Skip to content
Search-Optimised Content: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide

Blog post -

Search-Optimised Content: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide

Much has been written on how to “optimise” your content for better rankings on Google’s search result pages, which might lead you to believe that there’s a complex process involved. It is actually very straightforward, although it usually requires some effort. Just keep these few details in mind to improve your chances of reaching out to Google’s users.

At the most fundamental level, search engine optimisation is about being relevant; to help the search engines’ users by answering a question or solving a problem. In other words, optimising your content boils down to:

  1. Making it as easy as possible to find, and
  2. Delivering precisely what the user is looking for

As an individual entrepreneur, communicator or marketer, you probably have just the right kind of expertise to answer (search) queries that relate to your business vertical. And if you publish your content on an authority domain – either one you own or an established PR website such as Mynewsdesk – all the technical prerequisites are in place to make your content visible on Google’s result pages, provided you meet the above criteria.

Keep It Simple

The first and most important challenge lies in clarifying for both human users and search engine robots that your content is the best match for a specific search query (assuming that it is).

There is no magic formula or specific “keyword density” that will land your content on Google’s first page. An unnatural amount of keyword repetitions or peculiar wordings could have the opposite effect – primarily because it is likely to ruin the user experience.

Bear in mind that there are several ways for Google to (mathematically) measure the user experience. The most obvious example is an unusually high bounce rate, i.e. when lots of users bounce right back to the search result page to try another alternative.

Google is also getting better and better at semantic interpretation of the content, so the times when you needed to actually consider things like keyword densities are fortunately over. And, needless to say, a mediocre user experience won’t help you get through with your message even if you do manage to get some traffic.

simple

Write What You Want to Read

copywritingBasic writing rules go a long way: Use paragraphs, subheadings and bulleted lists liberally, to improve readability. A few large lumps of text on a page will send many users back to Google looking for alternatives. Also use images, illustrations and other elements that inspire further reading. Consider what you personally prefer to read online and what it looks like.

From the SEO perspective, the (HTML) title is especially important, not least because it’s normally used as your headline on the search result pages. It helps both search engines and users to find the right pages. In other words, your HTML title (often one and the same as the article headline if generated automatically) should definitely include the relevant keyword phrase, without sounding artificial.

The article itself should of course also deliver on the title’s promise, again as simply as possible without unnecessary padding. However, don’t be afraid to be thorough.

Less Is Not More

When you use Google to find information you probably want to land on a page with detailed (but not excessive) information on the topic. A page with only a few sentences rarely live up to such standards. This seems to be Google’s stance as well, as content-poor pages rarely achieve high rankings on informational queries.

Consequently, don’t hold back on the (relevant) details if you want to be visible in the search engines, whether it’s a press release, blog posts, tutorial, or almost any other article. Spending a few extra hours on content creation could determine whether you reach a handful of users or tens of thousands.

Unique Content is a Deciding Factor

copy-pasteAnother important box to tick when looking to rank well – or at all – is to ensure that that your content is unique, i.e. that it isn’t available elsewhere on the web. The reason is obvious: There is no point whatsoever for a search engine to list the same piece of content twice.

A note on press releases: Press releases are often cited on lots of websites, which is one of points and not a problem, but if you want your press release to appear in search, you should publish it on the high-authority PR website first. If you’d prefer getting traffic your own website, you can probably have both – nothing prevents you from publishing additional/related information on e.g. your company blog and linking to it from your press release.

In Summary:

  • Choose the right heading/title: Include the most important keywords in the HTML title
  • Include a call to action (CTA) in the title and/or in your content; read more, follow us, download PDF, contact us, etc.
  • Use unique content: Google has no reason to list several identical results
  • Relevance: Make sure your text delivers on what the title promises
  • Keep it simple: Avoid overly technical language and acronyms when there are more accessible alternatives. A difficult text could reduce user engagement (depending on your target audience), which in turn affects its ranking potential
  • Publish comprehensive material: Shorter news flashes and announcements are also appropriate in the newsroom, but are unlikely to get much external search traffic
  • Use relevant images (with image descriptions), illustrations, tables and/or videos to clarify the content


“Mynewsdesk

Original post on: http://curamando.com/search-optimized-content-the-absolute-beginners-guide/

Topics

Categories

Contacts

Press Officer

Press Officer

Press contact Media inquires
Adam Karseland

Adam Karseland

Press contact Press contact +46 79-075 64 25

Related content

​SEO Jargon: Decoded

​SEO Jargon: Decoded

Ah SEO, the backbone of digital PR and marketing...and the black hole of knowledge. Tes takes a look at the SEO buzzwords and figures out exactly what they mean.

5 SEO Boosting #BrandNewsroom Tips

5 SEO Boosting #BrandNewsroom Tips

SEO is important - we get it! But with the rules always changing, it can be hard to keep abreast of what's good optimisation etiquette and what's not. A brand newsroom can help you keep-up with Google's game and take your naturally optimised content to the next level. Here's my advice...

Why Should A Brand Have A Blog?

Why Should A Brand Have A Blog?

​I have never really written a blog before. In fact, I have shied away from it for quite some time, and yet I talk about it with clients on a regular basis. I understand the values, the reasoning and how it can help a brand. So it got me thinking, maybe my first blog should be based around just that - why should a brand have a blog?

7 SEO wins from the brand newsroom approach

7 SEO wins from the brand newsroom approach

“Search engine optimisation” (SEO) is much less about mastering keywords and SEO tricks to boost your ranking. Instead you must focus on creating high quality, engaging content that your target audiences will be interested in and want to share. In other words, adopt the brand newsroom approach...

7 Step Guide To Evergreen Content

7 Step Guide To Evergreen Content

As content creators, we’re all guilty of churning out more blogs, press releases and news stories for the sake of it, or because we want more “reach”, more views, more coverage. But as the volume of online content increases, it’s only going to get harder to attract an audience.

Mynewsdesk - The smart way to improve awareness and relations

Mynewsdesk helps companies create awareness, find the right audience and build strong relationships.

By providing a user-friendly online solution, Mynewsdesk simplifies and streamlines the publishing, distribution and measuring of your PR and communication efforts. All in one digital place. By consolidating all aspects of PR in one platform, brand and media monitoring is also made easy, helping companies track their engagement over time .

Mynewsdesk has 1.6 million unique visitors monthly and publishes 80,000 news stories per year. Over 4,000 companies across the globe trust Mynewsdesk’s platform to improve their PR efforts and 70% gain media uptake on their news.

Find out more at: www.mynewsdesk.com

Mynewsdesk

Rosenlundsgatan 40
11853 Stockholm
Sverige