How to create content that people – and Google – will love to read

Page structure is an important factor for ranking highly on search engine results pages (SERPs).

In addition to including relevant keywords to help Google – and other search engines – identify whether a page will provide a user with the answers or information they are looking for, features such as headings, tables of contents, and internal links help spiders crawl pages quickly and effectively.

Scannable content

Use formatting and visual aids to your advantage. Headings, short paragraphs, lists, imagery, and infographics, as well as lists can all serve to highlight and isolate important information – both for the reader and search engine spiders.

A table of contents with links to each section will also ensure that the user is able to access the information they are seeking quickly and easily. Which may be the reason they choose to use and return to our content over that of another outlet.

What’s important here:

Use descriptive (and keyword-optimized) headings to break content up into smaller, scannable sections
Write short paragraphs (keep chunks of text to six lines or fewer)
Include lists to help important information stand out
Add imagery that will help the user better understand concepts (e.g. a map or visual representation of the weather in different seasons)
Use sidebars or call-outs to highlight information you want the reader to notice

There are also a few tricks and tips you can use when writing for the web to ensure that users find exactly what they’re looking for.

HTML tags

Heading, subheadings and table of contents

These features are important both for search engine spiders and user experience.

Adding a title (H1) that features your target keyword will help humans and search engines to decipher what an article is about and whether it will be useful to them. Subheadings (H2s to H6s) will give the article a logical structure, and a table of contents will help them to navigate this structure.

Some rules of thumb:

Use the <h1> tag for the article title or heading on the page.
Only feature one H1 per article.
All subheadings must feature an HTML tag.
Keep your structure as shallow as possible. If you find the need to go beyond an H3, you may want to consider restructuring your article.
Use keywords in your heading and subheadings.
Be consistent. Headings should create a list when read on their own.

Metadata

All articles must feature a meta title that includes the target keyword, as well as a meta description that provides a brief summary of the contents of the piece. There are a variety of metadata best practices that you can apply to ensure your entry on SERPs are clickable.

Alt text

Alt text is the HTML feature that is used to describe the appearance and function of an image on a page. This text appears when an image doesn’t load, and helps search engine spiders and visually impaired readers to understand what imagery appears on a page.

When writing alt text, there are three important considerations to keep in mind:

Be specific: set out exactly what is in the image
Keep it simple: don’t complicate your text with unnecessary descriptive language
Use keywords sparingly: where you can incorporate a keyword naturally do

A few other rules of thumb:

Keep alt text to 125 characters or less
Ensure that your copy is specific and informative
Never start with ‘image of’ or ‘picture of’
Never add alt text to decorative images (e.g. brand graphics or logos)

Internal links

An internal link is a hyperlink to another page or resource on our site that relates to the topic at hand. These types of links help users to identify additional content that may be useful to them, and build a crawlable network for search spiders.

Importantly, hyperlinks should be contextual. In other words, they should tell the reader (or the search engine) exactly where they should expect to be taken when clicking on them. For example:

To make the most of your content marketing, get familiar with the basics of SEO.

Call To Action

Calls to action tell the user what to do or where to go next. They’re also a great way to round off an article.

End your content with a call to action that features a link to a relevant website section or article that will provide the reader with a logical next step.

Once you’ve written a succinct, scannable piece of content that includes headings, links, metadata and a call to action, it’s time to add some keywords, upload it to your website and start promoting it.