Let’s recap because I already did 3 Tips to Follow for You to Gain Google’s Favor (Part 1) and 3 Tips to Follow for You to Gain Google’s Favor (Part 2). So, this will the final post of this series. Today, I will list the last 3 most important rules that will get you on Google’s radar. Being the world’s leading search engine, we all need to earn Google’s favor if we want our websites to be clicked and visited. The question now is… How do we do that?

So, here are the rules you need to follow:

7. Update your website.

• If there is something Google loves, it is an update websites. From time to time, try to provide new and relevant content for your audience.
• One thing that will take your website stand out is by giving regular updates. Be on the lookout for the newest trends and write about it.
• A fresh content will definitely look good on Google’s eyes. So, you might be wondering why your well-researched content did not perform as expected. Read the 4 Possible Reasons Why Your Content Didn’t Rank Well.
• Additionally, you should know your audience. If you know them, you will know that words grab their attention. Research on the popular keywords using these content curation tools.

8. Build your link profile.

• Aside from content, websites need links. These links will tell Google that your website is trustworthy. If people are constantly mentioning your website or sharing your links, then that’s a strong indication that your website is reliable.
• Thus, it important to know how to develop links. See my posts on: 5 Link Development Tips to Help Build Backlinks (Part 1) and 5 Link Development Tips to Help Build Backlinks (Part 2)
• Moreover, you should NOT easily believe what you read online. Some of it could just be hearsays that could destroy what you have built. Read the 7 Link Building Myths that You Should Disregard in 2019.
• Lastly, you should assess all the incoming links pertaining to your website. If you feel suspicious about the links’ origins, then submit it. Google has a disavow tool for you to report such links.
• At the end of the day, you would want your links to be organic. There are tools you use to check the quality of links your website is getting. More on 3 Backlink Tools to Assess Link Quality.

9. Advertise on social media.

• Even though Google has not considered social signals as an important ranking factor, it can somehow tell Google you are doing a good job. Of course, an article with shares, likes, and mentions is a positive indication that you are something great for your readers.
• If you have read the Google’s Webmasters Guidelines, you know that the social media is one of the ways to advertise a website. Plus, the public usually are spending more of their time on social media. So, why not take advantage, right?
• Remember, social media is a two-way street. You are NOT there just to promote your content; you also need to interact with your followers. It is important to know the 4 Things You Should AVOID Doing on Social Media.

In the vast word of SEO, we all can’t deny that Google makes the rules. Of course, we want to make our customers happy. When we design a website, we always look out for their interest. How about Google? How do we stay on Google’s good side?

In this blog post, I will tell you the SEO practices will make Google happy. For sure, you will be able to grab not just the users’ attention, but also Google’s favor. Here are the 3 rules to follow:

1. Exceptional content

• It all starts with content. No matter how cliché it sounds, but it is true. Content is the first thing Google will check. In another article, I talked about the top ranking factors. (See: Google Webmaster Martin Splitt Shares the 3 Most Important SEO Factors)
• However, it shouldn’t just be any content. It should be distinct, extraordinary, and unlike any other. To be honest, it is easier said than done. For me, for you to be different, you need to show your own personality. Do not try to copy another just because it’s popular. Dare to different from the rest and you will surely stand out!
• You will surely catch Google’s attention with a unique article. Of course, it can be about an already popular topic, but try to add your opinion. Do your own research and share what you know. For sure, Google will reward you with high rankings.
• Thus, it best to allocate more time on content creation. You can take advantage of the free tools available online, or you can subscribe to paid tools.

2. Captivating content

• Content should not be only unique, but it also has to be captivating to the audience’s eyes. It should compel them to click and to take action!
• A good measure of a content that captures the readers is through user engagements. Moreover, it can be assessed through the number of likes, shares, comments, replies an article has gained. For more details, refer to 7 User Engagement Tips and Why User Engagement is Important for SEO.
  • Why is it important?
    • In essence, it is a clear indication that people are interested in a topic. They allocate their time to comment and share an article.
    • Goggle can see this as a positive sign
  • For example, 2 contrasting sites talk about 1 same topic. So, they compete for the same keyword. Google will now asses which one should rank higher. Of course, Google will pick the one with 56 likes, 27 comments, and 14 shares over a website that did NOT get any engagements.
• How about you? How would asses these sites? Social media shares may not directly influence rankings, but it is a clear sign of user engagement. We all know how important user engagement is for SEO.

3. Adequate page titles and meta descriptions

• Here are some tips to improve your titles and meta descriptions:
  • Keep titles around 60 characters maximum, and do not go over 70 characters.
  • Meta descriptions should be around the length of a standard tweet (140 characters.)
  • Strive to make your page titles and meta descriptions distinct for every web page.

Next? 3 Tips to Follow for You to Gain Google’s Favor (Part 2)

So, I already tackled The Content Curation Tools (Part 1) and The Content Curation Tools (Part 2). Do you want more suggestions? Yes, I hear you.

Don’t worry because you won’t ever run out of ideas ever again. I know it can be very difficult to conceptualize new ideas for your website. Honestly, new content ideas does not come easy. You need to extensively research, right?

Well, with these tools, looking for content suggestions will be easier. Hopefully, this can help you create your BEST content yet!

7. Google Trends

• The world of Google Search is heavily influenced by the keywords people use to search. Thus, it is crucial to write about these keywords. That’s the only way for Google to see your website as reliable, useful, and worthy of higher rankings.
• With Google Trends, you will understand the search results better. Plus, you get to dig deeper and figure out the intent initiating these online searches.
• The great thing about Google Trends is that you will know the TIMELINESS of the topic. You will have an idea if it’s already a popular topic or if it’s just starting to gain popularity.
• You will also know the following:
  • The popularity of keywords month back. You get to monitor its ups and downs over time.
  • You will recognize if the keywords is merely a seasonal topic. If it is indeed a recurring keyword, you will learn exactly when people start searching for it.

PRO TIP: Since you get to see the progress of a keyword over a certain period of time, you can easily discern if you need to write about the topic or not. Additionally, you get to realize the best time to post about a seasonal topic.

8. Google Search Results

Next, you have your good ole search results. Yes, doing a manual search on Google can help you. To discover content opportunities, try typing in keywords and you will see that Google will suggest popular topics. Google’s autocomplete feature will give you a heads up on what people are searching online, and this will be a chance to address these queries.

Here to questions to ask yourself:

• When you are doing a Google search, what specific keywords are ranking?
• What websites are part of the top results?
• Do you see a common denominator among the top search results?
• If so, what are they? Similar title, content, or meta description?
• How comprehensive are the search results?
• If so, do the contents cover specific subtopics?

Once you analyze the search results this way, you will have topic ideas basing from the popular keywords. Thus, you can publish something similar, and Google can see your content as related to the top results. Moreover, Google can easily see its connection and it will conclude that it is worthy of ranking.

PRO TIP: Remember, the top search results on Google are those that are helpful and educational to the users. If you see an opportunity to create something useful for the audience, then grab it! Your blog post might be something they are looking for.

Conclusion

So, there you have it! That ends my 3-part series on the different content curation tools available online. If you are interested in knowing the paid tools, I have wrote about the premium tools for content ideation right here.

Ideas don’t come easy! As a content writer, we all know that we’re sometimes stuck in rut. To be honest, crafting new content can be terribly difficult. Excellent ideas don’t just come in a snap. However, you need to persevere in thinking of content idea for your website to gain the attention it needs.

The Free Tool to Generate Ideas

For this blog post, I will start by sharing 3 free tools for you to come up with ideas for your website. There are various tools you can find online so let’s deal with it one at a time. Below are the first 3 tools you can use:

1. FAQ Fox

• With this tool, you will have an idea of the numerous questions that people are curious about. All you need to do is type in a specific kwyword and list down the different sites to search. Then, you are ready to start searching!
• That’s pretty much it and it’s very easy, right? If you want to narrow your search, you can add more websites to search or you add categories of the websites. Basically, FAQ Fox will help you know the most search questions – the what, where, when, why, and how – that people desperately wants answers.  FAQ Fox will scour for page titles and meta descriptions that match your keywords.
• Aside from it being free to use, FAQ Fox proves to be helpful in the following:
  • Knowing what the public are looking for,
  • Identifying the language they are using,
  • Seeing the answers to the different questions,
  • And realizing the questions that needs answers.

PRO TIP: Other than searching popular websites for topic ideas, it is also helpful if you analyze all your competitors’ sites. By adding their URL on your search, you will know what questions they have already tackled.

2. Quora

• Before you criticize me of classifying Quora as a tool, still, it doesn’t take away the fact that it is a great avenue for you to learn actual questions that people are asking.
• Quora is website where people ask anything under the sun. It’s a community of internet users that are ready to help each other for any questions that are bothering them.
• So, with Quora, it is easy for you to identify the popular questions that are begged to be answered. This will give you an idea on what to talk about on your blog.
• When you post on Quora, you develop your online reputation. Thus, your website gain more visibility through the thousands of Quora users.

PRO TIP: Once you answered a particular question on Quora, don’t forget to share your blog post on the question. You can reply with your answer. Plus, add the link on your website!

3. Google Search Console

• Lastly, there’s Google Search Console. When you tinker with this, Google Search Console can actually give you some valuable data. For starters, you will know what posts on your website garner the most views, clicks, reads, impressions, and shares.
• Naturally, it would be easy for you to know what blog posts need more boost. Read: How to Boost a Content That Is NOT Doing Well?

PRO TIP: The moment you know the articles that gain the most clicks, then write more content pieces around that keyword. Publish something similar to it.

Is your SEO ranking not going up despite your efforts? There’s a chance that you might be ruining your chances.

Almost all website owners exhaust all SEO means to rank up and to earn money from their pages. So when something goes wrong and their rankings go downhill, it’s easy to assume that they are doing something that damages the rankings.

Remember: good SEO practices can be difficult, while bad ones are easy to fall prey to.

So are you ruining your rankings? Assess if you’re doing any of these:

*You resort to spammy content

The bad thing about some website owners is they use spammy content for the sake of gaining backlinks and organic traffic.

One notorious spot here is the comment section. Many brands and website owners post links of their pages that are not relevant to the thread, let alone the topic.

If you do this spammy practice, you’re damaging your Disqus account and the site will block you using an anti-spam plugin.

*You duplicate your content

Duplicate content is a no-no when it comes to SEO. Plagiarized content never goes unnoticed on the web, much so by web crawlers which index your pages.

It’s indeed quite challenging to write something that’s 100% unique. In fact, Raven Tools conducted a web crawl where they discovered that about 29% of 200 million pages actually contain 29% duplicated content.

Of course, you can’t have a purely original copy since the vast world of the internet will use the same words. What you have to abide with is the definition of Google of ‘duplicate content’.

*Your keyword stuffing is rampant

Keyword stuffing is one of the common faux pas of newbie website owners.

SEO plugins like Yoast recommend that each copy contains at least 0.5% keyword density. Meanwhile, it still tolerates up to 1%.

However, many website owners think that this is a numbers game. The higher the percentage is, the more edge they get.

This is awfully wrong for one big reason: keyword stuffing.

Aside from being penalized by Google, keyword stuffing also makes your content unappealing to readers.

The rule of thumb here is to integrate your keywords as natural as possible. Don’t overkill the optimization.

*You use too many H1 headers

This may seem harmless, but using too many H1 headers will also damage your rankings.

You should know that H1 headers are reserved for the main heading alone. Peppering your pages and posts with this header will confuse crawlers and give your SEO a big disservice.

So the rule of thumb is to use just one H1 header on your website. The rest can be in H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6 as it merits the hierarchy.

* You’re placing too many ads above-fold

Like newspapers, web pages also have an above-fold part. It’s the visible portion that internet users see without scrolling.

Placing ad banners here will have a huge blow on your rankings. Soon enough, you’ll notice a decrease in traffic as more and more site visitors get put off by your pesky ads.

The key here is to check the page layout algorithm. It will give you an idea about what you’re doing wrong with the ad placements.