SEO as a practice isn’t going anywhere, but this update means that organizations will have to plan and write their content more thoughtfully so that people can discover them online. Whether you run a smoothie shop, a B2B software business, a nonprofit or any other type of organization, here’s how you can make sure you stay on the right side of this new guidance from Google and maximize the chances of your content being seen by your target audience.
1. Get Clear on Your Niche—And Demonstrate Expertise
Google wants to provide consumers with the best search experience possible, which involves decoding the intent behind their searches and showing them search results it believes will meet their needs. With this update, Google is further hammering down on that goal.
The search engine states that if a site has “a primary purpose or focus” and your content shows “first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge,” those are signs you’re meeting its “people-first approach.”
Think about what your organization’s niche is, and stay under that vertical when planning content. As you write your content, lean into your expertise, and showcase it. For instance, if you run a personal training company and have been certified in the field for years, make sure the content you write reflects that. Avoid straying from your company’s focus and your specialized knowledge by writing about, say, pet health on your website. If you do want to touch on that topic, think about how you can do so in a way that still connects to your organization’s niche. For example, you could write about how to keep dogs safe during runs. That’s a creative angle that still manages to showcase your knowledge.
2. Creatively and Thoughtfully Brainstorm Topics
It will be more important than ever for organizations to brainstorm creative and thoughtful content angles.
Google states that primarily summing up others’ thoughts without contributing much value and covering topics only because they are trending are two alerts that should make creators rethink how they are producing content for their sites. Additionally, the company warns against “producing lots of content on different topics in hopes that some of it might perform well in search results.”
So, don’t just write run-of-the-mill content. Don’t just throw topics at the wall and hope something sticks. For instance, if news related to your industry breaks, don’t summarize it on your company’s blog. Instead, seek creative alternatives that will give your organization an edge content-wise. One way you can do so is to see if you can get a subject matter expert (SME) at your company to sit down for a quick interview about the breaking news and then publish an in-depth write-up of their analysis. That’s content your competitors won’t have because they don’t employ that SME. Or, you could look at what your competitors are writing and think about any points they’re not covering—and then write a piece that discusses those overlooked points.
3. Keep Your Intended Audience Top of Mind
Google states in the update that SEO best practices, such as those in the company’s own guide, can still be helpful alongside its people-first content recommendation.
So, by no means should you leave SEO out of the equation. Instead, it’s important to approach your SEO strategy in a way that keeps your intended audience top of mind. One way you can do so is to focus on questions people search (like “How can I adopt a dog?”) rather than solely on keywords and keyword phrases (like “adopt a dog”). By focusing on questions, it will be easier for you to create in-depth content that, as Google states in the update, people read and “leave feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal” and feel like “they’ve had a satisfying experience.”
Whenever you plan and write content for your organization, ask yourself if it would help you get the answers you wanted or needed if you were in your audience’s shoes. For instance, if you’re writing an article centered on the question, “What are the benefits of taking photos with a DSLR camera?” but you don’t clearly discuss how exactly photos taken with DSLR cameras are different from photos taken with a smartphone, a reader might leave feeling unsatisfied.
Reflect on one of the questions Google poses in the update: “Does your content leave readers feeling like they need to search again to get better information from other sources?”
Ultimately, you should create content that’s so informative, thoughtful, and unique that readers won’t feel the need to turn anywhere else.
