In a sea full of competitors, who offer exactly what you do, or maybe better, how are you planning to stand out? What is it that differentiates you from your competitors?
Hands down the answer is Content because CONTENT IS KING – says BILL GATES, not us.
But developing the content and uploading it on various digital channels like a search engines, social media, online communities, etc. is not enough, as it is absolutely useless if it is not visible to your potential users. This is where content optimization comes into play.
Content without proper optimization is like a body without a soul, you could see it but can’t feel the profits that it can drive.
Okay, don’t scratch your head now. We are going to tell you everything you need to know to optimize your content like a pro as we cover key questions like:
What is Content Optimization?
What are the keys to Content Optimization?
How can you optimize your content?
What is Content Optimization?
Web content optimization makes sure that all of the content on your website or blog is optimized to ensure it appears in relevant searches by potential customers. The process involves creative thinking as you perform activities like:
Putting keywords throughout your web pages
Optimizing titles and meta descriptions
Creating quality backlinks from other websites
Regularly updating old posts with fresh information.
By implementing these, and many other strategies, you’ll make sure that when people are searching for services related to yours or products similar to what you offer – they find YOU!
What are the keys to Content Optimization?
Though content optimization is an essential part of any successful digital marketing strategy, it can be difficult to know where to start when optimizing your content.
While starting, the very first question arises what are the keys to content optimization?
Here are a few basic terms or elements that you may come across while starting your journey through web content optimization:
Relevant keywords
By using the right keywords while carrying out your web content optimization, you target specific phrases rather than generic terms. This way, you will be able to reach a more targeted audience and attract qualified leads who may be interested in their offerings. Investing time into researching effective keyword strategies is an important step toward achieving success with digital marketing initiatives.
Include internal links
Linking between related pages on your own website helps both users navigate through it more easily while also helping Google understand how all the different parts fit together better. This improves overall ranking power by showing relevance between various topics discussed on multiple web pages under one domain name.
Loading speed
No matter what is your content optimization strategy, loading time has a huge role in creating an experience. Slow loading time is not only frustrating for visitors but they're also detrimental from an SEO point-of-view since Google takes site performance into account when deciding where websites should appear within SERPs.
Visuals
Images/videos play a big role in grabbing people’s attention nowadays; if used correctly they can take up less space than text yet still convey a message effectively. As a part of the optimizing efforts, contentful image optimization plays a huge role to rank your creatives on Google.
Analytics data
Last but not least keep track of all analytics data involving metrics like bounce rates, clicks, etc., that have to be checked regularly so that one stays informed about how well (or poorly) certain pieces are performing over time.
5 ways you can stand out with better content optimization
Tip #1: Go the extra mile while research
While researching for something on a search engine, it is highly likely that the users visit the first three results or randomly check out all the 10 pages. They may or may not feel much difference while clicking the website. However, what makes you stand out is the quality of the content which is only possible when you emphasize in-depth research.
You must focus on what your target audience actually wants to know. Try giving some extra research in knowing the trending topics and optimizing your content as per the real-time user demand. You may use:
Answer the public
“People also ask” and “related searches” sections of Google
Reddit communities and subreddit
Hashtags on different social media platforms
Competitors information
Quora
Tip #2: Place the keyword in the right place
People with basic knowledge of web content optimization know where to put the keywords like meta titles, meta descriptions, body, inbound links, and alt tags. But here are two less-known tips for you:
1. Make your title shout:
The primary keyword must be placed in your page title but do you know keeping your primary keyword in the first three words of your title drive better ranking? Optimizing the first three words of your title doesn’t only grab the user's attention but also persuades the crawler to rank you higher. Refer to the below image for a better idea.
2. Body Content:
The content should be thoroughly consistent with the keywords without any unnecessary stuffing but here’s the thing – you must include your primary keyword in the very first paragraph of your content body. As a general psychology, seeing the primary keyword in the very first paragraph makes the user feel assured that he is getting served exactly what he was looking for.
Tip #3: Consider the attention span
Attention spans in general are getting shorter and shorter as per a BBC report. With a pool full of options and a lesser attention span, users tend to skip your page if they feel confused which also negatively impacts the bounce rate.
This means while performing your content optimization, whatever is it you want to deliver to your user; you need to be quick.
Making your content scannable is one such trick that can prevent your users from bouncing from your page so quickly.
Consider doing the following four things to make your content more reader-friendly:
Use short words and paragraphs, and allow plenty of white space.
Content written in this way is not only more fun to read, but also easier to absorb and internalize.
Divide the information into relevant subheadings to assist readers quickly discovering the passage that interests them.
Include images wherever possible. They improve the look and feel of the material.
Any images you utilize, whether photos or videos, should provide value to the content and not just be there for show.
Make sure that every page on your website is mobile-friendly.
Tip #4: Make Organic CTR a goal of your content optimization
No matter how higher you are able to rank on the keywords of your choice, it is of no use if your organic CTR is low. Since PPC advertisements involve an investment of money on daily basis, it can be pocket draining plus there is no guarantee for authentic leads.
However, organic traffic drives you the leads who are actually interested in your service, and therefore, CTR SHOULD BE HERO.
You may try adapting the below three tricks:
Make your meta title and meta description optimized with the keywords as well as the right balance of common, uncommon, trigger, and emotional words which make the users click on your website.
Utilize structured markup to stay in the light and show your potential. Ideally, this can be the reviews and ratings given to you by your previous customers.
Instead of a particular keyword, users utilize Google to ask common questions, and to answer the same, Google filters the content that directly answers that particular question, also known as a featured snippet. You can utilize featured snippets by searching on trending queries (refer to tip #1) and answering them directly in the content.
Tip #5: Do not neglect your existing content
Keep a note, content optimization is not just for the upcoming content, on the contrary, the existing content requires equal optimization efforts.
Optimizing existing posts can help boost engagement rates because readers will know exactly where things are located within each post. This means less time spent scrolling trying to find something specific & more time actually engaging with whatever topic has been written about (which could potentially lead to conversions).
Furthermore, regular updates keep things fresh which encourages people not only to revisit but share amongst friends too - increasing overall traffic numbers significantly over time without needing extra effort outside SEO practices themselves!
Final note - bring creative thinking into play
Content optimization helps create a better user experience for visitors who come across your site through organic search results; if users don't like what they see on the page, then there's no point having them visit it in the first place! Optimizing content ensures that visitors get exactly what they're looking for quickly & easily - which will encourage them to stay longer & explore further into other areas of your website/blog too!
Ultimately, good content optimization leads directly to higher rankings within SERP meaning businesses have a greater chance of being seen by their target audience before competitors do; giving them the edge needed to make sales happen sooner rather than later... So why wait? Get your creative thinking in play to optimize your content like a pro.
In case you are feeling overwhelmed by the technical aspects of content optimization, or are not sure if you can be creative enough, outsourcing can be a good idea for you.
Read our guide on outsourcing your business services: Click here