The title of this post is actually something of small trick. “Writing content for Google” is a search query more popular than any other relevant query with the same puropse; “Creating high-ranking content”.
But, the title is not relevant as such with most of the content available, because writing content for Google is not advised by most, including Google.
Google have been updating her Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines, with the latest update less than a year ago. It describes the manner in which the algorithm scan and scores content. Here a some of the key principles in how not to write for Google, but for your users.
1. The big one: E-A-T
Expertise / Authoritativeness / Trustworthiness — shortened to E-A-T — is a great rule of thumb while creating any post, or website for that matter.
- Write what you know
- Go in-depth on your expertise subjects
- Use an author on every blog post with dedicated author page
- Use an about us or contact page to clearly state the purpose of the website
- Use sources, it won’t affect original content if used correctly.
2. Design
Your main focus should be delivering great content, without much interference during interaction with the content.
- Focus on structuring your content with clear distinctions between headings, paragraphs, block quotes and lists.
- Keep pop-ups to a minimum – no take overs
- This includes ads as well – keep it relevant to the user without interfering
- Related posts – internal links, authors and relevant external content – give it a secondary importance to your main content.
3. Content
- Choose a long-term strategy if possible – don’t use hype or news in in-depth articles as it will have a shorter lifespan.
- Structure your content with an introduction with a clearly stated purpose.
- No keyword stuffing, please. Make it readable!
- Be careful adding too much in-content ads and affiliate links
- Be funny! Keep readers interested
4. Media
Everybody loves pictures and videos. It can clarify context, give you another perspective or a little break during a longer blog.
- Describe your images and videos
- Make them relevant and high quality
- No Auto play. I will slow down the website and gives the user less control
- Use alt-texts – some people won’t be able to see or load your images. Alternative texts will do their job.
- Transcripts of videos are a welcome bonus
- Check copyright on images and video’s. Attribution is key!
5. The Search Result Page of Google
Finally, on the first page! Research learns you won’t need the 1st position in Google to claim the most clicks:
- Meta descriptions – make them interesting and inviting
- Use structured data if you can
- Your title should be clear and descriptive