Creating Helpful Content that Ranks and Converts in 2024

Learn how to create helpful content that ranks and converts in 2024. This talk discusses my custom content strategy framework to craft helpful content that can not only rank high, but also build trust with both users and AI-powered search engines to ultimately strengthen your brand and drive more conversions. Remember to follow the Yellow Brick Road.

The Four Pillars of Helpful Content: Empathy, Expertise, Diversification & Information Gain.

Read the companion blog post: https://www.switchkeydigital.com/learn/four-pillars-of-helpful-content/

Download my free toolkit: https://www.switchkeydigital.com/2024-helpful-content-toolkit.pdf

Transcript

1. Creating Helpful Content that Ranks and Converts in 2024 Georgia Tan Co-founder & Head of Search, Switch Key Digital
4. The Pareto Principle: The 80/20 Rule for SEO
5. Effort Contributed Value Produced
6. The 80/20 Rule: Your Content Strategy Roadmap in a Post-AI World
7. People don’t want to “search”, they want to “solve.” AI-powered Search is trying to provide the solution, but they aren’t doing a great job so far.
8. We as SEOs and Marketers need to focus on what AI lacks. A Heart A Brain Courage Direction
9. HEART Empathy BRAIN Expertise COURAGE Diversification DIRECTION Information Gain The Four Pillars of Helpful Content
10. 1. Empathy creates great user experiences “If only I had a heart.”
11. Yellow Pages
12. These restaurants listed here are not in the suburb I looked for… irrelevant results
13. These restaurants are permanently closed. Again, irrelevant listings that are not up to date.
14. Programmatic blurbs here that don’t fit user intent at all. Why would I need to know about general Australian food trends? I just want to find a good restaurant. Common Restaurant Questions are so generalised they don’t help anyone looking for answers on a specific restaurant.
15. Yellow Pages AU Not ranking for best restaurants in X Australia Good Food Top ranking competitor
16. 1. Be Accurate 2. Be Honest 3. Be Useful 4. Be Relevant 5. Be Brief 6. Differentiate yourself from the competition Everything Yellow Pages Wasn’t
17. 2.3K referring domains 18.5K backlinks
18. 1. Addresses User Pain Points
19. 2. Provides Valuable Insights
20. 3. Evokes Positive Emotions
21. 2. Expertise drives influence “If only I had a brain.”
22. Don’t blend into the SERP background
23. Topic Pillar Clusters → Funnel Driven Topics
24. Rapid Weight Loss How? What? Best methods? Why? Rapid Weight Loss How? What to know before you do X How I did X Should you do X Can anyone do X Topic Pillar Clusters Funnel Driven Topics Source: Bernard Huang, Clearscope
25. Traditional Funnel Driven <title> How to lose weight fast and safely <h2> What is rapid weight loss? <h2> 5 techniques for rapid weight loss <h3> 1. High protein, low carb diet <h3> 2. Intermittent fasting <title> Fast weight loss: My journey to losing 10 pounds a month <h2> My biggest weight loss mistakes <h2> Strategies that actually worked for me <h2> How I built sustainable habits
27. Epic Chat GPT Prompt
28. Take this list of keywords and create a comprehensive and engaging list of topics for weight loss that addresses different user goals, stages of the user journey, common challenges, demographics, methods, and content formats. Content formats include: • Articles: In-depth insights, personal stories, expert interviews • Videos: Testimonial videos, expert interviews, demonstrations • Infographics: Visual guides, step-by-step instructions • Interactive Tools: Calculators, trackers, goal setters Overall, about half of the topics needs to be focusing on first-hand experiences and the other half on expert perspectives to provide relevant and original content. All topics should be in either first or second person. Format the list as follows, where there are at least 3 user goal sections, 3 methods & techniques sections, 2 demographic sections, 3 different content formats per section and 3 topics per funnel group: Section: <User Goal/Demographic/Methods & techniques> Top Funnel - <topics> (<content perspective/content format>) … Mid Funnel - <topics> (<content perspective/content format>) … Bottom Funnel - <topics> (<content perspective/content format>) … These are the keywords:
29. 3. Diversification expands reach and impact “If only I had courage”
31. Interactive, Community-Driven Content
33. Multi-Channel Reaching audience through various platforms Increased reach, accessibility and convenience for users Multiple customer support platforms e.g phone, email, live chat and social media Content resides on various platforms owned by the communicator (website, social media etc.) Each channel may have its own search engine / algorithm (e.g. email search, social media search) Multi-Modal Presenting information with various formats Enhanced understanding and engagement Educational website with text, images, video and interactive elements Content can be uploaded to platforms or exist independently and be discoverable through search engines Content itself is optimised for search engine algorithms like Google FOCUS BENEFITS EXAMPLE PLACE- MENT SEARCH ENGINES
34. Source: House Fresh 2024 Multi-Modal Example: 2024 SERP Anatomy
36. You've decided to train for your first marathon and are looking for resources. A Multi-Channel & Multi-Modal journey example
37. Multi-Channel “Download free 16 week marathon training plan” “Join me for my live Q&A where I’ll share my fav tips on starting out marathon training!” You get info across different platforms Email Newsletter Instagram post CHANNEL MODAL CTA “The ultimate beginner marathon training plan” PDF Text Article Live Stream Search results
38. Multi-Modal CHANNEL MODAL CTA Search results “marathon training plan for beginners” You learn through various formats Text-based article lists a beginner-friendly training plan with detailed schedules and explanations Video snippet where a professional runner explain key marathon training principles "Image Results" section displays a visually appealing infographic showcasing a well-structured 16-week training plan Interactive training calculator tailors to your own individual fitness level and goals and offers personalised training advice
39. Free resource available!
40. 4. Information gain builds trust “If only I knew how to get home.”
41. The Limits of AI and the Power of Information Gain
42. Information Gain Optimisation Introducing new, relevant concepts and entities that expand the boundaries of Google's Knowledge Graph. This helps search engines like Google better understand your content and potentially rank it higher for relevant searches.
43. Practical Information Gain Tips via valuable content, industry relationships & accuracy Move Beyond Generic Content Zero Search Volume Topics High-Effort Video Content Proprietary Research Human- directed AI
44. Free resource available!
45. How can you leverage information gain for maximum generative AI visibility?
46. A New Authority Metric: How AI-Cited Content Builds Brand Trust
47. Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) “A novel paradigm to aid content creators in improving the visibility of their content in Generative Engine responses through a black-box optimization framework for optimizing and defining visibility metrics.”
50. GEO optimisation tips 30-40% in visibility Adding relevant statistics, quotations from credible sources and citations Making content fluent and easy to understand Using keyword stuffing, overly unique words or relying on technical jargon 15-30% in visibility ~0% in visibility
51. Added Removed
53. Effort Contributed Value Produced
54. HEART Empathy Resonate with your audience and keep them coming back for more. BRAIN Expertise Provide expert knowledge and unique perspectives COURAGE Diversification Optimise for multi modalities (text, image, voice) and multi-channel. DIRECTION Information Gain Provide high information gain for both users and search algorithms. The Four Pillars of Helpful Content
55. .Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
56. .Follow the Yellow Brick Road.