Web Design Quid Pro Quo: Squeezing SEO Juice from Competitors' Success
We've all been there, stone gobsmacked, watching as some other bloke's page seamlessly weaves its way up to the top of Google's search charts, leaving yours wallowing in the digital darkness of page 3 or 4, wishing it was on the telly taking a varsity. As web designers, one can't help but wonder how his pages managed to outrank yours, given that you've likely poured your heart, soul, and strongest blend of Yorkshire tea into the design of your site. Perhaps it might have toe-to-toe with the convenient recency of the River Mersey, or it simply covers pivotal subthemes online searchers deem significant, topics your page might have overlooked. So how do you go about reconciling this gap in content? Time to look closely at subtopics.
Finding the pathway that leads you back to the top of the search listings is akin to finding the lost path through a dark forest. What you needed could very well be a torch or in this case, closely examining competitor pages that are outperforming yours. These thriving pages are likely populated with widely relevant subtopics that potential site visitors are interested in. By identifying what these subgenres are, you can strategically integrate your own content to cater to these user search preferences, thereby improving your own site's rank.
The Content Gap Report is an excellent tool for identifying these otherwise elusive subtopics. It provides an in-depth insight to the type of content a competitor's page is focusing on, those your own might be lacking on. Once these areas of lack are identified, it gives you a nightingale's eye view of the type of content you need to start incorporating in order to give your page that much-desired SEO boost.
While using the Content Gap Report is indeed a clever tactic, it is not the only one. A variety of SEO tools are available that can help to highlight these crucial subtopics. From the Surfer SEO tool which analyses on-page elements that contribute to high ranking pages, to the Clearscope tool that provides hints on relevant, ranking keywords that improve content optimization, the toolbox for succeeding in the fight for digital visibility is full to bursting.
The last chuck of this endeavour is tuning in to intent. No Liverpool striker worth his salt would take a shot without considering the intent behind it. Apply this methodology to the design of web pages, and you understand that content matters little if it doesn't coincide with searcher's intent. Designing pages that answer customers' questions and meets their needs proves to be an invaluable strategy in improving site relevance and consequently, ranking.
From the Web Designer's viewpoint:
Blimey! As a seasoned web designer from good old Liverpool, I can heartily say that improving your presence on the digital platform is like a Scouser trying to speak the Queen's English. It takes a lot more than mere good luck and stern determination to make things happen. Carefully scrutinizing and learning from those competitor pages that are outdoing yours, can lend a hint or two about what exactly floats their boat towards a successful ranking. The world of web design is as varied and as deep as the Mersey itself, and no matter how grand and luxurious you've created your liner to be, when it comes to outpacing your competition, sometimes you just have to know there's another trick to learn.
In essence, adapting to the ever evolving SEO strategies and consistently improving your content to meet the demands of your target audience, is a critical approach. It's as important as a nippy winger to a football match. So blend yourself another cup of your strongest tea, and have another go, because I can assure you mate, the view from Google's page 1 is truly legendary!