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How to write helpful content in light of Google’s helpful content update

In September 2023, Google ran its helpful content update, focused on improving the ranking of high-quality content. In preparation for the update we undertook an audit of our clients’ websites to ensure they were all meeting the mark. We analysed just how helpful the content was and where improvements could be made. So what were we looking for? And how can you make sure your content adheres to the ‘helpful content’ guidelines?

What is ‘helpful content?’

Helpful content can be summed up as content that is created for the user, not for the search engine. Humans are typing queries into search engines,  so the answers should be written for humans. If the answers have been written to serve an algorithm or a search engine, then the average user isn’t going to find that helpful or enjoyable. When done correctly, helpful content will boost your SEO because the information you provide will demonstrate that your pages put people first, not crawlers.

What did the 2023 helpful content update add?

A year after the helpful content update was launched, Google made some further changes. It’s important to have a clear understanding of what was added, to inform your SEO strategies. Whilst nothing too dramatic was introduced, there are a few things to be aware of:

  • ➡️ The 2023 update demonstrated more of an openness to AI-written content, as long as it’s still providing value. Google specifically removed the words “written by people” and just wrote “helpful content created for people in search results.”

    So, no more is AI-generated content an absolute no-go. Go ahead and use it to support your content strategy, but proceed with caution and ensure the writing remains well-written and informative.
  • ➡️ The update had an emphasis on User Experience, placing more focus on things like mobile-friendliness and website design. For Google to deem your site helpful, it might therefore be a good idea to give it a quick technical audit.
  • ➡️ We saw a crackdown on third-party hosted content with Google warning against placing low-quality content on subdomains to try and improve search ranking. They said: 

    “if that content is largely independent of the main site’s purpose or produced without close supervision or the involvement of the primary site, we recommend that it should be blocked from being indexed by Google.”
  • ➡️ And finally, the update targeted the popular practice of updating content with minor changes and a recent date to appear fresh in search results. No shortcuts allowed I’m afraid guys.

Why is Google bothered?

Search has come a long way since the simple days of keyword stuffing. 45% of people using their mobiles online now use voice search and it’s no wonder. A whole generation has grown up with search engines as an everyday tool and we are now moving towards using search much more naturally than ever before. Google wants to make searching and finding what we want even easier, and is striving to understand meaning, context and intent far beyond a few keywords. 

The helpful content update is part of Google’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) masterplan. Essentially, Google wants to give users what they want rather than users having to guess which words to type to get the best results. The helpful content update ensures that websites and pages are providing the best, most informative content possible.

How to write helpful content

The easiest way to target this mammoth subject is to break it down into key areas:

  • ➡️ The User
  • ➡️ E-E-A-T
  • ➡️ Semantics
  • ➡️ Copy

1. The user (you, me, them, us)

No matter what you are writing about, always (I repeat always) remember who you are writing for. Understanding your audience is key to writing content that will be helpful to them. There is no use writing about the quality and composition of a leather dog lead if your client’s target market is price focused. To make that point clearer, here is how I would approach user intent when setting out writing content:

Industry/product/service: what does your client sell and what are the typical pain points when selling that product? Our client in the gardening industry sells high end garden furniture. People searching for garden furniture are likely to be concerned with quality, price and maintenance. So I would structure my content around these pillars:

Demographic: Our gardening client has an affluent target market and wants to hone in on the quality of their product rather than the final price. Therefore, their customer is less likely to be typing price related queries and more likely to be considering longevity and overall value. 

Possible queries: Now that you’ve broken down your user you can consider what they might actually be searching for. Tools like alsoasked or answerthepublic are great for researching real queries that real users are regularly typing into search engines. Even a basic Google search on something like ‘garden furniture sets’ can give you some direction.

This approach can be applied to all clients. Understanding the nuances of the end user enables you to write content that helps them find answers even if they don’t not know exactly what they are searching for.

2. E-E-A-T (aka friends don’t lie)

Much is made of E-E-A-T, or experience, expertise, authority and trust, not being a ranking factor. Not that I’d argue with Google, but the concept of E-E-A-T is intrinsic to helpful content so, for me, it follows that if you are creating expertly written, authoritative and trustworthy content you are being more helpful and, ergo, you will likely rank higher. 

When I set about integrating E-E-A-T into copy, I think about three key areas:

Bullet points and numbering 

This helps you to clearly set out your content and improve the user experience. The information held in these lists can be some of the most valuable on the page, allowing for featured snippet opportunities and, on a more basic level, setting the content apart so the user can easily identify it (remember what we said about writing for the user). It can be something as simple as a list of Do’s and Don’ts, but having these distinct sections of information demonstrates that you know what you are talking about and aren’t afraid to show it. 

Linking 

Linking is the pat on the back of the digital world. It shows search engines that you have mates vouching for you and it helps users to understand and trust what you are saying. Adding internal links to your content can direct traffic through a clear marketing funnel and allows you to utilise content pillaring effectively. Linking related articles together will form one big picture on your pillar topic and signal that you have plenty of expertise and authority in your subject.

And what about external linking? This is when you point to a website outside of your organisation and say ‘look they can back me up.’ It shows that you aren’t pulling information from thin air and can corroborate your points. In some instances, for example, Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) industries, external linking can be especially helpful because the subject matter requires an extra degree of expertise and trust. When researching your content, keep a list of any useful links and weave them into your final piece where relevant and appropriate.

But remember, with the 2023 update’s emphasis on user experience, it’s super important that these links are all working correctly. Tools like Google’s Lighthouse will assess the mobile-friendliness of your links, while Screaming Frog or Ahrefs will quickly identify any broken links.

Hard facts and figures 

Firstly, don’t make stuff up! This might be obvious but we’ve all been there – convinced we remember something only to find out it wasn’t quite right. For instance, if I’m writing an About Us page, I make sure to have an in-depth list of facts on the client to hand, so that my content has gravitas. 

Second to this, I always look to see where I can add value into my content with social proof, like reviews, featured articles or any accreditations. This might be a simple banner at the footer of a blog but it shows users and SERPs that the page, and therefore the site, can be trusted. Author profiling is another great way to double down on the information you provide so, where possible, include an author bio.

3. Semantic SEO (hey Bert)

Semantic SEO goes back to meeting your users needs. In short, it’s the use of keywords and phrases that relate to your chosen topic. Think of it as a natural way of speaking. If you were talking about your morning routine, you would naturally mention breakfast, showering and leaving the house. You wouldn’t veer off on a tangent and start talking about putting your pyjamas on. This is what Google refers to as salience.

In 2019 Google launched BERT, an algorithm which impacted 10% of all search queries straight away. BERT is an AI demo that will tell you how salient, and therefore relevant, your content is to your intended topic. So, as we touched on in the morning routine example, you should be using lexis that is relevant to your subject matter and shows your audience that what they have landed on is exactly what they’re looking for. Start off with some keyword research to identify your core keywords for your topic and don’t be afraid to use common sense as well! 

For example, if I was writing category copy for a piano retailer, I would use the top tier keywords around that specific piano brand but also talk about keys, pedals and soundboards to effectively demonstrate what the content was about. This is useful for content pillaring too, and those all-important linking opportunities. You can then run your content through BERT and get a salience score to see how it stacks up against other similar content.

BERT will also show you if it is a positive, negative or neutral piece of content. This doesn’t refer to its state of mind but rather its relevance to other similar articles. If you were writing content about the best apps for 2024, BERT should give you a neutral score as it isn’t an emotive subject. Or, if you were writing about how to be more motivated in the mornings, your copy may need to have a more positive sentiment score. Carefully consider the value your content offers, who it is targeted at and what needs they are trying to meet in searching for that content. This will help you achieve the right level of sentiment.

4. Copywriting (your English teacher would be proud)

Given half the chance, I’d talk about the virtues of good grammar and syntax all day long. Don’t underestimate the importance of simply writing well when it comes to helpful content. Readers don’t want to read overly long sentences with no clear end point. Think of every piece of content as a conversation. If you were asking someone for directions and they digress into how they used to live nearby, you would quickly forget the valuable information. So stick to the point and set out a clear beginning, middle and end before writing anything. I never start any article without drafting a brief first. Then, when I do come to actually crafting the content here are some of the basic rules I live by:

  • H2 & H3 headings – long blocks of content are off putting and make it harder to find the info you are looking for so always separate with headings.
  • Short simple sentences – ideally a sentence should be no longer than 20 words. If it is then commas are your friend.
  • Follow questions with an answer – even if the answer is ‘it depends’ – give a definite answer first and then follow up with any variables.
  • Use simple language – the average reading age for the UK is 9 years old. Of course, this can change depending on the topic and who you’re writing for (a professional audience might require more jargon). But the golden rule is to keep your content clear and understandable. Simple synonyms are a copywriter’s best friend.

In summary

Google will definitely thank you for setting your content out clearly and using good English. They will high five you if you have some good E-E-A-T signals and they will get down on one knee if you are meeting the needs of your users (sorry I got carried away).

Writing helpful content is mainly about matching user intent, and the 2023 helpful content update is just part of making search engines as effective as possible for the people using them – us. So perhaps the biggest takeaway when writing for humans is to be human. Don’t try to trick an algorithm into trusting you, just be trustworthy. There are SEO specialists and data analysts who can take care of the technical aspects of SEO, but as a content writer you should be focused on creating content that is enjoyable, valuable and genuine. So, to summarise, as a content writer, here are  the basic steps to get you started with writing helpful content: 

– Define your user and their needs

– Find opportunities for bullet or number lists

– Include internal and external links

– Fact check your content and ideally include evidence or social proof

– Research keywords and optimise for salience and sentiment 

– Use good English and grammar

– Write for your audience not a search engine (you should have figured that out by now)

If you need a hand writing SEO optimised helpful content, get in touch with us. 
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Why Is Relevancy So Important In Digital PR? 

Relevancy – you’ve probably heard this term buzzing around LinkedIn recently and may be wondering: is it just another industry fad, or does it actually matter? Surely any coverage is good coverage?

We’re here to break the news that, as a PR, links aren’t the only metric you should be tracking and it’s no lie that the majority of digital pr companies are now also looking at relevance as a key metric of campaign success. To see real growth, a business needs campaigns that are relevant, in publications that are just as relevant. We know how tempting it can be to jump on any old topic that’s trending and exciting, but if it doesn’t resonate with your target market, it can be harmful.

This blog will get into the details of why this is, explaining what exactly relevancy is when it comes to digital PR, why you should care about it and our tips for creating relevant but still newsworthy content. We’ve even shared some examples of our recent and relevant campaigns to give you a bit of inspiration.

But, if you prefer to skip the ramble, here are some key takeaways:

👉Quality over quantity: aim to secure placements that align with your brand, even if it means fewer links

👉Relevant campaigns put you in front of the right people and increases visibility, driving conversions

👉To create a relevant but newsworthy story, you need to understand your audience, and have a close eye on your industry’s trends

What is relevancy in digital PR?

In 2024, the phrase ‘they’re not relevant anymore’ is tossed around in pop culture, as a jab at former Love Islanders or child actors who haven’t survived the cutthroat cycle of mainstream popularity. In fact, it offers an interesting parallel to digital PR, but whilst both brands and celebrities must continuously work to stay connected to their audience – there’s a key difference. 

In digital PR, relevancy isn’t about chasing fleeting trends or viral moments; it’s creating lasting, meaningful connections that align with your brand’s core values and resonate with your target audience. 

So when we talk about relevancy, in practice this means asking yourself “does it make sense for my brand to be mentioned in this particular article and this particular publication”. Securing a feature in a prestigious magazine like GQ might seem like a big win, but if your business has nothing to do with fashion, it’s not a strategically relevant placement.

It’s time for us to move away from the outdated numbers game of link building that characterised the early days of SEO. Today, the best marketers are focusing on quality and brand relevancy, steering clear of spammy tactics.

Relevancy is about ensuring that every mention, every link, and every campaign reinforces your brand’s identity and speaks directly to the audience you’re trying to reach. This approach has a whole host of benefits….

Why is it important to make DPR campaigns relevant to the brand?

There’s a growing consensus in the world of digital marketing that relevancy isn’t just important – it’s crucial for the success of a digital PR campaign, and growth of a business. Here’s why:

➡️Visibility

When your digital PR efforts are relevant, you’re more likely to appear in publications and platforms where your target audience is actively engaged. This targeted visibility not only increases your chances of being seen but also ensures that you’re reaching the people who are most likely to be interested in your products or services. Each mention drives relevant traffic back to your site, boosting what we all ultimately care most about – conversions.

➡️Brand alignment

When your PR activity is in sync with who you are as a brand, it creates a more cohesive narrative for your audience – strengthening your brand image and helping to build trust. From a messaging perspective, you don’t want to confuse your customers by having your brand linked to campaigns that say drastically different things.By prioritising relevancy, you’re building a consistent image that resonates with your core audience.

➡️SEO

A handful of highly relevant links provide far more SEO value than hundreds of non-relevant ones. This is because when a link comes from a source closely aligned with your brand, it carries more weight in the eyes of the search engines. Google is getting increasingly good at understanding context and it now evaluates the relevance of the linking site to your content; when you secure a link from a highly relevant publication, you’re sending strong signals about your site’s authority and relevance in your niche.

➡️E-E-A-T

This is partly because relevant coverage plays a huge part in enhancing your website’s E-E-A-T signals. When you consistently appear in relevant discussions within your industry, you’re demonstrating your expertise and building authority. This improves your standing with Google, boosting your rankings and also positioning your brand as a go-to resource to your audience.

➡️Why the journalists should link to your page

Aside from anything else, relevancy increases the likelihood that a journalist will want to use your content in the first place. Relevant content enhances their article and offers the journalist genuine value. You want the connection to be plain as day, so that it’s no question that they include your content to enhance their article.

Examples of relevancy in our work at Cedarwood

The best way to explain a relevant campaign is just to show you one! Here are three examples in our work recently where we’ve crafted a story both relevant to our client, and newsworthy – resulting in lots of coverage.

  1. A super relevant campaign that went viral just last month across national papers is our newsjacking piece for a printer toner client. We aligned our client’s products with the peak in summer holidays through identifying essential documents to print before boarding your flight. This transformed a mundane product into a timely solution and landed our client widespread coverage:
  1. For our new DIY supplies client, we launched a newsjacking piece where we jumped on a topical trend (apprenticeships) to provide relevant data that appealed to their target audience. We outreached the campaign to outlets in their industry and landed a number of hyper-relevant niche links to the website:
  1. There’s no hiding the fact that you have to be a little more creative in some industries than others when it comes to crafting relevant digital PR campaigns. The vaping space is a great example of this – there’s certainly a less exhaustive list of related topics. So, to get round this, we thought outside the box and submitted FOI requests to local councils to identify how many illegal vapes had been seized over time. With this data, we then created an infographic showcasing the UK’s vape raid hotspots, outreaching it as an asset for journalists.

The outcome was over 150 relevant and targeted links that enhanced E-E-A-T signals across the brand:

How to create relevant but newsworthy content

🔈Audience understanding

Your first step should be getting a deep understanding of your target audience, their interests, and problems they’re facing. But the insights from tools and AI aren’t really enough, so how can you go about this? First, have a clear contact page and form so that people know how and where to go to send you their feedback. 

Secondly, platforms like TikTok are a great way to get a better sense of the thoughts and feelings of your audience. Search your product or service keyword and have a look at what the main discussion points are – is there opportunity for you to provide data or expertise that solves an issue they’re having? For example, searching ‘printing’ into TikTok reveals viral videos surrounding the idea of DIY- printed t-shirts. Therefore, a campaign looking at this new gen-z trend of upcycling our clothes at home, and an expert how-to guide, would be a relevant campaign for a printing company.

🔈Timely, trending content

Relevancy is time-sensitive and journalists don’t want stories that are yesterday’s news. To create relevant stories, you need to be constantly monitoring the emerging trends and events within your niche and create content that offers unique insights on these. Content calendars are a great way to do this, marked with key dates and relevant events. With this, you can then brainstorm ideas in advance, allowing you to newsjack quickly. To return to our printing example, key educational dates like the dissertation submission period or GCSE exam period would be worth marking in advance as this allows you to create timely content surrounding printing dissertations or practice papers.

🔈Keyword research

Whilst often overlooked in digital PR, this shouldn’t be left to the SEOs! In fact, keyword research should be one of the first steps of a digital PR ideation process, as it guarantees that you’re narrowing in on genuinely relevant ideas. Looking at these terms guarantees that your campaigns are going to align with what your audience is actively searching for. Plus, by incorporating these keywords into your pitch, you’re hitting two birds with one stone – speaking the language of your audience, and increasing the likelihood that your content is discovered organically in the SERPs. 

Cedarwood Digital is an award-winning SEO, digital PR & PPC agency based in Manchester. If relevancy isn’t your forte or your campaigns just aren’t landing, how about getting some expert help. Contact us today to find out what we can do for you.

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Why You Need Author Pages On Your Website

In the world of SEO, we all know that content is king and creating engaging, informative content for your website is extremely important. However, it doesn’t just end there and one aspect that can often be overlooked but can significantly impact your E-E-A-T signals is author pages. Even though author pages are not a direct ranking factor, they can play a significant role in building trust and credibility and can enhance your website’s overall SEO performance. In this blog, we will discuss what an author page is and why it is important that you include them on your website.

What Is An Author Page? 

An author page is a dedicated page on your website that showcases the expertise and credentials of the people who have contributed to your website, whether they have written a blog or reviewed a service page, an author page should be created. The author page will highlight the author’s background, experience, expertise and knowledge for a certain topic or field. 

What Should Be Included On Your Author Page 

In order to maximise the impact of your author pages, you should include the following: 

  • ➡️ Name – clearly identify the author at the top of the page. 
  • ➡️ Role/ title – include their role so users know where their expertise lies. 
  • ➡️ Image – including a high quality image/ headshot will help to humanise the author and give the author page a more professional look.
  • ➡️ Bio and expertise – provide an overview of the author’s background, experience and different areas of expertise, this should all be relevant to your website. 
  • ➡️ Qualifications – include a list of relevant qualifications to showcase the author’s expertise within the industry.
  • ➡️ List of articles written – include a list of articles that the author has previously written to further showcase their knowledge and expertise. 
  • ➡️ Links to other profiles – if relevant, provide a link to the author’s other profiles, such as LinkedIn, to build a strong online presence. 
  • ➡️ Contact information – include an email address/ phone number so that users can get in touch with the author. 

By including all of the above information, you can truly showcase the expertise and knowledge of the author and provide those all important E-E-A-T signals for search engines and users. 

Below is an example of an author page with all of the relevant information showcasing expertise and experience signals which will provide users with trust. This author profile is linked to throughout the website so that users can see the expertise behind the website easily and they can then build trust with the people behind the brand. 

Why Are Author Pages Important To Have On Your Website?

Creating author pages does involve an extra step when creating content, however they can offer significant benefits for your website. By including author profiles on your website and showcasing the expertise and experience of your authors, you can easily improve your website’s E-E-A-T signals, which Google heavily favours in their search quality guidelines. Google actually mentions the term ‘E-E-A-T’ 116 times in the Search Quality Rater Guidelines, therefore emphasising the importance of establishing trust and authority throughout your website. 

It also states the following as one of the guidelines: “Assess how trustworthy the page is. Experience, Expertise and Authoritativeness can help with your assessment of Trust. Some types of pages require a high level of Trust.” 

Building E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) signals is one of the main benefits of author profiles and this is extremely important for SEO because it will contribute to quality content that can go on to perform well in the SERPs. Even though E-E-A-T is not a confirmed direct ranking factor for Google, it is important to showcase these signals throughout your website to show that you are meeting Google’s requirements relating to quality and trustworthiness. 

Author pages can significantly help strengthen your E-E-A-T signals. By showcasing to Google and other signals that your content is written by knowledgeable people who have relevant expertise and experience, you are demonstrating that your content is trustworthy and that it will be providing users with factual, helpful information. 

However, as well as building E-E-A-T signals for your website and showing to search engines that you are providing trustworthy content, you can also build trust and credibility for your users. One of the most important reasons to have author pages is to build that trust with your audience, particularly if your website falls under the YMYL category. Building trust with your website users is crucial for any online business – trust can significantly contribute to user engagement, brand loyalty and conversions so building this on your website is key. 

If a user trusts your website and the content you are providing them, they are more likely to engage with your content, share their personal information and become a return user who may purchase from your site. If a user does not trust the site, or the content that is written, it is likely that they will not engage with the website and they will leave the website and go onto a competitor’s site who is showcasing their trust signals clearly. 

By incorporating author profiles into your website and including these on your blogs, service pages and other pages throughout your website, you are showing your users that your content is written by experts who know what they are talking about and they can trust that the information they are being provided with is true. 

Summary 

Author pages can often be overlooked for websites but they can be a key component of a successful website. By creating thorough, informative and engaging author profiles, you can easily enhance your website’s credibility and build trust with your users. In doing so, you will be able to improve your E-E-A-T signals which can help to build your overall SEO performance – remember that even though E-E-A-T is not a direct ranking factor, it is still a crucial element of organic search and the addition of author pages on your website can significantly contribute to these signals. 

If you are looking to find out more about E-E-A-T and author pages and how these can contribute to a successful SEO strategy, make sure to get in touch with us today and our team of SEO experts can help provide you with the information you need to build strong E-E-A-T signals through author pages. 

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What Is Search Intent And Why Is It So Important For SEO?

In any aspect of digital marketing, understanding user behaviour is crucial and that is no different for SEO. One of the key components of a successful SEO strategy is to understand search intent and in this blog, we will discuss everything you need to know about search intent – what it is, why it is so important for SEO, how you can identify it and how you can optimise your content to match search intent. 

What Is Search Intent?

Search intent, also known as user intent, is the purpose behind a user’s search query. It encompasses what a user is trying to achieve when they are searching for a specific query. Whether the user is looking to buy something, looking for a specific website, searching for an answer to a question or they are just looking for more information surrounding a particular topic, understanding the intent behind their search is highly important. 

What Are The Four Main Types Of Search Intent? 

Generally, search intent can be grouped into four main categories:

Informational Intent 

Informational intent is when a user wants to learn more about a particular topic and they are seeking information. Informational intent searches often include questions containing how, what and why. 

Examples of informational intent keywords include: 

  • ➡️ What is SEO
  • ➡️ How do you make pancakes 
  • ➡️ What are the benefits of drinking green tea 
  • ➡️ How old is Taylor Swift 
  • ➡️ Why is my sunflower not growing

The most common returned pages for informational intent keywords will be blogs and even though informational intent keywords may not lead to conversions, they can be very beneficial for your online business because they can:

  • ➡️ Increase visibility – creating blog content and ranking for informational keywords that are very relevant to your product or service will massively increase your visibility for your target market. 

  • ➡️ Build trust – ranking for relevant keywords will also help to build trust with your target audience as they will see your name as a reputable source who has helped them gather information that they needed.

  • ➡️ Target the user journey – by creating blog content and targeting informational queries, you can create helpful content that will guide your target audience through the user journey. By creating the awareness and then guiding those users down the user funnel, you will be able to take those users from the awareness stage all the way down through consideration and then to conversion. If users have all of the information they need on your website, they will be more likely to convert on your site as well. 

Navigational Intent 

Navigational intent occurs when the user wants to visit a specific website or page, the user already knows what they are trying to find in the SERPs and they do not want additional information, they just want to see what they are looking for at the top of the SERP. 

Examples of navigational intent keywords include: 

  • ➡️ YouTube 
  • ➡️ Facebook login 
  • ➡️ Prettylittlething returns policy

The majority of navigational intent keywords will be brand focused as the user knows what page they want to land on. For navigational keywords, it is important that your customers/ target audience can easily find the page that they are looking for.

Commercial Intent 

Commercial intent includes keywords that users are searching for when they are conducting research before purchasing a product or service. They are in the stage of considering a purchase and they want to research their options. 

Examples of commercial intent keywords include: 

  • ➡️ Best hair dryer for curly hair 
  • ➡️ Iphone 15 pro review 
  • ➡️ Gousto vs Hello Fresh

Commercial intent lies between informational and transactional as the user will likely be looking for information that is very closely related to their future transaction. 

Transactional Intent 

Transactional intent occurs when users are looking to complete a specific action, this could be to make a purchase, download a software, or sign up to a newsletter for example. 

Examples of transactional intent keywords include: 

  • ➡️ Sign up to Netflix 
  • ➡️ Buy a coffee machine 
  • ➡️ Purchase a railcard online

When a user is searching with a transactional intent keyword, it is likely that they already know that they want to convert and they are going to do it off the back of this search query. These keywords are targeted at your customers when they are ready to convert.  

Why Is Search Intent So Important For SEO? 

Understanding the search intent behind different queries and keywords is extremely important for SEO as it allows you to optimise your website specifically for your target audience so that they are satisfied when they land on your website. Below are some of the reasons why understanding search and user intent is so important for organic search:

  1. Enhances the user experience 

User experience can be considered one of the most important aspects when it comes to SEO and search engines like Google prioritise user experience. If your website and content aligns with the intent behind certain queries, then it likely means that you are providing users with the information that they are looking for and enhancing their user experience as they are satisfied that their search query has been fulfilled. Satisfied users that are experiencing a good user experience are also more likely to stay on your site for longer periods of time and engage with your content more, they will also be more likely to convert. 

  1. Improves rankings and visibility 

Google’s algorithms are extremely sophisticated when it comes to interpreting the search intent behind certain queries so by understanding the search intent and optimising your website accordingly, you can increase the likelihood of better rankings in the SERPs. 

  1. Increases click through rate

Once you have understood the search intent behind your target keywords and queries, you can optimise your content and metadata accordingly. By optimising your metadata specifically for your target audience, they will be able to easily see that your content matches their search intent and they will be more likely to click through to your site. This increased click through rate can lead to increased traffic and conversions but it can also signal to search engines that your content is relevant and valuable for users. 

  1. Drives targeted traffic 

Optimising your website to match the user intent of your target audience will ensure you are driving the right traffic for your specific product or service. When optimising your website for organic traffic, it will always be more valuable to bring in targeted traffic at lower levels than traffic that is not relevant to your niche and that will likely not convert. By targeting the search intent of your target keywords, you can ensure that high intent users are going to be landing on your site. 

  1. Reduces bounce rate

If your content doesn’t match the user intent, then the likelihood is that your bounce rate will be high as users will leave your site quickly. By matching the specific user intent, you can keep users engaged on your website for a longer period of time.

Understanding search intent is absolutely essential for SEO so that you are able to satisfy the user’s needs. Google’s primary goal is to provide users with the most relevant, valuable and helpful information, so if you are accurately targeting the search intent, then it is likely that you will be providing the user with whatever it is they are looking for and you will be able to rank higher in the SERPs, increase your visibility and ultimately increase conversions and revenue for your business. 

So, if you want to be ranking in the top 10 positions of the SERPs, you need to thoroughly understand the intent behind your target keywords and optimise your content and web page accordingly. Overall, understanding the user intent and aligning your content with that intent can help you attract more relevant traffic and increase engagement levels, which in turn can lead to having more conversions and leads. 

How Can You Identify Search Intent For Different Queries?

Because identifying search intent is so important for SEO, you’re probably wondering how you can identify the intent of different search queries. Well, this is where Ahrefs comes in. Ahrefs has an Identify Intents tool which is designed to help understand the intent behind different queries. 

The tool uses AI to analyse each result in the SERP and describes what people are looking for when they are typing in that particular keyword. It will give you a percentage for each intent and this is the estimated traffic share for each of the results associated with each intent. 

For example, when we look into the search term “what is seo”, which has a search volume of 6,800 in the UK, 61% of the traffic share is attributed to “Definition and Explanation of SEO – Users are looking for a clear definition and a thorough explanation of what SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is.” This is then followed by a 26% traffic share of “SEO Best Practices and Guidelines”, 13% traffic share of “SEO Fundamentals for Beginners”, and a 2% traffic share for “Need for SEO Services”. 

As you can see above, the tool gives you a clear understanding of what the search intent is. By searching for your desired query/ keywords and clicking the “Identify Intents” button, the tool will give you clear information about the exact intent users are looking for when they are using those specific keywords. 

This information is extremely valuable and it can be used to form the strategy when optimising your website for SEO. By knowing exactly what your users are searching for and what search intent Google is returning, you will be able to know what content you need to include on your landing page in order to rank for relevant keywords. By using the Identify Intents tool and incorporating this into your SEO strategy, you can ensure that your content will satisfy the user intent which can ultimately lead to better rankings, more traffic and increased conversions. 

How To Optimise Your Content To Match Search Intent

In order to match user intent, it is important to optimise your web page accordingly. 

To optimise your content to match search intent, you should: 

  • ➡️ Conduct keyword research – use tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush and Google Keyword planner to identify keywords that are related to your site and what users could potentially be searching for. 
  • ➡️ Identify the search intent – once you have compiled a list of target keywords, you need to identify the search intent behind all queries to see what your users are looking for when they are typing in relevant keywords. 
  • ➡️ Analyse the SERPs – conduct a thorough analysis of the SERPs to see what type of content is appearing in the top results. This can give you insight into what type of content is ranking well and what you need to do in order to reach the top positions of the SERPs for your target keywords.
  • ➡️ Create content that matches the search intent – once you have fully understood the search intent and what the user is looking for, you need to create unique and helpful content that will match their needs. If the search intent is informational then you will need to provide comprehensive content that will fully answer the user’s query. If the intent is transactional, you need to ensure your product pages contain detailed information and product descriptions and CTAs. 
  • ➡️ Optimise metadata – title tags and meta descriptions should always match and be relevant to the search intent so that users can see that your content meets their needs. 
  • ➡️ Use structured data – implementing structured data to your web pages can help search engines to understand the intent behind that specific page. This can help enhance visibility in the SERPs and will also allow you to target featured snippets.
  • ➡️ Regularly monitor and update content – SEO is an ongoing process and user intent may change. It is therefore imperative to constantly monitor the search intent for different queries and adjust your content accordingly. It is not enough to look at the user intent once and then forget about it, you should always keep up to date with changes in user behaviour in order to match the needs of your target audience. 

Summary 

Understanding search intent is absolutely essential for SEO. If you are not giving users what they are looking for then your visibility will be extremely low. If you want your site to rank organically in the SERPs, understanding search intent is crucial. Make sure that you are providing users with exactly what they are looking for and you will build a solid SEO strategy. 

If you are looking for help with understanding search intent for organic queries, get in touch with our SEO experts who will be able to help you identify exactly what it is your target audience are looking for when they want to purchase your product or service. 

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NoFollow Links Vs Follow Links: What You Need To Know 

Since the very beginning of SEO , the follow vs nofollow links debate has been getting a lot of airtime. Are nofollow links brought into the ranking equation at all? Is a nofollow link from a high DR valuable? Are all nofollow links entirely useless for SEO and therefore not an important PR metric? These are questions raised and debated on a constant cycle in the world of SEO. And, with nofollow links recently becoming more and more common, we thought we’d chip in our two pence.

This blog will firstly take it back to the basics, explaining what nofollow and follow link are, and how they came to be. We’ll then get into the juicy stuff – how they differ in terms of SEO and overall value. But if you don’t have all day, here’s the whole blog nicely summarised in 3 takeaways:

➡️The difference between nofollow and follow links lies in the message they’re giving to Google. Follow links pass link equity and tell Google to crawl the page, whilst nofollow links are a way of saying it’s not very important.

➡️Despite this, nofollow links are still valuable for SEO and should not be overlooked! Search engines value a natural backlink profile with a mix of dofollow and nofollow links. You should aim for a ratio of roughly 80/20

➡️Nofollow links can also directly improve your sales by bringing in relevant traffic and improving brand awareness – especially when found on a reputable website.

So what’s a nofollow link?

A nofollow hyperlink has “nofollow” in its HTML code, which tells Google not to crawl the linked page.

So, to put it simply, a nofollow link is a way of telling search engines to ignore a link on your website. You’re essentially saying it’s not very important and not recommending it for search ranking purposes. 

They were introduced in 2005 with the aim to combat a dodgy practice where sites were attempting to manipulate rankings by acquiring lots of irrelevant links.

And what are dofollow links?

As the name would suggest, ‘dofollow’ or ‘follow’ links are the opposite! They’re the standard type of hyperlink on websites and tell search engines to follow and rank the attached page. With this, you’re saying to Google that the linked site is relevant to your content and providing valuable information – it’s like a vote of confidence. 

How to know if a link is nofollow or dofollow

I see you now scrambling to check your links, and luckily for you, it’s very easy to find out if the link in question is follow or nofollow. Simply hover over the link, right-click it, and choose “Inspect.” You’ll then be able to view the source code and have a look for that ‘nofollow’ tag.

How do they differ for SEO?

Follow links have a direct impact on SEO; acquiring high-quality follow links from relevant sites will have a significant impact on your rankings for related keywords. This is because follow links pass on link equity, boosting the page they link to. 

Nofollow links on the other hand are more of a grey area. Some believe they cannot directly impact search ranking and, after all, they were created with the intention of telling search engines not to follow the link and pass ranking powder to the page. However, there’s some evidence to the contrary.

Matt Cutts, a former Google engineer, has acknowledged that nofollow links might be used as a signal in a ‘complex way’. What he’s possibly referring to here is that some studies suggest search engines consider nofollow links in a couple of situations:

  • If a nofollow link comes from a trustworthy and relevant website, this might still hold some weight in Google’s eyes
  • Search engines will often look at the whole link profile of a website, including both follow and nofollow links, to get a good sense of its reputation. And the evidence suggests that a diverse backlink profile is valuable for SEO, but more on that later.

But whether or not nofollow links can pass link equity, to say they have no value for SEO would be short sighted. Here’s why…

Why you shouldn’t dismiss nofollow links 

🔗Referral Traffic

Despite not necessarily passing on link equity, nofollow links can be a powerful tool for driving referral traffic, especially if the linking site is relevant to your niche, with a wide established audience. Their audience can click through this link, land on your website, and be exposed to your content – this increases your traffic and potential conversions!

🔗Brand awareness 

Getting linked to, even with nofollow, is great for brand awareness. If your website gets linked to on a popular industry blog or high-traffic news outlet, your business is exposed to a huge new audience who may not have known about you before.

Being linked to by reputable websites reflects positively on your brand. Users aren’t checking the code for each link they see, they’re taking it for face value as a signpost that you’re as much of a trustworthy source as the site linking to you.

Increased brand awareness from nofollow links can also trigger a domino effect. As more people discover your content and find it valuable, they might go on to link to your site themselves – and these could even be dofollow links this time around.

🔗Backlink Profile Diversity 

Search engines want to see a diverse backlink profile; what this means is a profile including a mix of link types, anchor texts, and crucially, follow and nofollow links.

This is because a website with only follow links could appear unnatural for search engines. Having a few nofollow links in there too shows that your site is not suspicious and instead, shows that it has grown organically.

This being said, the ideal backlink profile does lean towards follow links. Search Engine Journal recommends a ratio of 80/20 or 70/30 in favour of follow links. 

You can find out your site’s ratio by using tools like the Ahrefs backlink checker. Here’s ours: 

So there we have it, our defence of nofollow links. Enough of the hate and leaving them out of your reports – they’re probably benefitting you far more than you know!

Who are we? Cedarwood Digital is a link-building agency based in Manchester, with a track record of landing businesses a healthy mix of follow and no-follow links, all from top tier sites. Contact us today to have a chat about your Digital PR strategy.

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The Importance Of Meta Titles And Descriptions For SEO

Metadata – that stuff that makes up the bulk of what we see when scrolling the SERPS. Is it still important? How long should a meta title be? Is there such a thing as metadata optimisation? What does this all mean for SEO and, ultimately, my business’ sales?

These are questions that we’ll be tackling in today’s blog, which will run you through what meta titles and descriptions actually are, how to view and edit them and the impact they have on users and your SEO rankings.

But if you’re short on time, here are the key takeaways:

➡️ Spoiler, meta titles and descriptions are crucial for SEO! They help search engines understand your content and can significantly improve click-through rates

➡️ Search engines won’t always use the metadata you provide, but to make sure they do, ensure they meet the suggested character lengths, and accurately reflect precisely what’s on the page

➡️ You can optimise meta data, and you should! Target the right keywords, create a sense of urgency, and remember to always make each tag unique

Firstly, what are meta titles and descriptions?

Meta data is the snippets of text that appear in search engine results pages – in simple terms, what users read and click on to be taken to your website. As a result, they’re pretty important – first impressions count and they play a crucial role in how users perceive your site (and how likely they are to visit it).

So, let’s begin with the meta title. This is like a headline, or title, for your page. Displayed in bold font, it’s the first thing users will see. It’s also important for the search engines who use it to understand your page.

Then, the meta description appears just below the meta title; it’s a brief overview of what the page is about and can significantly improve CTR by grabbing users’ interest.

As you can see in the screenshot below, the meta description is the section beginning ‘protect yourself from the sun…’, whilst the blue text above is the meta title.

These days, search engines are very sophisticated, considering a wide spectrum of factors when ranking websites, and metadata is just one of them. But whilst not as important for ranking as it once was, this doesn’t mean your titles and descriptions don’t matter. A lot of people underestimate their importance but they do in fact still have a huge role in SEO. But why is that….

Why is metadata so important for SEO?

As we discussed above, metadata increases your click-through rate by providing an engaging summary of what your page offers. It allows users to make an informed decision about whether to click on your link, and often will include action words like ‘free delivery’ or ‘shop now’  to spark interest. So, why does this matter to you? Because the more clicks, the more traffic and potential customers!

High CTR is great not only for your conversions but also because it signals to Google that your page is valuable. Whilst there is no explicit confirmation that it directly affects search rankings, a consistently high CTR for a specific keyword might suggest to Google that your page is particularly relevant for that search term. Equally, a lower CTR is a red flag for Google, indicating that the content on your page isn’t matching user intent.

But that’s not all – meta titles and descriptions can boost your organic visibility because of keywords. Including the right, relevant terms in your metadata helps signal to search engines that your page is addressing these topics. It’s essentially a blueprint for the algorithms, giving them that extra bit of help needed to understand and rank your content.

How long should a meta description and meta title be?

It’s important not to get too carried away in your meta tags – keep them short, sweet and to the point, otherwise they’ll be cut short! 

Whilst meta descriptions can technically be any length, Google tends to snip them short between 155 and 160 characters. This advice is given by Google: 

It’s best to keep meta descriptions long enough that they’re sufficiently descriptive, so we recommend descriptions between 50 and 160 characters.

So, there’s your answer – but what about meta titles? Here, you’ve got less room to play with. Meta titles have a maximum length of just 60 characters and it’s generally agreed that the ideal length is between 50 and 60. 

Do search engines always use your meta descriptions?

No; I’m afraid that search engines can ultimately use whatever they see fit for your description. They prioritise providing the most relevant information to users, so, in some cases, this might mean generating their own title and description for your page.

You can avoid this happening by making sure that what you write is well-aligned both with the user’s search query, and the content on the page itself. Otherwise, Google will simply create a more fitting description for you.

How to optimise your meta titles and descriptions

In light of this, you may now be asking the valid question, “how can I make my metadata better?”  Here are our tips and tricks to write tags your copywriter would be jealous of:

💻Make your titles and descriptions super relevant. They need to be tailored carefully to the specific content on each page, so avoid using the same generic description across your entire site.

💻In fact, avoid duplicate content all together as this could get your pages penalised by search engines. It may be far less hassle to use identical meta titles across your website, but creating unique titles for each page will avoid this penalty.

💻Target the right keywords, but incorporate them naturally. Carry out in-depth keyword research to make sure you’re going for the most relevant terms, but remember the main aim of the tags is to tell readers what your page is about – not to see how many times you can fit ‘dog food’ into 60 characters.

💻Don’t just describe your content. Highlight its benefits and use these tags to clearly communicate what the users have to gain by clicking on your link. It can be good to incorporate a bit of urgency in the copy and there are a number of ways you can do this:

-> Time-sensitive language like ‘ends tonight’ or ‘limited-time offer’

->Use of action verbs, ‘start your free trial now’, ‘unlock your discount today!’

->Use of numbers – e.g. ‘only 10 spots left!’

->Using the seasons to say something like ‘last chance for summer deals’

So, the bottom line is, meta titles and meta descriptions do matter. They’re far more than just a button for users to click – optimised right, they’ll give a substantial boost to your site traffic, and help you rank for those important keywords.


If thinking of 30 different ways to say ‘shop now’ isn’t your strong point, why not leave it to the experts. Cedarwood Digital is an award-winning SEO agency, who’ll handle all the ins and outs of your SEO strategy, letting you focus on your business. If this sounds right up your alley, drop us a message at [email protected].

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A Guide To Semantic SEO

SEO has changed; long gone are the days of keyword stuffing working like magic, now search engines prioritise content that actually understands what people are looking for. Context is key, and a comprehensive, thorough understanding of topics will get you noticed by Google. In other words, SEO really is a matter of semantics these days.

But what does this all mean in practice for us SEOs and content writers? Maybe you’re aware of the notion ‘semantic SEO’ but don’t have a clue how to action it. I have good news for you, this blog will cover exactly that – practical tips and pointers to get you optimising your site with semantic SEO in mind. We’ll begin by giving you a quick dummy’s guide to semantic SEO, before explaining why it’s quite so important to increase your conversions and lastly, providing you with our practical guidance on how to do it.

Who’s this blog useful for? If you’re struggling to get your small business noticed online, writing blogs but failing to rank on page 1, or simply want to increase your company’s conversions, you won’t want to skip out on semantic SEO.

However, we know that time is of the essence, and if you don’t have a whole five minutes to listen to us rant about semantics, here are the key takeaways in advance:

🌐Post ‘Hummingbird’, ‘RankBrain’ and the Helpful Content Update, Google is prioritising understanding what users are really searching for. Your content needs to anticipate their questions and address a topic comprehensively.

🌐Create high quality, long, in-depth content that gives the user everything they’re after. This will keep them and Google happy, reducing your bounce rate and improving conversion rates.

🌐Don’t be afraid to enlist the help of tools like Salient to assess content relevance, or Answer The Public to accurately discover what users are asking.

What is Semantic SEO?

Semantic SEO, in a nutshell, is the practice of optimising content for meaning, not just keywords. As SEOs, it’s about adjusting our process a bit, considering what users are searching for, and thinking about the overall context of a page. It’s a smarter and more comprehensive approach that goes deeper to ensure that Google understands our content and that it meets user intent.

Now I’m not here to give you a full lecture on search engine history, but there are a handful of developments to be aware of that might just help clarify semantic SEO.

➡️In 2013, the ‘hummingbird algorithm’ was launched, changing the way Google worked. It was a major deal, ushering in an era of prioritising user experience and actually understanding the meaning behind search queries. No longer was Google only looking for keywords, now it was also understanding the relationships between words.

➡️Then, 2015 saw another major leap with the introduction of RankBrain, a machine learning model that could analyse vast amounts of search and user behaviour data. Like Hummingbird, it was looking to understand the intent behind what they type into the search bar.

➡️The last update relevant to semantic search is BERT, arriving in October 2019 and using a new machine to better understand the relationship between words.

➡️So, fast forward to today, Google is in its prime of understanding queries. With the rise of Siri and voice search, the algorithm now delivers pages of relevant results from just a couple of idiomatic words said into a phone. And when it’s scanning our sites, it’s specifically looking for content that addresses a topic comprehensively. In response, our content needs to match the algorithms’ human-like understanding of meaning – foreseeing and answering all the related questions people will have.

What’s in it for you (and your business)?

We get it, this might all seem like a bit of a faff, and chucking a few keywords into your blog is far less complicated. But, we promise that it pays to put the time and effort into semantic SEO. Here’s why:

✅The biggest advantage of focusing on semantic SEO is that it’s a proven way to rank in the search results! From the algorithm history you just endured, it should be clear that drumming down on this semantic approach gets you in Google’s good books.

✅Not only will you rank high, but you’ll end up ranking high for more keywords. By covering a topic in-depth, you naturally weave in related keywords, making your content show up for lots more searches, and therefore reaching a wider audience of potential buyers.

✅Semantic SEO is also the secret to the coveted ‘People Also Ask’ spots at the top of the SERPs. With a semantic strategy, you’re anticipating user questions by covering all angles of a certain topic. This hugely increases your chances of appearing in those answer snippets.

✅Once the users have found your page, you want them to stay. And yes, you guessed it, semantic SEO also works in your favour here. Content that tackles a topic comprehensively keeps users engaged, so you’ll see a lower bounce rate. Consider this, if you’re answering every question they have and providing everything they need, they won’t be bothered about clicking off to go elsewhere.

✅Plus, this also sends positive quality signals to Google. With the recent Helpful Content Updates, Google knows if your content is helpful and you can’t trick the system I’m afraid. By focusing on semantics, you show Google that our content is not only relevant to the search query but also informative, engaging and worthy of those top positions.

✅But techy waffle aside, all this matters because increased user traffic, and lower bounce rate leads to… (drumroll please) conversions and sales! And that’s what you’re all ultimately after, right?

How to actually do semantic SEO

You work in marketing so I can already tell that you love your actionable takeaways – do not worry, the next section will be painfully practical. Let’s crack on with what your SEO team should be tackling day to day to tick the semantic boxes.

  1. Work on understanding user intent

Not to be dramatic but if you don’t understand your target audience’s search intent, you might as well throw in the towel now. Google prioritises addressing user intent as closely as possible so, essentially, you need to become a mind reader. Put yourself in their shoes, picture your target audience, what do they wear, what do they eat for breakfast. Seriously though, what problems are they trying to solve and what questions might they have after reading your content. 

Let’s say you’re targeting the keyword ‘how to grow tomatoes’ for your greenhouse business. Not only will they be searching this question and similar semantically-related terms, but also:

~Ideal planting conditions for tomatoes. 

~Tips on watering and fertilizing tomato plants.

~Common tomato plant pests and diseases, and how to control them.

~Information on harvesting and storing homegrown tomatoes.

~Recipes that use fresh tomatoes.

You need to provide content tackling all of these areas of the topic, or the user will simply click off and find the answers elsewhere!

  1. Create high-quality, in-depth content

Semantic SEO means creating in-depth, detailed and complex content. I hate to break it to you, but a 500 word, blog post is just not going to cut it. You’re likely going to need a couple thousand words to cover the topic comprehensively. I promise it’s not as scary as it sounds – begin with a substantial brief to ensure you’re addressing every angle, and to get a digestible structure planned. It might even be worth hitting up ChatGPT for some help here (gasp), just to help you spot anything you’ve missed. But please leave the actual writing to the humans in your team, quality trumps quantity and a long but AI-generated blog post is not going to do you any favours. 

  1. What you should and should’t be including in this content

Focus on creating comprehensive content that incorporates related terms naturally but don’t sweat worrying about every long-tail variation. With Semantic Search, the algorithms recognise connections between similar long-tail keywords (like ‘how to tell when tomatoes are ripe’ and ‘are my tomatoes ready to be picked’). Google gets that these terms fall under the same topic.

Prioritise in-depth content that meets users’ needs and don’t forget to answer those People Also Ask questions. According to a study of 2.5 million search queries, this feature now shows up for almost half of all search queries, and this is often above position 1!

  1. Schema

Schema, also known as structured data markup, acts like a translator, providing Google with a better understanding of your content. With schema, you’re essentially labelling the different elements to make it easier for search engines to understand the context. This could include things like ‘brand name’, ‘location’, ‘price’. 

It paints a clear picture for search engines; semantic SEO focuses on the meaning behind the words on your page, but search engines still rely on code to interpret information. Schema bridges this gap by providing a structured way to communicate the meaning of your content.

Tools to help you out with Semantic SEO

There are a number of tools out there that come in handy with semantic SEO. Here are our tried and tested top 3:

This tool measures the relevance of your content for certain target keywords, using a technology that replicates search engine algorithms, to show you what they’re likely to be picking up. It analyses the use of synonyms, related terms, and concepts within your content to assess if it comprehensively addresses the topic. Plus, the text comparison tool lets you see how edits impact your content’s relevance score. So, instead of relying on what you ‘think’ might work, this tool is your best bet to get a realistic idea of how relevant your content is.

Answer The Public compiles data from search engines to show you the most searched questions around your topic or keyword, usefully grouped into categories like ‘prepositions’ and ‘comparisons’. This is great for semantic SEO because it lays the user’s intent out plain to see, allowing you to tailor your content to directly answer their questions and provide the most informative page for them. It will also help with showing you long-tail, less competitive keywords and by incorporating these, you can reach users who might be using different phrasing but have the same intent.

Similar to Answer The Public, Also Asked pulls together data directly from Google searches to show you themost asked questions around a topic – all presented in an easily digestible mind-map format. Understanding your audience’s issues and questions is essential not only for semantic SEO, but for any successful marketing strategy – you won’t regret giving this tool a go.

So there we have it, your ultimate guide to semantic SEO that should leave you prepped and ready to create comprehensive, contextual, and converting content. Google won’t know what’s hit it.

Cedarwood Digital is an award-winning SEO agency with a proven track record of boosting online traffic and conversions for both small companies and large corporations. Want to leave it to the pros? We don’t blame you – drop us a line at [email protected]

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Why Collaboration Between SEO and Digital PR Is So Important

In the dynamic world of digital marketing, the crossover between SEO and Digital PR is becoming increasingly vital. SEO and Digital PR are both crucial if you are looking to increase your brand visibility and online presence, and even though they can be viewed as separate roles, collaboration is absolutely essential. By collaborating your SEO and Digital PR strategies, you can successfully achieve brand awareness, increased visibility and more sales. 

In the past, Digital PR agencies and SEO have been seen as completely separate entities, both completed by separate teams with no involvement. However, as high quality links and brand reputation have become more important for improving organic search results, collaboration between SEO and DPR is now extremely valuable. By integrating the two, both elements work together to increase each other’s impact.

Why Is Integrating SEO And Digital PR Essential? 

  • ➡️ Enhanced Online Visibility 

SEO and Digital PR both aim to increase a brand’s online visibility. While SEO efforts focus on on-page efforts, DPR focuses on off-site but both can have a massive impact on driving more organic traffic to a website. When SEO and DPR teams work together, they can target the same areas of a website, and produce on-site and off-site content to increase rankings and visibility. 

When SEO and Digital PR teams work together, they can identify high-value opportunities and target these together to increase visibility. Quality backlinks from Digital PR efforts can enhance domain authority, making it easier for SEO initiatives to achieve better results in the SERPs, alongside on-site optimisations, this can have a huge impact on SEO performance. 

Successful Digital PR strategies can also drive targeted traffic to your website and this is a great opportunity for SEO teams to provide Digital PR teams with information about high intent traffic which will be valuable for the brand and the Digital PR team can then use this data to inform their strategies and create campaigns that will attract the right type of traffic. This collaboration can work really well and generate high intent users for your website. Product placements are an example where this can be extremely effective.  

  • ➡️ High Quality Content 

Combining SEO’s data driven approach to keyword research with PR’s storytelling expertise can result in content that ranks well and engages readers. Both teams can ensure that the content is interesting for users, but also optimised for search engines, and this can also make it compelling enough to attract media attention. Sometimes, you don’t even need to outreach your Digital PR work, you can make the journalists come to you – by targeting relevant keywords and providing data hubs within your content, you can gain natural backlinks without the need for any contact with journalists. However, in order for this to work successfully, it is absolutely imperative that the SEO and Digital PR experts are working together. You can read more about this reverse digital pr strategy in our blog talking all about reverse Digital PR and how it works. 

High quality content is a must for SEO and Digital PR, and by working together, you can create content that is fit for both SEO and Digital PR purposes. 

  • ➡️ Building Brand Authority And Trust 

Building brand authority and E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trust) signals is essential for organic performance and one of the many ways to do this and potentially one of the most direct crossovers between SEO and Digital PR is link building. Gaining high quality backlinks from reputable sites is key for SEO performance – it will make the brand more trustworthy in the eyes of search engines and consumers and it can significantly boost the website’s authority and online visibility. This therefore makes Digital PR an essential part of all modern SEO strategies and when both teams work together seamlessly, it can make this process much more effective. 

  • ➡️ Measuring Success 

Having a unified approach between SEO and Digital PR will also allow for a more comprehensive set of metrics to measure campaign success. By combining SEO and Digital PR data and analytics, you can gain deeper insights into how both efforts are performing together and adjust your strategies accordingly. 

Overall, incorporating your SEO and Digital PR strategies goes much further than immediate online visibility but it helps build a strong foundation for long term success in the online space. By understanding these benefits, you can effectively collaborate your SEO and DIgital PR efforts to create an extremely strong online presence.

How Can Digital PR And SEO Teams Collaborate? 

  • ➡️ Align Strategies 

The first step when Digital PR and SEO teams are collaborating on any project or account is to start working together from the very beginning. Both teams should align their objectives and these can be increasing organic traffic, enhancing brand awareness and visibility, or boosting engagement – whatever the goals and objectives are, it is important that both teams are on the same page so that all strategies and projects moving forwards are focused on the same outcomes. 

  • ➡️ Share Keyword Research and Insights 

SEO teams should consistently share keyword research and insights with the Digital PR team so that they can be aware of topics that are newsworthy and have a high search potential. This can help to inform strategy for Digital PR campaigns and ensure they are relevant, but it can also help ensure that all Digital PR content is optimised for SEO from the outset so that it can be uploaded to the website for SEO purposes as well as outreached for Digital PR.

  • ➡️ Coordinate Content Creation 

High quality content takes time to write, and with both SEO and Digital PR teams having expertise in content creation, these teams should definitely be sharing their content with each other. Digital PR teams will often be creating data hubs of content that would be absolutely perfect for the website, by sharing this content, the SEO team can ensure it is targeting the right keywords and once this has been uploaded to the website, it can attract traffic and potentially even receive natural backlinks – a win win situation which would have potentially have been missed if there was no crossover between the two teams. Likewise, SEO teams will also be creating highly targeted content that the Digital PR team can utilise for their benefit as well.

  • ➡️ Cross Team Collaboration 

Overall, creating collaboration between SEO and Digital PR teams needs to focus on consistent communication and teamwork between both teams. This can be achieved through joint training sessions, regular check-ins, collaborative brainstorming and shared tracking tools to ensure everyone is at the same stage throughout the whole strategy. 

Summary

For any business looking to enhance their online presence, it is absolutely essential that Digital PR and SEO teams are working together. When these two teams collaborate, they can create a cohesive strategy that will amplify the impact of both efforts. High quality backlinks from reputable media sources can significantly impact SEO results, and SEO insights can guide DPR efforts to target topics that will drive high intent traffic and engagement. 

The synergy between Digital PR and SEO will not only maximise brand exposure and authority, but will also ensure a strategic approach to content creation and online marketing, ultimately leading to increased visibility, traffic and conversions for the business. 

At Cedarwood Digital, our SEO and Digital PR teams are constantly working together to drive online visibility for a range of businesses. If you are looking to boost the online presence of your business through Digital PR and SEO, make sure to get in touch with us today.

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A Guide For E-commerce Digital PR

There’s no question that e-commerce is thriving; e-commerce sales are forecasted to make up a huge 23% of global retail sales by 2027. We’re seeing social media platforms increasingly integrating shopping features and live shopping experiences gaining traction on platforms like TikTok. We’re certainly in a new era of e-commerce but how can traditional e-commerce sites still ensure they’re getting seen? The answer is link-building. It’s an absolute necessity for e-commerce businesses aiming for growth and brand recognition. 

This guide is going to explain exactly what you’re missing out on if digital PR isn’t yet part of your e-commerce strategy and give you the techniques our experts can’t live without.

Why your e-commerce site needs digital PR

In this saturated market, customers now, more than ever, need to really trust a brand to want to purchase from them. In fact, according to Edelman’s Trust Barometer, Gen Z exhibits the highest need for brand trust, with 79% saying it is more important to trust the brands they buy today than in the past. Digital PR is the key to building that trust and establishing your brand as an authority.

But alongside this, digital PR helps strengthen your brand image, attract relevant traffic and boost your organic search ranking for competitive keywords. When high-quality external sites link to your e-commerce store, search engines perceive your website as more authoritative and trustworthy. This translates to improved rankings for relevant keywords in search engine results pages – bingo.

A well-crafted digital PR strategy will secure backlinks not just to your homepage, but also to product and category pages. This “deeper link building” helps you rank higher for specific products and high-intent pages in the SERPs.

If your e-commerce site has physical stores, digital PR will also work in your favour. Press releases can be outreached to specifically target local publications, building brand awareness in your local community.

Plus, the benefits of digital PR extend to your paid campaigns too, enhancing their performance and maximising your return on investment. This is because digital PR can generate positive brand mentions and reviews online and, by incorporating reviews into your landing pages, you add social proof and enhance the credibility of your paid ads.

Whilst things like brand awareness and credibility are important, what we’re all ultimately after in e-commerce is a boost in sales. Digital PR goes beyond vanity metrics – each link, brand mention, and boost in authority helps an e-commerce site outrank their competitors, and get customers on their side. In other words, you significantly increase your conversions!

How to do digital PR for e-commerce: our tips

🧷Product placements

On the topic of trust, product placements are your golden ticket. If a trusted reviewer (say GQ or Vogue) features your new sandal range in their ‘22024 summer holiday must-haves’ list, that’s a powerful way to earn trust and stand out – in a natural way. These high-authority platforms have thousands of readers, and therefore, just as many potential customers for your products. 

Focus on reaching out to publications and review websites that resonate with your brand values. And remember that product placement isn’t just a transaction – you want to build a relationship. Offer journalists early access to new products, and provide valuable industry insights alongside your product details.

We leveraged this technique successfully with our garden furniture client, Hayes Garden World. We used a mixture of media monitoring, and proactive outreach to get our products featured. With this approach, we landed over 65 linked product placements in a year, with £47,000 in referral sales generated! Told you product placements work. Make sure to have a Dropbox file of high-resolution images ready to go, so you can jump on trends and turn a product placement around quickly. 

🧷Internal data

Due to the online interactions on an e-commerce site, they have a far bigger pool of internal data compared to traditional stores. This is because e-commerce sites can track every click, search and product interaction, which provides heaps of insight into browsing habits and product preferences. Additionally, e-commerce platforms often collect customer information like their demographics and purchase history.

Why does this matter? Sales data and customer behaviour patterns can be the foundation for compelling digital PR stories that will stand out in journalists’ inboxes and secure you those valuable links. This is completely unique data and analysis that only you have access to and will attract outlets looking for fresh, data-driven content. It’s also worth analysing customer data anyway to help you tailor your digital PR messaging. Internal data can help you understand your audience’s wants, needs and pain points,  which will inform more effective campaigns.

🧷Content marketing

Great content is a magnet for backlinks and serves as a relatively low-maintenance technique to help attract customers and journalists to your site. We call this approach ‘reverse digital PR’ and here’s how it works:

  1. Start by analysing your website to identify areas where you could establish yourself as a data hub. This could be through informative blog posts, buying guides, in-depth industry reports, or even infographics. Consider what information your target audience is after and what content gaps exist within your niche.
  1. Whilst not essential, incorporating data into your content will boost its authority and newsworthiness. You can leverage internal sales data, customer behavior patterns, or commission external surveys, all to produce content that’s unique and engaging.
  1. Present this information in a clear and visually appealing way, then optimise your content with keywords to ensure it ranks well in the SERPs. If it isn’t ranking, how are journalists and customers going to find it!
  1. Now, you can sit back and watch as you attract backlinks naturally, without the need for constant outreach. Journalists and other websites looking for insightful information to add credibility to their articles, will come across your data and (hopefully) link back, boosting your site’s authority and visibility.

🧷Guest-posting

Guest posting allows you to share your expertise and build valuable backlinks to your e-commerce site. The way this works is you contribute an informative article to relevant industry publications with larger audiences. You’ll then ideally receive a do-follow backlink within the guest post, which acts as a vote of confidence, boosting your site’s authority and ranking. Equally, guest posting exposes your brand and products to a wider audience, and this increased visibility leads to more traffic and potential sales.

🧷Keep your eye out for unlinked mentions

Even mentions of your brand that don’t link to you are valuable – identifying them using a tool like Google Alerts allows you to then reach out to the site owner or article author. Offer additional information or propose a content collaboration, and this could potentially lead to a backlink. Even if you don’t secure a link, this mention is still increasing your brand awareness by getting your name in front of a new audience, so don’t discount it!

Whether you sell dog bowls, windshields, or Bakewell tarts, you’re setting yourself up for success by following the steps in this guide. In 2024, prioritising digital PR within your e-commerce digital marketing strategy is a need and a must. Without it, you’re missing out on valuable links, traffic, and most importantly, paying customers!

Cedarwood Digital is an award-winning digital PR agency specialising in landing reputable links and coverage for e-commerce businesses. If you’re looking for a hand with your digital PR, go ahead and drop us a message – we’d love to hear from you.

Why You Should Target Zero Volume Keywords - SEO Blog

Why You Should Target Zero Volume Keywords Within Your SEO Strategy

When carrying out SEO keyword research, you’ll probably start with high search volume, low-competition keywords – and that’s great because these are popular keywords covering topics that users want to know about. So why should you bother targeting low volume keywords? 

Zero volume keywords can often be overlooked in your SEO strategy, however targeting these low volume keywords can be very strategic and beneficial. In this blog we will be discussing what zero volume keywords are, why you should be targeting them within your SEO strategy and how to effectively incorporate them.

What Are Zero Search Volume Keywords?

Zero search volume keywords are search terms that, according to keyword research tools, have little to no monthly search volume meaning these particular keywords are not frequently searched for by users. However, despite their apparent lack of popularity, they can be highly valuable for your SEO strategy. 

Why You Should Target Zero Volume Keywords 

According to Google, 15% of searches that they see every day are brand new searches, never seen before. There are trillions of searches on Google every year so 15% is an extremely high number, and all of these keywords will have zero search volume but could still be extremely valuable to target and here’s why: 

  • ➡️ Less Competition 

One of the biggest benefits of targeting zero volume keywords is the significantly reduced competition. A large proportion of zero volume keywords will be low competition as well as low volume meaning you will be more likely to rank highly for these terms.

  • ➡️ High Intent 

Often, low search volume, low competition keywords are long-tail keywords that are more specific and relevant to users. For example, the term “garden furniture” has a monthly search volume of 141,000 and is deemed ‘hard’ to rank for. However, if you take this keyword and make it more specific, for example “brown wooden garden furniture” which has a monthly search volume of 0-10, you are targeting a much more specific item and the user is more likely to be a high intent user if they are searching for that term rather than a generalistic term. 

While “garden furniture” has a lot more search volume, and you will likely gain more traffic, if you are selling brown wooden garden furniture, you will want to be targeting users who are looking for that specific product. With the right high intent keywords, you could see your conversion rate and revenue increase even with less traffic. 

Zero volume keywords often do reflect very specific queries with high intent, and users searching for these terms are often looking for very particular information, products or services. It is likely that these users are going to be further down the sales funnel and by targeting these keywords, you can attract a highly targeted audience that is more likely to convert. 

  • ➡️ Future Trends 

Zero volume keywords can sometimes indicate emerging trends and as new topics gain popularity, search volumes will naturally increase. By targeting these keywords early, before any of your competitors, you can use your expertise and position yourself as an authority in your niche before your competitors catch on. By creating authoritative, helpful content and getting it to rank well before search volume increases, you can have already gained valuable traffic and be in the best position when more users start searching for the same queries. 

How To Find Low Volume Keywords

The first step in utilising zero volume keywords in your SEO strategy is to find them. Below are some tips for conducting keyword research for these low volume search terms: 

  • ➡️ Use keyword research tools

Keyword research tools such as Ahrefs, Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush can help you to identify zero search volume keywords. These tools allow you to filter keywords based on their search volume and keyword difficulty and can help you to identify potential zero volume keywords to target in your SEO strategy. 

  • ➡️ Look for long-tail keywords 

Long-tail keywords are more specific than broad search terms and they can often have lower search volumes but be extremely relevant to your target audience. Looking for these long-tail keywords will allow you to target your content to match high intent keywords.

  • ➡️ Analyse your website’s search queries 

Analysing queries that are driving traffic to your website will be a great way to find keywords that are extremely relevant for your users. You can use Google Search Console to look at queries that are driving traffic to your website and you can then look for the queries that have low search volume but drive a high click through rate to find relevant, high intent, low volume keywords that you should be targeting within your SEO strategy.  

  • ➡️ Conduct a competitor analysis 

Analyse your competitors’ websites to see what keywords they are targeting and look for any gaps or opportunities where you can target zero volume keywords that you may have missed. 

Once you have compiled a list of zero volume keywords, you can then start optimising your website to target these keywords and bring in high intent traffic to your website. 

How To Incorporate Zero Volume Keywords When Optimising Your Website For SEO  

Now that you have a thorough list of zero volume keywords that are extremely relevant to your offering, you can incorporate them into your SEO strategy. 

The following tips will help you when optimising your website for targeting zero volume keywords: 

  • ➡️ Use keywords in your content 

In order to target the zero volume keywords from the previous list you have created, you should use these keywords naturally throughout your content. You can create blog posts answering specific queries, or include keywords in product descriptions. Including zero volume keywords naturally in your content will help you to target and rank for these highly relevant and targeted keywords, just ensure you don’t keyword stuff. 

  • ➡️ Optimise meta data

Incorporate your keywords into your page titles and meta descriptions to help Google and other search engines understand the relevance of your content for specific keywords, queries and topics. 

  • ➡️ Focus on quality content 

When creating content that is targeting zero volume keywords, it is important to create high quality content that is helpful for your users. While it is likely going to be easier to rank for low volume keywords because they do typically have a lower keyword difficulty, it is still vital to create quality content that is answering your users questions and meeting their needs. 

  • ➡️ Use internal links 

Use internal linking to connect content throughout your website. This can be particularly useful when you are creating blog content that is targeting long-tail keywords that are giving users further information about your product or service – linking these blogs to the main service or category page can not only act as a great CTA for users but it will also help distribute link equity to your important pages.

  • ➡️ Monitor performance 

Once you have optimised your website and targeted your list of zero volume keywords, you should regularly monitor the performance of how these keywords are performing. Use tools like GA4 and Google Search Console to track traffic, engagement, conversions and revenue to see how your webpages are performing and which zero volume keywords are bringing in high intent, converting traffic. This will help you to adjust your strategy based on the data to continuously improve your SEO performance. 

Summary

Targeting zero volume keywords can be a game changer for your SEO strategy. By focusing on low volume, low competition, high intent keywords, you can attract targeted users and potentially increase conversions and revenue for your business. Targeting zero volume keywords shouldn’t be your entire SEO strategy but by incorporating them in your strategy and focusing on only relevant keywords, you can easily boost your overall SEO performance. 

To find out more or to receive help with incorporating zero volume keywords into your SEO strategy, get in touch with us today and our team of SEO experts can help take your SEO game to the next level. 

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What Is Reverse Digital PR And Why Should You Use It?

At Cedarwood, we use a tried and tested technique to build links and drive site traffic without the need for any outreach at all. Yep, you heard that right – we like to call it Reverse Digital PR and it’s our secret to low-maintenance link-building. Stay tuned for a run-down of what exactly reverse PR is, why it’s so valuable and a couple of case studies where we’ve used it successfully.

So, what is Reverse Digital PR?

As PRs we spend most of our time crafting content we think journalists will love, outreaching it and hoping for the best. But, with reverse digital PR we’re inviting the journalists to come to us. With this strategy, you create a data piece for your website, with the intention that journalists find it when looking for a resource, and link back to it. This works because journalists often search for data and statistics online to back up their articles and add credibility. It flips the traditional PR approach on its head; instead of chasing journalists, you create valuable data hubs that attract them to your content. The benefits are countless, it saves you time and energy, whilst being a great way to organically attract links, drive links, and boost E-E-A-T signals. 

How does it work?

Well it sounds good in principle, but how does reverse digital PR actually work in practice? 

🔗First, identify areas of your brand where you’re hoping to gain additional visibility and where you could feasibly create a high-quality data hub of facts or stats. For example, if your company is a travel agency and you’re hoping to increase search engine visibility for accommodation pages, a data hub comparing the average accommodation costs across popular destinations could be an effective reverse digital PR strategy.

🔗The next step is to then make the hub! You can gather the data in a few ways. To make your piece unique and fresh, so that journalists couldn’t find this information elsewhere, it can be a good idea to gather your own internal data. This can be done by:

>>Commissioning surveys, although an additional cost will come with this

>>Analysing your own sales data to identify customer trends or popular products

>>Using tools like Google Analytics to determine user demographics or conversion rates in your customer base 

>>Analysing the social media data to understand how audiences are interacting with your brand 

You can also gather external data from various public data sources online. Take a look at Statista, ONS, Centre for Cities and NHS digital for free data.

🔗Once you’ve sourced the data, now’s time to present it in the best way possible. You want the piece to be easily digestible, laid out in a clever format, and also optimised for search engines –  a lot to ask I know. But this is all crucial to ensure you rank well so that the journalists can actually find the page!

Why is Reverse Digital PR so valuable?

You should have gathered by now that reverse digital pr is a pretty good idea. But what are the specific advantages it offers in comparison to traditional methods like newsjacking?

📈 Instead of constantly chasing down journalists, reverse digital PR lets your content do the heavy lifting. By providing valuable data journalists actively seek out, you attract coverage organically.

📈A well-crafted data piece on your website can generate ongoing value. Unlike a one-time press release, this content continues to attract journalists and relevant traffic over time.

📈A good piece of reverse digital PR will also work wonders for the good old E-E-A-T signals. Presenting original research or analysis solidifies your expertise, and is made more credible by the data or statistics. To make extra sure that the page contributes to E-E-A-T, ensure your data comes from credible sources, and is presented clearly. Also, it’s a good idea to update the information regularly to keep it relevant and accurate.

A couple of examples 

1)Using Reverse Digital PR to naturally attract links to Patient Claim Line’s website 

Patient Claim Line is a leader in the medical negligence field, which is increasingly competitive and sitting within the Your Money, Your Life category. Within these verticals, it’s especially important to display E-E-A-T signals so we decided to create a valuable data hub on their website. We focused on cosmetic surgery statistics as this was an area of the site we were looking to boost visibility for. Previously, we’d relied on creating journalist-friendly content and outreaching it as a traditional campaign, but here, the plan was to simply create a hub and wait for the journalists to find us.

The page was designed to inform the user of information and up to date statistics around cosmetic surgery in 2022. We included fresh data from our own survey to ensure the information was as useful and unique as possible. Then, we presented it in a user-friendly format and optimised it to rank well.

As a result, the page ranked in position #3 for “cosmetic surgery data”, and has attracted thousands of visitors since its inception. We keep it updated regularly and receive a number of great links, from publications we wouldn’t usually reach.

2)Using the same strategy to drive links to our own website

Back in Valentines 2020, we created a hub of seasonal trend data. We included data around valentines day keywords, compared different types of searches e.g. ‘gift for boyfriend’ vs. ‘gift for girlfriend’ and fun facts like the increase in searches for ‘bridget jones’ on valentines’ day.

The aim was to create a hub of information that users and journalists might be searching for, but for it to also be an article of genuine interest around the when and how of user search intent. The idea was that journalists might be keen to pick it up as a topical interest article – and even now, four years later, we still attract seasonal traffic to the page at the same time of year.

All that’s needed is to refresh the content each year and the page continues to bring in traffic and links, with very little maintenance required. This same concept can then be applied to other seasonal trends, for example we produced a similar hub in March looking at the most popular easter eggs.

Cedarwood Digital is an award-winning digital marketing agency based in Manchester. If you like the sound of a reverse digital PR strategy or you want to enquire more about our white label digital pr service, why not get in touch with us to find out how we can help get you media coverage for your business. Fill in our quick form here.

How To Create Blog Content That Converts Visual

How To Create Blog Content That Converts

Creating blog content has many benefits when it comes to SEO including providing E-E-A-T signals, increasing organic traffic, generating brand awareness, and increasing engagement. However, another extremely important reason is to increase conversions. Creating blog content that not only attracts customers but also converts them, is therefore a skill that is definitely worth mastering. After all, according to HubSpot, more than one in three marketing leaders cite conversion rates as a top KPI that they prioritise tracking. 

In this blog, we will explore how to create SEO blog content that converts your users. 

Understanding The User’s Buying Journey

The first step when creating blog content that converts is understanding your user’s buying journey. This is a crucial step and will likely consist of the following stages: 

  1. Awareness – during the first stage, the user has become aware of a problem or need that they have and they are looking for information and solutions.

2. Consideration – the next stage is consideration, and during this stage the users are evaluating different options and looking at the benefits and drawbacks of potential solutions. They are researching products and services that would meet their needs. 

    3. Purchase – during this stage, the user is ready to make a purchase, they have narrowed down their options and are now looking to convert. 

      Understanding each stage of the buying journey will help you tailor your SEO blog content to meet the needs of your users at every stage. By providing valuable information, addressing concerns and offering support throughout the whole process, you can address all the needs of your customers and therefore increase the chance of conversions. 

      Within understanding the user’s buying journey, it is also important to understand your target audience and who is going to be buying your products or services. Think about demographics, struggles and pain points, knowledge gaps, and objectives. This will allow you to create a persona that you are writing for and every piece of content that you create can be completely targeted to your audience who will likely have a high intent. 

      Keyword Research 

      Once you have figured out the user’s buying journey, you need to see what they are searching for when they are looking for your product/ service. Keyword research forms the foundation of all successful SEO strategies, but in order to create content that resonates with your users at each stage of the buying journey, you must categorise your keywords into the buying journey. 

      1. Awareness – these keywords will be informational keywords that users are typically searching for when they are in the awareness stage. For example: “how to solve…”, “tips for …”, “what is a…” and “what are the benefits of…”.

      2. Consideration – these keywords will be focused on helping users weigh up their options. For example: “what are the best…”, “reviews of…” and “what are the differences between…”.

        3. Purchase – these keywords will be much more specific and will have a strong purchase intent. For example: “buy….” and “… near me”.

          By sorting your keywords into categories, you can make sure that your blog content is tailored to your users and it will be addressing their needs and preferences at every stage of their buying journey. Keyword research can be done in a variety of ways and you can read our guide to keyword research here to find out how you can effectively carry out keyword research for SEO. However, as well as the traditional ways of carrying out keyword research, it can also be extremely valuable to speak to your customer service team and find out what your actual customers are asking, because the chances are, other users will want the same information and you will be able to provide extremely valuable information, and this could make users more likely to convert if they have that important information easily available to them. 

          Competitor Research

          Another important step when creating blog content that converts is to research what your competitors are writing about. Researching and analysing your competitors’ blog strategy can provide you with valuable insights and inspiration for your own blog content. It is important to identify competitors within your industry and have a look into the following: 

          • ➡️ What topics they are covering 

          • ➡️ How they are targeting keywords that are closely related to the buying journey 

          • ➡️ What sorts of content formats they are using (guides, reviews, tips…)

          • ➡️ If there are any gaps or opportunities that you can capitalise on

          Competitor research and analysis can provide you with inspiration on what you should be focusing your content on, but it can also allow you to see areas where you can outperform your competitors. If there is an area of need that you have identified your users are looking for but your competitors are not writing about it, this does not mean that you also shouldn’t write about it, you absolutely should! These can be niche areas that can bring in valuable, high intent traffic and can give you that edge over your competitors. 

          Using tools such as Ahrefs and SEMrush can be extremely helpful when conducting competitor research and can give you plenty of actionable insights for your SEO blog content strategy. 

          Internal Linking 

          If you are creating blog content that you want to convert, internal linking will be your best friend and you need to ensure you do not abandon it. Internal linking plays a crucial role in SEO and can be instrumental to your blogs. You should always incorporate internal links to your blog content to guide users to relevant pages or resources within your website, and to establish a logical hierarchy and structure for your content. 

          Including CTAs 

          Including Calls to Action (CTAs) in your blog content is essential, particularly when your goal is to convert readers into customers. Including CTAs can: 

          • ➡️ Guide user behaviour: CTAs provide a clear direction to your users, guiding them towards a desired action, whether that action is making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or contacting your company. Without a CTA, users may be unsure of what steps to take next or how to navigate to the next step, potentially leading to a missed conversion opportunity. 
          • ➡️ Create a sense of urgency: effective CTAs often include persuasive language that can create a sense of urgency or excitement for users, potentially increasing the likelihood that users will act more promptly. 
          • ➡️ Increasing conversion rates: ultimately, well-crafted CTAs can significantly impact conversion rates by encouraging users to take action. By strategically placing CTAs throughout your blog content, you can encourage users to move further down the sales funnel and ultimately convert users into customers. Strategic CTAs coupled with helpful content can be the best way to convert your blog content. 

          Utilising AI

          When creating blog content, AI can be extremely helpful, and although I do not believe you should get AI to write your blog content for you, I do believe that it can help with the process of creating blog content that converts. In fact, according to HubSpot, 43% of content marketers report using AI to help them generate ideas and one in two writers use AI tools to boost the performance of their content. These statistics show that AI can be a positive tool in the online industry and below are some of the ways you can use AI effectively: 

          • ➡️ Generate content ideas based on trending topics 

          • ➡️ Gain insights into how to optimise your content’s structure and readability

          • ➡️ Automate tasks including meta title creation   

          Be Authentic, Honest And Unique 

          When creating blog content, it is important to create content for the benefit of your users. Authenticity, honesty and uniqueness are qualities that will resonate with your users and create a sense of trust. When you are creating blog content for SEO, it is important to be genuine and transparent within your content and avoid overly promotional or salesy language. Make sure you are providing content that is offering valuable insights, expertise or solutions that are genuinely helpful for your audience and will address their needs or challenges. By creating this type of content, you will actually be helping your users address their issues and needs, and they will be more likely to convert if you have answered an issue that they are experiencing. 

          Measure, Learn And Refine

          Effective blog content creation is a process that requires ongoing monitoring, analysis and refinement. There are many different analytic tools that you can use when tracking your blog content including GA4 and Ahrefs. Key metrics to monitor include: 

          • ➡️ Users 

          • ➡️ Bounce rate 

          • ➡️ Session length 

          • ➡️ Engagement 

          • ➡️ Conversions

          Based on your analysis, you can find any areas for improvement and optimisation and this can really help to improve your content and ultimately gain more traffic and conversions.

          Be Patient

          The final point I am going to suggest is to be patient. Patience is so important when it comes to SEO blog content creation because, as I’m sure you’re aware, SEO is a long-term strategy that takes time to see results. Be patient and consistent in your efforts, knowing that you are creating high quality content that will gradually acquire traffic and conversions as you increase your visibility in the SERPs. 

          Summary

          To conclude, creating SEO blog content that converts requires a strategic approach that will be informed by an understanding of the user’s buying journey, keyword research, competitor analysis, content planning, internal linking, authenticity, measurement and patience (just a few things…). But, by implementing these best practices discussed above and continuously improving and refining your content, you can elevate your blog’s performance, attract qualified leads and actually drive conversions that will contribute to your business’s growth and success. 

          If you need any help with your SEO blog content strategy, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today and our SEO experts can provide you with insights on how to create blog content that will actually convert.