How to create cornerstone content for your website

Published on: 17 January 2019 Last Updated on: 08 August 2019

If you’ve been running your website for some time, accumulating lots of different pages, tackling different angles and creating a rich variety of resources, you probably have a good idea of what your most popular pages are. The problem is, someone else landing on your site for the first time doesn’t. Could they get from the homepage to your top-performing pages in just one or two clicks? Or are they only going to find them through luck, clicking around randomly through your menus (which is unlikely with today’s fondness for instant results) or a Google search that directs them straight to that page?

Letting your readers and Google know what the most important and valuable pages on your website are is what creating cornerstone content is all about. Here we take a look at what it is, why it’s so important for SEO, and how to implement a strategy to make the best possible use of it.

Putting your best foot forward

An excellent example of a high-value post that could get overlooked by a new visitor is a particularly informative blog post you wrote several years ago. If a new visitor lands on your homepage and clicks on your blog, they’d likely have to scroll down and click through to ‘older posts’ multiple times before they get anywhere near this page – and as the saying goes, ain’t nobody got time for that!

These top performers are your cornerstone or ‘evergreen’ content. Like the architectural term, the cornerstone is the foundation that all other parts are positioned against and aligned with.

The idea is to get all those top performers in one place where they can dazzle your readers and have them coming back again and again. By fleshing out your cornerstone content page into an unusually lengthy post, you’re creating a veritable treasure trove of useful information for your readers which they can use to easily access all the other content on your site that may interest them. In just one page, it gives them an overview of everything your site has to offer, with enough information to brief them on what each section is about while leaving them hungry for more – which you will supply with just one easy click.

A rose by any other name

Cornerstone content goes by quite a few monikers. Evergreen content, long-form content, massive value posts, pillar articles… whatever you call them, they’re the content that keeps on giving. It’s the kind of content that remains relevant (either because it covers unchanging facts, goes into exceptional detail, or because you regularly update it) no matter when the reader discovers it. And, of course, it’s the kind of content that gets you noticed and rewarded by Google because so many visitors find it useful and spend time reading it. Speaking of which…

Why Google loves cornerstone content

Google uses many metrics to measure the value of a particular page and decide where it deserves to rank in their search results. Which keywords are used, how often and where is just one of the factors their algorithms take into consideration. How much time a user spends on a page before clicking away is a good indication of whether that page answers their query or not. A page which consistently gets clicked away from in just seconds is clearly not answering the user’s question and will quickly see its ranking for that search term drop. Whether the page loads quickly and how it’s linked internally to the rest of your website are also considerations.

Great cornerstone content can also help you take on keywords that have a lot of competition and would normally be pretty hard to rank for.

Cornerstone content strategy

When you’re building a new website, structuring your site around a few major keywords (generally two to five, depending on the nature of your niche) is a good place to start. For each of those keywords, you want one fat, juicy cornerstone article that links out to smaller posts which discuss a certain aspect in more detail. If you’re relatively new to SEO and aren’t yet sure what keywords you should be aiming for, get a good SEO company on board at this point to help you identify them.

Whenever you write a new article, it should tie back to its corresponding cornerstone piece. Aside from making it easy for your readers to navigate to the topics they’re most interested in, it also lets Google know this page is important and will increase its chances of ranking in searches.

If you have an existing website, you can take the same approach and work backward. Pick the top three to five pages you’re the proudest of and want your visitors to see the most – those will become your cornerstone pieces. Going forward, make sure new posts tie back to their cornerstone piece and start updating older pages systematically to do the same.

One of the awesome things about cornerstone content is that although it’s one of the best ways to improve your site’s SEO, it’s not very technical – so anyone who can build their own website can take advantage and get the rankings they deserve.

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8 Reasons Your SEO Campaigns Aren’t Showing the Desired Results

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the digital marketing strategies that have been talked about for years. Established businesses on digital media swear by this strategy in boosting their web traffic, increasing visibility, and improving returns on investment. As a result, all businesses are running towards this strategy with the hope to see positive results. SEO campaigns are essential for your business to improve your business to the next level. Unfortunately, to the disappointment of many firms, SEO isn’t showing the results that they expected. This has led to great losses after spending thousands of dollars to develop a strategy that does not bear results. The question is, “Is SEO overhyped?” If not, why is it not working for your business? And what can you do to improve your SEO strategy and begin to experience positive results and increased ROI? SEO is an effective digital marketing campaign, but it only works for firms that have learned how to leverage it. In this light, here are eight reasons why your current SEO campaign isn’t bearing traffic and leads, and what you can do to realize positive results from it. Different Factors Are There Why SEO Campaigns Do Not Show The Desired Results There are several factors are there why SEO campaigns do not exhibit the desired results all the time. Try to achieve your goals in the best possible ways. Work out the plans that can help you to achieve your goals in the correct order. 1. Your Web Design Sucks How visually appealing is your website? Do you have a professional look that would appeal to a new customer? How are the pages, posts, imagery, calls to action, and other page elements placed on your website? Does the site look busy and stuffed? When an individual visits your site, they will move on quickly if they don’t like the design and layout. This results in increased bounce rates which causes search engines to rank you at the bottom of the search page. What’s more, a poorly organized page makes it hard for search engines to crawl the site, and this results in lower rankings. You can improve your SEO strategy by taking the time to design a user-friendly website. Make sure that page elements such as the content, imagery, and CTAs are correctly placed on your site. 2. You Have Poor Content Experts say that content is king and this statement has never been more accurate than in matters of SEO. Content is what will draw people to your site and keep them coming back. If you don’t give your readers a reason to return, they will not. What does poor content look like? First, it does not provide any useful information to the target client. Secondly, it is poorly written with an unappealing structure and poor-quality imagery. If readers find your content unattractive, they will pass by your page regardless of its ranking. Take the time to develop quality content for your readers. It should provide meaningful information that's easy to read. Use an appealing tone and organize your work into visually appealing formats. Finally, use high-quality images and video for your content. 3. You’re Targeting the Wrong Audience SEO only works if you are targeting the correct audience. This may seem obvious, but not all businesses can accurately sift through the millions of online users and identify their target audience. For example, if you are an auto repairs company but your content leans towards the car manufacture industry, you may lose out on your target audience. Before developing an SEO campaign, identify your target audience. Strive to produce content that is directly targeted to them. For example, an auto repairs company should focus on clients who are seeking repair services and not to buy new vehicles. If you are not sure, consider seeking help from a Minneapolis SEO Expert . 4. You’re Using the Wrong Keywords One of the top techniques in an effective SEO campaign is the use of keyword phrases. These are search terms that prospective clients feed on search engines when looking for a product or service. Note that not all keywords will guarantee success in your SEO strategy. If you use simple keywords, you will face stiff competition from other players in the industry. If you go for very narrow ones, no one will find your site. The best way to use keywords effectively is by using long-tail over short keywords. Long-tail keywords utilize a series of terms, at least two or more, that are commonly typed by readers. So instead of using “dentist” as your keyword, you would have a phrase such as “best dentist in Minneapolis.” The longer phrase has a higher chance of ranking higher and shaking off competition. 5. You Have the Wrong Priorities When employing an SEO campaign, various metrics come into play. You can choose to measure web traffic, conversion rates, bounce rates, ROI, and many others. Failure to focus on the right metrics can cause your SEO strategy to fail. Unfortunately, most businesses pay attention to the wrong metrics. For example, they will strive to increase their following on social media and their site traffic but ignore other metrics like the conversion rates. Having a large following doesn’t guarantee that they will all convert. Therefore, make sure that you are paying attention and directing your resources towards metrics that will generate returns for your business. 6. Your Conversion Rates are Low One of the ways to know that your SEO strategy is working is when your conversion rate increases. Conversion rates go up when users take your desired call to action (CTA). It could be to sign up to your newsletter, join your email list, or buy your product. Different businesses have varying CTAs based on their needs. If your conversion rates are low, your SEO campaign is not working. To improve your conversion rates, focus on strategies that will draw and keep people on your site. Have an appealing website and ensure that your call to action is visible. The CTA should also have attractive graphics and terms – it should be like the magic button that everyone itches to click. SEO campaigns can work well in your favor as it can help your business to grow in the right direction. 7. You Have no Precise SEO Plan What do you intend to get out of your SEO campaign? Do you have specific goals? If not, the chances are that your strategy is not targeted at anything in particular either. Lack of an actionable SEO plan will cause you to try out anything, including strategies that are doing nothing for your campaign. Come up with a practical plan of what you wish to achieve with SEO. Do you want traffic? What for? Do you want to write blog posts for your website’s blog section? What will the blogs help you achieve? Outlining your goals enables you to channel your efforts and resources towards a worthy cause. 8. Your Site is Not Mobile Responsive Search engines today are favoring sites that are mobile responsive over those that maintain a desktop view even on mobile devices. Mobile friendly sites load faster and have easy readability on phones and tablets. If your website isn’t mobile responsive, search engines will rank it lower, and this will stall your SEO dreams and goals. Develop a mobile site that will appeal to search engines and visitors. SEO works for businesses that have mastered the strategy. If your campaign isn’t working, look into these eight things and make the necessary tweaks to gain positive results from your SEO campaign. Final Take Away Hence, these are some of the core factors that can work well in your favor while you want to develop your business in the right direction. SEO Campaigns can work well in your favor when you apply the correct techniques in the proper manner. Do not lose out on the chance that can provide you the opportunity. Read Also: How To Integrate Email Marketing With SEO Two SEO Trends To Take Advantage Of In 2018 5 Ways To Improve Mobile SEO

Content Optimization: What It Is and How To Do It

Content is the soul of the online world. Online business approaches the optimum heights when it contains a high level of uniqueness. People love to read the creative content as it helps them to learn more about the topic. Your website can approach a massive audience and target lots more when it has innovation. Check plagiarism of your website content within no time through effective use of a plagiarism checker. What is Content Optimization? Content optimization is the most excellent and rational method to adopt. It includes the process of ensuring that the content is able enough to approach the wider audience. Content optimization comprises a variety of steps that combine to boost the SEO of the content. Get excellent scoring and ranking of the website through ensuring content optimization of all web pages. The major benefit of content optimization is that it increases user engagement on the website. Ultimate benefits include the enhanced website visibility and enhanced CTRs. Content optimization depends mainly on checking plagiarism. How to Do Content Optimization? Content optimization is not rocket science. The better the research will be, the better the implementation would become. You can optimize your website content on your own. Keep a close eye on your website content and check plagiarism of all to avoid consequences. There are multiple ways to do so: Appropriate Use of Backlinks: It is optimally necessary to link the most reputed and top-rated websites for linking to your content. Backlink has the power to extend your reach to the targeted audience. The wisest method to get the benefit of backlink is the use of keywords. Keywords are the necessary part of the content that must be used to reap the benefits. Backlinks are meant to be used on the keywords. You can use multiple backlinks in the web content to reap optimum outcomes in the least possible time. However, the notorious and broken backlinks must be avoided. Unique Content: A plagiarism check has the power to reveal the similarity index of the content. A plagiarism detector would not disappoint you in terms of performance. It helps in offering quality content without the similarity index. Check Duplication with the use of the most reliable online plagiarism checker which is none other than Duplichecker. It is a reliable similarity checker which is well known for its excellent features. Check plagiarism at your earliest and avoid uploading content without passing the content through it. In the case of a high similarity index, you can make use of a paraphrasing tool. Avoid spelling and grammatical errors from all the web pages. SEO-friendly content will let you cast a spell on the masses and develop a connection with them. Use SEO online tools that are available free of cost for your convenience. Say goodbye to the issues to Check plagiarism and use online tools for it! Meta Title and Meta Description: The main catching elements that ensure generating a click on the article are the meta title and meta description. A plagiarism check is necessary for the meta title and meta description. The title must be appealing and should contain numeric and other keywords. Both meta title and met description are the ones having their visibility at the search engine. Do not exceed form the word count limit and craft the impressive one through creativity. Check plagiarism of these, too, as crawlers can find it out to decline your website rating. Image Alt Attribute: Images are the element that is used in the content to improve the engagement of the users. These visually appealing elements provide more worth to the content. People comprehend the concept of the article when they go through the relevant images in it. Do not use random images but ensure to grab the ones having high resolution and relevancy to the topic. Optimize these with the use of image alt attribute and must incorporate the keyword in it. Targeted Keywords: Keywords work magically to bring success to you. Exploring the keywords is not that tough, especially when you go through the right tactic. Use SEO tools that are available online to relish the outcomes. Keyword finder is the online tool that will let you have a huge list of relevant keywords. Rather than using simple keywords, it is beneficial to use long keywords. Consider using multiple keywords rather than the single one. Spread it all over the content! Proper Formatting and Alignment: People love to read the content which is organized. Use the most reliable and professional formatting tactics. Avoid being so fancy and complex with the font style and rely on the one which is easy to read. Keep the passage of few lines and ensure to have 3 to 5 sentences in each passage. Take the best use of bullets to make it easier for the users to go through the content in the wink of an eye. Keep content perfectly aligned and format it with the use of headings and subheadings. Read Also: Understanding Search Engine Optimization Content Marketing Mistakes You Shouldn’t Be Making Things to consider while doing SEO 5 Ways Marketing Strategies Will Change Post COVID-19

SEO for Dummies

Yes, you can find tons of content out here on the internet if you plan to look up the same topic! Our effort though is to simply introduce you to some of the fundamental aspects of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and what you can expect out of SEO services offered by just about any SEO company in India if you are not familiar with the subject. Let’s move on to see what SEO is, what it includes, and how best you can get it done. Search Engine Optimization – What is it? You are aware of the fact that search engines are the default go-to destination for people looking for information on the internet. They simply key in the “search term” or “keywords” in the Search Bar, hit the search button, and pages of results instantly flood the screen. Understandably the websites featured on the first page of search results have content that is more relevant to the search (that’s how search engines work!). Search Engine Optimization is a process that makes websites search-engine friendly, enough to rank high on the first page of the search results, as typical internet users hardly have the time or patience to look past the top 10 or 20 websites listed on the Search Engine result pages (SERP). Ranking high on the SERP simply means your website has higher chances of being noticed/visited, by potential customers looking for products or services that your business deals with. Increased visibility tends to increase traffic to your website but need not necessarily guarantee a conversion. What information you feature on the website, how well it is presented, how useful it is for the visitor, how you strike an interactive rapport with the visitor via your website and of course the quality of your company’s products or services will decide the business outcome and also future rankings on the SERP. Search Engine Optimization – What does it involve? SEO is an umbrella term typically spanning a set of fundamental tasks that make a website search-engine friendly earning it a high SERP rank in the process. It ideally includes: Website Analysis Keyword Research and Optimization On-Page Optimization Off-Page Optimization Link Building Ideally, these services are available either as a bundle or independently from any SEO company in Delhi, based on the client requirements. The website analysis will help get an idea of, website design, structure, and traffic, while keyword research focuses on unearthing and using industry-specific trending keywords (search terms) that ensure better visibility. Creating relevant content using the right keyword density, intelligent use of keywords throughout the website right from the URL, to html pages, links, and alternative text for images, linking out to high authority sources and building backlinks from reputed websites with high traffic are but a few standard services that are offered. When done in an ethical, organic manner (White-Hat SEO), website rankings do improve, ideally with time. The challenge however is to rank high and stay there. Search Engine Optimization – Best Approach Search Engines, for instance, Google has its own set of ranking algorithms that determine the rank of a website on the search results. These algorithms or programs focus primarily on making search results more relevant to the search terms or conditions entered in the search bar. These programs look for and evaluate a number of aspects related to the website before ranking it. While there are ways to mislead these programs (Black-Hat SEO) to get better rankings, it is better to follow guidelines specified by Google to design or optimize a website to make it search-engine friendly so that it naturally qualifies for a high rank and continues to stay there as it meets standards defined by the search engine. Read More: The Importance Of SEO Based Digital Marketing Services Methods Of Optimizing Local SEO That Is Essential For Small Business Improve Your Local SEO Via Content Marketing Get A Return On Investment With Your SEO Why SEO Is Still The Digital Channel With Highest ROI Best SEO Tools For Ranking The Website

How to create cornerstone content for your website

Putting your best foot forward

A rose by any other name

Why Google loves cornerstone content

Cornerstone content strategy

Why A2 Hosting Is One Of The Best Hosting

A Complete Online Guide to Boosting Your Website Traffic in 2020

Tags

Content Rally

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

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8 Reasons Your SEO Campaigns Aren’t Showing the Desired Results

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How to create cornerstone content for your website

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Cornerstone content strategy

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Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

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Follow Us

Recent

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