Creating Helpful Content that Ranks and Converts in 2024 Georgia Tan Co-founder & Head of Search, Switch Key Digital

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The Pareto Principle: The 80/20 Rule for SEO

Effort Contributed Value Produced

The 80/20 Rule: Your Content Strategy Roadmap in a Post-AI World

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.

We as SEOs and Marketers need to focus on what AI lacks. A Heart A Brain Courage Direction

HEART Empathy BRAIN Expertise COURAGE Diversification DIRECTION Information Gain The Four Pillars of Helpful Content

1. Empathy creates great user experiences “If only I had a heart.”

Yellow Pages

These restaurants listed here are not in the suburb I looked for… irrelevant results

These restaurants are permanently closed. Again, irrelevant listings that are not up to date.

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.

Yellow Pages AU Not ranking for best restaurants in X Australia Good Food Top ranking competitor

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

2.3K referring domains 18.5K backlinks

1. Addresses User Pain Points

2. Provides Valuable Insights

3. Evokes Positive Emotions

2. Expertise drives influence “If only I had a brain.”

Don’t blend into the SERP background

Topic Pillar Clusters → Funnel Driven Topics

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

Traditional Funnel Driven How to lose weight fast and safely

What is rapid weight loss?

5 techniques for rapid weight loss

1. High protein, low carb diet

2. Intermittent fasting Fast weight loss: My journey to losing 10 pounds a month

My biggest weight loss mistakes

Strategies that actually worked for me

How I built sustainable habits

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Epic Chat GPT Prompt

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: Top Funnel - () … Mid Funnel - () … Bottom Funnel - () … These are the keywords:

3. Diversification expands reach and impact “If only I had courage”

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Interactive, Community-Driven Content

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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

Source: House Fresh 2024 Multi-Modal Example: 2024 SERP Anatomy

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You've decided to train for your first marathon and are looking for resources. A Multi-Channel & Multi-Modal journey example

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

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

Free resource available!

4. Information gain builds trust “If only I knew how to get home.”

The Limits of AI and the Power of Information Gain

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.

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

Free resource available!

How can you leverage information gain for maximum generative AI visibility?

A New Authority Metric: How AI-Cited Content Builds Brand Trust

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.”

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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

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Effort Contributed Value Produced

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

.Follow the Yellow Brick Road.

.Follow the Yellow Brick Road.