REASONS YOUR CONTENT MAY NOT BE RANKING
Although the tactics and techniques used for SEO often evolve as the Internet evolves, the impact made from high-quality content remains steadfast. As an experienced SEO company in Northern Colorado, we understand that a key component of digital success is found in the quality of the content on your site.
The notion that “content is king” has held true throughout every advancement in search engine optimization, but that doesn’t mean that content is automatically effective. The importance of content is undeniable, but in order to succeed, content must be crafted, optimized, and implemented strategically.
Taking advantage of the power behind quality content is not always as easy as simply posting it to your site. Getting content to rank well on Google’s results is often easier said than done with countless competitors fighting for the same top ten spots on that first page. There are times when seemingly good content does not rank or even shift in position, leaving you frustrated, confused, and searching for a solution.
Before you throw out the content you’ve already invested into, take some time to review the potential reasons why your content isn’t ranking as you would hope.
Look Into the Quality of Your Content
Search engine algorithms have changed to encourage content production that is focused more on value than on volume. Content should be engaging, but more importantly the subject and information of your content must be unique and useful.
If your content isn’t ranking, start by evaluating what it is you’re choosing to write about and determine if that content is beneficial and relevant to your readers. Content is what will bring people to your site, but the quality of the content is what will keep their interest.
Original, authoritative, highly-focused content is a defining characteristic of top ranking websites. Creating focused content ensures that you are providing information that is purposeful and reliable and is achieved by choosing topics that are most valuable to their needs.
Be sure that all information provided within each piece of content is well researched, properly written, and completely original. Content must be easy to read and engaging, but it must also be structured to provide an accurate depiction of your brand’s purpose.
Be Calculated With Your Keywords
Keywords are a fundamental component for search engine optimization, allowing the primary purpose of the content to be communicated and providing search engines with a tangible means through which they can index content and match it to search queries. Even as algorithms advance to promote quality and value, keywords will continue to matter, as keywords are a necessary aspect of optimized content. Keyword strategies, however, will shift to fit the demands of ever advancing algorithms.
In the past, keyword strategies were highly concentrated on the number of mentions within the page, but in modern SEO, keywords must become more specific and more calculated. Keywords must be effortlessly integrated into the text in order for Google to make the connection between the reader’s intent and chosen terminology to the value within your content.
In order to make the most of your keywords and improve content ranking, be careful that they are carefully incorporated and wisely associated with the topic of your content while avoiding keyword over-saturation. Search engines are now able to identify the topic of your content through closely associated keywords. Using long-tail keywords can provide a more effective and targeted means for catering to the specific intent of the searcher and increasing the odds that your content will meet the needs of a potential customer.
Structure Your Content to Help Rankings
For the most effective outcome, content must be both written and structured for the reader, yet optimized for search engines. Content quality and calculated keywords are not always enough for high rankings, but providing support from a technical structure can make a difference.
Begin by ensuring that your website is structured to enhance SEO and user experience. You can do this by investing into page speed, responsive design, site hierarchy, sitelinks, crawl paths, and clean redirects, to name a few. With the right site structure, you can provide a site that is better equipped to deliver and sustain higher-ranking results.
Consider Increasing Content Length
In order to increase the quantity of content published, websites often opt for shorter blogs or articles with word counts of 500 words or less. Although shorter content is not considered bad practice, search engines are often drawn to articles of longer content. Longer content also provides a better opportunity for you to integrate a higher standard on quality and increase ranking opportunities. You can extend content length by taking a multi-faceted approach that integrates higher word counts with other aspects of content marketing such as images, videos, linking, and more. By simply increasing your average content length you can extend the reach of your information, increase the number of readers, and even improve rankings.
Strengthen Your Link Building Practices
Another effective means for strengthening the quality of your content is to improve on any link building efforts. Linking to other authoritative and relevant websites provides a token of affirmation for your site and can play a significant role in boosting rankings. As with other aspects of content, the relevancy and quality of your links are much more influential than the quantity of links, so be careful that your link building strategy focuses on strong, trustworthy sources.
Stay Up-To-Date With the Times
Regardless of industry, there will always be advancements that require you to update your own practices. SEO is no different. If your website is not ranking well with modern-day search engines, ask your SEO company in Northern Colorado to perform an audit of your website and content and identify any areas that are not relevant in the current state of the Internet. Updates to your content, keywords, and site structure can help you to stay up-to-date, pertinent, and may even help you get ahead of the game.
Red Rocket Web Specialists offers SEO services with expertise in the practices and strategies that will produce digital success for your company. To learn more about how we can help your content rank better on search engines, contact us today.