There are multiple search engines, with Google dominating the industry. Most search engines replicate practices that Google follows to rank websites and crawl SEO content. Learn how to optimize SEO content for higher search ranking. Additionally, the article contains how to identify good vs. bad SEO content.

 

What Does Google Say About Terrible Content?

John Mueller from Google tweeted that various search engine optimization and websites produce terrible content which is not worth indexing. If some content exists doesn’t mean it would be helpful for users.

 

How Can You Tell if the Content is Bad?

Most writers assume that their SEO content is good SEO content, while in reality, it is not. Even if it is rated as good SEO content, it might be ranked as bad SEO content when the next Google algorithm update comes out. The most common mistakes you can make are:

 

• Disapprove of any criticism towards your piece
• It is almost a replica of some other websites, including the headings and the details
• It contains undeniable information that does not add value to the audience
• It is monotonous, having no excitement or emotions
• Most of your articles or content is a list (list of five best restaurants in Michigan, list of 7 things you can cook at home, and so on)
• Add false information from poor sources
• It is not visually engaging with images, videos, infographics, and so on

 

Why is Good SEO Content Essential to Get Indexed?

Google explains that indexing is a ranking signal. You need to submit your website to Google’s index, after which Google crawls and indexes the content of your website to display it on the results of a particular search keyword. As the frequency of the appearance on a search engine ranking increases, Google will likely rank you higher for that specific keyword.

 

Good SEO Content vs. Bad SEO Content

 

 

Bad SEO content is like an attack of cockroaches at your place. They will be scattered everywhere and will not die; the impacts will be long-lasting. Comparatively, good SEO content brings in organic search traffic since more than 50% of traffic comes from organic search engine results. It also helps you focus on a good user experience, which means your website is easy to navigate, fulfills search intent, and so on. Here are some ways you can differentiate between good SEO content vs. bad SEO content.

 

Good SEO Content and Practices

 

9 Tips to Produce Hight Quality Content That Gets Indexed

 

1. Update Your Old Content
   Outdated articles are labeled as “stale” by Google, which is why content should be reviewed after a year. If the traffic has gone low, you may need to revisit the articles to check if the keyword is still searched or if the content is now no longer valuable to the readers.
2. Do Your Keywords Research
   Keyword research is essential since you can find the trending topics and the niche your competitors have missed. Using long-tailed keywords is beneficial. However, they should be used in an optimum number, neither too much nor too less.
3. Include Keywords in the Meta Description
   Meta Description will describe what your page is about. It is a snippet on the search engine result that can attract your audience to visit your page. It should be up to 155 characters, have an active voice, and include a focus keyword. If the search keywords match a part of the meta description, Google highlights it and shows it higher on the search engine result page.
4. Optimize Content for Local Search
   If you have a restaurant or a business, make sure you have localized the content for the audience that will use your service or shop from you. Geographical keywords can help, and so can updating your Google Business Profile.
5. Use Topic Clusters
   Since people do not read extremely long content, a better idea is to create a group of authoritative articles with shorter and more specific articles linking back to them. It establishes expertise and helps Google crawl through your site to index it.
6. Pay Attention to EAT and YMYL
   EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and YML (Your Money or Your Life) are two essential quality guidelines that govern how Google rates websites. Your writing should establish you as a top-of-mind leader due to your expertise in the subject and should be relevant to the audience’s money or their lives.
7. Putting Your Users First
   Good SEO content starts by keeping the user search intent in mind and ends with leaving the reader more informed about the topic. Bringing users to your website by scamming or clickbait is a bad SEO practice that lowers your search engine ranking.
8. Create Featured Snippets
   Featured snippets are the small box of steps or bolded exact search answer that comes up as a result of your search; they help boost your content. Using headings to highlight actions and answering in the lowest number of words is an excellent way to get featured.
9. Build Crawlable Link Structures
   Google can only follow links that have proper tags with resolvable URLs. Therefore, they should have a <a> head with an href. These let spiders browse the path of the website to find all the pages.

 

Bad SEO Content and Practices

Bad SEO regards all practices that are unethical, obsolete, or outside the Google Webmaster Guidelines. For example, bad SEO content and techniques can do the opposite if good SEO practices can rank you higher on the search engine result page by optimizing your website for search engines.

 

6 SEO Mistakes to Avoid in Your Content

1. Duplicate Content
   If your website content is not unique, search engines will have no reason to crawl through your webpage and index it since some other website already offers the same thing. If you need some unoriginal content, such as product descriptions for a drop shipping store, you may “no index and no follow” those pages for the Google crawler so that it doesn’t impact the overall search engine ranking position and website SEO.
2. Keywords and Anchor Text Abuse
   Using keywords multiple times to make the content stand out for that particular keyword is like manipulating the algorithm. The search crawler notices this tactic and flags it as bad SEO practice.
3. Articles that are Way Too Long
   Endless content is associated with a bad user experience, as suggested by a study by Nielsen Norman Group. People scan web pages, and the patterns suggest that the further they go down the content, the less they read
4. Lack of Headings and Subheadings
   As we established, people scan; they are more likely to read the headings first. Without headings, nobody wants to read paragraphs and paragraphs. Headings give people a break and prevent the eyeball from getting distracted. Additionally, headings and subheadings are excellent keyword opportunity
5. Poor Quality Citations
   Citations are regarded as high for search engine ranking because it tells Google that this page is credible. A citation to a well-reputed website makes you believable, and vice versa. Do not cite websites that are flagged for misinformation.
6. Slow and Unavailable Websites
   Users usually exit the website that doesn’t load in less than four to five seconds. This increases the bounce rate and harms your SEO and site ranking. Ensure the website is designed to load quickly and the hosting service doesn’t have extended downtime.

 

Wrap Up

SEO strategies are a marathon. You can’t work on them for one day or month and then let it be. Instead, keep doing keyword research and reviewing your content at least once or twice a year. Avoid bad SEO practices and religiously follow good practices. Don not get flagged or blacklisted, and your efforts will show.