Searchable Content
First Step
Create Good Content
Create content that is desired, relevant, updated, and to-the-point.
Google especially rewards content quality; if you fail at the above adjectives Google will flunk you quickly.
Make Your Site Accessible
Part of accessibility is semantic structure. This structure helps search engines parse and understand page content.
- Write headings that use important keywords and that really summarize the section.
- Format headings correctly and in the proper outline form.
- Use lists correctly.
Optimize Your Title Tags and URLs
Search engines give significant attention to titles and URLs. Also, title tags are the first thing people notice on search engine result pages.
- Place the page name at the beginning of the title and the org name at the end (e.g., "Your Sign Content | Digital Signage Service | ITS").
- Ensure title tags are unique to a single page - Google penalizes multiple pages with the same title tag.
- Ensure title tags make sense out of context on a search results page e.g., "Guidance for Advanced Users" is too vague. Better: "Advanced Resources for Protecting Your Computer"
- Ensure that URLs are formatted in search-engine-friendly ways.
- Use all lowercase, hyphens (not underscores), no special characters — e.g., its.umich.edu/antivirus-software/.
- Make it reader-friendly: if your page is called Why Try Our Service, your URL should end in /why-try-our-service.
Next Level
Adjust Content
Adjust content to address users' most frequently asked questions.
- Content doesn't need to be asked as a question. A section called “Pricing” is as effective for Google as one called "How Much Do Our Services Cost?" since both answer the question.
- Don't just create an FAQ. ITS has an 18-year history of very poor traffic using FAQs, and Google will likely consider the answer to each question to be “thin content”, something it penalizes.
Tweak Content Wording
Tweak content wording to naturally contain the keywords visitors use.
- Google's algorithms now penalize overuse of keywords, but smart keyword use can still improve standing.
- Don't use the meta keywords tag (Google may penalize its use now).
"The Digital UX Team may be able to provide assistance with making your content more searchable."
Contact UsNote About Searchable Content Techniques
It may take a month or two for Google to re-rank your page based on the changes you've made above.
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