Nothing is constant in SEO – except the fact that content is STILL king.
With Google’s latest algorithms, there’s more emphasis on improving website content to engage with today’s search users. This is why SEO specialists, digital marketers, and website owners all adhere to EAT: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
But, how does this fit with SEO content marketing? It starts with mastering the fundamentals and getting in-depth search engine optimization training for your team.
Let’s focus on the following:
1. Matching Keyword Intent with Content
The entire search experience starts with users. Before, website owners simply stuff their content with tons of keywords to rank their sites. That’s not the same case today. If anything, plugging too many keywords can even put your site in trouble with Google.
The key is to match keywords with user intent. This means using keywords that are transactional in nature shouldn’t be in pages that aim to educate users. For instance, “buy cheap sneakers” are transactional keywords because are used by searchers with high purchasing intent.
2. Focusing on Authority
One of the important features of the E-A-T strategy is having content written by credible sources. This means content can’t be written by just anybody; it should be written by someone who is an authority on that particular subject.
This is a reason many Your Money Your Life websites were hit by the algorithm update. Many of these sites lack authoritativeness when they’re supposed to be providing advice from the experts. One way to ensure authority and credibility in your SEO content marketing is to include authorship or have subject matter experts write for you.
3. Being the Trustworthy Source
Trust is a big factor in today’s search behavior. This translates into how you delight your customers and address the bad press. Google treats websites with lots of bad reviews as low quality, which is why you need to leverage trust factors to rank.
An important strategy is to build on positive reviews on Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, and so on. Another way is to ensure your customers have a way of reaching your business, such as having accurate contact details and physical address. The more trust you build, the more likely Google will rank you.
Good content is just the tip of the SEO iceberg. You’ll need to have more thorough strategies to start ranking and be visible to your target customers if you want to stay competitive today.