There’s plenty of misconceptions about content in the SEO industry. For one, the phrase “content is king” has been misused and misrepresented among the industry’s most arrogant and delusional participants. While content is very important for ranking on search engine results, the manner in which it’s outlined, written, and published is ultimately what determines its value. Word count alone no longer matters in plumbing SEO in 2020. What matters is user experience and the satisfaction of user intent.
Working With Google, Not Against it
Google wants to rank the best plumbers in a given area. Your job, our job (if you hire us) is to ensure that Google understands your credibility as a plumbing company. This is accomplished through different forms of content. Pages remain integral to ranking for various keywords, but text content alone is no longer enough to distinguish your website. New forms of content like jobsite check-ins are the most innovative way to rank in 2020 and moving towards 2021. Videos, images, and review widgets also help.
Targeting Various Keywords
Obviously, plumbers want to rank for the keyword term plumber near me. But you won’t rank for that keyword unless you established something known as topical authority. To do so, you need to understand the types of services you offer along with which keywords people search for when looking for them. You might think of services like pipe drain repair and water heater repair, for example. Each of these terms should have its own dedicated page of content so that Google can index each term on a page-level.
Enriching Content With Check-ins
Hiring a content writer to write about drain pipe repair seemed like a good idea 5 and 10 years ago. But today, that kind of content is formulaic and uninformed. The writer is unlikely to have hands-on experience with water heaters and therefore is incapable of providing the unique insights that readers are actually looking for. The answer to this problem is jobsite check-ins. If you use plumbing reputation management software like BrandRevu you can populate each page with check-ins from jobs that relate to the specific service. Not the content is enhanced by actual proof of service.
Enhancing UX & SEO With Internal Links
Menus help users navigate through the website, but for lesser visited pages, internal links are critical. For example, your water heater repair service page might make reference to drain pipes, in which case you’ll want to link to your drain pipe repair page. This helps the users navigate seamlessly throughout your content without having to consult with the menus and submenus each time. Furthermore, internal links strengthen pages on your website. You never want to have orphan pages which are pages that have no internal links pointing to it. Google may not find it because there is no crawl route towards it. Therefore, it won’t rank at all.
Content Projections for 2021
SEO changes every year, so you can expect some different trends to arise in 2021. When it comes specifically to content, expect Google to further prioritize value and intent over word count and length. Many users look for websites to solve a problem quickly, not to spend hours looking for a solution. Instead of writing 1500 word pages about plumbing repair, you can get your point across in less than 500 words. This assumes you provide social proof through jobsite check-ins and review widgets.
Quality over Quantity
Prior to Google’s latest evolution, quality content would often mistakenly be judged by word count. Long content does not translate to quality content. In fact, many long blog posts are painful to read and something that users just skim through until they find their desired answer. Ways to combat that are through TOC plugins that provide links to each header. This way, the user can simply click on the section they are interested in, without having to go through the whole page. For plumbers, 1500 word pages are uncommon anyway. The most important thing is that the website promotes quality and efficiency instead of long and drawn out quantity.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
