Quality Content – the Key to SEO and Sales
Search Engine Optimization is continually evolving, and I will make a bold statement that would not have been technically correct three years ago (from an SEO perspective).
Quality content is the most important part of your website. The ultimate success of your website is determined by its content. Period.
That is my bold statement for the day, and I will support this assertion with the remainder of the blog.
To start, Google is now validating my bold statement with a new primary algorithm capable of determining if people found what they were searching for on your site. They are beginning to successfully rank content according to quality and the degree to which it satisfies their search engine clientele.
Searcher Task Accomplishment
The technical term for this technology is, “Searcher Task Accomplishment.” Google’s ultimate goal is for search engine users to find what they are looking for as quickly as possible. If this occurs on your site, your rankings will improve and, if not, your rankings will drop.
All other aspects of your website – design, UX, graphics, colour etc. play a secondary role. Content is what prospective customers are seeking – and Google is actively validating and ranking.
Don’t get me wrong, website design and UX play a critical secondary role and have the all-important task of ensuring the first 5-10 seconds a user spends on your website are positive and not worthy of a bounce. However, this is a topic for another blog.
Uploading quality content on a frequent basis is the most essential aspect of your SEO ranking strategy. At the most basic level, if there is no new content, there is nothing to rank and you will not improve your SEO.
The most effective way to add quality content to your website, and get it noticed, is with Content Marketing. Content Marketing involves the creation and sharing of content and publishing it to acquire customers. This content can be published in a variety of ways such as blog posts, whitepapers, photos, how-to guides/tutorials, etc.
High-quality content results in better Searcher Task Accomplishment scores for SEO and has the directly associated benefit of positioning you as an expert in your respective field. There is no better way to build a trusting relationship with your audience than being perceived as an authoritative voice in your industry. This results in a double win for content marketing – better SEO and enhanced reputation after you do get found.
Use Social Media to Promote Content
Fresh, relevant content must be updated frequently, and one of the best ways to promote and disseminate your content and generate traffic is through social media.
For best results, use multiple social media platforms from options such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, with an emphasis on the most appropriate choices for your specific audience.
Google requires Social Validation for their SEO algorithms, and this metric is nearly as crucial as Searcher Task Accomplishment. Effective use of social media platforms is invaluable for achieving validation and promoting content in this manner will also result in back-links, which further boost SEO ranking.
Social Validation can only be obtained with quality content
At this point, the main thrust of the blog has become clear – sharing high-quality content on a regular basis is essential to enhance Searcher Task Accomplishment, Social Validation, and generate back-links. In general, people will only link back to you if they find the content you are publishing valuable. As a result, Google treats this as validation, and its algorithms directly use this to rank your webpages and blog posts.
While significant advances have been made in terms of ranking web pages and blog posts based on Searcher Task Accomplishment and Social Validation, I would be remiss not to emphasize that keywords continue to remain vital as part of SEO.
The three-step approach below is one of the most straightforward ways to quickly ensure the keyword piece of the equation is covered:
Keyword research- As part of the content creation process, begin with a comprehensive list of the right keywords and key phrases you need to use.
Ensure the main keyword phrase appears in the title of your web page or blog post and is liberally distributed all over the content of your web page or blog post.
LSI Keywords- Don’t forget to use Latent Semantic Indexing keywords (words related to your keywords) so you don’t overuse the main keywords and cover other secondary search terms people may be using. It is essential to cover all bases, and LSI keywords help ensure this is accomplished.
There was a time when SEO existed in isolation and keywords could be used to manipulate the system – some tech companies specialized in this process. However, this is no longer the case. SEO is now the sum of your entire content creation and marketing strategy. Without great content, it is not possible to achieve top search engine rankings – and establish yourself as an industry expert in the process.
In summary, if you want to succeed in the ever-evolving online marketplace, you must frequently upload top quality content that provides a clearly delineated solution and disseminate it to a target audience through content marketing.
Always bear in mind, the only reason your content strategy exists is to serve your prospective customers and, ultimately, win you more business. By following these proven principles, you will stay on the leading edge of SEO and ensure that when someone needs assistance in your industry, they will find you first.