If you are striving to improve your rankings on Google and other search engines, you don’t necessarily have to reinvent the wheel. There is a large amount of information and advice out there on how to succeed, you just have to pay attention and follow through.
Don’t focus on huge amounts of new content and make the same mistakes. Try a few of our top tips for cleaning up your content and see how much it can raise you up in the search engine results pages today…
1. Stick to one subject
A lot of content out there is too meandering, too vague or unsure what point it is trying to make. Content should be written for a purpose on one clear topic, and deliver exactly what it says it will.
There is no point in trying to be the go-to resource for all you need to know about SEO when you only have 500 words to talk about it. Instead focus in and create specific and targeted content for your ideal audience to let them know about the best New York City SEO agency, for example.
2. Use clear and concise language
All content has a purpose, and that purpose tends to be to convey information, engage, educate or entertain. The use of clear and concise language allows you to get your point across more easily. Unless you are writing a highly technical piece for predetermined reasons, even industry-specific content should most often be written in a form that is easy to understand.
3. Focus on readability
It isn’t merely a matter of the language that you use. Your content should also look good on paper – or rather on the screen. Using shorter paragraphs with plenty of white space and lots of line breaks is absolutely the way to go. It makes it easier for the reader to skim and scan the text, stops them feeling intimidated and just plain looks better than dense endless paragraphs of text.
4. Make sure it is structured clearly
Another excellent way to clean up your content is by looking at how you structure it. The proper use of headings and subheadings can make it easier for the reader to find what they are looking for. It looks more professional yet accessible, and it can be a fantastic way to make your point and get some keywords in at the same time. Bullet points, lists and italics are also ideal tools to use.
5. Stay up-to-date
If you are looking at older content that needs cleaning up, one of the most important steps can be to make sure that the information is up to date. When it comes to content about how many people access the internet via their phone over their computer, for instance, the numbers would be dramatically different today than a few years ago. Much like the number of social media users.
By updating and altering your content you can stay relevant and also show your knowledge of the field. Both of these are important when determining your ranking to search engines like Google.
Final thoughts
Cleaning up your content writing can have impressive and lasting effects for your ranking in search engine results, as well as helping to increase conversions and sales. By tidying up the structure and the language, using clear and concise words and by focusing on one topic at a time, you can deliver readable and better quality content each and every time.