SEO Refresher Because Content Strategies Matter
Google recently announced a new algorithm update named “The Helpful Content Update.” While some of Google’s algorithm updates simply sported animal names (like Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird) or other names that don’t add color to the purpose of the update (like Jagger, Vince, and Caffeine), this one is descriptive. Google is letting us know that it is amping up its priority on content, not just any content but content that is relevant to the user.
So, if you haven’t looked at your content strategy in a while, now is a perfect time to take another pass and, while you’re at it, see how it syncs with the ever-changing requirements of SEO and Google’s continuous updates that demand relevant and “helpful” content.
3 SEO + Content Strategy Tips To Help You Achieve Your Goals
1. Quality over quantity is the only way to win at this game. The days of posting as much keyword-rich content as possible to rank higher for those keywords are officially gone. Content strategy as it relates to SEO is a quality game, especially with the new Google algorithm update. Of course, there is a quantity metric that factors into any sound content strategy, but quality is the focus. As you refresh your content strategy, be sure to focus on leading with quality in mind, even if it takes more time, costs more, or is not easily automated. Some tips to consider when creating a quality-focused content strategy:
- Lead generation is about quality over quantity. Time and resources are wasted on unqualified leads. You may also leave money on the table by chasing the wrong leads while your competitors capture the spending power of the right leads.
- If your product or service falls into a niche market, you may have to adjust your expectations.Your lead generation pool will likely be smaller and more targeted.
2. Google is forcing us to reconcile with the fact that our content should be focused on our user. Content created for the sake of the “machine” has never really been helpful to the user. Think about it: We’ve all read those list-style blogs that we scan looking for information and realize that they only scratch the surface of what we were searching for, or even worse, are inaccurate. There is a reason that the phrase, “You can’t believe everything you read on the internet,” is part of our everyday vernacular.
“Creating content that aligns with your brand and meets your user’s needs is harder to create – in terms of money and time – so many businesses focus on generic content that appeals to SEO rankings rather than the user. The contradiction is that the user, who won’t waste a second consuming subpar content, is the one who is keeping the lights on. Google has just put us all on notice.”
Jen Gannon, Content Strategist + Founder of Gannon Creative.
3. Serving up the content at the right time matters, like a lot. The timing of your content is also an imperative marker of its overall success. As you refresh your content strategy to accommodate Google’s new algorithm update, take the opportunity to audit how it matches up with your prospect’s place on the buyer’s journey.
“The right words in the wrong order might attract sheer volumes of traffic, but that does no good if you have confused your buyer. The opportunity to clarify often never arises.”
Jackie Awve, Marketing Strategist + Founder of Awve Marketing
Google’s newest algorithm update is already in effect, and although the impact may not be felt immediately, it certainly should not be taken lightly. For those who lived through the Panda update of 2012, you know that the impact can take an extended amount of time to recover from. The “Helpful Content Update” is also notably a site-wide update, meaning your whole website can suffer if a few pages are found to be producing unhelpful content.
Google has been pushing content creators to take the quality vs. quantity dynamic seriously for years. And now, they’ve found a way to use their AI-based system to decipher whether the content we are publishing is actually helpful to the user. As businesses try to reach their goals in the SEO channel, a focus must be placed on creating content that is focused on the customer’s needs – which is a positioning it really should have had in the first place.
Ready to talk about your content strategy?
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