Content Crafted by People for People
A SEO Specialist tells you why SEO shouldn’t come first
By Adrian Comeau
Why a People First Approach is Paramount
How often have you clicked search results in Google, only to find the page you visit doesn’t have what you’re looking for? Maybe the content you see is somewhat, but not entirely related, or perhaps it isn’t even relevant at all! Pages full of seemingly nonsensical content that appears to be crafted solely to rank with google, but for no other apparent reason you can fathom. If that feels familiar, fear not, you’re not alone.
Throughout 2022 Google has been working hard on user experience updates, and they have made progress. SEO is an ever-evolving system; what you knew as best practices yesterday may not hold true today. With this in mind, we’re here to share ideas about creating content with a people-first approach. SEO should come second to creating helpful, relevant, and targeted content for the people your website exists to serve.
When planning your website, or putting new content on your existing site, ask yourself the following questions:
- What’s your site’s primary purpose or focus?
- Speaking of site visits, would your established demographic/audience (those who visit your site) find the content you create valuable?
- Is the content you are creating aligned with the purpose/focus of your site?
- Is the content you are creating aimed at your target audience?
- Does your content include a focused message, with knowledge of the chosen topic, that users cannot easily find elsewhere?
- Will those who read this content feel they’ve learned something, or walk away unsatisfied?
If your answer is yes to all of these questions, then job well done. People consuming your content have a need, and though these needs may vary, your goal should always be to help them meet them.
Next, it’s time to determine if your content is at odds with a people-first approach by prioritizing tactics that put search engines first:
- Are you crafting content to pull people from search engines rather than organically making it for people?
- Is the content you create disjointed and covering many topics and ideas to reach a larger audience with search engines?
- Are keyword lists deciding the kind of content you produce above all else?
- Is your content simply a summary of existing content that adds nothing new to the conversation?
- Are you choosing topics for your content based on what is currently “trending”?
- Are you crafting content to a specific word count because you read somewhere that Google has a preferred word count? (They have openly said many times they do not).
- Does the content you create make promises that it does not keep, such as “How to Rank #1 on Google in 3 Easy Steps!”? (Fun fact: This is not something that you could do in three steps, or with any degree of ease)
Did you answer yes to any of the above? If you did, you might need to re-evaluate if you genuinely take a people-first approach with your content.
Helpful Content
If people don’t find your content valuable, then it is likely they won’t stay on your site for long. This could harm your overall site rankings with Google and other search engines. It can also hurt your:
- Bounce Rate — When users leave your site without taking any additional action
- Authority — How much of an authority Google deems you to be on the topics you craft content about
- Visibility — How easily users can find your site on Google and other search engines
Because Google is rolling out updates with a specific focus on people-first content over Search Engine targeted content, we highly recommend you ask yourself what value you bring to the table with what you create. SEO will always have value, but there is a clear hierarchy of priorities Google and other search engines want you to follow. Putting people first is right there at the top of the list.
One final note, but a very important one — you should focus on people first when creating content, but that does not negate SEO practices. SEO is still a valuable set of tools, especially when applied to content crafted with a people-first approach. Google has written a comprehensive SEO Starter Guide that we highly recommend you peruse.
Want to know more? Feel free to read about some of Google’s recent efforts to improve user experience and promote “People First” with their Helpful Content Update.
Adrian Comeau is an SEO Specialist with VERB Interactive — a leader in digital marketing, specializing in solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. Find out more at www.verbinteractive.com.
