Understanding Context and Authority in Your SEO Strategy
The Google search algorithm is getting smarter about understanding context and topic authority of your content – as people are asking more specific questions of the search engines. The goal of the search engine results page (SERP) is to provide the most USEFUL information that answers your question. It is no longer sufficient to present users with results because they match random keywords.
Two theories that SEO experts had been discussing and recommending the past several years seem to be dispelled by recent studies on the effects of the Google search results:
Long form content (average length of 1,890 words) increases getting page one results, and people will read your article if it is interesting and informative;
Backlinks are important, but link building must be done in a legitimate manner that increases your topic authority in context.
What do these things have in common? Establishing topic expertise and credibility in your industry or field.
Context = Content Strategy
By writing long form content on a single topic, you have the ability to go in depth without using the keyword-stuffing tactics of SEO-days-of-old. Context is the new keyword strategy in content writing for SEO. [tweet this] Sure, you still need to keep in mind the keywords that you want to rank for, but by understanding that they need to be in the context not the content, they should flow naturally through your content.
When developing your overall content strategy, it is most important to keep in mind your human audience – not the search engines. Use the keywords and terms that your prospects and customers use when talking about the product or service you offer. Understanding your audience will help you write content that provides value and will increase your search engine rankings.
Authority = Backlink Strategy
Backlinks from other credible sites that match your context, help support your authority and credibility. This is your offsite SEO strategy, building links from other domains to your site with the keywords you want to increase search engine rankings.While backlinks continue to be an important part of the Google algorithm, how you approach your link building strategy needs to evolve. [tweet this] In the same way that “content” has evolved to “context,” link building also needs to be done with context.
Your backlink strategy goes hand-in-hand with your content strategy. [tweet this] In order to get other credible sites to link to your site, you have to have insightful, worthwhile content on your site to link to. If it is a specific product you are selling, you can have backlinks from product reviews to your product page. Start with creating content with context and value, then develop a link building strategy or work with an offsite SEO partner that provides backlinks with context to establish authority for increasing search engine results.
