Should we write content for people or search engines?

All quality articles in written form have two things in common: they offer real substance to the reader, and each is well written (or at least decently written).

But all too often, digital content writers worry too much about "writing for SEO", mistakenly focusing on writing for search engines rather than reading human beings the contents.

They worry too much about the length of the content, the density of the keywords, the use of variants and the addition of local modifiers. And not because it helps the user – as this could potentially help SEO efforts.

This is problematic for a number of reasons, but mostly because Google and other search engines do not need us to write for their.

They need us, or the brand we represent in our writing, to understand a topic well enough to be able to offer a complete and easy-to-understand answer to its audience (ie people) so that he can read, understand and, yes, find on the web.

Google is designed to understand good content

Google has extremely sophisticated, ever-changing search algorithms that improve every day, and dramatically, every year.

This is not limited to traditional search results alone.

The growing number of search features that improve usability and accessibility is an important addition to the overall Google experience for its users.

All of this helps the Alphabet parent company generate billions of dollars in revenue each quarter.

Google's vast advertising network is one of the biggest drivers of this revenue, but it starts and ends with Google search and pay per click advertising.

Google is the most visited website in the world and its success remains the No. 1 in the success and accuracy of its research platform in all respects. This generates traffic, advertising and 3.5 billion searches. Daily in Google search.

Google has become what it is today – essentially a synonym for research – because of the quality of its results.

And let's not forget: Google was not the first: there are many alternative search engines.

But it's the best search engine.

We do not go so far as to say that we call it "perfect", but Google is the most accurate and useful search engine we've ever had – and therefore the most sustainable – to a great extent thanks to his willingness to do it well.

The proof is the number (daily visits, users, income, etc.). That's why Google performs more than 2,000 billion searches a year.

And its role in the daily lives of human beings around the world is increasing every minute, because of Google's willingness to ensure that its search engine gives users the best possible answers to specific search queries, to any moment and in all places.

For these reasons, Google (or any other search engine) does not need us to write content specifically designed for this purpose. Google serves its users and wants the content to serve them as well.

If you write good content for people, Google will reward. The same can not be said of strictly written content for search engines.

What is good content?

Google knows how to identify high quality content.

We know that its algorithm and ranking signals help find the right content to satisfy any search query.

But what does Google consider to be good content? What makes bad content bad? And how is it that a well written content does not always rank well?

For more information on "good content", Google suggests consulting its guidelines for search quality evaluators.

And although Google's John Mueller made it clear that the quality reviewer's recommendations were not directly related to his ranking factors, the paper, which was not made public before 2015, still provides useful information. for creating good content.

The 164-page document consists of guidelines given to quality assessors (people hired by Google to evaluate its search results) when manually evaluating the performance of Google's algorithms.

The document is not limited to what Google sees as good content; it also highlights the qualities of bad content.

Here are the most important factors to consider when selecting an overall ranking of the quality of the page:

• The purpose of the page: The first step in understanding a page is to determine its purpose.
• Expertise, authority, reliability: This is an important quality feature. It should not be difficult to know the reputation and references of a given content.
• Quality of main content and quantity: The assessment must be based on the arrival page of the task's URL.
• Site information / information about the people responsible for the main content: Find information on the website and the creator of the main content.
• Reputation of the website / reputation for the primary content owner: Links to facilitate reputation research are provided to reviewers.

In addition to being well written and documented content with a purpose, relevancy is extremely important for visibility in research.

As simple as it may seem, one of the most important ranking factors for web content is the relevance of the query. Regardless of the quality of the content, if it does not respond to the search query, the result is not correct.

These signals are not triggered by the use of keywords, the inclusion of exact phrases or any other "playful" marketing tactic. This is just a good content delivered for good search queries. The only way to achieve this is to create healthy and quality content.

Basic guidelines for high quality written content

Do not worry. If it was easy, everyone would do it and do it well.

The only thing that works in our favor is that if you write well now, you know how to write for others. Do not change this position and think too much about creating content for search engines.

Brands and marketers who are eager to publish content simply to try to give life to their website without any real goal do not achieve the goal, and they do not win the click either.

Here are the basics for writing quality content:

• Define an objective: All content should have a purpose. In turn, he should have a topic of discussion, an audience and even a scene of intent for this audience.
• Advanced search: Get all the story before you start tearing things. What is the beginning, the middle and the end? Personally, I like to start by describing my content in order to always know where he is heading and what I need.
• Write well and make sure to edit (and edit again!): It does not have to be Hemingway. But use punctuation, check grammar and try to keep it in focus and on the subject. Give some background if necessary.
• Have a signature: Google is concerned about where the content comes from. Who is the brand or person behind the content? He wants to know. Make sure he can know. The stronger a person's reputation, the better.
• Make it informative, complete, educational: Make sure there is substance in the contents. We have a goal. Does this meet the goal? And that explains it thoroughly? Educate your readers and they will appreciate and depend on you.
• Quote sources: Always quote your sources. Statistics and data mean nothing if we do not know where they come from. Be sure to always quote the original source whenever possible.

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