Be Thorough, Not Lengthy
One of the big questions most bloggers face is “How long should my content be?” There are hundreds of articles written by content and SEO experts defining how many words you should write. That number has changed in every direction over the years, and it’s become insane to try to keep up with.
In reality, your content needs to be complete. Sometimes that can be done in just a few short words. Other times, it takes a few pages. That’s all ok. The key is that you completely cover the topic you chose.
In reality, your content needs to be complete.
Sometimes a topic can be covered very quickly. A brief paragraph or two is enough to completely get the message across. Those are great for quickly catching a reader’s attention, too.
Sometimes you need a little longer. Maybe a few pages, or maybe even a whole ebook series. Those are great too, since they help build you serious credibility. And, if it’s a strong enough series, you can expand it across several different mediums over a longer span of time.
Just make sure that your content is just long enough that Google doesn’t write it off as irrelevant. You’re going to need more than a sentence or two.
Make Your Site Friendly To Use
Formatting matters. A lot. Your content could be exactly filled with all the right keywords, SEO coding, and exactly the right length. However, if your page is simply filled with nothing but tiny gray text laid out into walls of words, it’s going to get skipped.
Good formatting makes strong content excel.
Start with your font. 12pt font is great for a book, but when you’re reading a computer screen, you’re further away. That’s going to require a larger font. 16pt is a great standard, but if you’re really daring, go for 18 or 20 pt. Use a clear and easy to read font, and pick a color combination that isn’t tough to read.
Break up your text in to small blocks, add headers and images, and place clear calls-to-action so people know what to do next. Make it obvious which way your reader needs to go to get to the outcome they want.
And, seriously, make sure your site has a modern design, and keep it updated with frequent, incremental changes.
It’s also really important to lock down your site against malicious attacks. Use a host that helps you out with malware defense and site monitoring, and make sure you only have reputable software running.
Cover The Big Picture
Look, if you write content without context, you’re missing the point.
Your readers need to know how your content fits in to their life and, more importantly, how it will help solve their problem. They need to be aware of and understand the outside factors that impact your topic. Who else is writing about it, what’s trending, what else is shaping it, and where does your view match and vary from the views of others?
The more angles you can cover about your topic, the more your content will benefit your audience. If it’s beneficial, Google will find it relevant. (hint – this is an SEO article). There’s always a larger context to fit your content in to.
