can I spin this topic to be relevant to today’s audience while increasing rankings?
  3. Is this piece of content benefiting or hindering my overall SEO strategy?

Old content, especially evergreen content, still has the potential to drive a significant amount of traffic to your website. That is, if you make the effort to optimize it correctly.

Provide Value with Relevant Content Links

Lastly, adding links to your content not only shows search engines that you’ve done your research, it also proves to your audience that you are committed to providing continued value.

However, you can’t throw a link or two into your content without having a strategy behind it. The included link must continue the user’s education or interest in the topic. Whether this is an internal link to your other pieces of content. or an external link to complementary data, these links must provide significant value. For instance, you’ll notice throughout this article we’ve included external links to articles that further the topic, provide additional information, and help you learn more about the topic at hand.

By following these five content creation tips, you are well on your way to boosting your SEO rankings.