Creating Effective SEO Strategy for better Google ranking

Google is constantly updating and tweaking its algorithm to ensure that the search engine returns the most relevant results for users. Recently, Google rolled out its helpful content and spam updates just a couple of months apart, sending affected websites into a free-fall.

Sites that have no solid SEO foundation are likely to lose their place in the search engine ranking page (SERPs). This article discusses how to create an effective SEO strategy to future-proof your sites and get better ranking in Google.

What is an SEO Strategy?

An effective SEO strategy is a plan of action taken to improve a website's ranking in SERPS and ultimately increase organic traffic. The main goal is to improve the visibility of a website in order to attract more visitors from search engines - more visitors mean a higher chance of sales conversion (for an e-commerce site, for instance).

There are a number of different factors that can impact a website's ranking, including on-page elements such as title tags and meta descriptions, as well as off-page factors like link building and social media engagement.

The most effective SEO strategies are those that take into consideration all aspects of the SEO process, from on-page optimization to off-page efforts.

How to Create an Effective SEO Content Strategy

1. Create People-First Content

Google's actions may be cryptic and puzzling most of the time, but the main core of their algorithm updates is all about ensuring that site content meets or exceeds visitor's expectations. This means that the content you produce should be helpful and not just regurgitated text from other sources.

Helpful content means answering questions, providing real product reviews, or solving a problem. You are essentially creating something of value for a human in search for an answer to a query. This should be foremost in mind when creating content.

2. Be An Authority and Expert In Your Niche

As the internet becomes increasingly saturated with content, it can be hard to know which sources to trust. That's why Google helps users to sift through the noise and find authoritative content through its Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (EAT) update.

Google's algorithms will now take these factors into account when determining which results to show for a given query. This change is designed to surface high-quality content from reliable sources.

So, what does this mean for content creators? There's no need to panic! Simply focus on producing well-researched, well-written articles that offer something valuable to readers. One effective way to do this is to back your content with sources and evidence. It would also help if you listed your credentials on the About page or in the Author section.

When you churn out high-quality content about topics within your niche or business space, this signals to the search engine that you are an authority and expert in your field.

Danny Sullivan, Google's Public Liaison of Search, clarified that ETA is a ranking factor. By creating informative and trustworthy content, your content is likely to appear prominently in search results.

3. Do Keyword Research with Search Intent in Mind

The purpose of keyword research is to help you understand what people are searching for online so that you can create content that is relevant to their needs. It is an important part of SEO because it helps you understand people's intent when they use specific keywords.

Keyword research is a crucial step in content creation, so, before you write your next article or blog post, you must take a step back to consider what search intent is and how it can guide your content writing.

Search intent is the purpose behind a searcher's query and understanding it can help you create content that satisfies the search inquiry.

There are four main types of search intent:

• Navigational searches are used to find a specific website or page. Example: searching for a brand name or a business name.
• Informational searches are used to find information on a certain topic. Examples: how, what, why, tutorials, guides.
• Transactional searches indicate an intent to buy or complete a task. Example keywords: buy, for sale, cheap, download, sign up, register, get a quote.
• Commercial investigation is used when someone is considering a purchase but isn't ready to commit. Examples: reviews, product comparisons, product name, service name, best X for Y.

Keep search intent in mind as you conduct keyword research so you can use keywords that are likely to rank well.

4. Optimize Your Content At Every Opportunity

Your website's content is key to attracting readers and search engine crawlers. Here are a few tips on how to optimize your site's content:

• Use headings and subheadings to break up your text and make it easier to read.
• Use meta data, such as title tags, meta descriptions, focus keywords, and alt tags, to help search engines understand your content.
• Use internal linking to help readers navigate your site and find related content.

5. Keep Your Content Fresh

Fresh content means search engines will have more opportunity to visit your site and re-arrange your position in the rankings. When you update regularly with new posts, images, and videos, you're essentially increasing the chances of your content getting a higher ranking. This is because it gives Google bots and crawlers something to index.

If you publish fresh posts frequently, there are more keywords to crawl, index, and rank. Not only does new content give your site a boost in the search engine rankings, but it also helps to attract new visitors and keep existing ones coming back for more. It can also help build relationships with existing customers and clients. In any case, it's an opportunity to increase traffic to your site. Just make sure that you don't sacrifice quality for quantity.

Your SEO Content Strategy Must Evolve

We may not always know what Google is up to, but what we can say with certainty is that SEO is evolving because Google updates. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you must keep up with the changes.

Google is now prioritizing quality over quantity, with "people-first" content. So, you should focus on creating high-quality content that provides value to readers. It has to make sense both to users and to Google.

No matter what industry you're in, your content must be optimized and updated if you want to succeed. Optimization increases the chances of your content ranking well in search results, so you can reach your target audience, build brand awareness, and drive conversions.