Ten Steps To A Well Optimized Website Step Two - Content Creation
Welcome to part two in this search engine optimization series. In part one we covered
importance and tactics for choosing keywords and keyword phrases that will provide highest ROI for your optimization efforts. In part two we will discuss how to properly write content for high search engine positioning.
Content is key to search engine rankings. While there are numerous factors involved with search engine algorithms, content remains a constant in stable rankings for a number of important reasons.
Over this series we will cover ten key aspects to a solid search engine positioning campaign.
The Ten Steps We Will Go Through Are: - Keyword Selection
- Content
- Site Structure
- Optimization
- Internal Linking
- Human Testing
- Submissions
- Link Building
- Monitoring
- The Extras
Step Two - The Importance Of Content
There are many aspects of your content that are of key importance to your search engine rankings and for a variety of reasons. That said, they can be broken down into their three main benefits. The three main things you should be targeting with your content are:
- Unique and well-written. The search engine spiders are looking for unique content and your visitors are looking for well-written content.
- With articles come links.
- With quality content comes even more links.
As long as you keep these three main purposes in mind while you are deciding what you want on your website and how it should be worded, you will fill this area nicely.
Unique & Well-Written Content
The importance of unique and well written content cannot be overstated. This is backbone and purpose of your website's existence and it deserves time it will take to create. When you are considering what content you want on your site (or what content should be on your site if this is part of SEO or a redesign) you will want to make a few considerations.
- What does your audience want to find?
- Will you have to do additional research?
- Are you an expert writer or do you have one on staff?
What Does Your Audience Want To Find?
Assessing your potential visitors wants does not require a crystal ball. If you have completed and spent quality hours on Step One of this series, fully researching your keywords, you are already well on your way. Delving into those keywords you will often find hints that will push you in right direction.
If you have an acne site and you have found a number of people searching for "acne treatment" and "natural acne treatment" and have thus chosen these as your targeted keyword phrases you already understand your visitors current situation and more importantly, their desire. Similarly, if you are a real estate agent and have chosen "los angeles real estate" as your phrase you know more than simply characters strung together and dropped into a search box. You know that you are dealing with people wishing to purchase or sell a home in Los Angeles. In both scenarios you know what your visitors want and, assuming you are already successful in your industry, you know what you have to do to convert that desire into a client.
Now what has to be done is to create solid, compelling content that will both grab your visitor's attention and at same time, make them want what you have to offer. This is not same as selling to them when you have opportunity to speak to them face-to-face. You are working without benefit of watching their expressions, speaking to them about their objections, or even understanding whether they are looking for information for a friend or if it is they themselves who require your services.
This leaves you with a lot of room for content. In online environment you have to deal with every question before they ask it, and make every person feel that you can help them even though you've never met.
What does your audience want to find? They want to find a solution to their problem. How do you provide that? By supplying them answers to questions that they don't have opportunity to ask and may not want to give you their email address to find out. FAQ pages are good but often used as sales pages, which is fine so long as you are still providing good content that your visitor isn't reading as "sales" but rather "solutions". Perhaps create pages of replies to emails you have received. Perhaps place a related "fact of day" on your homepage with a link to an archive of facts related to your industry, product and/or business. You might even want to add a blog to your site. Regardless, give your visitor answers they're looking for and keep this information updated as you get new information and you will stand a much better chance of keeping that person surfing through your website. The longer you can keep them on your site, greater chance that you will build trust and once you've got that, you can help them with solution to their problem.
Will you have to do additional research?
For many business owners gut instinct to this question is"no". Of course not, you are an expert right? Well you may be, and so is Professor Stephen Hawking, however my bet would be he still does his research.
