March 11, 2019 at 08:30Balanced site performance. Part 3: Content
In this article, we will analyze another block of site indicators that is part of our scheme. It will be about content, I made it specially in a separate article, since it is one of the most important and labor-intensive in terms of development promotion factors.
Previous issues:
First part: Strategy
Second part: Technical optimization
Fourth part: External optimization
Fifth part: Usability
Let me remind you that we have already formulated at this point:
Content is also directly related to the overall strategy and technical optimization parameters. It is often and quite rightly referred to as “internal optimization”, bearing in mind that actions to improve the site’s ranking do not go beyond the boundaries of the site itself. But we will single it out from this large group, because unlike technical parameters, content is the most moving and changing layer.
Content cannot be “made and forgotten”, it will have to be constantly “customized in place” in changing circumstances, trying to maintain the overall balance of the system.
Let's look at what requirements search engines make for content and how to build a content strategy based on a common strategy.
The rule works for search: non-unique content is bad, unique is good.
If you steal content from you, then this is not very pleasant, but in the vast majority of cases it will not turn out to be a problem for you: search engines can determine the source very well. But if you take content from somewhere, then this minimum will not bring a positive result, but in general it can lead to sanctions.
Therefore, the problem is always one: where to get high-quality and unique content?
It is best to order from those who do this professionally. Not necessarily, but preferred. If you feel that you can solve this problem yourself, then go for it. The main thing is to study the requirements and get ready for mistakes and difficulties. If there are problems with inspiration, then you can read our other material"Where do the texts come from," he will partially help.
Sanctions and problems associated with the uniqueness of the content can be quickly identified through the search services that we examined last time. And also to speed up the process of resolving conflict situations related to the application of these sanctions.
What should you write about? It depends on what area you work in and what is the purpose of our promotion: these parameters directly affect the structure of the site and, at the same time, the structure of the content on each individual page. The chains “Purpose -> Site Structure-> Page Subject” and “Purpose -> Page Structure” together create a framework for future content for the entire site.
Just this? No, not only. We look at the semantics of promotion and impose it on the resulting frame. You will almost certainly see that the exact overlay did not happen. Somewhere there is not enough section, somewhere there are no necessary pages. And at this moment we return to the site structure, page layouts, and the scheme starts working in the opposite direction: we create the missing pages, change the structure of the descriptions, and configure the automatic display of fields. In this interaction, the result that we need is born. And of course, with an eye on the technical side.
Here, by the way, we are talking not only about text content (although it is most important for SEO), but also about other types. Non-unique pictures are also good.
It is clear that for large online stores where there are a lot of products, it is difficult to make unique descriptions for each position. But, firstly, for online stores, the promotion strategy will be slightly different than for regular information sites. And secondly, for these cases, there are ways to generate high-quality unique content.
What to do if the product is not yours and you resell it? The product still has a manufacturer. He may be your supplier, then it will be easier to get informational materials. Or it may not have direct contacts with you, then they will have to look. But you can always find. And after they found it? Be sure to rewrite, and it is better to rethink and write from scratch. We are only interested in unique content.
As for the connection of content with the analysis of competitors, I think it is understandable: we look at what we adapt through uniqueization for ourselves, we do twice as much and more. And, again, if we suddenly notice that a competitor has a useful section that we don’t have - we organize it, build it into the site structure, simultaneously order or prepare content on our own.
On the border between completeness and uniqueness is the connection of content with regional targeting. If you work with an eye on specific regions, this will certainly affect the content of your pages.
This can be work with selected subdomains of the third level, each of which needs a separate text and graphics. And there may be more subtle work with the formation of adaptive content, which is automatically collected by the user based on his regional settings.
And we are talking about all kinds of content: from the address and phone number to the image in the header of the site and the text of the pages. USP for the "home" and other regions, local memes, landmarks and in general everything that creates an atmosphere of trust between you and the potential buyer.
You shouldn’t want to leave the site, it’s obvious. But for the search, this is also important because high-quality content directly affects behavioral factors, which will be discussed separately and in detail in one of the following parts. In the meantime, it’s important for us to understand: the longer and more productively the user is on our site, the better.
And for this, it is important for us to fulfill two conditions:
People with different shades of the same need come to the same page, who then mentally supplement their request. If we manage to respond to emerging needs, then the chance to get a conversion increases, and along the way we increase the relevance of the page for all the semantics associated with the request.
Content is also needed in order to get an attractive snippet (a description of your site in the search results). The more accurately he answers a specific request, the more clearly this will affect the brief summary that the user sees in the list. And this increases the likelihood of a click on your proposal. If you have something important that a competitor hasn’t yet thought about reporting a product, use this advantage.
Therefore, without analysis of all competitors, direct and indirect, it is difficult to count on success.
Turning to the semantic core, we get additional topics for content. And analyzing through metrics the popularity of materials and user behavior on the site, we can identify problem areas, omissions and shortcomings. So, to reduce where they do not finish reading, and add where there is not enough.
Here it will not be superfluous to mention the information that is traditionally present on commercial sites:
In a word, answers to technical questions that a potential buyer has. These parameters are not hidden by representatives of search engines. For example, here are two useful links to the legendary Platon Schukin:
“A good contact page”
“Text on the main page”
In general, you can find a lot of useful information in the official releases of Yandex, I recommend that you carefully read the blog and the “Help” section for Yandex.Webmaster.
Here the general rule is something like this: if the site is not updated, then it is considered less relevant than its updated competitor (for example, Schukin mentions this in the links above). It is clear that you will not be updating all the content, this makes no sense either for promotion or for sales. But something must happen on the site, otherwise in competitive topics it will quickly begin to lose ground.
The solution for sites where the content is predominantly represented by materials that are difficult to supplement (description of the “Door Lock Insert” service, for example) is to organize the sections “Blog”, “News”, “Promotions” and the like. Naturally, for these sections you need to somehow find the right materials, and this can be very difficult.
There are industries in which, in principle, nothing happens. But this is only at first glance. In fact, to generate content, news feeds are constantly appearing.
Back to the strategy. We analyze the sites of competitors. We find the right materials, adapt, compile and post it on your site. DO NOT COPY, but use as a source.
We constantly turn to the semantic core. We find new points of origin of content, think over what else can be revealed and expanded. Do not forget about the feedback: if some new and potentially interesting semantics are revealed during the work with content, then we are sure to expand the core and work out all the indicators for this new semantics.
Please note that sources can be external, and not only online. They printed an article about you, invited you to an event, there was some incident at the issuing office - something constantly happens in the life of any company. We write, adapt, update.
We started by defining the goal of promotion, drafted a strategy that takes into account the key parameters of a future campaign.
Then we examined the technical side of optimization and traced its relationship with the main provisions of the strategy.
Now we have connected the content to the scheme. And here are the logical chains:
That's all about content in the framework of the Concept, everything in the next issue is about external factors.
To be continued. Part Four: External Optimization
Previous issues:
First part: Strategy
Second part: Technical optimization
Fourth part: External optimization
Fifth part: Usability
Let me remind you that we have already formulated at this point:
Content is also directly related to the overall strategy and technical optimization parameters. It is often and quite rightly referred to as “internal optimization”, bearing in mind that actions to improve the site’s ranking do not go beyond the boundaries of the site itself. But we will single it out from this large group, because unlike technical parameters, content is the most moving and changing layer.
Content cannot be “made and forgotten”, it will have to be constantly “customized in place” in changing circumstances, trying to maintain the overall balance of the system.
Let's look at what requirements search engines make for content and how to build a content strategy based on a common strategy.
Uniqueness
The rule works for search: non-unique content is bad, unique is good.
If you steal content from you, then this is not very pleasant, but in the vast majority of cases it will not turn out to be a problem for you: search engines can determine the source very well. But if you take content from somewhere, then this minimum will not bring a positive result, but in general it can lead to sanctions.
Therefore, the problem is always one: where to get high-quality and unique content?
It is best to order from those who do this professionally. Not necessarily, but preferred. If you feel that you can solve this problem yourself, then go for it. The main thing is to study the requirements and get ready for mistakes and difficulties. If there are problems with inspiration, then you can read our other material"Where do the texts come from," he will partially help.
Sanctions and problems associated with the uniqueness of the content can be quickly identified through the search services that we examined last time. And also to speed up the process of resolving conflict situations related to the application of these sanctions.
What should you write about? It depends on what area you work in and what is the purpose of our promotion: these parameters directly affect the structure of the site and, at the same time, the structure of the content on each individual page. The chains “Purpose -> Site Structure-> Page Subject” and “Purpose -> Page Structure” together create a framework for future content for the entire site.
Just this? No, not only. We look at the semantics of promotion and impose it on the resulting frame. You will almost certainly see that the exact overlay did not happen. Somewhere there is not enough section, somewhere there are no necessary pages. And at this moment we return to the site structure, page layouts, and the scheme starts working in the opposite direction: we create the missing pages, change the structure of the descriptions, and configure the automatic display of fields. In this interaction, the result that we need is born. And of course, with an eye on the technical side.
Here, by the way, we are talking not only about text content (although it is most important for SEO), but also about other types. Non-unique pictures are also good.
It is clear that for large online stores where there are a lot of products, it is difficult to make unique descriptions for each position. But, firstly, for online stores, the promotion strategy will be slightly different than for regular information sites. And secondly, for these cases, there are ways to generate high-quality unique content.
What to do if the product is not yours and you resell it? The product still has a manufacturer. He may be your supplier, then it will be easier to get informational materials. Or it may not have direct contacts with you, then they will have to look. But you can always find. And after they found it? Be sure to rewrite, and it is better to rethink and write from scratch. We are only interested in unique content.
As for the connection of content with the analysis of competitors, I think it is understandable: we look at what we adapt through uniqueization for ourselves, we do twice as much and more. And, again, if we suddenly notice that a competitor has a useful section that we don’t have - we organize it, build it into the site structure, simultaneously order or prepare content on our own.
On the border between completeness and uniqueness is the connection of content with regional targeting. If you work with an eye on specific regions, this will certainly affect the content of your pages.
This can be work with selected subdomains of the third level, each of which needs a separate text and graphics. And there may be more subtle work with the formation of adaptive content, which is automatically collected by the user based on his regional settings.
And we are talking about all kinds of content: from the address and phone number to the image in the header of the site and the text of the pages. USP for the "home" and other regions, local memes, landmarks and in general everything that creates an atmosphere of trust between you and the potential buyer.
Completeness
You shouldn’t want to leave the site, it’s obvious. But for the search, this is also important because high-quality content directly affects behavioral factors, which will be discussed separately and in detail in one of the following parts. In the meantime, it’s important for us to understand: the longer and more productively the user is on our site, the better.
And for this, it is important for us to fulfill two conditions:
- Fully answer the question that he asked in the search (it doesn’t matter what the question is: “How to fix the smartphone?”, “Where to fix the smartphone?” Or “How much does it cost to fix the smartphone?”);
- Fully answer the questions that arise during his study of the site.
People with different shades of the same need come to the same page, who then mentally supplement their request. If we manage to respond to emerging needs, then the chance to get a conversion increases, and along the way we increase the relevance of the page for all the semantics associated with the request.
Content is also needed in order to get an attractive snippet (a description of your site in the search results). The more accurately he answers a specific request, the more clearly this will affect the brief summary that the user sees in the list. And this increases the likelihood of a click on your proposal. If you have something important that a competitor hasn’t yet thought about reporting a product, use this advantage.
Therefore, without analysis of all competitors, direct and indirect, it is difficult to count on success.
Turning to the semantic core, we get additional topics for content. And analyzing through metrics the popularity of materials and user behavior on the site, we can identify problem areas, omissions and shortcomings. So, to reduce where they do not finish reading, and add where there is not enough.
Here it will not be superfluous to mention the information that is traditionally present on commercial sites:
- Contact details;
- legal entity data;
- prices (if it is an online store);
- information about the possibility and conditions of delivery and payment, return (if it is an online store).
In a word, answers to technical questions that a potential buyer has. These parameters are not hidden by representatives of search engines. For example, here are two useful links to the legendary Platon Schukin:
“A good contact page”
“Text on the main page”
In general, you can find a lot of useful information in the official releases of Yandex, I recommend that you carefully read the blog and the “Help” section for Yandex.Webmaster.
Novelty
Here the general rule is something like this: if the site is not updated, then it is considered less relevant than its updated competitor (for example, Schukin mentions this in the links above). It is clear that you will not be updating all the content, this makes no sense either for promotion or for sales. But something must happen on the site, otherwise in competitive topics it will quickly begin to lose ground.
The solution for sites where the content is predominantly represented by materials that are difficult to supplement (description of the “Door Lock Insert” service, for example) is to organize the sections “Blog”, “News”, “Promotions” and the like. Naturally, for these sections you need to somehow find the right materials, and this can be very difficult.
There are industries in which, in principle, nothing happens. But this is only at first glance. In fact, to generate content, news feeds are constantly appearing.
Back to the strategy. We analyze the sites of competitors. We find the right materials, adapt, compile and post it on your site. DO NOT COPY, but use as a source.
We constantly turn to the semantic core. We find new points of origin of content, think over what else can be revealed and expanded. Do not forget about the feedback: if some new and potentially interesting semantics are revealed during the work with content, then we are sure to expand the core and work out all the indicators for this new semantics.
Please note that sources can be external, and not only online. They printed an article about you, invited you to an event, there was some incident at the issuing office - something constantly happens in the life of any company. We write, adapt, update.
Total
We started by defining the goal of promotion, drafted a strategy that takes into account the key parameters of a future campaign.
Then we examined the technical side of optimization and traced its relationship with the main provisions of the strategy.
Now we have connected the content to the scheme. And here are the logical chains:
- The purpose of promotion determines the structure of the site, and that, in turn, the types of content that can be created for the site.
- The content of competitors provides the basis for creating a similar one on our website, and this may require a change in the structure and reconfiguration of the server side.
- The analysis of competitors in a broader sense will also give an understanding of the required amount of content, will be taken into account in the construction of a content strategy.
- Any content requires a certain disk space, therefore, for large projects, the content strategy will also determine the hosting plan.
- The semantic core defines the content of the content, it can also lead to changes in the structure, if this structure does not allow them to be linked together.
- The purpose of promotion determines the structure of the page and, accordingly, the content on this page.
- Regional targeting makes its additions to the content: it adds the need to mention regional USP, the use of adaptive content settings for the region.
- The metrics on the site give a vivid idea of the effectiveness of the content, allow you to identify weaknesses and strengths. Based on this data, the page structure can be revised, as well as all other parameters, even the semantic core.
That's all about content in the framework of the Concept, everything in the next issue is about external factors.
To be continued. Part Four: External Optimization