Creating Content That Helps You Scale those SEO Ranks

Online presence is crucial for any business, but how easily you’re found on Google is especially important for copywriters and content writers.

Why?

Because it shows you know your ‘ish. It shows that you create content that is looked favorably upon by search engines and can do the same for your clients.

So, you need to show up and you need to show up BIG. 

What Kind of Content Does Google Promote?

Online content is what search engines like Google are crawling when they look for answers to search queries. So what kind of content do search engines favor or promote?

If you don’t have enough content or the right kind, you have a lower chance of being found through organic search. Search engine optimization feeds on content and vice versa, their relationship is cyclical. 

Here’s a breakdown of the top kinds of content you need for better SEO rankings for your copywriting business. 

Blog Posts

Focused and comprehensive blog articles with regular revisions and updates are like freakin’ candy to search engines. Targeted, SEO-optimized content boosts your search engine results page rankings by positioning you or your brand as a relevant and reliable source for your prospect’s search query. 

Producing content that’s relevant to your target audience and SEO optimized feeds Google’s “EAT”, which is “expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.” This is also simply known as page quality. The higher-quality content on your page, the tastier it is to Google. 

When executed properly, blogs can have a huge impact on your business:

• Audience engagement 
• Applicable content attracts new visitors
• Increased brand awareness

Long-form articles range from 1,200 words to 2,500 words while short-form blog articles are between 500-800 words. Article formats include education pieces, opinions, product or service reviews, informative lists, and tutorials. Don’t forget to include a click-worthy headline with SEO keywords and strategically written metadata. 

Articles take more time to read than shorter content like infographics, which increases how long readers are on your website. This metric is something Google tracks and informs the algorithm how valuable your content is. 

And remember: Your business blog isn’t a personal blog. Keep your blog relevant to your niche. This helps Google categorize your website more efficiently and keeps your audience from getting confused.

Listicles

You may be wondering “what is a listicle?” and that’s fair. A listicle is a specialized article format that blends short-form copy with a list. Individual list items are typically only a few sentences long and accompanied by graphics or photos. 

These are easy to scan, quickly digested, easy to write, highly effective teaching tools, and are memorable to consumers. Even long lists don’t feel overwhelming to read because they’re formatted to be pleasing to the eye and contain bite-sized information.

For any article type, keep the content as current as possible! If you wrote a great piece back in 2010 that still has some relevance today, don’t recreate it, just update it. You can refresh old articles by building and updating links, checking for outdated information, and optimizing the metadata. 

Video Content

Videos are rising in the ranks, literally, of search engine results. With YouTube seeing thousands of uploads per day and other short-form videos taking their share of bandwidth, video content can’t be ignored. It’s easy to consume and combines two learning styles: video and audio.

Good, top-quality, long-form video content that search engines love includes tutorials, product promos, compelling brand stories, client testimonials, and even screen-recorded guides. Be sure to create your videos with rich keyword placement in every possible spot to increase visibility, including:

• Video Title
• Video Description
• Thumbnail Title
• Metadata

Leveraging the ability to show, rather than just tell, your customers and prospects who you are and what you offer is an increasingly necessary marketing tool. It goes a long way towards building trust and credibility for your brand and establishing your company as an expert in your market. 

While video content is highly effective and generates a strong ROI, it’s far more difficult to create and do it well. It takes detailed planning, some specialized equipment, and editing software to produce high-quality video productions that rank well. 

But, it’s totally worth it, and is especially good for building up the know, like, and trust it takes for your potential clients to want to work with you.

In-Depth Guides

An in-depth guide is more than an article, it’s usually a 5,000 to 8,000-word detailed guide designed to provide comprehensive educational information. A guide will include graphics, sources, images, lists, and even external links. 

Most commonly these guides take the form of step-by-step instructions or exhaustive tutorials to create a complete, all-in-one manual. Designed to educate and inspire trust, these guides must be about topics you’re capable of waxing eloquent about to provide the most value.

In-depth guides are often value-driven customer acquisition tools or lead magnets that are intended to capture customers at the early part of the marketing or sales funnel. They also serve as a resource you and your customers can refer back to at any time for a refresher. 

Create Content Search Engines Favor

Optimizing your content marketing strategy to appeal to the search engine’s favor increases internet visibility and brand awareness. In today’s fast and competitive digital market, standing out from the crowd is critical for survival. 

Start small! You don’t have to become a full-fledged content or video production agency overnight. Start with weekly content for six weeks to get in the habit, then ramp it up as you’re able. You’ll start seeing results in the form of Google rankings and visibility as you start to create a name for yourself as a copywriting expert.