Google continue to reward websites that have high quality content. Here is why you should aim for a “helpful, information-rich” website.
There are dozens of factors that affect your search engine rankings such as keywords, metadata, inbound links etc. However, Google is quite explicit in stating that your number one priority should be “to serve high quality content to your users“.
Over the years, Bottle Green have worked with hundreds of small businesses so we know what makes a website rank well in search results. We often see the same issues affecting a client’s website when they first approach us for SEO help. One of the main factors that we note time and time again is a lack of good quality website content.
Examples of poor content that we often see on small business websites include:
- Sparse website content (3 or 4 pages with a paragraph or 2 each is generally not enough)
- Not listing all your services or products
- Poor layout or navigation, which can make it difficult for users to important information
- Being too ‘sales-y’ rather than providing a clear, useful explanation of what your business does
(If you recognise any of these from your own website, then maybe you should consider our SEO services.)
Here are 5 easy ways to improve the content on your business website
1 Make sure all your services are listed on your website
Search engines are getting more and more intelligent but they are not yet telepathic. Make it easy for Google to guide customers to your site by featuring all of your products and services on your website.
For best results:
- use effective keyword targeting
- use a separate page to provide detail on each of your products or services
2 Write easy-to-read content
Users enjoy content that is well written and easy to follow. Keep things simple, at least to start with.
- On landing pages, start by explaining what you do, where you do it, who you do it for etc.
- Tell your visitors what they should do next – eg ‘Call now’, ‘Find out more’ etc.
- Try to avoid unnecessary jargon. Technical detail is great but don’t overwhelm visitors who may not know exactly what they are looking for.
3 Don’t be too ‘Sales-y’
Everyone has their own sales technique, and your website can be a great tool for driving sales and enquiries. However, from an SEO perspective Google won’t reward you with high rankings if your website ONLY has slogans and sales pitches, without any substance.
In general, good rankings come from providing clear information and sharing some of your knowledge.
4 Write in-depth articles. Answer ‘user-intent’ and give genuine value to your readers
As a general rule of thumb, each page on your website should have an absolute minimum of 300 words. It’s been suggested that pages with 1000 words will generally rank better, and that 600-700 words is the optimum word count to aim for. Less than 300 words is considered by Google to be ‘thin’ content and should be avoided.
Quality is every bit as important than quantity. Google use humans and AI (artificial intelligence) to read, understand and rank websites. So they soon know if someone is trying to ‘trick’ their ranking algorithm.
On your website, you want to provide unique content which provides value to your users. Try answering questions your customers might ask. Share some of your specialist knowledge. Build trust and ‘authority’ in your subject by showing that you know what you are talking about.
5 Avoid duplicate content and keyword stuffing
Simply put, do not copy content word for word from another website. Google will penalise you for plagiarism.
Keywords are still important, and it pays to research which search terms your customers look for. However, don’t stuff excessive amounts of keywords into your website text. Google’s algorithms will soon spot that you are trying to beat the system, and this can work against you.
So there you have it. Five simple tips that will help you write better content for your website. I hope this gives you some inspiration, and some understanding of what Google are looking for when they rank your website.
Obviously, you are busy running your own business and might not have time to write thousands of words for your website. This is where your local friendly SEO company come in useful. In particular Bottle Green Websites. That’s us, by the way!
We can provide professionally written content for your website. So you don’t have to.
Drop us a line to get the ball rolling. Thanks for reading!
We’ll leave the last word to Google:
“We continued to remind website owners that if you … focus on creating great content, you should not have to worry about any of the myths or realities (around SEO)”
Google Webmaster Central Blog, March 2019