If you are worrying about Google making its search results more “helpful”, you are probably not being helpful enough.
Don’t worry about the SEO, worry about the helpful bit.
It’s like Google is saying, “surprise me!” and everyone’s asking “how”? Well, the result isn’t going to be very surprising, is it?
Google quite clearly says it is looking for “more original, helpful content written by people, for people”. The kneejerk response is, “great, but how do I write things that appear higher in searches?”
Well, the answer – again – is, “don’t write stuff just to appear higher in searches”!
Well, what should I be freaking out about, then?
Use your common sense. Think about why you are writing the content and who for.
Google says it clearly talking about its update (link in comments): “After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?”
It also points you to PREVIOUS GUIDELINES for creating useful content.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING ALL ALONG. Google is just getting better at showing searchers the good stuff.
If you are creating B2B content as part of a strategy, then that is your raison d’etre. To get inside the mind of your customers, answer as many questions they might have, and improve your brand’s reputation.
Be punishingly, mercilessly, life-threateningly USEFUL.
Create content that people will comment on, refer to, share – hell, even print!
Does that mean you should not just write about your product but anything that might come in handy? Um, yes. You’re a publisher now, baby.
Of course, you can and should use Yoast or another tool that checks you have the basics right, such as H2s and keyword frequency. But that is just the icing on the cake. The Utility cake.
Google talks about original and well-researched content and how do you know if you have done that? Well, if it brilliantly answers customer question that has not been well answered before, then you’ve done the job right.
Create content that is on the long side and post regularly, and answer questions well and the SEO results will follow in time.
