Thread by @GiordMarco96

Some #SEO stuff I learned when practicing with an online magazine, my hobby website we can say.

This is a thread based on real-life lessons + some tips for newcomers and some Semantic SEO in the middle 🧵

Keyword Research is not always possible for fast-paced content. Domain knowledge and scraping forums are way better!

However, research is essential for evergreen content, although I would start from topical maps instead.

Understanding content briefs and content template is essential.

Some formats don't really work well for websites, so you have to mix your channels.

My suggestion is to check competitors or foreign websites.

Don't underestimate the effect of proper internal linking. Using the correct anchor texts and positions is essential.

#NLP with #Python can help you to optimize your content.

Soft skills such as persuasion, communication and leadership are essential if you want to see people implementing your recommendations.

It takes plenty of time to understand these skills are not just "carrot and stick".

Some successful blogs out there are based on domain knowledge, they don't do traditional research.

An explanation is that they fully leverage those ZSV keywords that only an expert can think of.

Can you believe I got these results (non-branded) with no research? I just expanded one idea and created a template for a set of queries!

This is just the data for 3 months tho, it's nowhere close to all the data!

So one of the main lessons here is to understand what content you can scale and what you cannot.

I can guarantee that in non-English speaking markets there will be plenty of opportunities.

Sometimes competition is so low that you rank 1 for keywords where you are not even supposed to rank.

This can be fixed by Google updates but that's not always the case!

This is why I look at American websites, I see what works there and try to understand if it makes sense in smaller markets.

YouTube is also a great place to understand what is trendy.

I will give you another example: a friend of mine has a website about creative writing and writing techniques.

In this scenario I advised him to write some strategic content, deeply curated and unique.

It doesn't drive a lot of traffic but it's super targeted! >>>

>>> Super targeted traffic that want to buy courses or network with him. The ideal clients and he also managed to be engaged for writing courses.

It's not passive income (for now) but it's more money with few effort.

The trouble of some markets is that you don't have any reason to improve if there is no competition.

This is a downside for the users, at least you have more options to create and nurture a niche.

I think this is a good way of creating a win-win situation.

My main advice for optimizing blog content is:

- Internal linking/topical relevancy
- Entities/syntax
- Correct structure
- Schema (optional but strongly advised)

Some niches are more competitive so take this with a grain of salt, you may need some backlinks (please do)

Generalist websites will always go for the easy wins, covering new topics and invading your niche.

Don't worry, you can clearly see they usually lack the expertise.

You can judge it by yourself if you read what they actually write for some topics.

Differentiation is a key strategy. Be sure to cover more related topics/niches if possible.

Heighten your internal links with similar topics and enlarge your Knowledge Graph by mapping similar interests.

E.g. gaming and tech or pop culture

Don't fall into the trap of diversifying too much because "search volume" is high. You are not considering the long run and you are more likely to create shallow content.

Learn to structure sentences with proper syntax and understand semantic concepts.

Be accurate and not vague.

This building is tall. How tall? Write the actual height instead

GSC is more than enough, learn how to dig deeper and understand what you are missing out.

Updating content is a big part as well.

I managed to rank 1 for a short keyword. Guess what, the intent changed and that page felt down into the abyss.

This is totally normal, it was a super static SERP before something happened. >>>

>>> I was ranking first with a descriptive article about this movie, then the movie aired and the intent was now focused around news.

People wanted to read shorter content and something "fresher". I got it to page 1 again with some tweaks and it was worth it.

Static SERPs are my favorite, more predictable and more stable. Some competitors won't even fight back or be able to, it depends ofc.

It's not always the case, try to build an empire and push back your opponents.

You need topical authority and a strategy to be perceived as a danger, you cannot just write articles and assume to rank.

This is where knowledge comes into play and tools cannot help you.

When there is few coverage for a topic, it's possible to rank for the head queries quite easily. Not necessarily super good, it's more of a way to assess your initial rankings and the reranking process.

I noticed that some news websites tend to publish nonsense content just to keep the streak going.

Not a big fan of this line of thought, although it seems to work quite well for them.