How to Create High-Quality Content on Google

One of the biggest challenges marketers’ faces is getting their content the attention it deserves. The reason is simple. If no one reads your content, you have no chance of succeeding with content marketing. In this post, I want to show you exactly how to create content that engages your audience and ranks high on Google based on data and research.

 

Why is search traffic important to sellers?

Search traffic is the real deal and I'll tell you why in a heartbeat. But before that, let me ask you this:

The last time you bought something online, what process did you go through before reaching the product you finally settled for?

You have likely done a Google search to find out exactly what your options are and what is the best option among them.

For most people, a Google search is the first thing they do before making an online purchase. This means that if you are a serious marketer who wants to get great results with your content, you should work hard to rank it on Google.

Rand Fishkin's research shows that Google deals with about 57.8% of online traffic. This is followed by Facebook and YouTube, with referral traffic of 5.2% and 4.8% respectively.

Fishkin's research shows that Google is still the platform to beat when it comes to getting people to discover your content online.

Not only does Google traffic outshine other sources, it is also steadily increasing.

According to the BuzzSumo Content Trends Report , Google sends twice the traffic to publishers compared to traffic from social media.

From the chart above, you can see that search engine traffic (especially Google) is the most efficient, reliable, and consistent way to drive traffic to your content.

How to turn Google into a traffic generation tool for your content

Most marketers now turn to Google to drive organic traffic to their content. Because of this, the competition for a top spot on search engine results pages (SERPs) continues to increase.

SERPs mean you need to do more to outshine your competitors and drive those Google visitors to your website.

Here are the steps you need to take to create content that ranks high on Google , according to science.

Step # 1: publish long-form content

Gone are the days when you can post a 500 word article and rank high on the first page of Google. That is not the case today. This is because users are smarter and appreciate content that digs deep to solve the specific problems they face.

Because of this, Google rewards long-form content and ranks it high on the first page. Recent research from SEMrush supports this. The research team found that there is a correlation between content length and social shares, backlinks, and traffic.

According to the survey of more than 700,000 articles, they found that content that is more than 3,000 words performs better than shorter content. In fact, research shows that long-form content receives three times more traffic, four times more shares on social media, and three and a half times more backlinks.

In similar research, Backlinko analyzed 912 million blog posts and found that there is a correlation between content length and backlinks.

Research revealed that content with at least 3,000 words tends to get an average of 77.2% more backlinks compared to content that is shorter than 1,000 words. Therefore, this type of content generally ranks high on the first page of Google.

Orbit Media also recently conducted their annual research on “ How Blogging Has Changed “ And we also came to an interesting conclusion regarding the length of the content.

They found that the average blog post in 2019 is about 1,236 words, which is 53% longer than the average blog post length about six years ago. Not only that, bloggers who post content with more than 2,000 words report getting roughly 55% more results than those who don't.

From the following, you can see that long-form content is a strategy that should be used by any marketer who wants to rank their content on Google.

Additionally, when posting long-form content, you:

·        Become known as an expert and authority in your field.

·        Make your content attractive and worth sharing.

·        Rank high for your target keywords in SERP.

·        Improve your brand awareness.

·        Get more audience for your business.

Step # 2: Structure your content properly

The structure of your content also determines how it will perform on search engines like Google. This is because the structure of the content affects the user experience and the time they eventually spend on your blog.

If your content is well structured, anyone who comes across it will likely take time to read it. That way you will show Google that you are a relevant article and it will perform well in the search engine. Otherwise, your content won't survive stiff competition from search traffic.

Since every business needs to manage its daily tasks effectively. To stay relevant, making sure you structure your content properly is good practice, you need to imbibe yourself as a marketer.

The SEMrush research cited above shows that there is a strong correlation between the overall performance of a content and the use of H2, H3, and H4 tags. They found that well-structured content with H2 and H3 tags is more likely to perform high on Google.

 

In fact, 36% of content that has H2 and H3 tags perform better in terms of traffic, shares, and backlinks.

From the above, you can see that structuring your content properly helps it to perform well on Google.

With a good content structure, you:

·        Make it easy for search engines to read and understand what your content is about.

·        Allow users to navigate and digest your content seamlessly.

·        Increase your classification and ease of use.

Step # 3: Make sure your title is longer than 14 words

Your content headline plays an important role in turning it into high-performing content on Google. In the SEMrush research mentioned above, they also found that the title (H1) of your content affects engagement and the traffic it receives.

Specifically, they found that articles with longer headlines (at least 14 words) get twice as much traffic, twice as many shares, and five times more backlinks compared to those with shorter headlines (seven to ten words long). ).

Previous Backlinko research also reinforces this fact. The finding shows that there is a correlation between title length and social shares. What this means is that the longer your headline is, the more likely people are to share it on social media platforms.

 

Research shows that content with a title of approximately 14-17 words tends to perform higher (approximately 76.7%) than those with shorter titles.

From the above, you can see that your content is more likely to perform better if the title is considerably long.

With a long headline, you:

·        Make people understand exactly what your content is about. This pushes them to read and probably share it as well.

·        Take the opportunity to include the keywords you want to rank for. That way, you have a better chance of getting a high score.

Conclusion

Ranking high for target keywords on Google is a Herculean task for many marketers. Understandably, the SEO industry is evolving, and competition continues to increase.

In this post, I have shared with you three (3) proven strategies that can make your content perform high on Google. These are science-backed tips that you can implement now to get results for your content right away.