Creating Content for Google vs. Humans: A Quick Note for Startups

Google wants you to create content for humans. Of course. But it’s not a secret that following such a vanilla tip wouldn’t take you far in the SEO world. When it comes to ranking higher on SERP and driving higher organic (targeted) traffic, there’s a lot that needs to be done. This is especially true when you’re in a competitive niche, in which case you have to tactically out-edge your close competitors. So, focusing just on “create content for humans” won’t bring you the desired outcome. You must incorporate various SEO elements to your content – be it implementing schema markup, plugging LSI keywords, or including relevant outbound links.

Factors to Consider (And Maintaining the Right Balance)

That said, at the same time, you don’t want to make the process too mechanical or pander too much to the process instead of heeding to your buyer persona. The right balance needs to be maintained to ensure your content caters to both your audience as well as to the basic and technical aspects of SEO. There’s a reason why large and small companies hire a digital marketing company in USA, Canada or India for this. It’s the same reason why Startups are recommended to take the hands of an SEO agency in Canada, India or USA. Because it’s not easy. It requires a fine understanding and experience that blends creativity with the technical dynamics of SEO.

How to Start?

Start the process by outlining several buyer’s personas based on your target audience. Create an editorial calendar. Alongside, do competitive analysis to find out the content strategy of your competitors who are currently dominating the SERP. Include that aspect in your content calendar to amplify its rankability element. A lot of attention should go into your top of the funnel content that is more likely to bring you the attention from search results. Proper keyword research is essential. In addition, you must also focus on the formatting, CTA, and visual appeal of that piece of content. As you move down the funnel, you get more liberty to create content per your unique needs with less attention to the SEO requirements. In any case, all your content must undertake the UX considerations. Whether a person is on your site to consume a list-based article or to purchase a product, their experience on your site is very important. Poor UX will render all your content, lead magnets, and CTAs to zero.

Need Help?

Paddling along with all these factors, as mentioned, is certainly not easy. But to ace in search ranking, your content marketing strategy should strike an adequate balance between what your audience wants and what Google wants. Yes, in theories, Google wants what users want. But the world of SEO isn’t that straightforward. SEO experts are some of the most sought-after in the marketing world. Was it as simple as creating content for humans, everyone would rank higher on SERP for important keywords. But that’s not possible. And extreme competition in select niches makes things even more challenging, requiring a lot of creative ideas, advanced tools, and data-driven execution in content marketing and SEO. If you run a startup, instead of DIY’ing it or relying on freelancers, consider hiring a good digital marketing company in USA that has extensive experience and a proven track record in navigating startups to dominate Google search result pages.