How to Create SEO-friendly Content for Your Website

How to Create SEO-friendly Content for Your Website

In SEO, we’re always talking about how you need to create high-quality content that both your users and Google want to see.   
Your users want to see it because it will help showcase your expertise in repairing and maintaining cars. Google wants to see the same thing - it needs reliable answers to questions that people are typing into Google Search every day.  

With a small amount of upfront research, you can easily produce a high-quality article on any topic within your expertise, even if you’re not a natural-born writer. In this article, we’re going to explain how to do just that.


Before creating any content, you need to answer these five simple questions: 
  1. Keyword Research - What do we want this page to be found for in the search results? 
  2. Search Intent - What does Google currently put on page one of the search results for this search term? 
  3. Ideal Word Count - What is the average word count of those pages ranking on page one of the search results? 
  4. Content Structure - What topics do those pages cover that are currently ranking on page one of the search results? 
  5. Linking – How will my customers find this piece of content? 
If you can answer these, you’ve already done more research than 90% of content creators on the internet and have an outline for your piece of content. Let’s dive into the questions to ensure we get the most out of them.

Keyword Research 

The question - What do we want this page to be found for in the search results? 
As mentioned in our Actionable SEO Tips guide, every page on the site should have a specific target phrase or keyword. It needs to have an obvious purpose.  This will be the name of the service you want to offer for commercial pages on your site—e.g. full service, clutch replacement, MOT, etc.  

For more informational content (content that would generally live on a blog), you can be more creative and answer your customers' main pain points. For example, how much does a clutch replacement cost? What happens if my car fails its MOT?  

Once you know what you want your content to be about, enter it into a fresh Google Search and see what appears on the first page of the results. Take note of how other sites discuss it and if there’s a popular wording for that specific topic.   

Taking the search term ‘clutch replacement’ as an example. You could enter that into Google, and if all sites in the top 10 results most commonly refer to it as ‘replacing a clutch’, it’s clear that this is the search term you should also be targeting. This is the first step towards creating your piece of content.   

Open your new document and note the key search term you’re going to target, as this is something you’ll be referring to throughout the creation of the piece of content.

Search Intent 

The question - What does Google currently rank on page one of the search results for this search term? 
Search intent is the process of trying to understand what type of content people want to see when searching for a specific query. We can split it into four different categories: 
  1. Informational Intent 
  2. Commercial Investigation Intent 
  3. Navigational Intent 
  4. Transactional Intent 
Any piece of content you create will come under one of these four classifications. 

Informational Intent 

You would typically expect to see informative intent content on a blog. It provides information on a specific topic or answers a user's question. 
Examples of this type of content would be: 
  1. How much does a clutch replacement cost? 
  2. How often should I change my tyres? 
Since it answers a question, don’t expect it to have a high conversion rate. At this stage, we’re trying to raise awareness of our site to new users. 

Conversion rate = the percentage of visitors to your website who take a desired action. For example, making a booking or buying something.

Commercial Investigation Intent 

Commercial investigation content is what people are looking for before making a purchase or booking. They have a basic understanding of what they need but want a bit more information. This may include an investigation of what the service involves or comparing prices, reviews or additional perks between different providers. 

A few examples of this type of content would be: 
  1. Clutch specialists in Leeds 
  2. Car electrical repairs 
  3. Engine cleaning services 
Whenever someone searches for this, they’re on the cusp of taking that final step to make a purchase or booking. High-quality content here can make a difference and convert them into a customer. 
Navigational intent is when someone is searching for a specific brand or website. They may do this by searching for the company’s name or the company’s name along with the service they’re after. 

These people are already familiar with your company and want to revisit your site to see if you can help them with their needs. 
While there’s nothing you can do to create content for this type of intent, you can ensure that your business is visible in the search results and make full use of all the options available. 

You should have:
  1. Google Business & Bing Places listings 
  2. Social media profiles (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter etc) 
  3. Reviews and/or mentions on 3rd party sites 
The more of these you have in place, the more real estate you can occupy on the first page of Google Search.  

Transactional Intent 

Transactional intent is when people search for a particular thing to make a purchase or booking. They will give signals for this by including key terms like ‘Near me’, ‘Book’, ‘Buy’, ‘Get a quote’ etc. Examples include:
  1. Car service near me 
  2. Book MOT 
  3. Clutch replacement quotes 
The best way to target these phrases is with your key commercial landing pages. When a customer lands on these pages, they need to be immediately met with a way to make that purchase or booking. The easier you can make it for them to do this, the more likely they are to become a customer.  

Content on transactional intent pages is generally much shorter, as the key thing we want the user to do is become a customer. Everything on the page should be geared towards making this happen. 

Now you know the differences between the four intents, it’s critical to understand what intent Google has attached to the key search you’re looking to target.  The best way to do this is by simply Googling that search term and seeing what is already ranking on page one of the search results. If the first page is full of Informational Intent content, then it’s clear this is the type of content Google wants to see for that particular phrase.   

By creating content with an intent that goes against what Google is already showing, you will have a very tough time getting it to perform well.  
If there is a mixture of intents on page one of a Google search, it would signify that Google doesn’t yet have enough data to make a clear judgement on that search term. In this scenario, you’re a little freer to create what you think would be the most helpful and relevant content.  

Once you know what type of intent Google is looking for, note it down on your document, as, once again, this is something we’ll keep referring back to.

Ideal Word Count 

The question - What is the average word count of those pages ranking on page one of the search results?  
There isn’t a perfect word count for a piece of content you can stick to. It all comes down to the intent of that content. More is usually better, as we want to ensure that we cover the topic in as much detail as possible and fully answer the question with expertise.  
  1. Informational Intent - answer a question and give a detailed explanation. Average content length is 2,700 words.
  2. Commercial Investigation Intent - show your expertise and earn the user’s trust. Average length is around 3,700 words.
  3. Transactional Intent - encourage the user to make a purchase or booking. Average content length is just 1,900 words per page.
You can use these benchmarks or do your research. However, once you know how much you need to create to be in the mix with the competition, make a note of that target in your document to refer to later. 

Content Structure

The question - What topics do those pages cover that are currently ranking on page 1 of the search results? 
Now we can start mapping out what we need to be writing about. One of the most efficient ways of doing this is to open all the web pages currently ranking for your target search term from the first two pages of the Google results. With all 20 of these pages open, quickly scan the content and note down all the headings, topics, sub-topics and questions that these pages cover.  

Once you have all the topics noted down, you can start pulling a skeleton of what you need to cover on your page. Strip away all the duplicate or similar headings and structure them in a way that makes sense to get your message/expertise across.  

After noting all these topics and sub-topics, assess them to see if anything needs to be added. As you’re the experts in this field, something obvious to you but not to everyone else may have been missed. This is where you can break away from the competition and show your expertise.  

Header Structure 

Page headings are essential when creating content. They not only help break up the content, but they also help Google see how everything works together and relates to the main subject of the page.   

A good header structure can be the difference between your content ranking on page one of Google and not ranking in the top 20 at all. 

An example of a good header structure can be found here: 
Header 1 (H1) – Diagnose Car Problems
  Header 2 (H2) - I’ve noticed an unusual smell in my car
  Header 3 (H3) – Why does my car smell of fish?
  Header 3 (H3) - Why can I smell petrol in my car?
  Header 2 (H2) - I’ve noticed an unusual noise in my car
  Header 3 (H3) - Unusual noises
    Header 4 (H4) – My car is making a grinding noise
    Header 4 (H4) – My car is making a squeaking noise
  Header 3 (H3) - My car alarm keeps going off
  Header 2 (H2) - There’s something wrong with my tyres
  Header 2 (H2) - My car is giving out smoke 

As you can see from the above header structure, as we dive into the topic and create a new section to explore it further, we create a header that is one level deeper.   

Each page should only have a single Header 1 (H1), as this is the main heading for the page. Try to include the target search term within this element, as Header 1 is a ranking factor we can utilise to tell Google what we want our page to be found for.  
After that, you can have as many Header 2-6s as you need to explore the topic thoroughly. These other headers will not directly contribute to any ranking factors but will help dictate the structure of your content.  

Paragraph Length 

Keep your paragraphs to 2-3 sentences or less.   
Smaller paragraphs are easier for your customers to read and digest. They also look better on mobile devices, which is increasingly important.  
  79% of website visitors will scan the page when it loads to find the section that answers their initial search query. A good header structure with short paragraphs will make this much easier for your users and increase their engagement with your site.   

If you’re not a confident writer, creating a content structure like this can be a fantastic way to tackle large writing projects. 
Instead of creating a single piece of content that is 3,500 words long (which can be a daunting task), you’re making smaller chunks of content for each heading/topic/sub-topic that will likely be 200-300 words. Once stitched together, you’ll probably meet or exceed the initial target word count.

Linking 

The question - How will my customers find this piece of content? 
Linking comes in a few different formats. The main forms of links that we’re looking to target are: 
  1. Internal links from other relevant pages on your site. 
  2. Internal links to other relevant pages on your site. 
  3. Commercial calls to action to other relevant pages on your site. 
  4. External links from your owned properties 
  5. External links from other 3rd party sites 
  6. External links to relevant pages on other people’s sites. 
These signals working together will give Google the confidence that your content is high-quality and should be ranked highly in the search results. 
All the following are links you’ll create from content on your own site. Internal links help Google understand how important pages are on your website. The more internal links a page has, the more important it must be. 

Internal links from other pages 
By creating internal links from existing content on the site to this new page, we’ll keep people engaged, show Google that we have lots of relevant content and help push some of our site's authority to this new page.
 
Internal links to other pages 
On the flip side of the previous point, try to create internal links from this new page to existing pages on the site. This will increase engagement, keep people on the site and showcase how everything works together to display your authority on the topic.  
Try to make at least two to three links wherever possible. 

Commercial calls to action (CTA’s) 
No matter what type of content you’re creating (informational, commercial investigation or transactional), you should try to add a couple of calls to action to places on the site where your users can make a purchase or booking.   

These must be highly relevant to the topic you’re covering to ensure they have the best chance of being clicked.   

Whenever creating content, we need to give users the next sensible step in their journey. Sometimes, that may be another blog post, but in most cases, it will be a transactional page.  

Make the call to action stand out as much as possible. The best way to do this is to use different coloured text, images, banners or buttons.   

External Links 
The following linking opportunities are from other people’s sites. These are generally much more restrictive but provide more value from Google’s perspective. The more sites (high-quality and relevant sites) that are linking to our pages, the better. 

External links from owned properties 
As a business, you will likely have profiles or listings on a handful of websites - from directory listings to social media profiles. Some of these will also allow you to post links to your content.  

If you’ve created a new page, use these 3rd party profiles/listings to your advantage and raise awareness of your new content. 

External links from other 3rd party sites 
Often cited as the hardest source of links, getting links to your content from other people’s sites can be tricky. However, these are the most powerful links. They show Google that other people on the internet see your content as interesting, relevant or authoritative and give them additional confidence in ranking your content well in the search results.  

The best source of these links is to get in touch with your real-life connections (suppliers, local authorities/journalists, friendly bloggers/site owners, etc). Leverage these as much as possible to get links to your content, as you have a much higher chance to control the narrative around the value of your content.  

After that, you can contact relevant sites/blogs/media and ask them to feature a link to your content on their site. The hit rate on gaining these links is very low and should only be undertaken if you have time.  

Under no circumstances can you offer to pay a site owner to link to your content or offer them any other type of payment. This goes against Google’s guidelines and can result in a penalty, impacting how well your site can perform in the search results. 
External links to other 3rd party sites 

When creating content with facts, figures, or quotes from 3rd party sources, it’s highly recommended that you link to the source of that information. This provides a reference to where you found the information and highlights to Google that your content is well-researched.


High-quality content creation is a skill that few website owners have but is something that Google is constantly shouting out for. If you follow this structure when planning and writing content for your site, you can create something incredibly valuable.   

The more content you create using this format, the easier it will become and the more traffic your site will generate through Google Search.  
Use your Google Analytics & Search Console accounts to monitor the performance of your new content once it’s live on the site. You can also use the advice from our ‘Actionable SEO Tips’ article to optimise it further for Google. 
If you have any questions on anything in this guide or would like any help ranking your site in Google Search, please get in touch via the following email, and we’ll help wherever we can: seo@whocanfixmycar.com

Written by Peter Boucher, Digital Marketing Manager at FixMyCar.

Other articles in this series:
  1. How SEO can boost your business: an introduction
  2. Actionable SEO tips that will make a difference
  3. Free SEO tools you need


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