Google’s new update, “Helpful content” is rolling out. They had been calling out to content creators to produce contents which are satisfying for the readers.
A searcher, according to Google should find all the relevant information in your content. That’s it.
The content should be written by an expert in that title or topic so he or she can tell the searchers exactly what they need to know.
How can a writer be an expert?
A content creator can be an expert in any field by doing research. Research, read, and learn everything you need to know about the title.
To understand more, read this article where I will give you 15 tips to help you publish awesome content that’s helpful to users.
What is helpful content?
Write content that users would love to read. Google has been asking for this for a long time now and finally, they are putting their foot down.
They want us, the content creators to not make content for search engines, instead, create content for users first.
People-first content will be your primary target when you write.
How to write helpful content: All you need to know
How to write good content for a website is to give relevant and helpful information to the searchers.
LET’S FIND OUT WHAT THEY ARE
Title
The title is very important. Understand the title and you will know everything you need to know what to write.
The title will tell Google what your content is about.
The title is your road map to what you need to research, learn, and fill the gap in your information on the title you are going to write about.
The Topics Intent
You need to understand who your topic is intended for if not then you won’t be able to produce content that will be relevant.
If you do not understand the intent of the topic then you need to rethink and go back to the title and understand the title better. You are writing for the web so you need to this keep in mind.
Understanding the intent of the topic is one way to improve content writing.
Who are your target audiences?
Who are the searchers your topic was created for is the question you need to ask. What are they thinking about when they are searching for a particular topic?
When you are researching you need to think like your target audience and try to find all the relevant info out there which will help you better understand what they are looking for.
Open as many articles as you need to get into your target audience’s mind. This way you can formulate an idea of what they are searching for and what kind of information is out there.
What can you share that is not already there?
When you have an idea what kind of information is out there and you are thinking like the searcher then you start to create a structure in your mind of what more info you would have liked if you were searching for the same topic.
As a writer, you need to add your thoughts and knowledge. Your reader should be able to find every relevant info that is out there. So that the searchers don’t have to leave your website and find another one that has more information than yours do.
No writer wants that, as a content creator you should provide all the relevant information related to the topic so the searchers do leave your website unsatisfied.
Why will Google put your content in front of their searchers?
This is where your expertise will come into full view. If you do not give helpful, correct, and relevant information to the searchers then your content will not be shown in front of the correct target audience.
You need to follow the guidelines Google had already set up like keywords to help with the SEO but now with this new helpful content update, you just cannot stuff keywords for your targeted audience in hopes that Google will rank your content thus the searchers can find you easily.
Those days are gone my friend, your content needs to be valuable, helpful, and satisfying for the searchers for Google to rank and help it appear in front of the searchers.
You need to be the expert by researching, spending time understanding the first three points, then spending time thinking about the fourth one and creating SEO-friendly content so that Google will show your results on the top of their SERP.
Be helpful
An excellent way to write helpful content is to think about yourself as the searcher; not to think to form their perspective. Instead, you need to be them, and this is easily done when you are doing the research.
The research should be done as a searcher would do. Imagine you are looking for Bluetooth headphones to buy online. Before buying you want to know which one is the best, why is it best, how long will the battery last, and so on. You would want all of this information in one place rather than visiting another site and then another.
So ask yourself, Would you read the article you wrote? Did you provide all the necessary information? Will you be satisfied with the knowledge you are imparting? Will you go to another website to look for additional information?
In simple terms, write for yourself.
Don’t let go
You shouldn’t let go of how you can better your content for the users. You are writing for Google but your priority is the searchers. Since the beginning, Google has been trying to improve its user experience. So as the content creator you should keep on asking yourself what kind of searches would you do, and the keywords you will be using when searching for the related topic, and again ask yourself, are you thinking like your searchers are thinking?
Start to formulate a way to present the content to yourself and sit back. Do you like it? Can you add something that will add more value to your content by using visual aids like infographics or static images that may help you convey your message quickly and easily?
Don’t let go of the searcher’s intent from your mind.
Are you satisfied with the information?
From the point of view of the searcher are you happy with the information you are planning to provide?
Add relevant info if you think you as a reader would like this information as well. So you don’t have to open 10 more tabs just to know certain terms. Do this while keeping the topic in mind. You would only want to impart relevant knowledge.
If you are not happy with the information you have provided then add more helpful content but try to avoid repeating yourself.
The topic is everything!
Always keep the topic’s intended message in mind this will help you to understand what kind of things you need to look for so that you can be the master of that said topic. Yes, I am repeating the same thing, as this is a very important point.
You need to program yourself so the topic sticks in the back of your mind. The constant reminder will help you to write the content with the searchers in mind. When mindset becomes one you will be able to write relevant helpful content that the searchers are looking for this is what Google wants.
Topic research
Topic research is vital to know everything and anything about a certain topic. You need to do extensive research on the topic you will be writing about.
You need to think about the keywords that a searcher like you might be searching for. The keywords will help to get all the information that is relevant to your topic.
Topic research should be intensive and extensive.
Create a story
You should tell a type of story that the reader after finishing it will be well informed. Creating a well-thought-out story that will keep the reader keep on reading. Providing helpful information is the best way to captivate your audience.
Imagine you are writing a blog for an e-commerce site. So your content should reflect why they need this product, how it can benefit their life, and why you. Why would they buy the product from your website?
Words are a powerful medium to convey your message.
Be yourself and be the Searcher!
Why Is Proper Content Writing Important?
Give the audience your full attention
Knowledge should be shared so that everyone can understand. Worry less about writing properly but worry more if everyone understands you or not.
You want everyone to understand what you are saying so using hard-to-understand words should be avoided. Simple words work best in the world of the Internet.
Use fancy single sentences, not words, sentences that people will understand and the searchers can relate to which will keep them hooked.
Catchy sentences will attract the searchers and you can guide them to do whatever your ultimate goal is, either to sell the product or services.
The sentences should be relevant and able to convey the right message with the correct information.
Formatted writing
I used to do this and in reality, creating a format for web content writing won’t produce anything but reverse-engineered products.
The format creates, boundaries, and cages. You name it, as a writer your creativity will be blocked and you will be stuck in that structured format.
So rather than thinking about all those create the story you want to tell and then add whatever additional information you need to add to better your content.
Get out of the bling light of format and let your creativity reflect in your writing.
Headlines
Once you are inside the searcher’s mind then you can easily determine what they are most likely to search for relevant to the topic.
Right headlines, tricky business this.
You need to create a headline that the searchers will be searching for on Google SERP. Creating the headline for both the searchers and Google can be sometimes tricky but when you are an expert on the topic the headline will come to you like a snap of the finger.
Headlines help Google determine which audience your writing should be presented to, with billions of websites it helps to find your website for that relevant search and then put it in front of the intended audience.
This truly helps Google to know your content better so it can show it to people. This is what Google wants from this update, to find those helpful content and give Google’s users a better experience. it is not like Google doesn’t know what your content is about but it helps them to better determine if they show your content on the SERP.
Writing for Google
Finally, as writers, we are going to be free of tyranny. The tyranny of keyword stuffing and reverse engineering will not work anymore. Writing to rank and writing in many niches will not rank your writings anymore rather Google will penalize you for doing this.
Thinking about SEO while writing is a given. Keyword stuffing is done by mules who cannot write anything but follow the same old family tradition of writers.
Using the Keywords when you can and not trying stuff to get a better ranking is what Google does not want.
Research a Topic related to that keyword that will help you to understand how you should structure your paragraph.
Always thinking about the searcher’s POV.
Is your writing worthwhile to read?
Give them every relevant info you can find on your way.
Last Words
Tips to help you publish awesome content that’s helpful to users can be found all over the Internet but what should you do after the new Google rollout?
Reading this blog will help you out in every way that Google wants you to write your article.