Everybody can create content, even a machine now can generate articles. However, not everyone knows how to create high-quality content for website that actually resonates and is helpful for people.
This is because most of the time, web contents are focused on search engines, not the people as the main target audience. With Google constantly updating its algorithms to prioritize helpful, people-first content, understanding how to make this type of content is crucial.
What is Helpful Content? (According to Google Algorithm)
25th August 2022, Google introduced their new algorithm called “Helpful Content” for the first time. Simply put, helpful content is created primarily to assist users rather than to manipulate search engine results.
With this new update, Google highlights the significance of creating trustworthy, high-quality content that prioritizes the audience first.
But what does this mean in practice?
Here are the criteria, as outlined in Google Search Central’s guide:
- High Quality
First, helpful content should be well-researched, original, and insightful. It should provide comprehensive and substantial information about the topic, going beyond the obvious and offering real value to the reader.
- Great Page Experience
Next, high-quality content for website should be easy to read, free of errors, and visually appealing. A good page experience also involves fast loading times and a mobile-friendly design.
- People-First Approach
This is very important: content should be created with the reader in mind. This means considering the needs and interests of your audience and ensuring the content is genuinely useful. It should not be crafted solely to attract search engine traffic.
- E-E-A-T
E-E-A-T consists of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, and good helpful content should have these qualities to establish credibility. This includes having clear authorship information, sourcing evidence, and showing in-depth knowledge about the topic.
More about EEAT you can read article: Google E-E-A-T: A Guide to Boosting Your Website’s Credibility
- Focus on ‘Who, How, and Why’
Who created the content?
How was it created?
Why was it created?
Ensure your content is created by people with relevant experience and expertise. Also, don’t forget to pay attention to how you write. And lastly, always consider the main reason why you created the content in the first place–which is to help people.
How to Create Helpful and High-quality Content for Website
Now that you understand about what helpful content actually is, here are 15 steps to help you create one:
1. Set Content Goals
Before diving into content creation, it’s essential to set clear and measurable targets.
What do you want to achieve with your content? Are you looking to increase traffic, get leads, or improve brand awareness?
Defining specific goals can help guide your content strategy and ensure that every piece of content you create has a purpose.
For example, if your goal is to boost website traffic, you might focus on creating informative blog posts that answer common questions in your industry. On the other hand, if your goal is to generate leads, you might create detailed guides or eBooks that visitors can download in exchange for their contact information.
2. Write for Humans
While it’s important to optimize your content for search engines, never forget that your primary audience is human. Writing for humans means writing material that is engaging, informative, and easy to read.
So, avoid jargon and overly technical language unless your audience is familiar with it. Instead, use simple language and clear explanations to ensure that your content is accessible to everyone.
Here’s a tip: try to include storytelling elements, real-life examples, and/or relatable scenarios. For instance, if you’re writing a blog post about a complex topic, consider starting with a personal story or a case study to illustrate your point. This makes your content more relatable and keeps your readers interested from start to finish.
3. Know Your Audience
As mentioned just before, audiences are people, so this one is probably the most crucial step if you want to write people-first content for website. This is because understanding your audience is crucial for creating content that truly resonates.
Start by developing detailed buyer personas that outline the demographics, interests, and pain points of your target audience. This information will help you tailor your content to address their specific needs and preferences.
Conducting audience research can also provide valuable insights.
You may use tools like Google Analytics to understand what content your audience is engaging with and what topics they are interested in.
You can open Reports – examine user behaviour – pages and screen. On that page you can see average engagement time per active user for the selected time period.
Remember, content that addresses your audience’s needs and interests is more likely to engage them and drive traffic to your site.
4. Use the Right Language
The language you use in your content plays a significant role in how it is received by your audience. Aim for a conversational tone that is friendly and approachable, yet still professional. This helps build a connection with your readers and makes your content more enjoyable to read.
It’s also important to use inclusive language that respects all readers. Avoid terms that might alienate or offend any part of your audience.
Additionally, make sure your content is free of spelling and grammatical errors, as these can undermine your credibility and make your content harder to read. Tools like Grammarly can help ensure your content is polished and professional.
5. Clear and Concise Writing
One of the most important aspects of high-quality content is clarity. Your readers should be able to understand your main points without having to wade through unnecessary information.
Aim for concise writing that gets straight to the point while still providing enough detail to be informative. Remember, you don’t have to say everything in a single post. In fact, 75% of blog readers prefer posts that are under 1,000 words.
But, it doesn’t mean that you cannot write a long post. Instead, try to break up long paragraphs into shorter ones, use bullet points or numbered lists to highlight key points, and include headings and subheadings to make your writing more scannable–just like what we did in this article.
According to research, 79% of web users scan pages rather than read them word-for-word, so making your content easy to scan can significantly improve reader engagement.
6. Answer a Question
When creating helpful content for website, focus on answering questions that your audience is likely to have.
For instance, if you run a cooking blog, write posts that answer common questions like “How to cook rendang?” or “How to make food in 5 minutes”?
By addressing specific questions, you can directly meet the needs of your readers, making your content more valuable and engaging. This strategy can also improve your SEO, as search engines prioritize content that provides clear and direct answers to user queries.
For question ideas, try typing a topic or keyword on Google search, then check on the ‘People Also Ask’ section. This approach not only helps your audience but also positions you as an authority in your field.
7. Create Comprehensive Content
Comprehensive content covers a topic in-depth, providing all the necessary information in one place. This means going beyond the basics and including detailed explanations, examples, and insights.
For instance, this comprehensive guide on how to create helpful content for website covers everything from setting content goals to using a content marketing workbook, along with insightful facts and examples.
Creating detailed and thorough content can keep readers on your page longer and reduce bounce rates.
It also increases the chances that your content will be shared and bookmarked, boosting your site’s visibility and authority.
8. Authenticity and Expertise
In the first section of this post, we’ve mentioned the E-E-A-T. Authenticity and expertise are part of it, so try sharing your personal experiences, insights, and knowledge.
Let’s say, you want to write about travel. So, try to include stories from your own trips and practical tips based on your firsthand experience. This personal touch makes your content more relatable and trustworthy for readers.
Additionally, back up your claims with data and references. If you’re discussing the benefits of a new technology, include statistics, case studies, or expert opinions to support your points.
This not only adds credibility to your content but also demonstrates your authority on the topic.
9. Identify Your Unique Value Propositions
To stand out in a crowded online space, identify and highlight your Unique Value Propositions (UVPs). Basically, it refers to what sets your content apart from others.
Perhaps it’s the benefit your company offers, your unique perspective, specialized knowledge, the way you present information, or how you solve readers’ needs.
Particularly, for business content, clearly explain your products, services, or process so the visitors understand what makes your website or company valuable.
So, clearly communicate these UVPs to your audience by letting them know why your content is different and why it’s worth their time. This helps in attracting a dedicated audience who values what you offer and is likely to return for more.
10. Stay Focused
Maintaining a clear focus on your content is essential for keeping your audience engaged. Stick to one main topic per post and avoid unnecessary distractions. Scattered writing won’t win you any helpful content SEO points.
For example, if you’re writing about “How to improve your sleep quality”, focus solely on sleep-related tips or advice, and avoid straying into unrelated health topics, such as eating tips.
A focused approach will make your content easier to follow and more impactful. It also helps you stay on track and ensures that each piece of content serves a specific purpose and meets a particular need of your audience.
11. Check Content for Readability
According to a statistic by Nielsen Norman Group, on average, users read only 20% of a web page’s content. So, effective content for website must be easily readable.
Your content needs to be concise and easy to scan. As mentioned previously in the fifth point in this article, underline important material and use bullet points and short words to help readers find it simpler.
Additionally, keep the language direct. Most people read at a 7th to 8th-grade level, which means your writing should be straightforward and clear.
By making your content accessible, you ensure that a wider audience can understand and engage.
12. Consider SEO
Prioritizing humans doesn’t mean you should abandon SEO practices. Remember, SEO is still vital for making your content discoverable, so it will rank higher and attract more organic traffic to your site.
Thus, always use relevant keywords naturally within your text to improve your search engine rankings, while still making it human-friendly.
Tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs can help you find the best keywords for your content. It’s important to incorporate these keywords in headlines, meta descriptions, and throughout your content without compromising its quality.
However, the free version is very limited. You must subscribe to a premium plan to use all the features.
13. Add Visuals
Visual content can significantly enhance the user experience on your website, as a well-chosen image, infographic, or video can make your content more engaging and easier to understand.
It is said that a video’s message is remembered 95% better than 10% in text only. Therefore, incorporating visuals can make your content more memorable and appealing.
However, don’t forget to insert your visuals thoughtfully, don’t insert them where they don’t fit. Additionally, adding alt-text as a description is also helpful for both search engines and screen readers.
14. Include a Call to Action (Optional)
Including a Call to Action (CTA) in a content for website can guide your visitors towards the desired outcome. A CTA can be a simple button or link that encourages users to take a specific action.
It can be signing up for a newsletter, downloading a free ebook, or making a purchase. However, this one is optional, as informative articles often don’t require a CTA.
But if you want to add one, make sure it’s effective. Effective CTAs are clear, concise, and compelling (3C). Also, use it sufficiently. Overloading your content with too many CTAs can overwhelm visitors and reduce its effectiveness.
Instead, strategically place CTAs where they make the most sense, and ensure they align with the overall goals of your content.
15. Use Content Marketing Workbook
Last tip, having a content marketing workbook can be a game-changer for organizing your content strategy and providing valuable resources to your audience.
To prevent information overload, structure your workbook into manageable sections. Include worksheets, Q&A sections, checklists, schedules, and journal prompts to make the content interactive and engaging.
So, you can use this as a brainstorming tool to get content ideas, outline your content strategy, and schedule publication dates. It can also help you monitor the performance of your content and make adjustments as needed.
Implementing these tips can help you boost both engagement and people’s trust. However, if you need help creating high-quality, helpful content for website, consider reaching out to us at Toombooh’s Content Writing Services for expert assistance.
FAQ
- How to create good content for a website?
To create a good post for a website, know your audience, define goals, and write clearly. As discussed, in the 15 points above, use simple language, provide comprehensive information, and ensure your writing is engaging and helpful.
- What is helpful content in SEO?
It is simply a content that is created primarily for people, not just search engines. It should be high-quality, demonstrate expertise, be user-friendly, and follow best SEO practices to be discoverable.
- Which content is best for website?
The best content for website is the one that not only targets search engines, but also meets your audience’s needs, is engaging, and gives value. So, your post should be relevant and useful to web visitors.
