Some important criteria to consider for a performing content.
The goal of any SEO Content strategy is generally that each content produced brings its share of traffic and performance, that it generates a good ROI (return on investment). Here are some criteria and points to consider to produce a performing content.
SEO optimization of content (with Semji ! 😀)
For a content to perform, it has to be properly written and optimized. It must take into account the way Google works but most importantly it must deal with a topic of interest to the user, a topic that meets his needs and answers his search intent. When you update an existing content or create a new Content, be cautious with the choice of the Focus Keyword. This first step is essential to the successful development of your content and its future performance!
So, think about your users' experience to define both the form and the substance of your content: would your target prefer to watch a video? Read a long content? Access a slideshow? Choose to produce editorial content when it seems most relevant and be sure to leverage your editorial efforts to maximize the gains!
Thanks to an in-depth analysis of the SERP (Search engine result page), Semji Platform provides you with optimization recommendations. It gives you a better understanding of users' intentions and also of your competitors. See also our article about the seo criteria to consider for a high performance: what is a well optimized content for SEO?
Page loading speed
Google penalizes the slowest sites in favor of faster sites. A technical audit of your site will give you a sense of your site's performance and suggest actions to improve its loading speed.
To start with, you can check the display speed score of your contents: don't forget to check the display score on mobiles!
To check the desktop and mobile display speed of your content, contact your Customer Success Manager.
Duplicate content
Duplicate contents (paragraphs, images, videos...) should be avoided as it can heavily affect the performance of a page. Google tries to offer unique contents to its users and also looks at the nature or the form of the information.
Example of duplicate content: using the description of a manufacturer's site on your product page. Bad idea! How will Google know who is the most relevant between the manufacturer and you? Google may get lost, and Google does not like that. Contents need to be rewritten or linked to in order to avoid sanctions.
Cannibal content
This is when different contents from your website rank for the same keyword. Most of the time, Google prefers not to show several contents from the same source on a result page. It will then choose the one that should rank. If Google struggles to identify the most relevant one, it can decide not to position you at all, or to favor a competitor. Remember this simple rule: one target keyword, one content.
Backlinks
These are essential elements of SEO. Backlinks are links from external sites pointing to your content. For Google, they are a strong signal that your site has authority on a subject, especially if the sites that link to your content are experts or recognized in your field. The more relevant links a site has, the more qualitative and popular it is and the higher it will rank in Google results. So, when you consider the means necessary to achieve your SEO goals, consider allocating a part of your budget and your efforts to the acquisition of backlinks.
To go further, check out our blog post about the importance of backlinks and don't hesitate to talk to your Customer Success Manager. Our team can perform an audit of your link profile and suggest effective netlinking strategies.