Do you plan content or write based on inspiration?

Content is one of the most important, if not the main aspect of website optimization, because even a technically perfectly optimized website without relevant content has no value to the user. As a result, it also becomes irrelevant to Google, since its first and main task is to satisfy the user's search intent. High-quality and relevant content tells Google that you are a relevant source of information that can successfully answer the user's questions.

With good content, you can attract more visitors to your website, establish yourself as an authority in your field , and gain backlinks to your site, further strengthening your position in Google results . But for this you need two things: a good content plan and really good content .

Most companies start blogging or writing content more or less on a whim – someone in the company signs up to write certain content and suggests topics that are closest to their interests. Then they write the content, publish it on the blog, share it on social media, and that's usually where the story ends. There is no lasting or noticeable effect from publishing this content.

Did you know that 91% of all content published on the World Wide Web does not receive any visits from Google ?

So what's wrong?

Do you know who can write the best content for you?
Having people in your company who are willing and able to write content for your website is a huge advantage . You know your field best, have the best insight into the issue, and can best answer the questions that users have.

Companies that do not have their own writers must hire writers from outside the company, and this usually means that their content cannot be as high-quality, in-depth, and professional as if they had written it themselves. In all likelihood, the content will be readably written and appropriately structured, but it is questionable whether it will meet all the needs of users and answer all their questions on a content level.

You are the best source of information about your business , so it's much better if you can write your own content for your website in-house. And rather than investing in hiring outside writers, invest in learning the basics of website optimization, especially search engine optimization .

What to write about anyway?
Content strategy starts with keyword research
A key mistake most writers who don't have any knowledge of website optimization are making is writing based on inspiration. They usually pick a topic they're researching at the time or a question that came up in the company during a morning coffee chat. But is that really what users are interested in?

Before you start writing content, you should do keyword research for all the topics you want to write about. Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing the search terms that users type into search fresh mobile database engines when looking for your services.

Companies operating in emerging markets, in particular, often focus on very specific keywords that are only used by the bottom of the funnel, while the majority of users search using more general keywords . By producing overly specific content and using overly technical or specific keywords, they neglect the audience that needs to be educated on the topic and needs more general content to get started .

How to do keyword research?
Prepare a list of key topics related to your services and/or products.
Assign a few keywords to each topic that you think are relevant to that topic and that you think users might enter into a search engine when looking for content on that topic.
Research related keywords and find additional suggestions by typing your keywords into Google and looking at the results page – what titles come up? What related searches does Google suggest? When you type your keywords into the search engine, also pay attention to the suggestions that Google offers to complete your search term. These are all relevant search terms that users type.
If you're writing in English, also pay attention to the " People also ask " section , where Google offers you related searches related to a particular topic. This is also a very good insight into typical user searches.
Create a list of core keywords and long-tail keywords (longer search terms). For example, let’s say the keywords running shoes and running shoes for overpronators – which do you think will rank higher on Google?
Use Google Keyword Planner to check your keyword list – which keywords have the highest Monthly Search Volume ? Are there any keywords on the list that have no searches at all? There are bound to be some of those ideas. You can safely cross off the list of keywords that have below-average searches for your industry.
Once you have identified (selected) the most important keywords for your business based on the number of monthly searches, the final step is to do some competitive research . Type your keywords into Google and see which competitors are on the first page of results. If large, international corporations like Amazon or Wikipedia are in the top spots, be realistic – it is unlikely that you will be able to outperform them. In this case, it is better to focus on other keywords with less competition.
General keywords with a very high number of searches usually always have quite high competition, so find the golden mean – keywords with a relatively high number of searches and low competition.
Keyword research will help you uncover which keywords are actually relevant to your target audience , and most importantly, determine the terms you will use in connection with a certain topic. The terms you use for your services yourself are not necessarily the same as those used by users - explore all options and variations. Also identify long-tail keywords, for which it will be easier to optimize content, as they generally have less competition than more general keywords.

Once you have a list of keywords with high search volume (and ideally low competition), there are two more steps you need to take before you start writing: you need to do research on search trends and analyze previously published content .

Use Google Trends to find out when to publish content
Google Trends tells you what search trends are for a particular keyword throughout the year. Using this tool, you can create a year-round content plan based on your keyword list , dividing it into topics based on search trends.

The Google Trends tool offers search trends for time periods ranging from one hour to the last 15 years (back to 2004).

For example, we can see how monthly searches related to washing machines have increased over the last fifteen years.

With this tool, you can determine in which part of the year there are more searches for a particular topic, in which cities searches occur, what are related topics, and which specific search terms users enter when searching for content on a specific topic.

Perform an analysis of already published content (Content Audit)
Once you have chosen your target keywords and know what the search trends are, it’s time to analyze the content that ranks highest for those keywords . Let this content guide you on what kind of content you should create, as well as inspire you to create better, more in-depth, more professional, more useful, and more engaging content.

Enter your keywords into Google’s search engine, just as you did with your keyword analysis. This time, you’re not just interested in who’s at the top, but what kind of content they’re at the top with. Is it buying guides, how-to guides, case studies, videos, infographics? The first page of Google results is a glimpse into what content Google considers useful and relevant for each search term.

Length and structure are important
Pay attention to the length and structure of the content that ranks high , as well as whether Google offers a Featured Snippet for your keyword.

The featured snippet, or position 0 (the search result shown before the first result with a blue link), provides a short answer to the searcher's query, drawn from the most relevant content among the results. This is usually the content that organically ranks first. The user then has the option to read more based on the featured snippet by clicking on the link to the article from which the snippet was taken.

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fresh mobile database