Digital content should demonstrate your brand and be audience-driven. Explaining how to turn said audience into customers, Alice Farley of Rawnet dives into search intent, algorithms and UX design.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is increasingly producing excellent results for businesses, some of which you can see in full. Those who focus on their customers’ needs, leveraging factors such as streamlined navigation and accessible design, will be the ones that overcome modern challenges in a highly competitive online marketplace.
A brand’s digital content should tell users exactly what they can expect from the company. In the absence of this, a brand risks losing ground to competitors. By identifying customer pain points and understanding user requirements, brands will be able to future-proof their content strategies and tailor future marketing plans.
The concept of creating audience-first content is critical for digital success as it extends to how users will access content on a site. Customers prefer to be surrounded by high-quality content, which can include videos and infographics. There is a lot of information available for clients to consume, so creating the correct content hierarchy is critical.
To stay at the top of Google’s search results, marketers must ensure that content is up to date and refreshed regularly, as well as take into account the user’s intent and match it with targeted and helpful content.
If everything is bold, nothing is bold
The placement of graphic components in design, in accordance with their importance, is known as a visual hierarchy. A business card, for example, might have features such as name, organization, contact number, email address and other contact information. Typically, the visual hierarchy would be the name of the organization, followed by the person’s name, job title and contact information.
This hierarchy is what guides a user’s attention to precisely the elements the designer intends them to. Implementing a visual hierarchy not only makes it simpler for the reader to comprehend information, but also renders the content more aesthetically pleasing.
The primary goal of a designer, particularly a UX designer, is to create an environment in which information may be easily digested, using size, color, contrast and alignment. It’s not about constantly integrating flashy features since that will only serve to distract readers. With this in mind, designers must constantly keep the five principles of design in mind while developing displays. Anyone can methodically address a design challenge using the strength of visual hierarchy and a strong design sense.
SEO trends to leverage
Keeping up with algorithm updates is the number one concern for marketers. Google conducted over 50,000 trials in 2020 alone, resulting in almost 4,000 modifications to search. The key is to adapt strategically to these developments. For starters, this entails staying up to date on industry news. If a substantial algorithm update occurs, the SEO industry will almost certainly remark on it.
A voice assistant is used by around half of all internet users in the United States. There’s no doubt that voice search is growing more prevalent in people’s daily lives. However, how can marketers improve their content for those who search with their ears rather than their eyes? The solution is simple: optimize their websites for mobile. Given that the majority of voice searches are conducted on mobile and smart devices, it stands to reason that Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites with fast speeds.
Google launched a new search ranking tool called Passages in 2021. This feature allows Google to rank certain bits of a page or a ‘passage’ in a way that is semi-independent of the page itself. In other words, rather than rating a whole page based on relevance, Google will instead score select areas of a page for relevancy (this move should not worry marketers if their pages are well-organized). Bear in mind that other page-ranking elements still apply – so don’t forget about backlinks, SEO-optimized content and copywriting.
When it comes to video, a developing search option is YouTube videos in a ‘featured snippet.’ These are more likely to appear in ‘how-to’ searches if the reader is seeking step-by-step guidance. Google will continue to add videos to search results after video snippets. Keeping this in mind, it is critical for brands to optimize their own videos for search.
SEO = visibility
The value of SEO cannot be underestimated. 61% of B2B marketers stated that SEO and organic traffic generate more leads than any other marketing initiative. Keeping up with SEO trends is like trying to strike a moving target.
From algorithm tweaks to cutting-edge innovation, it might feel as though the goalposts are always shifting. While the aim of SEO stays the same – to increase a brand’s visibility in relevant search results – the strategies for getting there change from year to year. SEO is crucial because it makes a website more visible – and that means more opportunities to convert prospects into customers.
