A few months ago, I wrote an article about how to get your website to rank higher on Google. We talked about search engine optimization, content strategy, keyword research, and the importance of search intent. Follow this article to get your SEO foundation in place and you'll be ready to create content that ranks on Google.
But what kind of content is it? This is the content that is important to homepage visitors. When someone finds one of your articles via Google, clicks on it, and is captivated by it for a long time, it sends a strong signal to Google that this article is worth sharing in search results.
The question is how to create such content. Is it enough to use a tool like ChatGPT, provide a few prompts, and let them write an article?
I highly recommend going above and beyond. Google is constantly updating its search algorithms, and AI content will increasingly be filtered out. It's not even a matter of quantity. If you have a website that wants to get traffic from Google, focus on creating long-form, high-quality content. Don't just reuse existing content, be sure to share your experience and knowledge. This is a feature of AI tools and provides limited value.
How to create content that ranks on Google
Here are some of my experiences writing articles that rank highly on Google. We will use the Essaouira Photography Guide as an example. Optimized for the term “Essaouira photography” and similar keywords. It's not that hard to rank for, and it's not a high-traffic keyword. However, it fits my content strategy, allows me to promote my Morocco photo tour, and easily provides a top 3 ranking. It is also evergreen content and has nothing to do with news. This is very important for small photography websites. Strive to create timeless content and update it regularly.
With these recipes and the SEO basics from the first article, your content is more likely to be recommended by Google.
informative title
For SEO, providing accurate titles that include your keywords is more important than clickbait. Your target audience is someone looking for specific information about a topic, not someone scrolling through a social media app that needs attention.
On my home page, I mainly use informative titles. However, for keywords with a lot of competition, it helps to make the title a little bolder. Because if your article ranks in the top 10 of Google searches, it will be surrounded by similar content. Here you need to make your title stand out. For example, my guide to calibrating your monitor is not just a “Monitor Calibration Guide,” it's the “Ultimate Monitor Calibration Guide.” However, if you use such an adjective, you must also deliver. You don't want your website visitors to leave frustrated after a few seconds because of a misleading title.
Attractive feature images
On my homepage, I use the first image of an article as the featured image. However, most content management systems allow you to set any image in your article as the featured image.
The key is to choose photos that are interesting to searchers. Google often displays featured images next to the search results list and in image searches. Especially when it comes to image searches, choosing a good photo will help your content stand out. Also, don't forget to provide descriptive ALT text.
Clear structure and table of contents
Well-structured content not only helps readers, but also helps Google understand your content. Avoid large chunks of text, especially for long articles. Use subheadings. These are great for adding keywords.
If you display a table of contents at the top and link to subheadings, Google will include it in search results. This makes your search listings more visible and provides additional information to potential visitors.
personal experience
My rule when writing articles on my website is to only write when I have something to say. If I can create an article that speaks based on my experience, it's much more valuable than reusing information from the internet to come up with posts on trending topics. And as a photographer, there are usually many topics on which I can share my personal experiences. Think about the places you've visited and taken photos, the photo editing techniques you regularly use, and your favorite gear. There are many things I want to write about.
This sets it apart from AI-generated content, which at this stage is primarily a repackaging of existing information.
internal link
When reading about SEO, you often hear about the importance of backlinks (external links to your website). And it's true, they are important. But you don't have much control over them. You control internal links. It doesn't match backlinks for improving your rankings on Google, but it's still valuable.
One thing these can help with is keeping visitors on your website longer. Therefore, when writing a new article, always consider the existing content on your website and provide a link to that content if relevant. My Essaouira Photography Guide links to the Erg Chigaga Photography Guide to provide more background. Links not only make it easier for readers to navigate my site and find additional information; It also tells Google that those articles are relevant. You can increase the authority of the linked article. It's less effective than backlinks, but it's a low-hanging fruit.
Please check the content
After publishing a new article, you should perform two checks to avoid mistakes. The first check is to use Google's Pagespeed Insights to make sure your content loads fast enough. Point out problems and suggest ways to fix them.
Next, access Seobility's free keyword checker tool and let it evaluate your articles based on the keywords you want to rank for. Provide guidance to further improve your content. Getting a perfect score doesn't guarantee your content will rank well, but most of Keyword Checker's suggestions are easy to implement.
Request indexing
Don't forget to add new articles to your sitemap. If you use WordPress, you can find a plugin to do it for you. You can also visit Google Search Console and request indexing. It may take some time for Google to discover your article through your sitemap or internal links that lead to the article on your website.
We recommend checking back in a few days to make sure Google is indexing your article. If it's not indexed within 1-2 weeks, check the Google Search Console[ページのインデックス作成]Please visit the section. Check to see if your article is featured in the section titled “Why my pages aren't indexed.” It's common for a portion of your home page to appear there. However, make sure that no important pages are listed. If so, check the cause and fix it.
Analysis and optimization
Once your content has been online for a few weeks, check its performance within Google Search Console. You can see the number of impressions you get, the number of clicks you get, your average position in search, and which keywords you rank for. This last piece of information is helpful. This will help you choose additional keywords that you can optimize your article for. Look for keywords that get a lot of impressions but a low click-through rate. These usually have potential if they fit the topic well enough.
conclusion
Now it's your turn. Use the information provided to get free visitors to your website from Google and start converting them into customers. I still don't fully understand that last part. Once I've done that, I'll write a separate article about my findings.
Also, don't worry if it takes a while for your article to rank on Google. My most popular article didn't appear in the top 100 for six weeks after it was published. Now it ranks in the top position and receives about 20 visitors per day. This is a pretty good article considering it was written over half a year ago.
Also, once you have created some articles online, look for opportunities to create backlinks. Maybe there will be an opportunity to write a guest post somewhere and link back to one of your articles. This is a great way to gain backlinks while providing additional value.