If you’re up to date on the best SEO practises to boost your campaign, then you’ll likely know that content is a key factor taken into account by search engines when working to define the context of a webpage, ultimately using this information to determine ranking position.
Within this article, we’ll discuss what you can do to identify any low-quality content on your website, helping to improve how your site performs within the organic search results.
Types of low-quality content
One of the ways that search engines will determine content to be of low quality is if the content does not appear to conform to the overall context of a webpage. This can occur if the main page content is seen to be quite minimal and does not display a greater knowledge upon the topic being discussed; defined as thin content.
Any content published on your business website that does not work to supply readers with a satisfactory level of information will likely be considered negatively within the search engines, causing it to rank poorly.
There are many reasons that a search engine may determine content to be of a poor quality. Content may be flagged as low quality if it is considered to:
• Lack a level of expertise, trustworthiness, or authoritativeness
• Provide inaccurate information
• Come from an unmaintained website
• Contain spammy links
• Have no identifiable purpose/ context
• Cloak links
• Have a click-bait title
• Include unnecessary advertisements that distract from the main content
Your on-page content may also be deemed low quality if the overall writing is poor, or if the amount of content is lacking. Your reputation as a writer can also hold an impact over how well your content performs, as publishers with a negative reputation, and even those who keep their identity from readers unnecessarily, will likely rank poorly within the search engines.
How to improve low-quality content
Focus on the reader
For content to be successful, it must be focused toward your target audience, providing them with information that will be of benefit to them. Content that’s user-focused tends to rank higher compared to content written purely for the purposes of SEO.
Not only will content that’s focused toward your readers perform much better in comparison, but it also holds a better sense of readability, which will look great to your site readers! Should a potential customer click upon your landing page or blog post, it is your job to ensure that the content they are greeted with is enticing and provides them with the information that they are looking for, increasing the chances that they stay on your website and read what you have to say.
The amount of time that a user is seen to stay on your landing page provides the search engines with a great indication of both the quality and relevance of your content, helping them to rank your site accordingly.
Accessibility
Content for your small business website should be written with accessibility in mind. In order to improve bounce rates, make sure the content that you publish does not work to confuse the reader. Your writing should be accessible to readers regardless of their skill level, meaning any field specific language should be defined and all information covered should be explained well, making it easy to understand.
The accessibility of your website plays a vital role in improving site engagement, however, this is not the only factor that should be considered within your overall site design. Various factors like your site’s navigation and accompanying imagery can also have a great impact upon how well your site engages its visitors, helping to reduce bounce rates and improve your performance within the search results. This should all be taken into account when optimising your on-page content.
Working to identify and improve any low-quality content on your small business website can be vital to ensuring that you perform well within the search engines. Working with experts such as an SEO agency near you can also be useful to help point out exactly what you need to do. Moreover, there are many ways that businesses can work to improve the performance of their website within the organic search results, and while the quality of the content that you publish to your site can play a huge role in determining your ranking position, all elements should be considered when aiming to create SEO-friendly landing pages that better your chances of online marketing success.
