Spring is a time when many companies start getting excited about marketing. If you’re thinking about freshening up your online campaigns, content should be your primary focus. This year, some of the industry’s top trends center on content strategy; so, if you’re still churning out blogs just to have something new to add to your blog page, you might have to put a bit more effort into the content itself.

Satisfying Google’s Thirst for Long-Form Content

In case you haven’t heard, Google’s latest algorithm update is favoring thorough content that is both engaging and useful to web browsers. Google is intensifying its focus on evaluating content quality and is rewarding sites that provide the best in-depth content.

Before you start publishing content, consider whether it satisfies Google’s requirements for high-ranking pages: Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness, or “E-A-T.” These guidelines, written for Google’s Quality Control algorithm raters, provide insight into how the search engine rewards pages with quality content. Pages with the highest level of E-A-T will fare better than pages without or with little expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, among other factors.

If you hope to quench Google’s thirst for comprehensive content that is rich in E-A-T, follow these tips.

Considerations for Writing Great Content in 2019

Use Targeted Keywords to Attract Your Desired Audience

Before writing for your audience, you must understand how to find terms they are actively searching for on Google. Including these targeted keywords into your content is a must if you hope they will land on your site. When looking for these terms, understand:

  • Who your audience is
  • What kind of information they need
  • Why they need that information
  • Which keywords they’re using to find that information

Start by identifying the type of audience you think wants or needs the services you offer. Then, find out where they go online. You can conduct surveys to learn their personal habits and preferences when using the internet, as well as other information you might need. You can also check out what kind of content your customers share on social media.

After you’ve compiled your audience research, it’s time to dive into keyword research. Various tools like Google Ads can help you find relevant search terms that relate to the services you offer.

From here, you can do further research to find topics for blogs, articles, and other content based on the targeted keywords discovered and what you know your audience wants to read about.

Don’t Overlook Readability

The content you produce should lure readers in and make them want to stick around. Readable content that keeps them on the page will rank higher than content that regurgitates a bunch paragraphs without consideration for the reader. When your audience clicks on your link, every element on the page should entice them to continue reading. The longer they stay, the more it will seem to Google that your page is relevant to the search query.

“Dwell time” refers to the amount of time that passes from the time the user clicks on a search result and the point in time in which that user returns to the results page. Readability contributes to longer dwell times. Improve readability by providing information that is:

  • Clear
  • Easy to understand
  • Organized
  • Sensible

Dive Deeper into Your Subject

If you haven’t completely omitted fluff from your content, now is the time to start. Providing a cursory explanation of a subject will make Google see you as less than an expert, which will hurt your content’s E-A-T and therefore, its rank. People want to read content that is meaningful and helpful. Try writing long-form blog posts and expand on more complex subjects. Ultimate how-to guides tend to become evergreen posts that will drive traffic for longer periods.

Quicken Your Site

Society isn’t as patient as it used to be, especially when looking for information on their smartphones. Your website’s speed definitely contributes to a user’s experience. Making simple changes to help your site run faster can give your SEO a boost. Learn about what contributes the most to your website’s speed on our blog about that very topic.

Cite Your Sources!

You may have come across some variation of the meme of Einstein being quoted as saying “I didn’t say half the [expletive] people say I did.” The meme jokes about just how easy it is to peddle misinformation online. Savvy web users will want to see data to support outlandish claims; so, if you are using statistics or interesting facts in your blog, article, or web page, you’ll want to cite those sources. Citations, or external links to reputable sources, will boost your Trustworthiness, the third component of E-A-T!

Content Updates Making Your Brain Hurt?

Keeping up with Google’s preferences for high-quality content to stay on top of the SERPs can be exhausting, we know! That’s why we offer exceptional content marketing services to clients across all industries. Fill out our contact form for a free consultation to connect with a marketing expert and learn how we can help you produce E-A-T-rich and link-worthy content.