Tim Weideman by Tim Weideman

Ranking well on Google has to be a priority for your business’s website. If it’s not, you’re likely losing customers. It’s just that simple.

Don’t believe us? Consider for a moment that there are more than 3 billion searches conducted on Google every day. Of the people searching for information, 75% will not click on results past the first page.

One of the optimization secrets to landing on the first search engine results page? Writing better content for your website.

Google loves good content

Google uses a vastly complex algorithm to deliver search results to its users. Over the years, the algorithm has been tweaked and improved to give results that it believes the user wants to see.

And it’s pretty good at this process.

The algorithm accomplishes this by taking many different factors into account when trying to match a search with the best results possible.

This includes:

  • The words used in the search
  • Relevance of the web page
  • Page usability and readability
  • Expertise of the source
  • User location
  • User search settings

To get your business’s web page ranking higher on search engine results, you need to understand all of these factors and incorporate them into your existing search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.

But while there are not any true fast tracks to ranking highly on Google, improving content is one of the most important and quickest methods.

Here’s how you can improve your content and get ranked on Google.

Use the right keywords

A large part of getting your website content in front of search engine users is trying to anticipate what they will be searching for in relation to your product or service.

The first step to doing this is identifying keywords or keyphrases that a user might use in their search queries and then incorporating them throughout the content on your web page or across the entire website.

For example, if your business sells battery-powered widgets online, then you will want to not only feature “battery-powered widgets” in content as a keyword, but also consider questions or searches related to that product. This could be “what type of battery does a widget need” or “widget battery life.” You get the idea.

By matching keywords in your web content to those that someone who could be interested in your product might enter into a search, Google knows how to properly assign relevance – one of the factors listed above.

Where to use keywords in content

You can help Google know your content is relevant by using keywords in several different ways on your website.

When writing, make sure keywords are included in:

  • Headings
  • Body text
  • Links
  • Menu navigation
  • Blog posts

Quality over quantity – most of the time

Having keywords present in website copy is key, but so is quality.

While you will want to use keywords and keyphrases frequently, be careful not to stuff or overuse keywords just for the sake of it. That may have worked years ago, but Google’s algorithm technology has since caught up and then some. Google knows when it’s being played – and will likely penalize your web page for trying.

Instead, focus on writing quality content that uses the targeted keywords to provide helpful information. Again, relevance is important to keep in mind in these scenarios.

Useful content is most important, but don’t neglect making sure your copy is free of grammatical or spelling errors. These can harm how well Google sees your copy as authoritative or coming from an expert on the material.

One way to measure quality – and Google uses this method, too – is to write content that people find so helpful that they share it with others on either their own website or on social media platforms.

When quantity helps

Quality is always priority No. 1, but quantity can be important for staying atop search engine rankings.

Search engines such as Google do pay attention to how fresh or updated content is when determining what to show users on results pages. An easy way to keep your website content fresh is to regularly write blog posts targeted at topics and keywords that, again, relevant and of interest to your customers.

Write content that is readable

Search engines benefit from offering up the best results available on the web. Algorithms have been honed to identify not only quality content, but content – and web design – that makes for usable and readable content.

Usability as it pertains to content is simply content that is written in a way that makes it easy for a website visitor to find the information they want. This can be accomplished by using headings and bulleted lists to guide the reader. Another good strategy is to offer the main point early on in your content, rather than weighing down the website with word-heavy copy.

This will help both Google and its users – your potential customers – find what they are looking for on your website.

Write longer content

Finally, one way to establish authority and expertise, as well as target multiple keywords on any given page, is to write longer content.

Though Google does not always favor longform content over short content, writing more words on any given topic creates the opportunity to create incredibly thorough, well-researched content that shows your website carries expertise and authority. Because Google values those characteristics when ranking websites, your chances of ranking higher increase.

How long does the content need to be? That depends. Many industry experts agree that the sweet spot lies in the 1,000 to 1,200 word range, while others swear by 2,000 or even 3,000 words per page or blog post. The safe bet is to always consider what your targeted customers and audience might appreciate more.

Let’s get your website ranking on Google

From SEO, to web design, to content marketing, Emagine has a staff that is experienced in all of the above. Let our team put our heads together, do the work and get your website on the first page of Google results – where your target audience is sure to find you.

Set up a free consultation to get started.


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