The phrase “content is king” is often used repeatedly by SEO agencies to highlight the importance of content as part of an SEO strategy. While the saying has become a bit of a buzzword, the sentiment remains true. Several years ago, Google confirmed its top three ranking factors – and content was one of them.
Content in the world of SEO refers to a number of things and it’s a lot more than just a perfectly optimised page. The structure of content across a website, what’s on a particular page and the other content that supports it are all important considerations. Depending on the topic, the industry and level of competition, different aspects are required to create the right blend of content. For example, Google’s criteria is often much stricter for YMYL industries.
Think about topics
While there should always be a strong focus on specific keyphrases, thinking about these as part of a wider topic is more helpful. Not only will this help a site rank for more variations, by expanding the scope, but also helps to solidify knowledge and expertise. Google understands the semantic relationships between words and content should reflect this. We think of this like the semantic sphere.
Depth of Content
Ensuring the site includes depth of content around a topic helps communicate to Google expertise and build authority. This includes structuring the site in a way to helps to emphasise depth – literally with subfolders – as well as relevant content in other sections that include strong internal linking.
Purpose
Having a clear, discernible purpose to pages helps Google to match your content with the right search intent. Think about what users searching around this topic or this specific keyphrase will expect to find, how will they want to digest this information and what actions will they want to take. These considerations should be visible on landing and supporting pages.
Communicate EAT
EAT (expertise, authority and trust) are aspects of Google’s algorithm that help Google to recommend the best websites. When planning and producing content, consider how to communicate these elements to create great SEO content. For example, think about authorship and who writes the content, how much is required and to what readership level should it be pitched, how accurate is the information and why should users (and Google) trust you over a competitor.
These considerations will help you produce better content to support an SEO campaign. However, there’s a lot of factors at play and these explanations only scratch the surface. If you’d like to learn more about writing content for SEO or how to plan an effective SEO campaign, please get in touch to find out more!