March 29, 2023

#5 SEO/SEM - Content Creation

By Veronica Jeans, Shopify Queen
  • The importance of semantic and keyword search in content creation for SEO. Emphasiz on the need for extensive research and relevant, skimmable content to rank higher on Google. - PLAY @0:00
  • How to improve existing content by doing research and repurposing it. Emphasis the importance of keyword research and analyzing competition to improve website traffic. - PLAY @12:58
  • How to analyze competition and improve website traffic by looking at keyword research, Google Analytics, and improving content. The importance of keeping things simple and ensuring that the subject of the blog is relevant to the website's theme and domain name. - PLAY @25:56
  • The importance of keyword research, informative and captivating content, using visuals, and including a call to action. The use of numbers in headings, prioritizing content, and mentioning industry experts with links. - PLAY @39:18
  • The importance of optimizing website content for search engines, including using short URL extensions, adding meta tags and descriptions, incorporating videos and images, and including alt tags for images and videos. How to embed videos using iframes and emphasized the need to include keywords in all website elements. - PLAY @51:59
  • Various tips for improving website content for SEO purposes, including adding keywords to links and images, optimizing image file sizes, and making content more personal. The importance of ongoing improvement and avoiding gaming the system. - PLAY @1:05:40
  • Various ways to optimize a website for better user experience and higher rankings on Google, including compressing images, having a high word count, optimizing for mobile responsiveness and speed, using Google Search Console, and creating new content regularly. The importance of listening to customers' problems and having a clear call-to-action on the website. - PLAY @1:18:37
  • The importance of including a snippet paragraph in blog writing to improve organic ranking and establish expertise and trustworthiness. Use AI tools like Copy AI and Chat to create content and provided resources on how to write an effective about page. - PLAY @1:31:18

PRESENTATION - Download here.

ABOUT PAGE TIPS:

How To Write Your About Page

Here are some ideas to think about:

Why you are doing this, and what is your motivation?

What your passions are, e.g., reading, swimming, traveling - think about how your customers will identify with you.

Tell mini-stories!  Do you make the product? What inspired the creation of the product? How was the product tested? What obstacles did you overcome to develop the products?

Some ideas for content on your ‘About Us’ page:

  1. Mission Statement - TAGLINE 
  2. What Are Your Values and Goals? 
  3. Outline Your Journey
  4. What Was Your 'AHA' Moment?
  5. Describe Your Customer
  6. What Are They Going To Get (Zappos is a great example)?
  7. Brag A LOT
  8. Who Are You and Your Team?
  9. CTA - Give your customer the next step without them having to leave the page. Link them to the main product (the one you started with), the featured product that you are very proud of, or the one that sells well!

TIPS: 

  • Use real people, instead of stock photos, on your website.
  • When you shoot videos, look directly into the camera and adopt a friendly and open approach.
  • Try to have a photo of employees or customers, and/or a video of employees or customers, on every page of your website.
  • A photo or, even better, a video of you would be a fantastic addition to your page and is probably one of the most important things you can add to your page. 
  • Think of your environment - where you work and what it looks like? Add those images to your page - for Lynne Bearhardt, the owner of Hugpatrol.com, we showed her in front of her sewing machine working.
  • Make sure to write it in the first person, using “I” and “We,” to build more of a personal connection. 
  • Authentic stories - real - transparent with connecting with the customers

We are in the social visual age....it is all about images and videos!

The story is just the start. The ‘About Us’ page shouldn’t just tell the story, and that’s it. It should show it. Add some great photos of you with family or friends or your team. Again, this is part of connecting visually with your customers.

If people do business with people and not brands, then what better way to show that there are real people behind your business than to put your team’s picture on your store’s ‘About Us’ page? Even if you only highlight yourself and not your team, it’s a chance to build your personal brand.

Step 2. Formatting your page.

This step is a very essential and important part of your page layout. There are a lot of boring pages that have no images and are not formatted for easy consumption by a website visitor. If something is hard to read and digest, visitors will not linger and identify with you. I mean, you worked hard to get somebody to your page, let them have the best esperience with your information.

Make sure that your story is in a suitable format. I have seen too many ‘About Us’ pages that really look boring and the information is not formatted properly.

  • You need to add headers with each section of your story. Make it easy for your customers to skim your information if they want to. Nobody wants to or is inclined to read a LONG paragraph of words. Would you?
  • Make your sentences short and readable.
  • Do not use complicated language, but make sure a 10-year-old can read it. Make your language easy to read.
  • Use a lot of white space.
  • Check for grammar mistakes and use appropriate software. There are a few that are really good. Mistakes will still creep in but ask somebody to check for you.

4.1.1

Step 3. Add Appropriate Media

I mention images and videos again for your page. This has to be a great experience for a visitor and content with just text is boring. So add images of the family (they are part of your business journey), add your team and videos are even better.

Then there are those bragging rights. Have you been mentioned in magazines, where have you been featured, any awards, do you contribute as a guest speaker/blogger/writer, etc.? I know for most people this is counterintuitive but it is necessary. Most people are followers. If you seem to be a leader, they will follow you because you are interesting as well as an authority.

Add logos of the magazines and awards. 

Here is the Word Document: Get it here.