Tiered Link Building

You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘content is king’ before. It's a cliché that was drilled into me when I first started in this industry. But you know what? It’s true – more so now than it was 10 years ago. If your website doesn’t have a blog, you’re missing a huge opportunity.

However – and this is a big however – there’s a difference between useful content and filler content. Many will tell you that word count is everything but these people are missing the point. If the top result on Google is 5,000 words long, this doesn’t mean you need to bulk up your copy to match. Content is more than just words; it’s also images, videos and design.

In order to build content that is not only useful but aesthetically pleasing, you need to get creative. Here are some tips to level up your content.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when creating content is failing to include enough detail. Here's a paragraph from one of our older blog posts to demonstrate:

If a web page is packed with dense paragraphs or appears disorganised, it doesn’t matter how insightful the content is, it’s unlikely to capture attention. That’s why page layout is almost as important as the words themselves.

White space is a consideration in all design mediums, from logos to paintings, but it’s particularly pertinent to digital content. The term refers to the empty areas between design elements; despite its name, it can be any colour. Achieving an effective balance of words and white space is key to maintaining user experience but it’s also important for search engine readability.

To balance the ratio of white space to content, consider including the following formatting elements:

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  Subheadings (these should be H2 or H3)

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  Lists

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  Bullet points

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  Screenshots

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  High-resolution images (with alt-tags)

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  Effective paragraph spacing

Here are two identical passages of content, presented in two different ways. You decide which one is more engaging.

For broader categories, you may wish to incorporate subcategories into the hierarchy.

Just as white space is an important part of an article’s design appeal, so too are other visual elements. These include:

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  Screenshots

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  Images

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  GIFs

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  Videos

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  Infographics – preferably your own

Visual elements play a number of roles in digital content. They break up the page, add colour and support your copy, ultimately helping readers to understand your points.

But beware: there is such thing as going overboard with visuals. Before you turn your blog into a meme page, remember the following:

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  Keep your visuals clean and avoid anything sexual in nature. Unless, of course, you’re in the adult niche – in which case, go wild (pun very much intended).

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  Ensure all images and videos are high resolution.

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  Size your visuals appropriately. There’s no point adding an infographic too small to read, or a photo so large that it distorts the page format.

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  Only add relevant visuals.

For more information on what to include in your off-page SEO content, check out our extensive guide here.

Nothing kills a blog quicker than a generic tone or lack of personality. There are millions of articles on the internet employing the same boring, straight-down-the-line phrasing and advice – afraid to rock the boat.

How many times have you heard a blog say something like...

To gain more traffic, you will need to increase brand recognition and promote yourself via social media.

Instead, sprinkle in some analogies and tackle topics from unique angles.

You’re not going to compete with the top-ranking articles using identical examples and bland sentences, so you may as well stand out!

Plagiarism – the word alone is enough to strike fear in writers and cause cursing at the editor’s desk.

It's well-known that stealing and re-publishing content you didn’t write is bad practice, but did you know it’s also a search engine risk? Not only do you risk being penalised, but you may not be indexed either.

Although you may not intend to plagiarise, it’s common to accidentally copy sentences or phrasing – particularly when you’re researching and writing about a complex topic. Always double check your copy with tools such as Copyscape to make sure there are no inadvertent clashes.

Spun content is a lesser-known evil within the same realm as plagiarism. While not as overt, spun content involves re-packaging a piece of content by changing the wording just enough to avoid detection in most plagiarism tools. Common content-spinning techniques include:

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  Changing the title, yet copying the opinions

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  Using the same subheadings

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  Copying the format

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  Using synonyms but keeping the sentence structure and flow the same

Unlike exact-match plagiarism, spun content can be created accidentally, but unfortunately, it’s also a black-hat practice performed by some intentionally. Why not save time by using someone else’s ideas, right? Wron

This approach is a big no-no because:

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  People may recognise the blog you’ve rewritten

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  The original writer or site owner may find out and take legal action

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  Your rankings are more likely to be hindered than helped by regurgitating opinions that have already been indexed

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  Long term, it will hurt your reputation and your brand