How to write “search” friendly content?
How Google uses a different methodology to improve user intent to understand web page and rank the content higher.

There is no denying the fact that optimizing content for search engines will increase traffic, engagement, conversions, and sales. There is often difficulty figuring out how search engine optimization (SEO) works in fine detail. Is it possible to write search engine-friendly content that ranks well?

Start thinking like a search engine (in a new way)
Google places great importance on search intent. If you are fortunate to be one of the first to notice an algorithmic change in time, you can reap significant rewards while everyone else is playing catch up. According to Google’s latest Quality Rater Guidelines , search intent is a top priority.

Google has faced a lot of difficulties in improving its search relevance, thanks to Rankbrain. In October 2015, Google launched the RankBrain algorithm based on machine learning. AI was used to interpret search queries for the first time.

We learned about Google’s workings, how it ranks web pages, and what metric changes and increases traffic. Many have taken advantage of this data to manipulate metrics such as links, keyword stuffing, and thin content to rank for multiple search terms.

“Adding synonyms or semantically related words to a page by itself doesn’t necessarily make a page rank better for a specific query term. – Bill Slawski”

Matching user intent with relevant content was still a major challenge for Google. With the BERT, Google made a breakthrough in machine learning.

Keywords have long been the key to SEO, but natural language processing (NLP) leverages content.
In October 2019, about 10 percent of search queries were affected by BERT. Google’s BERT algorithm emphasizes content quality, context, and natural language processing (NLP). Google uses natural language processing to understand the context and sentiment behind it.

“Google used to analyze words and phrases individually as part of its keyword research process. These days, search engines look at sentences, paragraphs, and a query as a whole. They also focus on sentiment analysis of content.”

Have you considered wondering about your Monday morning?

You wake up, turn off the alarm, get out of bed although begrudgingly and start your day. You inadvertently check your emails, slack and whatsapp. Even as you are driving, when you are stuck in traffic, you keep checking your email and slack multiple times even though you might have seen it only moments before.

Recognise a pattern here? Recognise how we have been habituated to using these products? That is the answer. That is the power of great design. It isn’t necessarily flashy, abstract or gaudy. Like air, you won’t necessarily notice it, but you’ll definitely notice the lack of it.

Essentially, the question you ought to ask yourself is, ‘How can I make my product/app a verb?’. One of the founding members of Dunzo, Kabeer Biswas put it beautifully when he said, ‘We wanted Dunzo to become a verb’ and so it has!

Increasingly, Google is understanding the natural language better. Be sure to write good, relevant, and meaningful content for your users. To create unique and topically rich content, marketers need to shift from keyword-based approaches.

Creating powerful and authentic content remains important for natural search. When planning your content, you will want to keep a few things in mind.

For Content Creators
Write content that answers common queries clearly and concisely before going into more specific details.

1. Do In-depth keyword research. (From Ahrefs: Lookout on phrase match, having same terms, also rank for, also talk about, search suggestions, newly discovered & questions) -> Include all of them in your list.
2. Make your users’ lives easier by creating comprehensive resources instead of creating dozens of short, different pages.
3. Intent-based targeting is a more effective approach than keyword targeting. Rather than creating content around particular keywords or broad topics, you should write content directly related to the searcher’s intent.
4. For example, the queries “Android vs iPhone” or “compare Apple and Android phones” clearly fall under the category of “compare smartphones.”
5. Organize keywords according to search intent & Cluster keywords into each content type (how-to, reviews, list, etc)
6. When other sites offer more value than ours, mention them.

For Website Owners
Search engines will better index your website if your website structure is logical and understands how the content relates to each other.

1. Optimize niche relevance through the context-based topical hierarchy. Ensure your contents are in simple language for passage indexing & featured snippet
2. Address more relevant topics that can be linked naturally. Minimize your links on the page to avoid diluting the topical authority
3. Make structured data available to search engines to help them understand your content. (Creative work, Event, Organization, Person, Place, Product, Video)
4. Improve page experience by concentrating on the following web essential elements ( Interactivity, Visual Stability, Loading, Mobile-Friendliness, HTTPS, No Intrusive Interstitials, and Safe Browsing).

For CMOs
Build a strong foundation for your brand and content strategy. Be sure your content creation strategy aligns with your goals.

1. Make content that will benefit your business in the short- and long term.
2. Focus on optimizing the bottom and middle of the funnel
3. Make sure the site content shows expertise, authority, and trustworthiness
4. Ask your marketing team to cite claims and facts if you fall into the YMYL category (Your Money or Your Life). A YMYL website is one that focuses on topics that may have an impact on the readers’ quality, health, and financial wellbeing.
5. Additionally, provide your users with helpful customer service information, contact and purchase information. This is why information pages such as About, Contact, FAQ can improve the credibility of your YMYL site.
6. Use content management tools.
7. Analyze results, set goals, and track progress
8. Know your users, solve issues, and leverage well-written content.

SEO is timeless
Understanding how Google processes content is crucial to SEO. In the era of search engines that are becoming better at understanding user intent, context, and the relationships between concepts, the old-school SEO techniques like low-quality content, building a lot of links won’t cut it anymore.

As a rule of thumb, good content should be both human-friendly and search engine-friendly (noticing that people should always be the priority).

In addition to being relevant and high-quality, content should be technically optimized for indexing, ranking as well as focusing on the intent and user experience of the searcher.

Achieving that balance is the key to success.