5 Minute Read:
As we enter 2022, now is a great time to review your marketing strategies. One area that is commonly overlooked is content creation.
Even though content takes up prime real estate on your website, updating it is not always at the top of everyone’s priorities. However, having up-to-date content provides a better user experience and can significantly help with SEO.
So, when was the last time you updated your website content?
Will Content Be King in 2022?
Good, engaging content is one of the backbones of solid SEO practices. Most people visit websites to learn sometime (whether their search intent is navigational, informational, transactional, or commercial).
Essentially, site visitors have a question they want to be answered in the easiest and best way possible.
This is often accomplished through written content on the web
In a recent Twitter post, international SEO Consultant Aleyda Solis put out a simple question. She asked, “In what area do you expect to allocate more resources/efforts in SEO this year?”
The answer she received was a resounding vote for content. More than 50% of voters (55.3%) said that content was their top SEO priority in 2022 (followed by technical optimization and link building).
This shows the growing trend towards content-focused SEO strategies.
Do You Need to Update Your Content?
- Do you offer new services or techniques that are not reflected on your site?
- Does your current content no longer coincide with the services you provide?
- Does your current content not reflect the tone or focus of your practice?
- Is your content holding on to outdated SEO practices?
If you answered yes to any of the above statements, it might be time for a content update.
Why Should You Update Regularly?
Although updating or adding new content to your website can seem challenging and time-consuming, not doing so can hurt your SEO rankings.
This happens due to a couple of reasons.
- Almost all content will become outdated at some point. And with the ever-changing SEO landscape, what might have worked a couple of years ago may no longer be what search engines are looking for now.
- All businesses have competitors, and, as you know, the plastic surgery and aesthetics industries have a lot of them. You can expect that your competitors are adding new content (in the form of blogs, new services pages, FAQ pages, etc.). With your top competitors creating and posting new content, your rankings can slip if you are not following suit.
- Google likes and rewards sites that post and update content regularly. The more updates you make, the quicker Google’s automated bots will crawl and index your site. And the faster that happens, the better chance you have of ranking.
What Should You Keep in Mind When Updating Content?
Nowadays, good SEO website content goes far beyond having top keywords scattered throughout the page. Unlike years ago, keyword stuffing is no longer the best way to rank. In fact, this practice hinders page experience, which can hurt your site’s rankability.
By making changes to your website’s content, design, and structure, you can improve its rankability, as well as its page experience, by ensuring that the content is relevant, the design is user-friendly, and the structure is organized and easy to navigate. Another simple strategy is by checking the data of your posts in a Google Analytics report.
Because of this, you need to consider some different practices. Here are some tips to keep in mind when creating or updating content:
- It all starts with structure. Page structure is the building block of your content (regardless of whether you are looking at a service page or a blog). Start by creating an outline of your html headings (H2s, H3s, and even H4s). Having easy-to-see and easy-to-skim headings will help visitors navigate through the page to find what they are looking for.
- Skimmable content is best. When trying to reach an audience with content, you only have a short time. Site visitors want to find the answer to their search query fast and without hassle. If your content is dense and written like a thesis, the average site visitor will leave the page just as fast as they came to it. Because of this, it is important to focus on skimmable content. Avoid long sentences and paragraphs, include bullet points or numbered lists when possible, and always situate this information beneath headings that are detailed but to the point.
- Keywords are still essential. Just because you can no longer stuff your content with your targeted keywords doesn’t mean they are no longer important. Keywords (including long-tail keywords) and semi-related keywords enable visitors to find you on search engines. Use your primary search terms in headings when possible, and always remember to use semi-related keywords (synonyms for your primary keyword). This makes the article more interesting for your reader, and these related words are often keywords themselves.
- The more in-depth you are, the better. Online searchers have many avenues to find the information they want to learn. When they come to your page, you want them to stay on it. The best way to do this is to provide in-depth content that truly shows you to be an authority. While this often means longer content, it doesn’t have to. Just make sure that the content you provide adequately provides an answer.
- Keep your content clean. Building trust is important. If you post an article with a series of typos and misspelled words, you will likely lose that trust. You want your reader to believe that you are a top authority on that topic, and proper grammar can go a long way in that sense. Always prioritize quality.
- Break up your text with non-textural elements. Even if you break up your text into small, easy-to-read sections, including non-text elements (like images videos, and infographics) can improve your content by enhancing web page experience.
- Update periodically. Updating website content is never a one-and-done situation. Like anything, it requires consistent maintenance and care.
Is It Time for an Update?
Are you looking to grow your online visibility through your content? Our SEO copywriters can help. We have years of experience providing in-depth content that considers what users want as well as what search engines need, and we remain up-to-date with all SEO practices.
Call (888) 525-6360 or fill out our online contact form to learn more.
