If you’ve ever worked with an SEO you’ve probably heard the phrase “optimize your content” one too many times.
In search engine optimization, you not only want to create quality content, but also make sure it’s optimized in the best way possible. This is so it has a better chance of performing in the search results.
In this article, I’ll outline what content optimization is in SEO and how to go about doing it.
I will discuss:
What Is SEO Content Optimization?
Content optimization in SEO is all about making sure the content is streamlined for both search engines and website visitors.
In fact, not doing certain optimization practices can impede your ability to rank in the search results. One example that comes to mind is a slow webpage when compared to your competition in the search results.
Now you might not equate a slow webpage with SEO content optimization, but it’s very much a part of making sure the webpage that your content is on performs. And I’ll talk more about that next.
How To Do SEO Content Optimization
You might think that SEO content optimization involves just slapping a few keywords onto a webpage. But it’s actually more involved than that.
See, it’s not just the words on the page that need to be optimized — it’s the entire webpage (and that means getting into the technical stuff). Bottom line: You cannot look at content optimization as a separate thing from other types of optimization that need to happen on the webpage.
That said, let’s look at some of the things that go into SEO content optimization. While not an exhaustive list, here are some of the many things you can and should do:
Keyword Research
But keyword research goes beyond that. It helps us better understand what our target audience wants so that we can deliver more targeted content to them, and to better compete in the search results.
Once you have done your keyword research, you can begin to create content for those keyword topics. That is the first step in optimizing SEO content.
Choosing a Content Type
Analyze the search engine results pages (SERPs) and see what type of content shows up for each of your keywords. For example, do you only see webpages? Or do you also see things like videos and featured snippets?
Take note of the SERP features that show up. This is the type of content you want to create.
Read more:
On-Page Optimization
Now we get to the part of SEO content optimization that most people are familiar with — on-page optimization. This involves optimizing your content from top to bottom with SEO best practices.
Here are just a few of the things to keep in mind as you optimize your SEO content …
Competitor Research
Before you put pen to paper (or in this case, finger to keyboard) you want to be sure you are creating content that will meet or exceed your competition in the SERPs. That requires some competitor research.
Competitor research can reduce wasted efforts and give you better targets for your content. Think about it: If all the top-ranked webpages in the SERPs are 1,000 words, why would you write 2,000?
You can do competitor research the old-fashioned way by going to the SERPs (in incognito mode), typing in your keyword and then analyze the top-ranked webpages. But this takes time.
Easier yet is using SEO tools for the job. (We have one for competitor research and you can learn more about the Bruce Clay SEO WP™ plugin at any time.)
Read:
Mobile-Friendly Writing
Given that 63% of traffic to search engines and 54% of traffic to websites comes from mobile devices, it only makes sense that you optimize your content with mobile readers in mind. How do you do that? Think tiny screens.
Mobile content means breaking up long chunks of content into bite-sized pieces. Paragraphs can be two sentences long (or in some cases, even one sentence).
You can use bullets and subheads to keep things organized and to guide the reader along. Think about how much effort it would take to read a long article on a phone, and adjust your formatting to make it easier for your visitors.
Read:
Link Targets
Most SEO content optimization will take into consideration the outbound links from the page. Outbound links are the links that you embed that go out to another page either on your website or to another website.
In either case, you want to be strategic about what you are linking to. This is especially important if you are SEO siloing to boost your content performance. And it’s also important to your link profile. You want to make sure you are linking out to quality, relevant websites.
Read:
Keyword Optimization
In many cases, you end up naturally optimizing your content when you write — using different variations of a keyword and related keywords. But any optimization effort is about being as precise as possible and also beating the competition.
So it cannot hurt to ensure the page has the most relevant keywords showing up a reasonable number of times. There are tools you can use to help with optimizing your keywords with content, like the Bruce Clay SEO WP plugin.
Read:
Meta Data
Meta data (aka meta tags) is another area that is widely known as a standard part of SEO content optimization. You want to get this part right because your meta data is your first impression to both search engines and users.
Why? The meta data is the first bit of content the search engines encounter when crawling a webpage to understand what the page is about. And, the meta data serves as the snippet in the search results, so it’s the first thing a potential visitor sees.
For this, you want to make sure that:
- The meta data is compelling
- It accurately describes what the reader can expect
- It stays within character count guidelines
- It uses the target keywords
Read:
Technical SEO
Really great content will get you pretty far in the search results. But all else equal, if a competitor for your keyword has a faster website or offers a better user experience, your website will likely not stack up in the SERPs.
What do I mean when I say “all else equal”? Search engines like Google use a variety of factors in their ranking algorithms to determine which page is the most relevant to a search. No website is going to be perfect for a query, and Google knows that.
So the search engines essentially rank the webpages by those that are closest to matching the most factors. So let’s say there are 50 ranking factors for a given query — if you have 39 of the most important and your competition has 40, who do you think will rank above whom?
So a key part of SEO content optimization is actually making your website run better. For this, you need the help of a technical SEO person and/or your web team. It’s not something that a content creator can easily tackle without the know-how.
Read:
Follow these SEO content optimization tactics to help your content perform better in the search results.
For a more comprehensive list on optimization, check out our SEO checklist.
FAQ: How does on-page optimization contribute to SEO content optimization?
On-page SEO (or Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) visibility) can play an essential part in improving your website’s performance and driving more organic traffic by fine-tuning various elements on pages.
On-page optimization is among many techniques used in SEO. It involves making pages more relevant for search queries with higher chances of ranking higher in search results.
Keywords are the foundation of on-page optimization. By conducting thorough keyword research, you can identify the terms and phrases your target audience is using to search for information related to your industry or niche. Integrating these keywords strategically into your content helps search engines understand the context and relevance of your web pages. However, it is essential to use keywords naturally and avoid keyword stuffing, as search engines now prioritize user intent and quality content.
Meta tags are another crucial aspect of on-page optimization. These tags provide information about your web page’s content to search engines and visitors. The title tag, which appears as the clickable headline in search results, should include relevant keywords and accurately describe the content. Meta descriptions provide a concise snapshot of a web page, encouraging visitors to click and increase click-through rates and visibility by optimizing meta tags.
URL structure is often overlooked but plays a significant role in on-page optimization. Creating clean and descriptive URLs that include relevant keywords helps search engines and users understand the content of your web pages. A well-structured URL provides a clear hierarchy and improves the overall user experience, contributing to higher search rankings.
On-page optimization is an integral part of SEO content optimization. By incorporating relevant keywords, optimizing meta tags and maintaining a clean URL structure, you can significantly enhance the visibility and search engine rankings of your web pages. Remember to focus on user experience and provide valuable, informative content to engage your audience and establish authority in your industry. Implement these on-page optimization techniques to improve your website’s performance and drive organic traffic.
Step-by-Step Procedure for On-Page Optimization:
- Conduct comprehensive keyword research to identify relevant and high-performing keywords related to your content.
- Integrate the selected keywords strategically into the page’s title, headings, meta tags and content body.
- Craft well-structured, informative and engaging content that directly addresses users’ needs and queries.
- Prioritize quality over quantity, ensuring that your content is valuable and authoritative.
- Optimize page loading speed by compressing images, leveraging browser caching and minimizing server response time.
- Ensure mobile-friendliness by adopting a responsive web design and conducting mobile usability tests.
- Optimize images by using appropriate file formats, compressing their sizes and adding descriptive alt tags.
- Create descriptive and user-friendly URLs that incorporate relevant keywords.
- Use internal linking to connect related pages and improve website navigation.
- Improve the readability of your content by using concise sentences and paragraphs, along with relevant headings.
- Implement schema markup to provide search engines with structured data about your content.
- Leverage social media sharing buttons to encourage users to share your content, increasing its visibility.
- Conduct regular content audits to identify and update outdated or underperforming content.
- Monitor user behaviors to assess the success of your content by tracking metrics like bounce rates, time spent on the page and click-throughs.
- Regularly update and optimize meta tags, including title tags and meta descriptions, to increase click-through rates on search engine result pages.
- Use relevant and descriptive anchor text for internal and external links.
- Optimize your website’s navigation to provide a seamless user experience.
- Focus on building quality backlinks from authoritative websites to increase your site’s credibility.
- Implement 301 redirects for broken links or outdated pages to maintain a smooth user experience.
- Stay updated with the latest SEO trends and algorithm changes to adapt your on-page optimization strategies accordingly.
By following these steps and continuously refining your on-page optimization efforts, you can enhance your SEO content optimization and achieve improved rankings and visibility in search engine results.
