Marketers: Do you spend hours working on each blog for your website?
Picture this:
You’ve done your research, backed up your articles with meaty facts and statistics, and made sure to stay on topic within your established niche.
But months later, those articles still aren’t being read, and they aren’t ranking on Google when people search for your keywords. ?
What went wrong?
The first and most common diagnosis for content that isn’t performing is it wasn’t written with SEO copywriting in mind.
Which begs the question…
What is SEO copywriting, and how can you do it in a way that brings in readers and Google? Let’s discuss.
What Exactly Is SEO Copywriting?
SEO stands for search engine optimization, which means content is optimized to be discovered, indexed, and cataloged in search engines such as Google.
Copywriting is the practice of writing ad copy, product descriptions, or other publicly read material meant to influence readers to perform a certain action – for example, buying a product, downloading an ebook, signing up for a newsletter, etcetera.
Put the two together, and SEO copywriting results in content designed to rank highly in search engines, provide maximum value, and motivate readers to act in some capacity.
[bctt tweet=”You spend hours working on blog content. But months later, those articles still aren’t being read, and they aren’t ranking on Google. ? What went wrong? You’re missing the key: ? SEO copywriting.” username=”ExpWriters”]
SEO copywriting is an important part of content marketing. Facts: Search engines begin 68% of all online experiences, and organic searches bring in 53.3% of all website traffic.
Of all the search engines, Google remains the top dog with a near monopoly over 90% of web search volume.
If you’re writing content solely for your human readers, you likely aren’t using keywords regularly or placing them in the right strategic places. Google isn’t going to catch on and rank your content at the top of the search engine results page (SERP).
If you’re writing specifically for Google without much regard for your audience, your content is probably going to sound repetitive and robotic, which means your readers won’t want to read it. It will sound more like an AI wrote it rather than a human who speaks like, well, a human.
Proper SEO copywriting requires striking a balance between optimization for both humans and Google.
How to Write Content That Gets Read
Google’s search algorithm is in a constant state of evolution, which means proper SEO copywriting practices have changed over the years.
Content that used to be rewarded for keyword stuffing and other bad practices was later penalized for practically unreadable writing for sane people looking for quality information.
The good news is, despite all of the changes over the last decade, there’s a common and reliable theme in every change Google makes to its search quality rating program – an emphasis on value for the readers.
Here’s how to deliver that:
1. Go with the Flow
Remember those essays you wrote in school? You know, the long, eloquent paragraphs with high-level vocabulary?
Yeah, forget all that.
Google’s taste is much different than your English professor’s.
Search engines want to deliver content that the average reader can skim and easily retain. This means short, punchy paragraphs with a logical flow and clearly defined sections broken up by subheadings.
Your content needs to be well organized. Google isn’t keeping this preference a secret – they disclose exactly what they’re looking for in their SEO starter guide:
2. Kill the Fluff
Content needs to be valuable to readers.
Meaning, don’t string them along. Be selective with your words and get to the point.
Don’t turn your article into a creative writing assignment drowning in adjectives, adverbs, and wordy metaphors.
Descriptive text is great, and of course your content should be well written and entertaining, but you need to provide value in a timely manner.
If someone clicks on your headline promising tips to save money, guess what that reader is expecting? Tips to save money. Not paragraph after paragraph telling your life story or skewing into irrelevant details that have nothing to do with the primary topic.
That’s not to say you can’t elaborate on relevant points that offer some value to the theme, but keep it concise before your reader gets bored and leaves your website without reaching the end of your article.
Pro tip: Subheadings are not only great for SEO by improving readability, but they’ll also help you stay on track. Planning your headings and subheadings before you even start writing is a quick, easy way to create a loose outline so you don’t accidentally lose focus and start rambling on and on across various tangents.
Need help ditching essay-style writing in favor of online writing that actually works? Check out Unlearn Essay Writing, a one-week course that teaches you everything you need to know.
3. Be Trustworthy
The epidemic of misinformation in 2020 took a toll on consumer trust when it comes to content in just about every form, from search engines as well as traditional, owned, and social media.
People are naturally wary these days.
What does that mean for current SEO copywriting if writers want to create content that gets read?
In short:
Double check your facts. You’re responsible for ensuring you’re publishing verified content your consumers can trust.
Ditch the traditional sales pitch. Customers aren’t buying into overpromises, too-good-to-be-true offers, and flashy pitches like they used to. Content marketing is outperforming cold calls and other dying marketing techniques by prioritizing value instead of pushing the sale.
Back up your claims. If you’re using data and statistics to prove your point, make sure you aren’t just pulling them out of thin air. Find sources for your content.
Use credible links. While linking to qualified sources is good practice anyway, it also factors into Google’s algorithm. If you’re going to provide trustworthy content, you have to link to trustworthy websites that have established online authority. Tools like Alexa can help you ascertain a website’s credibility.
Link directly to sources. If you’re citing a study, make sure your link takes readers directly to that study. Don’t send them to another article that links to another article that links to that study.
In today’s untrustworthy atmosphere, many readers can smell B.S. a mile away.
Content creators are responsible for being honest with their consumers. Once again, Google is clear and upfront about how important trustworthiness and authoritativeness is in their publicly accessible SEO starter guide:
E.A.T. (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is a common acronym Google often refers to in regards to page rank and SEO.
Every piece of content you publish should embody E.A.T. if you want Google to even consider listing it on the first SERP so people can discover it.
A pro copywriter will ensure E.A.T. is infused in all of your content for great results. Hire a pro copywriter now.
4. Include a CTA
SEO strategies will get your content read, but if you want it to convert, your readers need to know what to do next.
The best way to tell them is to add at least one call-to-action (CTA) in the middle and/or at the end of your articles.
Your content provides valuable information to the reader, and the CTA prompts them to take action.
When deciding on your CTA, it’s important to make sure it works with the content.
For example, if you write a well-researched article about the history of social media, does it make sense to finish your content with a CTA pushing your readers to hire your landscape company for yard maintenance?
No. Those two topics aren’t even remotely related.
(And the history of social media isn’t something the audience within your niche is probably interested in, so you shouldn’t be publishing that kind of content on your website anyway.)
But, if you wrote an article about social media and then finished with a CTA for your copywriting agency to provide a free social media analysis followed by a digital strategy collaboration, then you’re maximizing the chance for a conversion.
Everything needs to work together.
Your topic needs to be relevant to your niche.
Your content needs to stay consistent with your topic.
And your CTA needs to accurately tie in with your content.
Sticking to this level of consistency will ensure that your content is not only discovered and read by the people who are interested in it, but also that it converts so you can reap the benefits of your invested time and effort.
With These Tips, Your Content Is Sure to Get Discovered and Read
It’s not even a debate anymore. Google has confirmed it:
There’s simply no way around it – if your content is subpar, it’s not going to perform.
It needs to flow smoothly, use concise and easy-to-understand language, demonstrate E.A.T., contain links to high-authority websites, and guide readers to take action by using at least one CTA.
The primary goal of your content should be to serve the reader. Google’s optimization guidelines are based around this very principle.
This is why SEO copywriting is so important to content marketing – it caters to both search engines and human readers. Google loves subheadings, lists, and short paragraphs because that formatting is easier for people to read as they skim through an article.
Keywords are still important so Google can accurately categorize your content when generating search results for users, but the overall quality and readability of the content is the most important.
If you follow these guidelines, your content strategy will be off to a strong start.
Express Writers provides high-quality written content in any format you might need, whether it’s expert blog posts, infographics, ebooks, ad copy, case studies, press releases, social media, and more. See what we have to offer.
2018: World Cup, Hurricane Florence, and Mac Miller
2019: Disney Plus, Cameron Boyce, and Nipsey Hussle
2020: Election Results, Coronavirus, and Kobe Bryant
When people perform searches, Google sifts through a flood of online content and ranks it by relevance and popularity. Over 90% of visitors click on first-page Google results because those websites are synonymous with quality content.
How does Google keep its top results high quality?
In 2012, Google introduced Google Penguin – a complex algorithm for detecting and penalizing websites that try and cheat the system through fake links and keyword stuffing.
What Is Google Penguin?
Ranking high on Google search isn’t a matter of luck.
Google is very clear about what they expect from websites. It posts its Webmaster guidelines publicly for everyone to read. Websites that follow these guidelines have a higher chance of ranking near the top of results.
What happens when website creators break these guidelines?
That’s a question Google wanted to address in their 2012 search algorithm update. Developers designed Google Penguin’s algorithm to search for indicators of websites manipulating the system to steal top result spots – then penalized those websites by pushing them further down in search results.
[bctt tweet=”Developers designed Google Penguin ? to search for indicators of websites manipulating the system to steal top result spots – then penalized those websites by de-ranking them. Learn why it still matters for SEO today.” username=”ExpWriters”]
Some of the indicators Google Penguin looked for were poor-quality links. These are spam links or links that people purchased with the sole purpose of making a website appear higher quality than it is.
The last Google Penguin update, Google Penguin 4.0, brought an end to separate updates. Instead, Google Penguin became part of the core algorithm.
The algorithm itself didn’t change. What changed is how Google connected to Penguin. With Google Penguin as part of the core algorithm, websites saw immediate results in their search rankings.
Website content creators no longer look at Google Penguin updates for the latest guidelines on website content, but at Google’s algorithms as a whole, since they’re now the same.
Another change that took place with Google Penguin 4.0 is how Google punished websites that cheated the system.
The new update doesn’t punish websites as severely as previous versions. The first Google Penguin updates penalized whole domains for spam links – causing webpages to sometimes drop out of results entirely. Penguin 4.0 only penalizes subpages and specific URLs.
The new Penguin update also allows websites to regain their rankings faster by correcting faulty links.
The 5 Steps of Google’s Search Algorithm Today
What does Google’s algorithm look like today – and how can your website rank on the first page?
Google lists five steps that it takes every time someone performs a search. Using these five steps to customize your content, you can gain high rankings while avoiding penalties from Google Penguin.
1. Interprets a Person’s Meaning
When you enter a search into Google, the search engine analyzes not just the individual words – but the semantics of your search.
This analysis consists of correcting misspellings, including synonyms in results, and identifying the context of the search.
Content creators benefit from this algorithm because it means you don’t have to know the exact words people are searching for. Your blog post on “The 5 Best Ways to Clean Your Car” also has a chance to rank when people search “best ways to clean your vehicle”.
2. Finds the Most Relevant Results
Have you ever heard of keywords? They’re one of the two most important ranking factors.
A keyword is a term or phrase that’s used repeatedly on a page. Repeating a keyword helps Google identify that page as a relevant result for a topic.
For example, this post’s keyword is “Google Penguin”. When people search for information on Google Penguin, Google will see how often this post mentions their algorithm and is more likely to suggest a reader visit our website.
Not all keywords are equal. Over 92% of keywords get fewer than ten monthly searches. That’s because people don’t always search for the keywords content creators use.
If you want to know what keywords people search for, try two easy methods:
1. Begin a search query on Google and write down Google’s suggested searches.
2. Search your page’s topic – then scroll down to the bottom of your search results for related searches.
[bctt tweet=”Want to find out what keywords people actually use? ? 1) Search for a topic on Google. ? 2) Write down Google’s suggested searches (the autocomplete text that pops under the search box) and related searches (at the bottom of the page).” username=”ExpWriters”]
First, Google’s algorithm looks for popular websites. As people visit, comment, and interact with your site – your site moves up in rankings.
Second, Google looks at inbound and outbound links. When other websites link back to your content, Google sees this as a sign that you produce high-quality content. The more sites that link to your website, the higher you will rank in Google.
When you also link to reliable websites, you show Google that you value other quality content. Alexa’s tool for analyzing websites and their quality can help you find reliable sources for your outbound links.
Quality linking is the third most important part of SEO. Over 51% of content creators who use quality links start seeing better results in less than three months.
Internal linking is just as important as external linking. By adding a link to another page on your website, you’re connecting all the pages of your website as one. This connection shows search engines that each of your website’s pages is equally reliable.
4. Weeds out Unusable Content
Have you ever left a website that loaded too slowly? Do you find yourself immediately closing pages on your phone that are difficult to read?
Google wants to make your search experience as pleasant as possible by weeding out sites that load slowly, navigate awkwardly, or format incorrectly on your device.
68% of visitors use their mobile device to access websites – while only 29% of visitors access websites through their desktop. Google wants top-level content accessible and readable across all devices.
If your website only looks good on your computer, you may find yourself losing out on top page rankings. To ensure your website runs smoothly and works on all devices, hire a website developer to design your site.
5. Analyzes Personal Preferences
Does this situation sound familiar?
You tell your friend about a treadmill you’ve been eyeing up. Next thing you know, Facebook has ads for that treadmill plastered everywhere! Even random websites you visit on Google somehow know you want that treadmill.
Most people have accepted that technology tracks what you do. While being tracked may make you uncomfortable, it also has its benefits.
Google uses the data it collects on you – where you are, what you search, websites you frequent – to tailor search results to your lifestyle.
If you search for coffee shops – Google can use its location tracking to know you’re in Virginia and show results for your area.
As a content creator, you can use this feature to tailor your content to specific audiences. By adding locations to your website, you show Google that you are a relevant search result for anyone in the area.
How Websites Avoid Penalties with Google Penguin
What you learned about Google’s five steps in finding search results is meant to help you create quality content. If you try and cheat the system – Google Penguin will drastically drop your ranking.
“White hat SEO” refers to websites tactics that follow search engine guidelines – while “black hat SEO” are underhanded tactics meant to manipulate the system.
Here are the two most common black hat SEO practices and how you can avoid Google Penguin penalties through proper white hat SEO.
Feeling overwhelmed by all the content rules? Hire a content writer to create quality content for your website.
Avoid Keyword Stuffing
The second step in Google’s search process is to locate relevant websites through keywords. If you fill a page with keywords without adding quality content in-between the keywords, you are keyword stuffing.
Quality content includes content that is authoritative, informative, and engaging.
Most first-page results have close to 1,500 words. If you do try and meet that average, don’t compromise your quality to meet a word count, or else viewers will discard you as full of fluff instead of a leader in your industry.
Make every word on your website count.
Use Quality Links
You can buy almost anything online – including links.
Buying links is a practice a web builder does to gain higher rankings. When people buy links, they exchange money or equal links for a link to their website– making their website appear more reliable than it is.
Another link scheme is using unnatural links. These are links that are hidden on a page to try and trick Google search – but don’t add any value to the page.
To avoid Google flagging your links as spam, intersperse them in quality content. If you do have an ad link, label it in the link attributes.
Avoid Penalties from Google Penguin through Quality Content
Google has over 200 factors that influence ranking. That is a lot to keep straight while simultaneously avoiding penalties from Google Penguin.
We at Express Writers offer content writing services that hit on the main factors affecting your website’s ranking: creating quality content, adding reliable links, and customizing your keywords.
Check out our content shop and start publishing quality content on your website today.
Here are some questions that haunt many a marketer…
Does backlinking really matter that much? If so, how do we “get” backlinks?
The resounding answer to the first question is yes, absolutely.
The second part is a little bit trickier.
Backlinks do help your visibility in Google search.
But you don’t need to work on “getting” them.
There’s a better, more organic way that leads to stronger results.
Let’s discuss. ➡
Should You Focus on Backlinking as a Content Marketing Strategy? No.
Does a good backlink profile help you rank better in Google? Absolutely.
Do you need to spend hours per week on a link building strategy to earn them? Absolutely not.
Even further, you don’t need to have a backlinking strategy to build a brand with real authority that lasts over time.
Instead, building your backlinks should be a byproduct of building a great brand. If you put the latter first, you’re skipping over an important step.
What should you do, instead? Earn your links, don’t build them.
Now, this is the longer road, and it takes more commitment, but it’s more sustainable, too. Ultimately, building your authority over time will also build stronger backlinks to your site, naturally. In contrast, focusing on building backlinks to the detriment of your content strategy as a whole is akin to building a house of cards versus a house of solid stone.
Backlinks you weasel out of thin air can vanish in a second. Backlinks you earn as part of a strong content strategy and a strong brand presence will stay with you and grow over time.
So, how do you accomplish it all?
1. Focus on Consistency
Be consistent in how often you publish content, and only publish the best quality you can produce. Invest in a consistent brand presence across your website, web pages, content, and even your social media channels. Keep it up over time.
2. Focus on Growing Your Expertise
Add value to your industry by growing your expertise and sharing your original ideas over time.
As you grow as an expert (whether you read tons of books, take online courses, or just continually reflect on your experience as an entrepreneur and common industry pain points), you’ll also have some amazing wisdom that blooms alongside your knowledge. Share it!
Your original thoughts and ideas will separate you from the pack of “experts” sharing regurgitated information. When you have something fresh to add to the conversation, that’s valuable to your audience, who are looking to learn from you.
3. Focus on Guest Blogging
Once you’re in a rhythm of creating great content, lend some of your energy to creating content for publication on guest blogging platforms. This how you reach a bigger audience that overlaps with yours, not to mention grow your brand and build your authority on a bigger scale.
To find guest blogging opportunities, just google “your industry” + “publications to guest blog for.” Remember to only publish stellar content, and always include your site link in your bio/author byline!
[bctt tweet=”Building backlinks should be a byproduct of building a great brand. If you put the latter first, you’re skipping over an important step. What should you do, instead? Earn your links, don’t build them. ? More on @ExpWriters:” username=””]
Now that we’ve cleared up why you shouldn’t laser-focus on your backlink strategy at the expense of your brand (i.e., don’t put the cart before the horse! ?), let’s take a deeper look at the inner workings of backlinking.
How Backlinks Have Changed Over the Years
Link building, or backlinking, has changed a lot since it started. Years ago, the standard was to focus on what was known as low-influence linking to build up your credibility.
Low-influence links were links that pushed domain diversity even if they were not necessarily links that were perceived authorities in a given sector. The idea was to amass hundreds of links that pointed to domains all over the place that would lead back to your site and raise your ranking.
Domain diversity would theoretically lend itself to credibility and therefore boost your overall visibility. It worked once upon a time, but in the end, domain diversity proved to be fruitless as opposed to lucrative.
Links like that are not the way to go today. Instead, you want to focus on quality over quantity, but what exactly does that mean? I’m glad you asked.
The Differences Between Quality Links and Quantity of Links
As was stated, it was common practice to link to hundreds and hundreds of low-ranking sites to raise your rank, but over time, it made more sense to work smarter and not harder.
That means working for quality links compared to the quantity of links.
In other words, you wouldn’t want to include a link to a power tool company when you are reading an article about nutritional well-being, right?
On the other hand, if you wrote an article about post-workout foods that help you recover faster, then you want to link to studies from credible and well-established sites that support your claims.
Quality links point back to relevant content and trustworthy websites. You want to focus on the best links that are relevant to your content and go to top-ranked sites.
Cultivating quality links takes an extended amount of time to build credibility, but once it is established, it lasts compared to the low-influence links of the past.
Know Where to Place Your Links
Did you know? There’s a strategic way to place links in your content. In every quality content piece you come across, the link placement is not random – there’s a rhyme and a reason for every single link you see in the material you read every day.
On web pages, have you ever noticed there are links both in the content itself as well as at the bottom of the page, in the footer or navigational area?
The first example is a screenshot of an article from political site ThinkProgress. You can see that ThinkProgress has a relevant link to Business Insider within their content.
The second example is from an iOS app production company, Tapbots. With Tapbots, the only place you’ll see links to click on is if you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page.
Looking at the two examples above, which one do you think is more effective?
Links that are in the content work better because they’re editorial — your audience will see them right away.
If you only put links in the footers or headers, they have less weight since they aren’t relevant to the content and they are not immediately visible to your audience.
Beware Bad Link Building Practices
You know that quality links are a good idea, and you may be tempted to try expediting the process to increase your ranking and visibility.
There are so many suggestions out there to increase link building, but be wary of the “quick” strategies and seemingly “easy” ways to do it so many “experts” tout. Most importantly, steer clear of anything that sounds too good to be true. Building backlinks is NEVER quick, and if it’s both quick AND easy, it’s probably a scam.
For example, while doing your research, you may come across the prospect of buying links.
Horrible idea. Don’t do it. Here’s why:
Buying backlinks has been a bad idea from the beginning, but people continue to do it because they think it will increase their rankings in the long-term.
The truth is that it will actually hurt your site’s ranking because if you happen to get caught using unethical link building tactics, Google will penalize you and your rankings will drop quickly. It will be hard to come back from that.
There are many examples of this happening after buying backlinks.
In one instance, a blogger thought buying backlinks was a good thing and his traffic report seemed to prove him right.
While his visitors apparently went up in a short time, his visibility and rankings earned before purchasing backlinks were utterly lost when the effect wore off.
His site had been penalized because Google knew that his backlinks were not genuine as well as being irrelevant to his content.
Something else to remember is that press releases don’t do much to improve your rankings, either.
The occasional press release is okay, but you should never use press releases as a central pathway to link building because they don’t have a direct effect on your credibility.
Google’s Penguin and Hummingbird algorithms devalue press releases, so you don’t want to use them for much more than spreading brand awareness and generating referral traffic.
Recovering from Bad Backlinks
Google understands that shady companies encouraged terrible ideas at one point, so it is possible to improve after bad backlinks.
All is not lost, even if you have already made poor choices, so long as you work to fix them.
You will want to remove all links that are not beneficial to you and your content. That means contacting site owners and requesting removal. If that doesn’t work, disavow the links.
Disavowing is a relatively straightforward concept – you’re basically asking Google not to associate those links with your site.
You will also want to check for bad backlinks that lead to error pages, as error pages do nothing to raise your ranking at all.
The downside is that with fewer links, your traffic will likely drop, but if you follow the right way to incorporate backlinking into your content, you will rebound – eventually.
Your last option would be to start over from scratch with a clean slate and a fresh site, but only consider doing this if you have been penalized and you can’t do anything to change the perception of your site.
Also, most agencies include link building as part of a packaged deal, so if you see extraordinary amounts for link building alone, you should probably steer clear of that offer.
When in Doubt, Google It Out
Google webmasters have created precise guidelines as to what is suggested and what needs to be avoided when backlinking.
While you shouldn’t necessarily aim for Google’s idea of perfection, as long as you avoid all of the things Google does not like while also focusing on business-building strategies like high-quality link building as part of your content marketing, you’re golden.
If you aren’t sure quite how to make that happen, request a consultation to help you get your content planning underway.
Ranking in position #1 on Google is no longer a guaranteed win.
Even if you manage to hit the top spot, you will often (not always!) get upstaged by SERP features.
Well, that begs the question…
First, what are SERP features?
They’re special snippets that Google displays to help users find the information they’re looking for faster and easier.
Prime example: I want to know how far the sun is from the moon.
I open Google and ask:
How far is the sun from the moon?
Google answers, not just with a list of search results, but with more information presented in SERP features like Knowledge Cards, Related Questions, and Rich Snippets:
Some of these features edge out the regular search results – the Knowledge Card, for instance, is in the top-left position on the page, where the #1 result would usually appear.
Here’s the thing: Your pages, content, and information can show up in these highly visible, highly desirable spots in SERPS. In many cases, a SERP will have multiple features that take over the page. These essentially become position #0 and will be the first things users see.
Position #0 is like the gold at the end of the rainbow for us SEO content creators.
By now, your main question has probably morphed into “How do I rank for a SERP feature?” along with “Which features are worth aiming for?” In today’s blog, I’ve got you covered with a list of the SERP features you should care about and tips to rank for each type. Let’s go.
5 SERP Features You Should Know + How to Rank for Them
1. Featured Snippets
2. Related Questions (“People also ask”)
3. Local Packs
4. Knowledge Cards/Panels
5. Rich Snippets
How to Find and Track Your Ranking SERP Features in SEMrush
Last But Not Least: Organic Search Results Are Still #1
[bctt tweet=”How do you make your content worthy enough to sit on the throne of @Google’s SERP features? ? @JuliaEMcCoy shares 5 SERP features you should know and the best ways to rank for them.” username=”ExpWriters”]
Why Scoring a SERP Feature Can Seriously Boost Your SEO Results
It’s self-explanatory why scoring one of these positions is AWESOME, but, here are some facts on the matter:
According to Ahrefs, Featured Snippets steal away 8.6% of clicks from the organic #1 search result below it.
From the same study, Ahrefs found when SERP features appear on a results page, clicks on that page drop overall – probably because people are getting the information they need from the SERP features!
A related study found that the above is especially true for pages with Knowledge Graphs, Related Questions, and Featured Snippets.
Most importantly, winning SERP features isn’t only for pages in the #1 spot. As long as you rank in the top 10, you have a chance at winning one of these covetable spots on the page.
[bctt tweet=”Scoring a SERP feature can steal those clicks from the #1 organic position. For example, Featured Snippets steal away 8.6% of clicks from the search result below it. ? Know more about how ranking for a SERP feature can help you.” username=”ExpWriters”]
To sum it up, SERP features do all of this:
They’re super visible on search results pages.
They steal clicks from the #1 organic position.
They lessen the number of clicks on the page overall.
They aren’t just for the top 3 ranking pages, or even the top 5 – if you rank on a page, you can edge into a SERP feature.
Sounds good, right? Okay, let’s get into the “how.”
5 SERP Features You Should Know + How to Rank for Them
1. Featured Snippets
The Featured Snippet is probably the SERP feature with which you’re most familiar. This one shows up at the tippy-top of the page and features an answer to the search query pulled from the text of a web page (usually, the page also ranks for that query).
Express Writers currently ranks for a bunch of Featured Snippets, including this one pulled from our post on the Top 100 content marketers:
[bctt tweet=”Featured Snippets are @Google’s SERP Features you’re most familiar with. They feature an answer to the search query pulled from the text of a web page. @JuliaEMcCoy shares more about these features and how you can rank for them ?” username=”ExpWriters”]
How Do You Rank for a Featured Snippet?
Since Featured Snippets usually appear as answers to search queries framed as direct questions (“What do pangolins eat?”, “How far away is the sun?”, or “What is SEO?” are good examples), you need to frame your written content as a definitive answer. Here are some tips:
Research long tail keywords phrased as questions to use in your content. These are often great related keywords to include along with your focus keyword.
Include those question keywords directly in your content, then answer them. (You can see we used this exact tactic for this sub-section.)
Aim to help people in your content. Be informative, factual, and accurate.
Format your content to help Google detect your answers. Bold the most important information, or put the answer to the question on its own line.
2. Related Questions (“People also ask”)
Another opportunity on the SERPs for ranking is the Related Questions snippet. This SERP feature lists other questions related to your original query that users have asked Google.
You’ll find this snippet under the heading “People also ask”.
How Do You Rank for Related Questions?
Ranking for Related Questions means you’re trying to get featured as an answer that appears when users click the question they want to know more about. Example:
Typically, Related Questions are 30 words in length. To rank for this feature, a good practice is to craft a 30-ish-word answer that definitively addresses the biggest question users may have about your main topic. For best results, do this fairly early on in the copy.
[bctt tweet=”To rank for the Related Questions SERP feature, better create an answer that addresses the biggest questions about your topic. Answers should be around 30 words only. ? Read more of @JuliaEMcCoy’s tips in ranking for SERP features.” username=”ExpWriters”]
3. Local Packs
If you’re a business that depends on local customers, ranking in a Local Pack is a big deal.
In the SERPs, a Local Pack appears when you use location-based keywords (e.g. “pediatricians in austin tx”) and displays the top 3 local search results below a map.
How Do You Rank for a Local Pack?
To be featured in a Local Pack SERP feature, you need to be a top-3 result for the keyword in question. That means:
Your brand needs to be listed in Google My Business with a verified address.
Your Google My Business listing should be optimized.
Make sure your website and content are optimized for local search. This local search guide from Search Engine Journal is a helpful resource.
Monitor and maintain your business reviews, photos of your business, and your NAP data (name, address, phone number).
[bctt tweet=”The Local Pack SERP feature appears when you use location-based keywords. To start ranking, your brand should have an optimized Google My Business listing. ? Know more of @JuliaEMcCoy’s ranking tips in this post.” username=”ExpWriters”]
4. Knowledge Cards/Panels
Google’s Knowledge Graph has been around since 2012. However, this is one of the main SERP features since 2018 to gain more visibility. Its primary function is to give users access to Google’s search engine knowledge of more than 500 million entities and how those entities connect.
When your Google search accesses the Knowledge Graph, you’ll see Knowledge Cards and Knowledge Panels pop up in the SERP. Here’s an example of a Knowledge Panel from a search for “vanilla ice cream”:
It includes a Wikipedia entry, nutrition facts from the USDA, photos from around the web, and related terms people also searched for.
Knowledge Cards are unique from Knowledge Panels because they usually appear in the left-hand column on a SERP and display one specific piece of information (versus the many types of information you see in a Knowledge Panel).
This graph showing the population of New York City over time is a good example of a Knowledge Card:
Note that none of the knowledge Google displays in Knowledge Panels/Cards comes from Google itself – it’s pulled from reputable sources across the web. (The source Google is pulling from is usually listed in small text under the bottom-left corner of the Card or Panel in question.)
How Do You Appear in a Knowledge Card/Panel?
Generally, having your site appear in a Knowledge Card/Panel isn’t a matter of ranking. Instead, it’s more about claiming your entry in Google’s virtual encyclopedia.
For example, when people search Google for your name or brand name, what shows up? If you want the SERP to include a Knowledge Panel on your brand with photos, links to your website and social profiles, or even links to your products, there are a few things you can do.
Google details it all in this help guide, but here’s a rundown:
First, claim your Google My Business listing.
Search for your name or brand on Google. If a Knowledge Panel shows up, scroll to the bottom of it and click “Claim this knowledge panel.” Follow the instructions on the next few screens.
Add Schema.org structured data markup to your website. This is code that pinpoints the information Google should pull from your site to fill in your Knowledge Panel entry.
Aleh Barysevich for Search Engine Journal wrote a great guide that goes more in-depth on showing up in Knowledge Panels, so be sure to check that out, too.
5. Rich Snippets
The last SERP feature you can get into with in-depth content: Rich Snippets.
What are Rich Snippets? They look extremely similar to regular search results. The difference?
Rich Snippets contain extra information that regular results lack. Here’s a comparison between a normal search result and a Rich Snippet result for the keyword “pasta salad recipe.”
Normal search result:
Rich snippet result:
Note how the Rich Snippet is “richer” with more information. It includes a star rating, the time it takes to prepare the recipe, the number of reviews, total calories, and a snippet of the directions.
Rich Snippets can appear for a variety of types of search results:
Recipes
Reviews
Products
Music
Events
Videos
How Do You Earn Rich Snippets?
To earn Rich Snippets for your content, the main action to do is to ensure you’re using structured data markup. This won’t guarantee you’ll get any, but it will improve your chances.
As we already mentioned, this is code that tells search engines like Google specific information about your content. It helps Google decide what information to pull to populate rich snippet results.
If you’re sharing a recipe, for instance, the code tells Google which part of the text is the ingredients list, which part includes the directions, and which part includes the cooking time.
You can add structured data to your content directly in the HTML code, but if you’re not tech-savvy, there are other ways. (If you use WordPress, there are plugins for that!)
How to Find Your SERP Features in SEMrush
Did you know SEMrush has a tool that tracks your keywords, rankings, and the SERP features your content stars in?
Tracking is vital to understand how far you’ve come and what you need to do to improve. Here’s how to find these features in SEMrush, a top SERP tool.
1. Create a New Project
First, if you haven’t already, create a new project for position tracking.
In the left menu, go to Projects >> Create my first project.
On the next screen, enter your domain name and give the project a name.
2. Set Up Position Tracking
After you create a project, you’ll be taken to the Projects Dashboard. This is where you set up position tracking.
Navigate to the Position Tracking tool and click Set It Up.
Enter your domain settings, choose your device and location, add some competitors, then enter the keywords you want to track.
3. Find the SERP Features You’re Winning
After position tracking is set up, to find SEMrush SERP features, navigate to your project and click Position Tracking.
Scroll down the page to find the SERP features box. You’ll see a simple bar graph with SERP feature icons representing each type of feature. Hover over each bar for more information.
This acts as a handy Google SERP checker, giving you a high-level overview of how you’re doing with your SEO at a glance.
Last But Not Least: Organic Search Results Are Still #1
Getting your site highlighted in SERP features can give it a big boost. That said, the #1 way you should be aiming to appear in search is in the top position – the good-old number 1 spot.
Just a few reasons why:
Even though SERP features steal clicks away from organic results, organic results still get more clicks (Ahrefs).
Ranking organically is often the #1 way to get pulled into SERP features! Best of all, this holds true whether you rank #1 or #5. As long as you make the first page, you have a chance.
When you rank #1, you get the highest CTR (31.9%) according to an Advanced Web Ranking study.
Some SERPs don’t have any SERP features. In that case, ranking #1 for the keyword is the best bet.
For example, Express Writers ranks in the top 5 organically for the keyword “how to write an ultimate guide.”
Besides the “People also ask” box, there’s no other SERP feature for this keyword. Ranking #1 is the best way to stay the most visible on this page.
When all else fails, focus on ranking well – at #5 or better – for high-volume keywords that are possible to edge into.
SERP features are not a 100% guarantee, but there ARE formulas, processes, and techniques to shoot your content to #1. After all, you can’t run before you can walk. The same goes for your content.
Thinking of getting some press buzz for your brand this year?
Did you know? Bad press releases can ruin your relationship with the media and make your company look less than credible.
That’s why press release writing isn’t a skill you just “know” — it’s one you build and learn. (A journalism major takes four years to earn in college!)
The key to writing a good press release?
Knowing what to write, who to distribute it to, and using the proper format.
Written correctly and with finesse, press releases can help you establish a favorable relationship with the media, not to mention encourage your audience to engage with your brand further.
How can businesses create a successful, professional press release for publication online?
Let’s deconstruct (and demystify!) the classic press release. ✅
[bctt tweet=”Bad press release writing can ruin your relationship with readers and the media, not to mention your reputation. ? GOOD press release writing? A whole different story. ? Learn the how-tos on the @ExpWriters Write Blog:” username=””]
How to Write a Press Release: 6 Must-Have Ingredients to Get Your PR Noticed
Think about why your product, event, or service matters to the public. If you can’t answer, “What’s in it for them?” then skip the press release altogether.
2. Objective Tone
Write in third person and avoid using “we,” “I,” and “you.” Also avoid emphasis language, hyperbolic claims, and hype flags.
3. Clear and Condensed Information
Get to the point upfront and avoid using jargon. If you must use industry terms, define them in the piece.
4. Valid Contact Info
There’s nothing worse for a media rep to have than the wrong contact information. Use an up-to-date email and phone number within the media contact text.
5. Excellent Grammar and Spelling
Your press release will get crumpled up quickly if there are signs of poor grammar and typos. Proof and re-proof your piece before distributing it.
6. Relevant Quotes from the Sources
Whenever possible get a quote from an industry professional or executive. This gives you credibility and helps emphasize the message.
The Structure of a Published Press Release
How to write a press release is answered with our structure breakdown. (See a live PR example done right from Facebook and TuneCore.)
Headline — Short and sweet attention grabber, no more than 65 characters
Sub-headline — Builds on the headline, two sentences max.
Dateline — The city where the news is originating and the date of the release
Lead or intro paragraph — Generally answers the who, what, when, where and why questions; in other words, the facts
Body — Minimum of 300 words, ideally no more than 600 words, provides supporting details, quotes, and call to action
Boilerplate — Short paragraph with information about the issuing company or organization
### — Journalist PR designated sign that signals the end of the press release
Press releases also include a company’s logo and media contact information: at minimum, the name, phone number, and email address for the PR or media relations contact who can answer any questions regarding the material.
7 Tips to Write a Press Release That Gets Picked Up
Now that you’ve got press release formatting down, let’s dive into content. Here’s how to hone and craft your message for your press release so readers read it and news outlets pick it up.
1. Make Your Message Reader-Focused
When writing press releases, you need to know what point you’re trying to get across. Remember, what is newsworthy to you may not be relevant to the press.
Take into account who your readers are and make sure your press release will be something interesting to them. Forget why your news matters to the company and focus on why it matters for your reader or customer. This aligns with the media’s goals: to satisfy readers’ curiosity and fulfill their need for relevant information.
To help you decide whether your topic is newsworthy enough for a PR, check out this worksheet from PBS.
2. Get Inspiration
It’s never wrong to search Google for examples of press releases to use as inspiration for your PR. Look at the structure and format, the tone of voice used, and the information included in the samples you peruse.
Don’t forget to check out press releases that have already been written about your topic, and make sure that your particular press release is somehow innovative. If it’s a repeat of something that has already been published, forget it.
3. Stick to the Right Structure
A basic press release should follow a certain format. For example, the heading should always be bold and centered at the top of the page. The headline should include your keyword for SEO potential, too. Under your headline, you may put a sub-heading (usually in italics) that further develops your headline. Make sure to use your main keywords here, too.
Additionally, pay particular attention to the first paragraph of your press release. Structure it with engagement in mind because usually no one will read beyond the first paragraph. That means you should place all the relevant information right at the top. Follow the traditional structure of the inverted pyramid with the most important information on top and supporting data in the paragraphs to follow.
4. Use Concrete Quotes
Never quote the ambiguous “anonymous” in your press release. Quote someone who is an expert or at least has insightful information about the content of your press release. It’s good to include at least one quote in your article. Don’t quote someone who is overly promotional about your topic — make sure they have good insight, too.
5. Add Standard Company Information
At the end of your press release, add information about you or your company. This is something that journalists will use to get to know you or your brand better. It’s also a good way for them to contextualize your press release and look at you or your company as more credible. Add your achievements here (industry awards, record sales, online features, etc.) as well as contact information so people will know how to reach you if they have further questions.
6. Keep It Interesting
Knowing how to write a press release also means that you understand the value of multimedia. Place pictures, videos and audio in your press release. Not only will this benefit you by letting you be more searchable in Google Images, but it keeps the reader’s interest focused on your topic. Supporting multimedia, such as charts, graphs or actual video and audio will make your page look and feel more interactive. Above all, knowing how to write a press release means you understand how to keep it engaging.
7. Distribute Properly
The first step in reaching your target audience is knowing the “who/what/where” when distributing your PR. Don’t be out of scope with the type of media you’re trying to reach. There’s no way, for example, that a magazine focusing on cars will publish your press release on the latest and greatest in makeup.
It’s important to know who you’re writing for and why. Of course, it’s understandable to want your press release to reach a wider audience, but you have to place that into context. Don’t over-reach your audience or else your press release will just end up in the reporter or journalist’s recycling bin.
Your Next Press Release? Handled.
Knowing how to write a press release is a handy skill for anyone in business.
The keys to remember:
Never forget the value of excellent content and good grammar. Bad grammar will make you look less credible and it will decrease the chances your press release will be published.
Mind your structure and audience. There’s nothing reporters or journalists hate more than irrelevant news.
Don’t have the time or skills to write a press release, but need one ASAP?
Express Writers has bonafide press release writers with backgrounds in journalism at your disposal. Hire our team to get a professional, targeted, engaging press release news outlets will pick up.
