Content? Keywords? Online Marketing? We have a rough idea of what these terms are about, but we struggle to come up with a definition of them or say why they are so important for ranking. So this week we have decided to give you a refresher course so you can start June on top of your game!
Content means everything that a website offers us in terms of text, but also includes images, graphics, videos, and music files. The content can determine whether visitors stay on the website for a longer or shorter period of time, and it is crucial for ranking and classification by search engines.
This brings us to the next point and the importance of content for ranking. The goal of search engines is to provide users with the best, most relevant results for chosen search terms/keywords. During the sorting process, many hundreds of signals are evaluated to determine their placement in the various search categories. Among other things, the structure, type, and amount of content also play a role in the evaluation. Search engines such as Google check on different levels to see to what extent a website is relevant for certain keywords or not. A signal for the search engine is the length of stay of website visitors or the interactions between users and website operators. A long duration of stay is a signal that users find the content interesting, that they can draw added value from the content offered, and that it is high-quality content that matches the keyword. Otherwise, users would bounce quickly and leave the website, something that is sometimes even penalized by Google.
Text in the written content is also checked comprehensively. All forms of text on the website, including even the menu, are included in the evaluation. The structure of the texts is checked for meaningful paragraphs, and word choice is evaluated using WDF*IDF testing. Using keywords as often as possible has been a big no-no for a long time now; they should instead be incorporated into the text in a meaningful way. The content should have depth and should be pleasant for visitors to read. In addition, the content should be unique content. The user should be offered something new; anything else has already been published many times and if used again, in the worst-case scenario, it will lead to a penalty from Google.
But not only written content is a must for website owners – images, videos, and infographics should also be included since they break up text and attract the reader’s attention. Moreover, images often convey a message that can say more on a topic than by using many words; plus images are often shared on social media. Videos are also quite popular to share, as they encourage commenting and increase time spent.
Another type of content is social media content that is posted in summary on social media platforms. Media posted on social platforms aims to facilitate communication and evoke interaction between users. In the best case, the scope through social media is larger, and more potential users can be reached.
