June 1st, 2018 | Updated on July 4th, 2018
In the content marketing world, the line between success and failure is marked by keywords and quality. As a content creator, your job is to create high-quality content that readers find interesting.
However, at the same time, you need to make sure that it is something that search engines like Google will find good enough to rank. Now the difficulty can vary depending on your niche. The good news is that it is possible to build great content around any marketable keyword if you know how.
1. Why Build Content Around Keywords?
Now, this is a question that a lot of content creators ask. Many have no idea that apart from the creativity and quality of your content it should be geared towards search engines and how they view the content matters.
If your content is appropriately keyword optimized, it can lead to a lot of traffic. That, in turn, means that you’ll rank higher for a particular niche.
It goes without saying that even if you’re just writing because you love it if nobody reads what you’re putting out there it becomes a futile task that you’ll one day hate engaging in.
Yes! The way in which you use the keywords throughout your content will vary, but their use is never nullified.
2. People are Using Search Engines for Answers
Each time someone has a question they expect Google or any other search engine to give them that answer. The answer usually comes in the form of a link to a list of websites which the search engine’s algorithm determines answers this question accurately. The most accurate answers are listed on the top.
So, if your content answers those questions, you’ll automatically ranked higher. The way to ensure this is to use the question and its related key phrases or keywords in your content. Though apart from that your content needs to do the obvious, i.e. answer the question!
3. Write Long-Form Content
Many people overlook the fact that long-form content ranks very well. As a matter of fact, a study conducted by https://serpiq.com found that the top 10 results across most search queries were content over 2000 words. Right there is an incentive to write more.
However, there is another reason why long-form works excellent with search engines, and that’s keyword usage. If you’re writing about ‘Used Cars in Manhattan’ as your keyword, the content will naturally contain the related keywords like ‘Used Cars,’ ‘Manhattan,’ ‘New York City,’ ‘Car Buyer,’ etc.
Even if you don’t intentionally gear your content to these keywords. But since their natural density is good and they are in there, you’ll rank for these keywords too.
Though as a rule of thumb when creating long-form content you want to start with at least five keywords which you actively target. Use each one in a header at least.
4. Don’t Stuff Your Content with Keywords
A huge mistake we see many people make is stuffing their content with a lot of keywords. When you’re writing content, the focus should be on the topic or issue you’re addressing. The keywords should be more of an afterthought.
Once you have a good set of keywords, use them to search for relevant content. Tools like AppSumo help you find content that other people have written with these keywords.
This gives you an opportunity to see if the topic you’re addressing is saturated or if you can improve upon what is already there. The key is to add value. Your content should add value.
5. Have Only One Primary Keyword
Your primary keyword should be one that fully encompasses the topic you’re covering. Plus, it should be one that has a good amount of search volume. You can check the search volume by using tools like ahrefs.com.
All supporting keywords should be linked to the primary keyword even if they have a slightly lower search volume. For instance, if you’re writing with ‘Used Car for Sale’ as your main keyword, the secondary keywords can be ‘selling used cars,’ ‘buying a used vehicle,’ ‘used hatchbacks for sale,’ etc.
All of this will ensure that the search engines’ algorithm can identify your what your content is all about and then rank it based on its overall quality or usefulness. You can also learn how to use rank tracker to actively track the progress of your primary keywords.
