Imagine you just got your first project. You are asked to write an article that has the potential to rank higher. You question your skills and wonder whether you have what it takes to create high-ranking content.
On the one hand, you want to give as much pertinent information as possible. On the other, you don’t want to dumb down your readers. So, what’s the best way to keep everyone, including Google, happy?
But did you know that Google’s search algorithm uses more than 200 factors to rank websites? From the correct format to the perfect SEO strategy, high-ranked content isn’t everyone’s forte.
However, writing a piece of work that shows up at the top of search engines isn’t some mystic art. It requires time, effort, and the right skills. Most importantly, it requires a proper approach.
8 Features That Make Your Content Rank Higher
We are sure you’re already completely clear on the benefits of getting your content to rank high on search engines. But, have you ever really got a clear answer on how to do it?
1) Think About Search Intent
Google has been on the verge of constant improvement. Yet, one thing that stays the same is providing users with a better search experience.
Search intent refers to what users on the internet demand. Overlooking users’ search intent can negatively influence the results of your website. It is essential because Google ranks content based on relevance, authority, and user satisfaction.
This suggests that understanding what type of content your audience wants will help you deliver a top-tier article. Moreover, it tells your reader how much you value their needs and are ready to provide helpful solutions to their problems.
2) Choose the Right Keywords
The importance of keywords in ranking higher cannot be overstated. Millions of websites and content creators rank their articles solely with the right keyword strategy. They are the backbone of making your content stay on the top charts.
But that does not mean cramming them is going to give you results. Actual relevance goes beyond repeating. Hence, work on finding keywords that provide value to your audience and serve justice to what your content talks about.
Still, targeting the right keywords can be tricky for many SEO beginners. Instead of ranking for highly competitive short-tail keywords, try to prioritize long-tail keywords. They are not as competitive and have a more significant impact on your traffic.
Lastly, place your targeted keywords strategically in the title, headers, Meta descriptions, and body content. And most importantly, they should feel natural. Otherwise, it can lead to adverse SEO effects.
If you are still confused about finding relevant keywords, you can use Ahrefs, Moz, and Google Keyword Planner to give you a complete insight on ranking on SERPs.
3) Create Title Tags
Title tags tell users and search engines about your content and help them judge how relevant your content is. As relevance is a crucial ranking factor, a poor title tag can alter a user’s expectations, leading to grim performance.
A reasonable title tag must be
- Unique and different from your competitors.
- Informative.
- Short (not more than 60 words).
Add titles that help users understand your content without needing to read the whole thing. Google emphasizes quality over quantity. Even if it’s something as small as title tags, it does look at how valuable they are to a user.
4) Include Suitable Headers
From H1 to H6, header tags are the framework for good content. They help search engine crawlers to assess the relevance of your web content. In terms of SEO purposes, search engines inspect a page’s heading to figure out:
- Whether the main headings on the page contain the keywords and related words.
- Either the sub-headings on the page match the main headings or not.
- If the sub-headings are reflected in the content of the page.
Nowadays, most people don’t even read unnecessary content. Instead, they just skim through to find what they came for. Hence, giving them and search engines proper headers enhances user experience and ranking.
5) Provide Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions are short summaries of a web page’s content, usually around 160 words or less. Search engines display these snippets on the results page to make it easier for visitors to know whether your content is relevant to their query.
When done right, Meta descriptions have the power to increase your organic traffic. Moreover, they are an excellent opportunity to attract visitors to your site. However, stuffing keywords and cutting down words from pre-written content isn’t the right way to create a compelling Meta description.
Here are some tips on how to create more effective Meta descriptions:
- Briefly summarize the information on the page.
- For each page, create a different description.
- Include your primary keyword at the beginning of the Meta description tag and secondary keywords naturally without repetition.
6) Deliver Quality Content
Several strategies rank your content, but the most effective approach is always the easiest. And that is integrating quality content.
What is Quality Content?
In our opinion, quality content is writing something that falls in the line of being valuable and engaging while having the right SEO strategy. Hence, when writing content, you should be original and give insights on topics you are passionate about in ways the market has not seen yet.
Quality content is anything not only google, but also an audience finds worth sharing. It’s content that provides solutions. If your content isn’t genuine and compelling, your audience won’t grow.
7) Make Images a Part of Your Content
Images are the secret sauce to spice up your content. They attract customers in ways that leave you and them with complete satisfaction. However, apart from choosing the right images, optimizing images is another factor you would want to consider.
When working with images, you can choose between stock and professional images. But, professional and custom images are not the most budget-friendly option.
Suppose you are working on a project that has a tight budget or does not give you the option to hire your photographers. In this case, sourcing stock photography is the next best solution.
Choosing suitable stock photos for your business can be challenging. Hence, you need to understand your brand’s personality and work your way around what attracts your set audience to increase conversion rates.
Stock photography may not be the first thing you think of when looking for ways to increase brand awareness, but it can be handy for branding and commercial use if you know what you are doing.
8) Add a Compelling Call to Action
CTA (call-to-action) is a direct encouragement to the reader to take action. The most common example of CTA’s is the “click here” buttons on almost every other site. Without an enticing CTA, your blog post just does not feel complete.
Instead of making your audience feel confused about the next step, CTAs give them the answer in a catchy way and guides them to the buying process.
Usually, buyers seek out CTAs to take advantage of the smooth buying process. A great CTA should be relevant to your writing and flow naturally with the rest of the content.
Conclusion:
Content is just information. And whatever you want to write, chances are you are not the first. Content is in ever-increasing demand. Information at the fingertips makes it harder to grab attention and generate revenue.
As a writer, you must prepare yourself to create high-quality, original content that answers users’ questions and aligns with your brand. Creating content that readers and search engines love is difficult, but it’s possible.
If you are willing to invest the time and resources, the right SEO techniques are prone to deliver meaningful results for your business. Now all that’s left is to gear up and start creating content that ranks!