Creating content that a target audience will find useful has always been important.
However, SEO-focused content has flooded search engine results pages. The Google Helpful Content Update is now complete, and the phrase “people-first content” is everywhere.
If you’re hearing this phrase for the first time, you’re probably wondering why it’s so important and how it will affect your content marketing. Understanding human-first content is critical for making the most of the Helpful Content Update. However, you should be concerned about more than just what this means for search engine algorithms.
Take this as a signal to improve your content strategy by emphasizing originality and usefulness for your readers. By focusing on content in this way, you can find more qualified leads and an audience that is naturally interested in your content.
This article will explore what person-first content is. It will also shed light on why it is important and how you can create it to boost your SEO.
What is Person-First Content?
Person-first content refers to any type of content that focuses on what people care about first and foremost. It:
- Meets the searcher’s intent
- Is accessible to all readers and consumers
- Is structured, written, and formatted in such a way that consumption appears effortless
- Doesn’t alienate anyone; and
Person-first content will provide visitors with a satisfying experience. The emphasis then shifts to providing value and keeping people coming back to your site because your content answers all of their questions. They don’t need to look any further.
Why Should You Create Person-First Content?
It will demonstrate your knowledge of a subject
You’re probably an expert on the topics your brand covers, so share it. This can be accomplished by writing well-researched and guides on topics that are of interest to your ideal audience. You can quickly gain your audience’s trust by proving that you know what you’re talking about.
Readers will consider you a reliable source
When your audience knows they can rely on you for factual, top-quality, and useful content, they will keep coming back for more. Not only does this increase website traffic, but these people also become loyal readers.
They then share your content with their audience and friends, assisting you in developing a circle of people who are a good fit for your customer base. They know they can rely on you because you offered them value via your content, whether through social media, email, or blogs.
It will set you apart from your competitors
There is a high concentration of businesses online.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to research the gaps in your industry that you can fill. You differentiate yourself from your competitors by creating human-first content that addresses their needs and provides assistance that your competitors cannot or do not provide.
How Can You Create Person-First Content to Boost Your SEO?
The number of blogs that publish new content every day is increasing. Keep in mind that duplicate content, low-quality content, and keyword stuffing will not benefit your target audience. This is not a good SEO content strategy. It will also not improve your organic ranking.
One study says that even if your content is useful, it needs 3 more things to bring in organic traffic:
- It must be optimized for a large number of keywords with high search volume.
- It must generate a sufficient number of credible backlinks, and
- It must be about an evergreen concept or topic.
Here are some elements of person-first content that can help you get the most out of your SEO strategy:
Keyword Research
Keyword research is still important when creating person-first content. The intent is the most important aspect of any keyword used by searchers. Before you can write great content that solves a specific problem, you must first understand what each keyword stands for.
Don’t forget to consider keyword classification. In other words, determine whether or not search users intend to purchase a product.
Google still uses keywords to determine the topic of a web page. Avoid over-optimization at all costs.
When targeting keywords in your content, stick to this three-step strategy:
- Include the primary keyword in the headline. Assuming your keyword is ‘bounce rate,’ your headline could be ‘7 Ways to Reduce Your Website’s Bounce Rate.’
- Use alternative keywords in the introduction, meta description, and title tags.
- Write naturally to please your readers and then include the primary keyword in the conclusion.
Incorporate Storytelling
Since humans enjoy good stories, storytelling can help you stand out as an SEO content writer. You will gain more attention if you can incorporate your brand’s story into your blog post, article, or video.
Brand storytelling is not a new concept. Several brands have used and continue to use it. According to Kristen Matthews, using natural storytelling in your content allows you to have the greatest impact on the reader.
However, your story should not be about you alone. Find a way to make it appealing to your target audience instead.
When you do this, brand storytelling can help boost your organic ranking, traffic, and sales conversions.
Include Humor
One reason you should write with humor is to keep the reader or audience interested. You can also use humor to help you understand a difficult subject.
SEO content writing is more than just creating useful content that solves a specific problem. Your content must also pique the interest of your readers.
They should be eager to click your headline, read the introduction, and then scroll down slowly. That is what persuasive writing entails. If you can do that, no matter what you create, people will appreciate it. They will buy whatever you recommend.
Make Use of Case Studies
Case studies are one of the 15 content types that will increase traffic to your website. They can make your content compelling.
According to research at Content Marketing Institute, case studies and research-based content are what B2B buyers like best.
If you keep writing useful, in-depth case studies, the main long-tail keywords that you’re targeting will start to show up in Google’s top 10 for relevant keywords.
Case studies typically explain your company’s products and services. A good case study will demonstrate your experiments, research studies, and interviews, as well as the results.
Wrapping Up
The more time you spend on content marketing and SEO, the more you realize that a cookie-cutter, autopilot approach to content is tedious. You’re thinking ahead when you create person-first content. You know that not everyone wants to read a blog post, so you create a podcast. You create videos because you know a lot of people prefer visual content.
You know there’s a person behind every search query, so you try to figure out what that person requires.
By using the strategies discussed in this article, you are likely to boost your traffic, improve your brand image, and make your audience fall in love with your content.
Do you want experts to help you improve your website’s SEO and boost your ROI? Get in touch with us.
Elena is an SEO and Keyword Research enthusiast, Contributes to the blog section, and manages the chat system at 1stpageKWs. She loves spending her precious time with the family.
