Is Content and Relevance King?

[Clodbuster]

"You should properly research your keywords and build them into your content to create a holistic whole. Google is looking for relevance to searches not keywords."

I see this sentence used repeatedly in the advice given and wonder how it works in my particular circumstance. Using a frequently used search phrase of "Electric Fencing"
https://www.screwfix.com is shown at the top of the organic search despite having no content bar a few products. Title and description are no better and no heading tags.

So how can google say it is looking for relevance to searches and that conten5t is king?

 

[StephenSumner]

I think the "content is king" you see and hear a lot of is nonsense if you taking it on its own.

Authority has a big part to play and other factors, just taking one part of the mix on its own is not enough to ensure ranking success.

Authority is something Screwfix will have in abundance so they can probably rank easier without having the content needed.

 

[Clodbuster]

The thing is - Screwfix have no authority in this field - this is a new section - less than 12 months

 

[dotcomdude]

The top organic search result is Screwfix's landing page for electric fencing products - with the title, description tag and page content all mentioning electric fencing. What's not relevant about that?

 

[StephenSumner]

The thing is - Screwfix have no authority in this field - this is a new section - less than 12 months

Perhaps I should have been a little clearer. Domain Authority! They have over 800,000 links pointing to their site, so they can rank pretty much anything they want to within reason.

 

[Clodbuster]

Never said it wasn't - no better than mine yet they waltzed to the top

Where is the content and EF is mentioned 7 times on the page and some of those are hidden - class="ln__info ln__info--hide"

 

[StephenSumner]

Never said it wasn't - no better than mine yet they waltzed to the top

Where is the content and EF is mentioned 7 times on the page and some of those are hidden - class="ln__info ln__info--hide"

You would be wise to remove the anchor text link from your forum signature also, that could be harming things as it can be seen as a bit spammy.

 

[Clodbuster]

You would be wise to remove the anchor text link from your forum signature also, that could be harming things as it can be seen as a bit spammy.

OK - it has been there since 2008.

 

[StephenSumner]

OK - it has been there since 2008.

And it might be holding things back, and if not, should Google do a manual review you might find it trips you up in the future.

 

[Calvin Crane]

You can read about Anchor Text percentages online. And I can tell you to relax more than you think on it.
@Clodbuster welcome to the issues everyone else has on authority and AI trying to show the best sites. You could potentially rank higher than screwfix without the authority with content marketing for sure. You need to outsource it and have an organic plan and not be spammy. Your website needs to be well SEO'd and relevant is all. I rank higher than some big brands such as Amazon and TripAdvisor for some things so it is not just about authority but unless you get the tricks right then it is.

 

[StephenSumner]

You can read about Anchor Text percentages online. And I can tell you to relax more than you think on it.

Was just pointing out that it is not helping, I'm speaking from the perspective of someone who led penalty recovery for several years at one of the UK's top agencies.

 

[Calvin Crane]

Sorry I can see how you saw that and was not directed at you. Your advice is all correct IMO! I was meaning in general unless you are doing link acquisition or buying then you need to worry.
So would love to know if just removing or altering the anchor text was what you did. Or did you disavow as well. Just curious and off topic..sorry

 

[StephenSumner]

Sorry I can see how you saw that and was not directed at you. Your advice is all correct IMO! I was meaning in general unless you are doing link acquisition or buying then you need to worry.
So would love to know if just removing or altering the anchor text was what you did. Or did you disavow as well. Just curious and off topic..sorry

Thanks Calvin.

It really was dependant on the specific situation... Manual Penalty, Panda / Penguin Algorithm etc, but removing sitewide footer links, forum signature links are quite often quick wins in this field I find, especially as they really don't serve much or any SEO value in the first place. If a forum signature link is a must, then I'd point them at a page that is no-index so at least Google knows you are not gaming them.

 

[dotcomdude]

no better than mine yet they waltzed to the top

Not quite. You have some verification tags leaking onto your home page and you seem to have placed blocks of text and images on there 'because you can'. I'd guess that all of this helps to dilute any relevance you thought your site should have for specific search terms.

 

[Clodbuster]

Not quite. You have some verification tags leaking onto your home page and you seem to have placed blocks of text and images on there 'because you can'. I'd guess that all of this helps to dilute any relevance you thought your site should have for specific search terms.

I guess this is a case of one expert advising one thing and now another saying it is all wrong - wish you would all make up your minds.

 

[alan1302]

So how can google say it is looking for relevance to searches and that conten5t is king?

At the end of the day Google wants to provide links that people are most likely to want from brands and shops people know - so Screwfix gets to the top of the pile.

 

[Fameget]

The website quality and authority plays an important role in search engine ranking. Though a webpage doesn't have proper title and description but still it can rank better in search engine because it has high-quality of backlinks and the website is high-authority for search engine.

 

[Kaapo Jed]

Content is important but the relevant content is king. Because Relevance is important for the content. It encourages engagement generates new leads and sales and increases the website traffic.

 

[kajal35]

Yes, unique and informative content is really important for website ranking and drive more traffic to website. Linking relevant content is also main factor and getting relevant traffic.

 

[thetiger2015]

Never said it wasn't - no better than mine yet they waltzed to the top

Where is the content and EF is mentioned 7 times on the page and some of those are hidden - class="ln__info ln__info--hide"

Screwfix will have a higher domain authority and visibility overall, compared to your site, I imagine?

So, almost whatever they slap on their website, it will probably outrank your pages unless your page authority can outrank theirs. That's maybe where 'long tail keyword research' comes in to it. You're outranked for "Wet Mop" but "Can I Buy Wet Mops Locally" is easier to rank for.

As for...'wish you would all make up your minds.'....I agree. I've gone round and round in circles myself. What someone says I shouldn't do, ends up being something that works.

How else can you build page authority without links for example? But link building is only talked about in hushed circles and never in public. 'Content is King' is a lot of fluff imo. I've seen sites with thousands of pages of great quality content, outranked by a competitor because the competitor is a well known brand name with sod all content but lots of TV advertising and brand awareness.

 

[Lauren Hayward]

I learned when I study about SEO that there are 200+ ranking signals which cause website rankings.
As in your example, the word "Electric Fencing" is used by the mentioned company in meta title, description, h1 tags in the page.
Also, they have a specific page for this "Electic Fencing" service.
The page load fast
The page is mobile friendly
Check the website in Google page speed insight tool for more details.

 

[hikebranding]

Yes, of course. The content and relevance is the real king in current scenario. Apart from this we should also start working on some latest SEO trends.

 

[Ian J]

'Content is King' is a lot of fluff imo. I've seen sites with thousands of pages of great quality content, outranked by a competitor because the competitor is a well known brand name with sod all content but lots of TV advertising and brand awareness.

I agree.

I am a factoring broker and my website which has been online for 19 years has 100 pages of unique content all geared to the various different aspects of factoring but my site is easily outranked by big brands, some of which have a single page with minimal relevant text on it

 

[Clodbuster]

So, almost whatever they slap on their website, it will probably outrank your pages unless your page authority can outrank theirs. That's maybe where 'long tail keyword research' comes in to it. You're outranked for "Wet Mop" but "Can I Buy Wet Mops Locally" is easier to rank for.

That is all very well - which is the MONEY Query? I do rank high for some phrases ( Example - "Will electric fencing kill a human") but they are rarely searched for whereas a general, 2 word phrase is constantly being used by the punters because they are lazy unless searching for a specific question. That will be the money result with the rest being "fluff".

 

[Tin]

"You should properly research your keywords and build them into your content to create a holistic whole. Google is looking for relevance to searches not keywords."

I see this sentence used repeatedly in the advice given and wonder how it works in my particular circumstance. Using a frequently used search phrase of "Electric Fencing"
https://www.screwfix.com is shown at the top of the organic search despite having no content bar a few products. Title and description are no better and no heading tags.

That's what you said in your original post.

Here's some thoughts.

1: "You should properly research your keywords and build them into your content" - you clearly understand the importance of this but I can see obvious content problems on your home page which I know will not be helping you to rank higher for the two word phrase "electric fencing" and I can see other problems on a number of internal pages that I know are not helping you to rank better for "electric fencing for horses" and also "electric fences for chickens".

2: Why, when I do a keyword search in Google Chrome for "electric fencing for chickens" do I see two different urls (within your own website) ranking one behind the other, on page 2 for that same keyword search?

3: Why, when I do a keyword search in Safari for "electric fencing for chickens" do I see your home page and two other (of your) internal urls also ranking on page 2 one behind the other for that same keyword search?

4: Why on earth is your home page ranking for "electric fencing for horses"? Your home page should be targeting "electric fencing" and if you want to rank for "electric fencing for horses" then create specific copy on an internal page for it.

On the surface it looks to me like you've done the keyword research but you haven't done much work at all to allow 'sufficient keyword separation' from one piece of page copy to the next one and when Google sees things like this happening, it can't decide which page is the best one to rank for that keyword search, it rotates a variety of pages to see which one gets the most clicks. Whilst it's doing this, it moves your rankings down until it finds what it thinks is the most relevant page within your site to show for a given keyword. Traditionally, Google doesn't often get clarity on things like this (unless the site owner sees the problem happening and fixes it) so this situation just keeps going around in circles.

Solution: Get some properly constructured copy on your home page which better focuses on the topic of 'electric fencing' (currently, your copy isn't) and include an FAQ section (on the home page) with copy which clearly answers questions often raised by potential buyers. Do not bundle a mix of other keywords into the same page unless they are fully supportive of your primary keyword target.

Horses, chickens, snails and elephants... these words have no role in aiding your home page to rank for electric fencing.

Hope that helps.

Ray

 

[Cash Cow]

Yes.
Content will always be king.
End of story.

 

[Ian J]

Yes.
Content will always be king.
End of story.

Rubbish

End of story.

 

[Silky]

Solution: Get some properly constructured copy on your home page which better focuses on the topic of 'electric fencing' (currently, your copy isn't) and include an FAQ section (on the home page) with copy which clearly answers questions often raised by potential buyers. Do not bundle a mix of other keywords into the same page unless they are fully supportive of your primary keyword target.

Horses, chickens, snails and elephants... these words have no role in aiding your home page to rank for electric fencing.

The first piece of good advice on this thread ^^