A Recipe for Content That Google Will Want to Serve

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Each time Google releases a new search algorithm, marketers, bloggers, and anyone else with an investment in digital media gets nervous. You, however, have no need to worry about your site’s ranking because you’re doing what you love and you’re doing it well.

Could it really be that easy? Consider this: With each new iteration of the search algorithm, Google’s bots gets closer and closer to being able to read sites like real people do, and real people like your blog, right?

In fact, it doesn’t hurt to look at these page ranking machines as restaurant health inspectors. If you’re running a tight ship and doing what you’re supposed to do, health inspectors aren’t a threat to restaurateurs and they’re a benefit to restaurant patrons. Likewise, more sophisticated algorithms won’t harm bloggers who are committed to creating quality content and they’ll make the web a more reliable resource for blog communities.

If you’re not sure where you’d stand in a Google Search Engine Cook Off, take a look at this recipe and see if you’ve got all the ingredients for a blue ribbon blog.

Install Yoast’s SEO Plugin

For food bloggers who use WordPress, Yoast’s SEO Plugin will make optimizing your blog posts as easy as boiling water. Not only will the plugin automatically generate XML Sitemaps and set correct canonical link elements for every page, but it’ll even analyze your content and provide you with tips for improving it.

Add alt tags for images

Not only will adding alt tags make your blog posts more accessible to readers with disabilities, they’ll also contribute to SEO performance. Work in the topic of the page as you craft your alt text, but do not stuff the alt tag with keywords. As far as Google is concerned, keyword stuffing is like relying on trans fats for flavor. A seasoned chef will find healthier ways to satisfy their patrons.

Syndicate your content

Syndicating your blog content means that you posts will reach a broader audience as they are aggregated on other sites that may have more traffic than yours. However, be wary when you syndicate as Google will always choose the version of your content that it deems most relevant; in other words, be sure these sites are following clean SEO practices that give you credit for the article. (Here’s what to look for when syndicating.)

Produce quality content

It’s true that more blog posts equal more indexed pages, and more indexed pages equal visibility on Google. However, more isn’t always better. Think fast food chicken nuggets with their questionable meat and bland flavor. Google considers us all to be gourmands in search of a morsel superior to chicken nuggets. Rather than mass producing tasteless blog posts to build indexed pages, produce quality content consistently.

Use headings to clarify topics and subtopics

Headings organize the logical flow of your blog posts, making content easier to scan and generally more accessible, but they also have some bearing on your SEO. When used properly, headings can help Google determine the main ideas of your blog posts, which clarifies if your post is the right post for the search at hand.

Post to your blog regularly

Imagine a grocery service that brings your requested fruits and vegetables directly to you so that you can spend more time writing, reading, and cooking up good stuff. Now, imagine that the stockers just grab any old apple without bothering to check for bruises, wormholes, and signs that it’s past its peak ripeness. The search stockers at Google look for the freshest content on hand to deliver to users. Adding content regularly makes you the organic, just-picked-off-the-tree apple that everyone wants to savor.

Link to relevant articles within and outside of your blog

Google knows that if it gives its users unreliable sources, those users will soon turn to another search engine. Therefore, Google bots look for signs that your blog is trustworthy. Linking to valid external sources indicates that you’re doing your research when you post, and it also helps Google to establish your niche when done properly. Linking to other blog posts that you’ve written in the past will help to lead prospects through your site to learn even more about what makes you so lovable.

Investing in a well-developed, up-to-date theme like our own Tasty theme and a reliable CMS like WordPress will make integrating many of these techniques easier.