In recent years, Google has issued regular updates to provide better results for users. One was the helpful content update that sought ot provide users with better-quality content. One of the critical considerations of Google’s helpful content is the contextual relevance of an article to the keyword.
This means that Google doesn’t only consider the keywords used in an article but also its content. To rank higher on Google, you must provide users with valuable and relevant content.
Why Contextual Relevance Is Key
For each search query, search engines consider the website that best meets the user’s search intent. Contextual relevance refers to the practice of delivering high-quality content that answers the search query. However, the characteristics of a website are also considered.
These include factors like load time, where the keyword appears, the use of header tags, and URL structures. For instance, when you use header tags in your articles, it’s easier for search engines to understand the hierarchy in which your article flows. This can improve the visibility of your page. It also makes it easier for readers to skim through the article and find what they seek.
Factors That Determine Contextual Relevance
To determine if your page meets contextual relevance, Google considers:
- Content language. Is the content in the same language as the search query?
- Body text. Does the text’s meaning match the search query?
- Page title. The main title of a website can be a criterion for determining relevance.
- Images. The images used on a page can be used to support relevance.
- Local aspect. The use of terms for a particular region can affect relevance.
How to Maintain Contextual Relevance in Articles
There are several tips you can use to add contextual relevance to articles. These are:
Maintain the Right Keyword Density
In their attempts to gain more visibility on search engines, some webmasters often overuse the target phrase, leading to keyword stuffing. This often affects the flow of the article, making the article look unnatural to the leader. To maintain contextual relevance, you should maintain the right keyword density. Also, add the keywords naturally to your context.
Align Content to Search Intent
When optimizing your content, always keep your audience in mind. Why are they using certain keywords to find your content? What motivates them to click on your content or even share it? This information will help you know their needs, objectives, pain points, and frustrations. Once you understand the search intent, you should align your content to the search intent.
Ensure that you respond fully to the search intent. You should do that within the first few paragraphs of your articles. This way, you will be responding to their burning questions and capturing their attention.
Focus on Relevant Related Keywords
There is no doubt that primary keywords get the most attention in SEO. However, secondary keywords and all other related phrases are now more important than they used to be. This is because the Google algorithm has become more sophisticated and can see related keywords and phrases.
Adding secondary keywords and other related phrases can, therefore, help you add contextual relevance to your articles. When adding secondary keywords, ensure they are semantically associated with your primary keywords. Some resources you can use to find secondary keywords are the results at the bottom of the search page and Google Autocomplete.
Optimize for Local SEO
With people using mobile phones to search for products and services in their locality, local SEO has become more critical. Optimizing your business for local SEO is an excellent way of amplifying its presence. Some of the measures you can use to do that include:
- Adding it to Google My Business. When doing it, include the right citations and distribute them to different web sources such as websites, directories, local listings and more.
- Use a mobile-first approach. The experience of users on different devices can affect your ranking. Therefore, you should ensure you provide a good user experience for users of mobile devices.
Provide Accurate Information
In the eyes of Google, content is king, and Google now uses EAT(Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) to rank articles. Google determines EAT by considering:
- if the writer of the article is an expert on the matter
- The authority of the main content
- Trustiness of the creator of the content
This means that you should provide high-quality content that is also accurate and up-to-date. You cannot provide good content if your information isn’t considered reliable. You should, therefore, keep checking your site to update data or any obsolete information. This is especially important if you have time-sensitive pages.
Google also loves content posted by an expert. Therefore, you should demonstrate that someone with credentials writes your content. Even if you don’t have the necessary experience, you can collaborate with a content creator with great experience in the field.
Ensure you only provide reliable data that users and Google can count on. This can improve your chances of appearing in the SERPs information box that provides instant answers to searchers.
Do Competitor Analysis
We often focus on creating content that we think will serve our users. However, unless you can tell what works and what doesn’t, your efforts will not bear fruits. To see better visibility and ranking, you should do a competitor analysis. This will give you insights into what they are doing right to help them rank highly.
Create better content than them by adding your expertise and research. Ensure that you have a comprehensive content marketing strategy. You should also analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your site to determine areas you can improve.
Link to Relevant Articles
Any SEO professional will tell you that it’s important to have a good link structure for your site. Therefore, interlink your articles with others, answering similar search queries. To get external links, create good content other sites can find worth linking to.
Conclusion
Unlike in the past, when you could mention a keyword several times to rank well, Google is now wiser; It considers the contextual relevance to determine what your article is about and whether to rank it on the SERPs. Therefore, if you want your SEO efforts to bear fruit, you should use the above tips to maintain contextual relevance.
