SEO & Content Management
Introduction
It makes sense to talk about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Content Management at the same time, because the two activities are closely related.
The content you add to your web site serves a number of different purposes, each of which is important in its own way. Every page should have a specific purpose. It should help the user in some way, perhaps providing an answer to a question or enabling them to order a product.
Google is very clear in the advice it gives to people who want their pages to rank well - create great content that users want to consume. It is excellent advice, but it is worth considering what Google might mean by "great content" in the creation process. What we will attempt to do is to provide some direction that you will help you to create what Google considers to be "great" to help keep you on track.
SEO is a broad and complex discipline and many of the details are not covered here. Successful search engine marketer will also have a sold grasp of Content Marketing, Technical SEO and SEO Link Building.
Page function & value
It is important to remember that web pages differ in function and value. Pages usually perform one or more of the following roles.
| Role | Function |
|---|---|
| Landing Pages | Offer content that attract or manage traffic to your website |
| Transaction Pages | Convert browsers into buyers or subscribers |
| Information Pages | Provide information |
| Utility Pages | Pages that are necessary for some action, such as the cart page or checkout page on an ecommerce store |
The first thing the note is that that not all pages are equal.
If you have heard of the Pareto Principle (sometimes called the 80/20 rule), then it wil come as no surprise that most sites have a relatively small number of pages that generate the majority of the the value.
It is important to know what these are, because creating them and making changes to them requires a lot of care, because small modifications can have a greater impact on sales. If you don't, you will waste huge amounts of time creating content that will rarely be seen.
Making pages search engine friendly
Before you spend too much time drafting content for a page, you need to determine its purpose.
As we've already said, web pages tend to have one or more of four difference functions. If the page is not going to be designated as a "landing page" then there is little point in considering what Google will think of the content. If the page is a landing page, then here are some guidelines that might help.
Search queries & user intent
Search engine results are what Google generate in response to the questions typed in by by users. Questions can take many forms and can are often open to different interpretations. For example, if someone types "golf club" you can't really be sure if they want to know what a golf club is, where they can buy one or which is the best choice for your needs.
Google calls this "user intent" and, to simplify things, you can categories queries in the following ways.
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Informational | The user is want information about a subject or the answer to a question. |
| Comparison | The user wants to compare two or more things, such as similar products. |
| Transsactional | The user wants to buy something or subscribe to a service. |
To give your pages the best chance of appearing in the search engine rankings, the content on the page needs to do more than incorporate the words that are synonymous with the keywords used in the search query, the content needs to to answer the question that Google believes is being asked and the intent of the user.
User intent is an important concept to understand, as it can have significant impact on where your pages rank on Google.
Ranking factors
Assuming that you have created top quality content that answer the questions posed online browsers while recognising the intent of the browser, how do you get your pages to the top of the rankings? Well, that depends on how much Google believes that your content is better than the (potentially millions of) other pages that meet the same need.
Google is notoriously secretive about how this is achieved, but in the SEO world, we focus on "ranking factors" - the objective measures we believe that Google uses to determine the position of a page in the search engine results pages (SERPS).
No one knows for sure, but SEOs estimate that there are around 200-300 ranking factors used by Google, which can be divided into the following categories:
Content
The most important thing is that content on the page should provide a response to the query whilst addressing the intent of the user.
On ecommerce websites, it is important to understand that if someone searches for a type of product, such as a "road bike", they might be more interested in the history of road bikes than buying one.
Incorporating keywords is important, but it not vital. Google knows what synonyms are, so you don't have to repeat the same words endlessly. In fact doing so will count against you. Write for people, not algorithms that became obsolete 10 years' ago.
Quality
If your write poor quality content that is laced with spelling errors, Google will identify this and rank your pages accordingly.
Google can detect long paragraphs of meaningless drivel that is stuffed with the keywords the author thinks are important, and it also knows when you have copied the content from another website. Just don't do it.
Read Google's Webmaster Guidelines document.
Authority
One of the main reasons that Google rose to world dominance was an idea they borrowed from the academia, where the relative importance of academic papers is judged by the number of references to them can be found in other academic papers.
The more references, the more authoritative a paper is considered to be. To apply the same idea to the online world, the more links there are to your website content from other, highly regarded, website, then the better your pages are going to rank.
"Inbound links" are not the only measure of your domain authority however. Google will look at other things, including:
- How long your website has been around (you won't rank for much other than your domain name for the first 12 months.)
- How often it is updated
- Whether your are a registered business
- Are you listed on credible indexes, such as Yellow Pages, Companies House, Google My Business
There is no way around this. The days of registering your site with link farms have gone and if you "fake it to make it", you will be penalised.
Technology
The one thing you can say about Google is that when it comes to the technical SEO, it tends to be quite forgiving. If your content is quite good and your site is authoritative and the html isn't broken, then it is possible to be ranked highly.
However, it's better not to leave things to chance. Google is a computer system and then more structured the information you provide, the easier it is for google to recognise its value. That is why there are benefits to making sure that your pages include the fields listed in Table 1 below.
| Content | Description | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Page URL |
Should include the main keyword for the page. One of the most common mistakes I see users make is changing the title without redirecting the old page to the new page. It can take a couple of months for Google to figure this out on its own. |
75 characters |
| Page Title | Should begin with the main keyword for the page; describe the content on the page; and end with the your brand keyword. | 10-60 characters |
| Page Meta Description | Should describe the content on the page and end with the your brand keyword. | 55-300 characters |
| rel="canonical" Tag | Should point to the original version of a page if the page is a copy. | - |
| <h1> Tag | Should describe the content on the page and including your brand keyword. | 30-70 characters |
These are the basics. If you are in ecommerce then understanding how structured data works will also help.
Conclusion
This really is all you need to know about SEO you get going. Of course, the devil is in the detail, but if use these basics as a start point for improving your website, then you will make progress.
Further resources
You can find a useful introduction to SEO on www.moz.com.