If you’re even minutely tuned into the current discussions surrounding content marketing, then you’re probably starting to feel some building uncertainty. Is your current content strategy going to cut it? Do standard SEO practices even make sense anymore? Can long-form content still drive you up in the Google ranks, or is the shifting landscape dooming it — and you — to fail?
Well, rest assured: it’s not nearly the gloom-and-doom situation you might expect.
In fact, many of the strategies that have been touted as the keys to success up until now are still your best bet for search engine visibility. To understand why or how, though, we first need to explore how ranking actually works.
The Basics of Google’s Search & Ranking Systems
As you’ve probably already assumed, Google utilizes a complex suite of systems to understand and rank your content. The base of this relies on integral software called “spiders.” These digital creepy-crawlies are deployed to complete a multi-step process consisting of:
- Crawling – An algorithm sends out the spider to fetch new website info by following links on existing pages or submitted site maps.
- Indexing – Googlebot, Google’s spider, analyzes page information; textual content, formatting, images/videos, etc., are processed and then stored in a large database.
- Serving search results – Google returns relevant info/pages in response to a user’s search query.
This last step is where things can get dicey. You see, Google can’t just throw all the results in a big pile. They need to be sorted.
Spiders then do this by using a formula, factoring in various metrics to establish quality and relevancy. Pages that successfully hit these metrics rise to the top of Google’s search results. Meanwhile, those that don’t fall lower. That, right there, is your ranking.
5 Tips to Improve Your Ranking
To sum up perhaps the most important point from above: Google, ultimately, looks for quality. Popularity, authoritativeness, trustworthiness, structure, keywords, meta information — all of these factors (plus many more) will determine where you land amongst the rankings. Want to organically improve yours over time? Here are some of the tried-and-true content tips that can help:
- Craft quality, audience-focused content. Avoid fluff and focus on matching search intent. Meet Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines. Answer common questions, provide accurate & up-to-date information, and offer insights they can’t get anywhere else. This not only builds authoritativeness but also audience rapport.
- Use keywords carefully. Keyword usage is essential for good search engine optimization, but don’t just splash them across the page. Use research tools to discover what ranks high, then naturally fold those words into your content. No keyword stuffing — it will only penalize you!
- Prioritize good structure and readability. Huge walls of text are the enemy of both site visitors and Google alike. Break up paragraphs, structure information logically, apply appropriate header tags, and utilize bullet points for better clarity.
- Build up your page/brand authority. Referencing & citing research, providing internal content links, and including links to other relevant, authoritative sites are great places to start.
- Don’t forget technical SEO. It’s difficult to rank high on Google if the technical side isn’t up to snuff. Be mindful about this and ensure your site works just as well on mobile as on a desktop, install an SSL certificate on your server, and remove any old or non-functional pages/elements.
Where Long-Form Content Fits In
Now, back to one of the original questions on everyone’s mind. Can you really rank over time with long-form blog content? Is there proof it works?
The short answer: yes.
Research from some of the most recognizable names backs this up. Backlinko and SEMRush studies both verify that long-form content doesn’t just hang with short-form in rankings; it actually performs better, with the former of these two digital marketing titans reporting average top Google Search results come in around 1,447 words long.
Of course, the full story is more nuanced.
Just stuffing blog posts full of unnecessary wordiness won’t net you a page one ranking. Long-form content trends higher because it offers more comprehensive topic coverage, attracts more backlinks, and grants more opportunities for natural keyword usage. Meet these marks while generally providing readers with amazing content, and you’ll eventually rise through the ranks the right way — no black hat SEO or immoral, manipulative practices necessary.