Data-driven content is highly efficient in terms of Google ranking, with keyword intent being the first stop. We will hereby discuss how to create better content that ranks better and renders higher engagement and conversion rates.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is the very first step to creating data-driven content. In order to nail the research, you’ll need to understand the market, Google’s search patterns and competitive landscape. The first and easiest step in this process is researching the average monthly searches per keyword and keyword difficulty.
To deliver a holistic SEO strategy, you’ll need to determine what you want to communicate, what target audience is looking for and what Google favors.
Keyword Intent Analysis
There are three major query types, which satisfy different user intents, as follows: transactional, informational and navigational queries. It is important to understand here that users’ needs change as they go through a buying process (a.k.a. “funnel”). Therefore, it is recommended to check out Google search results. The type of page that is prominently featured is what Google wants to see. You simply need to create such a page to gain a competitive advantage.
Transactional Queries
Transactional queries are the most important query in terms of SEO. They may vary greatly and typically feature a call to action or a to-the-point description of the service (i.e., “buy brand supplement” or “message in Berlin Pankow”). As a rule, these lead to category and product pages, and the goal of guiding the customer there is to achieve a purchase. However, it is difficult to rank a website solely based on a couple of money pages, as they lack supporting content. That is where other query types step in.
Informational Queries
Informational queries answer customers’ queries directly. E.g., a person searching for “how to lower cholesterol levels” already knows what issue they have and want to get a fast answer. The abovementioned query is best met by a plethora of answers, such as: what is good and bad cholesterol, common causes of high cholesterol levels and typical fixes and treatments. Informational queries should lead to articles, blog posts, and guidelines, all of which make superb supporting content for the money pages. If you search Google using this query, the top five results will be educational:
- Top 5 Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Cholesterol
- 10 Natural Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol Levels
- 11 Foods that Lower Cholesterol
- How to Lower Cholesterol Naturally Without Medication
- Lower Your Cholesterol in 11 Easy Steps
All of these are either blog posts or content pages, with barely any eCommerce results. It follows that to attract customers using informational queries, your target should be educational long-form pieces.
Navigational Queries
Navigational queries help customers who already have an idea of what they want to do to address the issue or know what works best for them. Using the example from above, a person searching to lower cholesterol levels may use queries along these lines:
- Foods that lower cholesterol
- Exercises that help fight high cholesterol levels
- Lowering cholesterol levels naturally
Navigational queries should help the customer make the final purchasing decision. Because of that, the queries should lead to category pages, comparison pages, review pages, affiliate pages or blog posts. More specific long-tail queries are optimum, with modifiers explaining the keywords in more detail.
- Review-focused words: best, versus, review and compare
- Modifiers: for women, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan
- Expertise words: facilitator, consultant, and teacher
In a nutshell, this is how experts nail SEO. If you are just starting from scratch, don’t worry. There are various tools that can help with keywords, such as an SEO Surfer, Page Optimizer Pro, Website Auditor’s TF-IDF Analysis and Cora.
| About the Guest Author:
Emily Woodman
