Rellify's Blog

By Jayne Schultheis — When building your website, or maybe conducting a content audit, you want to make sure the site is well-structured and optimized for both search engines and customers. To accomplish that, it helps to have thoughtfully-crafted pillar pages.

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A pillar page is a comprehensive web page, typically an article or blog post, that covers a specific topic in a way that supports the infrastructure of a website and its content strategy. In the context of SEO, a pillar page covers many aspects of a topic and includes internal links to other pages on the site that cover those subtopics. Together, the pillar page and related pages form a topic cluster.

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How does a pillar page help your SEO strategy?

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This structure enhances the site's authority and helps improve its search engine ranking by:

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• Providing a central hub. The pillar page acts as the central hub for a topic, giving an overview and linking to detailed articles, or blog posts, that explore subtopics with greater depth. The pillar page is positioned at the core of a topic cluster, providing a means to explore the topic further.
• Improving user experience. By organizing content around pillar pages and clusters, users can easily navigate and find information. This increases the time users spend on the site and reduces bounce rates.
• Enhancing internal linking. Pillar pages create a strong internal linking structure, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index the site, thus boosting SEO.
• Establishing authority. A well-structured pillar page positions the site as an authority on a topic, increasing the likelihood of earning backlinks and improving the site's overall search engine ranking. Authority is one of the top qualities search engines look for when deciding who gets the top ranking in certain user searches.

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What's the difference between a pillar page and cornerstone content?

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If you look up the word "pillar" in the dictionary, you'll find that it's described as an upright, supporting post in a building. If you look up "cornerstone," you'll find that it refers to the foundational blocks of buildings. So, both of these types of content have their linguistic roots in "supporting structures," even though their method of support is different.

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While some people use these SEO terms interchangeably, they have different meanings and uses for SEO and content strategy. Cornerstone content is central to the core of a website's purpose. A pillar is the center of a cluster of topics. Your cornerstone content could link to several pillar pages, which could then link to pages that focus on subtopics. Here are some other ways to look at it.

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• Scope. Pillar content covers a broad topic and links to more detailed articles, while cornerstone content represents the best, most important articles on a site.
• Focus. Pillar content is focused on creating a comprehensive, anchoring resource and strong internal linking structure. Cornerstone content is designed to be the authoritative, go-to resource on its subject and feature internal and external linking.
• Strategy. Pillar content supports a content clustering strategy, boosting topic authority and enhancing user navigation. Cornerstone content supports an overall SEO strategy by presenting relevant, evergreen articles that define the site's expertise and authority.

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In short, cornerstone pages can act as pillar pages, but pillar pages are not cornerstone pages.

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What's a good example of a pillar page?

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Let's do a bit of content analysis by looking at the pillar page of a popular project management tool — Trello.

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This page is called "How to Embrace Remote Work" and functions as a "complete guide to setting up your team for remote work success."

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As you scroll, you see five sections related to remote work. Each provides a concise take on its subject and provides a link to take visitors to a deeper article on that sub-topic.

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On the left, notice the interactive table of contents that allows readers to click and jump to a certain part of this pillar landing page.

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As a project management tool and subscription service, Trello is strategically positioning itself to be an expert on remote work, especially when it comes to virtual project collaboration between team members.

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Pillar pages can function as guides along the customer journey. Think of them as vital middlemen between your main landing page and the page to the product, service, or information that turns your target audience into customers.

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How can I create a pillar page?

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We won't get into the nitty gritty of website construction here. Wordpress and other web content publishing platforms have made that much simpler these days. However, if you're brainstorming what to include on your pillar pages, here are some key elements you should consider:

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• Keyword research. A pillar page's short-tail focus keyword helps keep the topic broad and allows you to branch out with your linked cluster content. Those linked, cluster pages are likely to have long-tail keywords.
• Table of contents. Your pillar page should be on the longer side, since it's a comprehensive overview of a topic. A TOC helps users quickly scan the page to find what they need.
• Internal links. We covered this above, but this is the main reason you're making a pillar page — to provide a launching pad for visitors looking for more in-depth content.
• Regular updates. Keep an eye on the page's analytics and engagement metrics. Update the page as necessary, especially if you add more content on the subject that you can link to. Content optimization is an ongoing task.
• Visual and interactive elements. Do you have user-generated content that helps represent your product or service? Charts that show informative and related statistics? Photographs and videos that engage readers? These embellishments strengthen a pillar page and help it fulfill its purpose.

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This list certainly isn't exhaustive, but it gives you some good starting points. No two pillar pages will look the same. Yours will reflect your particular brand, target customers, products or services, and content goals.

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Let Rellify help you craft pillar pages that will exceed your content goals

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At Rellify, we're in the business of helping people craft content that gets results. We know that great pillar pages are foundational to a robust SEO strategy. With a Relliverse™, a custom-AI subject-matter expert trained on your relevant focus topics, you can make data-driven strategic decisions on that strategy. Your pillar pages will be more likely to foster lead generation and higher conversion rates. Want to find out more? Talk to one of our Rellify experts and schedule a demo today.

By Jayne Schultheis — If you've noticed that your Google search results have looked a bit different recently, you're not going crazy! For select inquiries, Google has implemented an SGE (search generative experience) that provides an AI Overview at the top of search results to answer questions. This has sent shockwaves through the content marketing business. Marketers go to great lengths to produce content that will rank at the top of organic search results and will be used for featured snippets. Now, Google's AI is providing direct answers to even complex questions so users won't have to click on organic results.

In this article, we'll take a close look at Google's new AI-generated responses and the implications for those creating SEO-optimized, long-form content as a part of their marketing strategy.

What is the Google AI Overview feature?

Well, let's start with Google Gemini, which has many different elements and is the key to generating AI Overviews. Gemini is an advanced AI project developed by Google DeepMind, the company's artificial intelligence research lab. Google Gemini includes several generative AI models to challenge ChatGPT and other players in that field. These models can analyze and generate content using not only text, but also images, audio, and video. This allows Gemini to perform complex tasks that involve interpreting and creating diverse forms of information.

For AI Overviews, Gemini can process complex, multi-part queries and help formulate plans for things like a vacation or weekly meals.

At Google I/O 2024 in May, the search engine giant highlighted many uses for Gemini, including AI Overviews and ways to extend its functions. That conference, and future events, will continue to reveal search enhancements powered by AI that will challenge search optimization marketing to evolve.

One example is Google's new "circle to search" visual search integration feature, available on certain Android phones. This AI-powered search feature allows users to draw a circle around an object within an image to initiate a search based on that specific object — all made possible by Gemini.

What makes the Google AI Overview different from regular snippets?

Google snippets have been a treasured target for digital content marketing for a long time, especially for long-form content. Here are some ways that AI Overviews improve on the "snippet" model:

• Summarization. It condenses long articles, reports, and other sources into brief summaries, making it easier for users to grasp the main points quickly.
• Contextual understanding. The AI can understand complex queries and the context of the information using natural language processing. This makes the summaries accurate and relevant.
• Source diversity. It pulls information from a wide range of sources, providing a well-rounded view of the topic.
• Interactive elements. Users can often interact with the summaries, such as clicking on them to view more detailed information or related topics.
• Real-time updates. The feature can update summaries in real-time as new information becomes available, giving users access to the latest insights.
• Personalization. It can tailor the information based on the user's interests and past interactions, providing a more personalized experience.

Rellify is helping to lead the way in search innovation by using AI to help you research and craft content that naturally ranks well on search engines. Generic AI adoption isn't good enough. You need AI-driven insights from personalized tech that understands your niche, audience, and brand. That's why Rellify provides Relliverses™ for customers, which use AI to provide topic and keyword insights based on what's already ranking well in your business sector.

How do I activate Google AI on Google Search?

Google AI is typically enabled by default for eligible searches. When you search on a topic that Google thinks is appropriate for an AI-generated summary, it will appear at or near the top of the search results.

Which queries activate AI summaries?

• Broad or exploratory queries. Questions that are general or exploratory in nature, requiring multi-step reasoning such as "Can dehydration cause high blood pressure and what should I do about it?"
• Comparative queries. Searches that involve comparing different options, like "best greenhouses under $500" or "pros and cons of electric cars."
• Explanatory queries. Queries that seek detailed explanations or overviews, such as "How do magnets work?" or "What are the steps in the scientific method?"
• Current events and trending topics. Searches related to recent news or trending topics where an up-to-date synthesis of information is helpful.
• How-to queries. Questions that involve step-by-step instructions or guidance, like "How to start a vegetable garden" or "How to bake a cake."

What are the implications of Google AI Overviews for content marketers?

If you've spent all your energy on SEO, only to feel like generative AI search advancements have thrown a wrench into your strategy, don't panic. Your job as a content marketer remains similar, with just a bit more focus on quality, authority, and relevance.

Create in-depth, relevant content

Develop content that thoroughly covers topics with clear, well-structured information. Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points to improve readability and AI understanding. If Google's AI can't easily digest your content, then it will assume that your target readers won't either, and you won't get much organic traffic.

Focus on user intent and queries

You're going to need to do a bit more research to understand the questions your target audience is asking and why. Create content that provides clear, concise answers to these queries.

Optimize for featured snippets and AI Overviews

Structure content by using FAQ, question-and-answer formats, lists, and summary paragraphs. This increases the chances of your content being highlighted in an AI Overview.

Improve content quality

Invest in high-quality writing, editing, and fact-checking. Your content should be reliable, authoritative, and up-to-date. This is another area where Rellify excels. In the Rellify platform, you can research, plan, create, and monitor your content, and have quantifiable measures of how well your content addresses a topic and incorporates relevant keywords.

Use schema markup

Implement schema markup to help Google understand your content better. Also known as structured data, this is a form of micro-data that you can add to your website's HTML to improve the way search engines read and represent your page in search engine result pages (SERPs). It's a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content. This can improve your chances of being featured in AI summaries.

Leverage multimedia content

Incorporate images, videos, infographics, and other visual elements to enhance engagement and make your content more appealing to both users and AI.

Publish original research and insights

Create unique, original content such as research studies, surveys, and case studies. This type of content is highly valuable and more likely to be referenced by AI. If you're using AI to build or enhance your content, be careful and make sure it's personalized in some way. If Google recognizes it as re-purposed or word-for-word duplicated from a generative model, it may penalize you.

Build and maintain authority

Focus on building your site’s authority through high-quality backlinks, diversified content (across your niche) and strategic partnerships. Authoritative sites are more likely to be featured in AI overviews. Rellify pays special attention to authority when it comes to content marketing. If you're the expert in your field, your website and content should reflect that in every way.

Monitor performance and adapt

Use analytics tools to monitor how AI overviews affect your traffic and engagement. Adjust your content strategy based on what works best. You also can learn by studying the web pages that are sources for AI Overviews.

Engage your audience directly

Don't put all of your eggs in one basket! Use email marketing, social media, and other channels to drive traffic and build relationships with your audience, reducing reliance on search engine visibility alone.

Rellify knows how to keep your content on page one

Google's search evolution has been an exciting road, but it's not one that's easy to navigate. At Rellify, we're experts on content creation processes that ensure search engine optimization, no matter what new features Google rolls out. With a custom Relliverse™, your own content expert AI will find topics and keywords to grab both search engines and your target audience. You'll see boosts in your organic web traffic with much less effort than traditional SEO efforts. For a brief demo and quote, contact a Rellify expert today.

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By Jayne Schultheis — Wondering what's happening in the world of SEO and featured snippets? Innovation moves pretty fast when it comes to search engines, especially with the latest incorporation of AI. We'll give you an overview of how featured snippets have been working and how they are changing. Let's jump in!

What are featured snippets?

Featured snippets on Google are concise answers to a query that appear at the top of some search results pages. Featured snippets usually are placed in what's called Position 0, above the first organic result but below paid listings. Google might take them directly from high-quality content within a web page or rewrite content from that page.

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If you're in the business of content marketing, you know just how crucial it is to get your website's url in that featured snippet. It boosts your organic traffic, so it's a highly treasured prize for sites seeking high Google rankings.

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Please note that featured snippets differ from the snippets used in Google Analytics. The latter snippets are bits of reusable code or text tags that can be placed on web pages to help Google assess and track them.

What is the difference between featured and rich snippets?

Featured snippets and rich snippets are both elements of Google's SERPs. They're designed to enhance the user experience by providing more detailed and useful information directly within the search results. But they differ in their presentation and purpose:

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• Placement. Featured snippets are placed at the top of the search results, while rich snippets are embedded within a search result.
• Content source. Featured snippets extract information directly from webpage content, whereas rich snippets rely on structured data provided by the website.
• Purpose. Featured snippets aim to provide direct answers to queries, while rich snippets enhance individual search listings with additional context and details, such as reviews, a carousel of photos, or information on buying a product.

Google's featured snippet requirements

There's no exact science to becoming a featured snippet — it's an algorithmic secret that Google holds. But there are a few tried-and-true things you can do, let’s call it snippet optimization, to improve your chances. You'll signal to search engines that your content deserves that featured spot as the answer to users' queries.

Content quality and relevance

Provide a direct, clear, and concise answer to the query with language that's simple and free from unnecessary or complicated jargon. Google wants snippets to have high readability. Remember — the specific language and keywords you use should be a direct reflection of what your target users are likely to search for, both in linguistics and search intent.

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High-value content also has optimized meta tags, including the title and description, which reflect the content's focus. Use relevant keywords naturally within the content. Keyword density is important, but remember — no keyword stuffing!

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Quality external links and a solid backlink profile (or inbound links) also help signal to Google that you're a well-respected authority within your niche. Make sure to select strong, keyword-rich anchor text for your links, too. To put it in simple terms, content optimization boosts your odds of getting a featured snippet.

Content structure

If you study featured snippets, you'll notice a common feature: They're often streamlined and well-structured. Appropriate headings are a big part of this. Use headings (H1, H2, H3) to structure the SEO content logically and make it easier to read. To clearly present information, you can also use:

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• Short paragraphs and concise, direct sentences
• Lists
• Tables
• Bullet points
• FAQ sections

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This helps Google easily extract the relevant information for a snippet.

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Small businesses should claim and update their Google Business Profiles, formerly called Google My Business. The information on the business can improve search results, especially for local searches and voice search. (Think, for example, of a voice search like "Where is the nearest pizza shop?") The profile also can supply information for rich snippets and featured snippets.

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And don't forget image optimization. Use your focus keyword in the caption and other "image alt data," including the alt text. The alt text not only gives sight-impaired individuals information about the images on your pages, but also helps Google to assess your pages for top rankings.

Technical SEO and performance

Make sure your webpage loads quickly. Slow-loading pages can negatively impact the chance of being selected as the featured snippet. Over 50% of web traffic comes from mobile devices, so it's crucial to also make sure you prioritize mobile optimization.

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To track your site's performance, which affects your ability to land featured snippets, use Google Search Console. The "performance report" can help to monitor which queries bring traffic to your site and whether your content is appearing in featured snippets. Look for high-ranking keywords and analyze their click-through rates. Filter queries to identify which ones might be triggering featured snippets. This can give you insights into which of your pages might be appearing as featured snippets.

Doesn't Google use generative AI to make snippets now?

Well, yes. If you're staying on top of trends in AI, you've noticed that Google Search regularly upgrades AI technologies into its search capabilities. This includes generating and enhancing featured snippets.

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Here’s how Google uses generative AI to enhance snippets:

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• Context understanding. Generative AI models, like BERT and GPT, help Google understand the context of a web page more deeply. This allows for more accurate and relevant snippets that better summarize the page content. AI can identify the most critical parts of a page, and rephrase complex sentences into simpler, more digestible ones. This makes snippets more user-friendly and easier to understand at a glance.
• Direct answers. For certain queries, generative AI can form direct answers like definitions or factual information, taking them directly from the content on the page.
• Complex queries. AI can handle complex, multi-part queries by generating snippets that address each part of the query, providing a more comprehensive response.
• Multimodal integration. Generative AI can combine textual summaries with relevant images or video content from the page to create richer, more informative snippets. For queries where visual information is crucial (e.g., product searches, tutorials), AI can integrate media content seamlessly into snippets.

The future of featured snippets

As a marketer, you might be wondering how your goals and processes should change as a result of the new integration of AI into snippets. With the implementation of Google's new feature, you should be stepping up your SEO efforts. AI does not replace the value of organic snippets. It creates a more critical need for high-value, original, well-optimized content. That's what Rellify does best.

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With a custom Relliverse™, you can find the most relevant topics and keywords for content that will naturally rank well on search engines. Within the Rellify platform itself, you can receive expert AI guidance in optimizing your content for search engines. If you're looking for an all-in-one content solution that lets you incorporate AI at will, Rellify is the way to go. Want to find out more? Schedule a Relliverse™ demo with a Rellify expert to learn how we can revolutionize your content process and supercharge your returns.

By Dan Duke – As the popularity of voice search grows, so does the value of voice search optimization. But there’s one caveat: SEO techniques for typed search queries aren’t enough to boost voice search results. It takes a different strategy.

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Here’s the great news. Digital content marketers and businesses can gain on their competition by implementing new strategies and stepping up their voice search game.

What is voice search optimization?

Voice search optimization is the practice of making sure your website is as responsive as possible to voice searches. It means arranging your site so that when someone says “Hey, Google …” the voice answers with information from you.

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One key to effective voice search optimization is understanding that people search differently when they use voice commands versus typing. With a hands-free voice search:

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• Search phrases are longer
• Searches are more conversational

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For example, someone planning to order takeout food might type: “Thai food Main Street.” Someone driving their car and looking for something to eat might say: “Find the best Thai restaurant near me.” Or, “Where is the closest Thai restaurant?”

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Voice search queries use more command words, like “Find” and “Show,” and more asking words, like “Where” and “When.” Basic SEO factors remain vital, but businesses need to research these differences and adjust their strategies accordingly.

9 steps for optimizing content for voice search

Basic search engine optimization techniques impact your search results, like including your target keyword in the page title. A tech-savvy business will stay SEO-sharp while adding voice search optimization features to its site. At Rellify, we use these techniques to ensure content is up to our highest standards for voice search optimization.

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Here are 9 steps you can take to boost your search results from voice inquiries.

Think mobile first

Even without factoring in voice search, mobile-friendliness is a must for a business website. A site optimized for mobile devices will be fast, and voice search users place a high premium on speed. Naturally, Google does too. It wants to answer questions instantly, and any hitch in a website can hurt a site’s discoverability.

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Use one of the many available tools to test your site’s speed. Check to see if it gets a passing grade from Core Web Vitals. Does your site pass Google’s mobile-friendly test? If not, get to work. The test will point out weak spots, like improperly sized photos, that you can fix.

Think hyper-local

Local businesses stand to gain as much as any other sector, if not the most, from voice search. That’s because voice search results can be hyper-local.

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Many steps in optimizing for local searches (including voice) are free and relatively easy. Google has made the first step simple: claim your My Business listing. This will place you on Google’s Local Pack, Google Maps, and Google Local Finder.

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Make sure to provide all possible information. Even basics like name, address, and phone number are critical. A call following a voice search has an excellent chance of leading to a sale, often at the brick-and-mortar site.

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For these listings, write the blurb about your business as if it were your desired answer to a voice-enabled search.

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Voice search: “Where is the best fabric store in downtown Rochester?”

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The blurb for your fabric store: “Jenni’s Place is the best fabric store in downtown Rochester. It provides the finest fabrics and sewing material at the lowest prices.”

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Make sure to update the listing regularly with information like store hours and posts announcing sales, specials, and events. Use photos to show off your place.

Solicit reviews

Google gives higher rankings to listings with reviews. Businesses also should take advantage of similar opportunities with Apple Maps, Bing, and Yelp. Ask your favorite customers to write reviews on these sites. And monitor those sites so you can respond to reviewers.

Seed your site with keywords

Once you have claimed your local listing, integrate locally relevant keywords and keyword phrases into your site. Keywords like “fried chicken restaurant in Los Angeles” and “fried chicken in LA” are locally relevant keywords. Phrases like these can help drive more leads to your business.

Write the way people (your customers) talk

As you begin any SEO strategy, you should consider your customers’ interests and needs. Draw up a clear picture of the customer journey. Imagine the questions they ask about your products, services, and user experience.

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The difference with voice search is that the customer will speak more clearly and in a more conversational tone. Customers will respond best to answers that are clear and direct. In fact, with voice search, that’s the only sort of answer that’s given. Will the answer come from you or a competitor’s site?

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The example given for writing a My Business blurb shows the value of placing clear, plain answers to typical voice search questions on your website. A bakery shop, for example, should have content elements that say “best cake shop in east Atlanta,” “top bakery shop in Atlanta,” and other variations.

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Businesses also should present concise, easy-to-read content — which is easy for search engines to find and deliver as results. Save flowery language and jargon for another time. It can’t impress readers or listeners if search engines never present it to them.

Answer FAQs

Good voice search optimization involves content that answers “why,” “who,” “what,” “where,” and “how” questions. Presenting that content on an FAQ page is like serving up a series of easy-to-find voice search answers.

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This also provides an excellent spot to cover the entire customer journey. Answer questions that people have from when they start thinking about fulfilling a need to when they’ve made the purchase and are using the product. A good FAQ also allows businesses to address pain points and clear away stumbling blocks.

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If your site doesn’t have an FAQ section, add one. If you already have one, review it and update it as needed.

Use “ready to buy” words

People regularly use voice search to buy, rather than just shop. Review the content on your web pages and make sure your product descriptions appeal to searchers in the buying phase.

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The search intent in this phase is called “transactional,” and voice searches tend to use certain keywords at this point. Words like “buy,” “deals,” “sale,” “order,” “reserve,” “clearance,” “special,” and “discount” are often spoken by people ready to do business.

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E-commerce sites should use transactional keywords as part of their content. They can answer voice searches like: “Who is having a sale on refrigerators in El Paso?”

Use long-tail keywords

If businesses and site owners create content that reflects the way people talk, they will probably use long-tail keywords. In doing so, they also will be employing voice search optimization.

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Long-tail keywords are more specific and usually longer than other keywords. They don’t command as much search volume as broader terms. However, they tend to have a higher conversion rate because they are so specific.

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In content marketing, as in all marketing, it’s important to understand your target audience. That understanding should lead you to the long-tail keywords that potential customers may use when searching for your solutions. The way that someone would describe your business probably contains excellent long-tail keywords.

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Make your content keyword-rich, using them in your My Business listing blurb and blog posts. In fact, targeting long-tail keywords should improve your search results in any form.

Use schema markup

The power of well-chosen words drives voice SEO, but technical details can make a big difference, too.

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Schema markup is coding, or structured data, that you add to items on your website to help search engines assess it and present it in search results. On a website that doesn’t use this, search engines need more time to determine the relevance of content. Thus, schema markup can boost your search engine results as well as improve the chances that your content will be used as the featured snippet in voice search queries.

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Schema markup requires technical expertise, so if you can manage it or hire someone to take care of that, it can give you an edge in the competition for top SERP rankings.

Voice search optimization and SEO

Now that you know how to improve voice search results, let’s look at why it’s worth the effort. If you’re a business, particularly one in food service, hospitality, or retail, you likely can benefit from voice searches to draw customers.

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Here are some voice search statistics to indicate its reach and growth:

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• 149 million Americans are expected to use voice search at least once a month in 2024. That number is expected to reach 162 million by 2027. (eMarketer)
• 13.6% of the people with smart speakers use them to shop and 29% use them to buy items. (eMarketer)
• The speech and voice recognition market will be worth $53.94 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 24.4% over the forecast period (2023-2030). (SkyQuest)

Voice-enabled search makes it easy to multitask. It also benefits people with certain disabilities who have trouble typing queries on a keyboard and reading the answers. People enjoy getting useful information instantly on mobile, easy-to-use devices.

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The rise of smartphones, other mobile devices, smart speakers, apps, and hands-free automobile systems all contribute to its growth.

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It’s true that a great deal of this activity is not worth chasing. Commands like “Alexa, play a Bruno Mars song,” common questions like “What’s the weather forecast tomorrow?” and argument settlers like “Who was the 15th president of the United States?” are not opportunities for SEO success. (By the way, it was James Buchanan.)

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Even so, businesses need to be where the searchers are. The way that voice search functions give us clues for SEO strategy.

How does voice search work?

When you speak to a virtual voice assistant, an automatic speech recognition system (ASR) transforms your speech to text. Then, the search engine uses the text as a standard search query to find the best answer or answers.

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Voice assistants like Alexa and Siri make the human-computer interaction seem natural, but complex artificial intelligence applications — such as computational linguistics — are at work.

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These systems require audio processing to capture the voice search, then perform speech analysis to render sound waves into text so search engines can handle the query. This involves sound recognition, language recognition and even accent recognition!

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When you do a voice search, you might get a written answer or a spoken answer. For the latter, systems require text-to-speech capabilities to create the audio response. AI algorithms perform speech synthesis to give voice to your smart speaker or smartphone.

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Over time, machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) enhancements have improved speech processing and voice search. In 2022, Google released cutting-edge speech recognition technology for better voice user interface. Its API uses deep learning and artificial neural networks to improve speech recognition accuracy.

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Speech recognition APIs now provide a wide range of services, and some of these applications are free. Google, OpenAI, IBM, AssemblyAI and many other companies offer tools to power voice search, chatbots, translations, and other services.

The power of voice search optimization

As we have seen, two critical factors in voice search optimization are relevance and artificial intelligence. Rellify, the content performance platform, has expertise to offer in both areas to help clients develop content that naturally ranks high in internet searches.

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With the Relliverse™ you get a will customized AI subject matter expert that shows your team the best content opportunities. It will lead you the keywords you need to create relevant content and help you:

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• Better understand your company, topics and content
• See your competitors like never before
• Accurately quantify content market share and visibility
• Identify and address strategic issues
• Create complex prompts to create highly relevant content
• Create more relevant content with ease

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Our use of deep machine learning gives clients an edge in both voice search optimization and overall SEO marketing. Contact Rellify today to find out how our services can help your company.

By Jayne Schultheis — If you’re just not getting the success you’d hoped for on SERPs (search engine result pages), it’s not necessarily because the engine itself isn’t doing it’s job or going through algorithm updates. You might need to give it a bit more information by using a Google search operator.

What is a Google search operator?

A Google search operator, also called an “advanced operator,” is an advanced search technique in which a user adds a special character or string of characters to a search query to filter and refine the search results. These operators make users’ searches much more precise and efficient, and the results more targeted.

Examples of common Google search operators

This list isn’t exhaustive, but let’s cover some of the more common examples.

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Quotation Marks (” “) — Search for an exact phrase.

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Example — “climate change impact”

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Minus Sign (-) — Exclude a term or phrase.

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Example — mustang -car

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Site: — Search within a specific website.

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Example — site:pbs.org

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Filetype: — Search for specific file types.

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Example — filetype:png

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Intitle: — Search for pages with a specific word in the title.

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Example — intitle:marketing

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Inurl: — Search for pages with a specific word in the URL.

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Example — inurl:education

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OR — Search for pages that might contain one of several words.

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Example — vacation OR holiday

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Asterisk (*) — Acts as a wildcard placeholder for any unknown or variable terms.

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Example — the best * of 2024

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Double Periods (..) — Search for a range of numbers.

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Example — camera $150..$400

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Cache: — See a cached version of a webpage.

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Example — cache:onepeloton.com

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Related: — Find sites related to a specific site.

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Example — related:nytimes.com

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Allintext: — Search for pages where all the terms appear in the text.

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Example — allintext:solar energy benefits

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Using Google search operators for image searches

The scope of Google search operators extends beyond text searches. You can also use this feature to narrow down your image searches. Here are some common operators that are helpful for images:

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Using keywords. Entering specific keywords to find images related to those terms.

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Example — puppies

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Combining keywords with search operators. Using operators like site: to find images from a specific website.

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Example — puppies site:instagram.com

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Quotation marks. To search for an exact phrase in image titles or alt text.

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Example — “2 month old rescue puppies”

Minus sign. To exclude certain terms from your image search.

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Example — puppies -goldendoodles

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How should I use Google search operators?

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SEO best practices like keyword research, meta tags, and backlinks are all solutions for bridging the gap between a user query and the desired answer. But sometimes, you need to speak Google’s language and get more specific, especially when queries and questions are unique to your company and its needs. When producing online content, it’s often necessary to do in-depth research. Google search operators help you get more specific search results to streamline your production process.

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• Precision, efficiency. Search operators help you narrow down results to exactly what you’re looking for, filtering out irrelevant information. This precision is particularly useful when searching for specific documents, files, or information within a particular website

• Research. While conducting professional research, search operators can help you find scholarly articles, specific studies, or data within credible sources. This is crucial for obtaining reliable and authoritative information. Also, operators like related: can help you discover websites and content similar to a particular site, broadening your research scope and providing new resources. Remember, while ChatGPT might seem convenient, you still have to fact-check its accuracy, because it’s known to make mistakes. Using Google search operators is a much more effective way to find accurate and reliable resources.

• Competitor analysis. Businesses can use search operators to find information about competitors, industry trends, and market research. At Rellify, we take care of this kind of research for you — using deep machine learning to crawl your competitors’ domains to find what topics and keywords are already ranking well within your niche.

• SEO and content marketing. Bloggers, writers, and content creators can use operators to find inspiration, verify facts, and gather comprehensive information on a topic. Search operators are can help SEO professionals and digital marketers to analyze backlinks, find guest posting opportunities, and track online mentions.

• Finding specific files. If you need a specific type of file, like a PDF, Word document, or Excel spreadsheet, search operators can help you locate these files directly.

Related reading:

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Google Indexing: The First Step in Search Results

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The Riveting History of SEO: From the ’90s to Today

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Google search operators can get tedious — you need Rellify

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While Google search operators certainly might help with some aspects of your content marketing strategy like research and competitive analysis, the process can be tedious. You need an expert to supercharge and streamline your processes — an upgrade.

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At Rellify, our processes use deep machine learning to crawl the web for content that’s already ranking well within your niche. No more guesswork. Ready to find out exactly how Rellify can change your content marketing processes and returns? Book a consultation and brief demo with one of our experts today.

By Jayne Schultheis — The ways we get our news have changed a lot over the years, haven’t they?

In the modern content marketing landscape, email newsletters are one of the most impactful ways to communicate with those who would benefit from what your company has to offer. But more than that, they’re an opportunity to share the new and exciting things that are happening with your business. In this article, we’ll look at all the reasons your business can benefit from a newsletter, and how to craft one that works.

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How SEO comes into play

If a newsletter is primarily intended for email distribution, traditional SEO optimization might seem less relevant, but that’s not so. There still are plenty of compelling reasons to incorporate SEO strategies.

Publish a web version of the newsletter

Many email newsletters have a web-based version to help with lead generation. Optimizing this web version for SEO can attract new readers who find the content through search engines, potentially increasing your subscriber base.

If you archive your newsletters on your website, content optimization can help these archived versions climb the search engine rankings. This will give them long-term value and help them continuously attract visitors.

Increased click-through rates

While not traditional SEO, optimizing the subject lines and preview text of your emails with keywords can improve open rates and engagement. This can indirectly boost the performance of your newsletters.

Cross-channel consistency

Maintaining consistency, whether through keywords, topics, or tone, can strengthen your overall content marketing strategy. When all content is aligned to your strategy, it helps your messaging.

Enhanced user experience

Clear, concise headings, well-structured content, and optimized images are SEO techniques that improve readability and user experience in blog posts. They also provide the same benefits in emails. Remember — your audience likely gets a lot of emails in a day. It’s your job to make sure you give your target audience something more. That might be some expert visual storytelling, user-generated content, links to webinars, or video content.

How to write an effective email newsletter

With email newsletters, you won’t need to do extensive keyword research like you would with other kinds of content creation and blogging. But you’ll still need to do some background work beforehand.

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1. Know your audience

If you’re in the businesses of B2B content marketing, then you would craft your newsletter differently than if you’re doing B2C content marketing. If you haven’t determined the buyer personas for your market or done some extensive market research on your target audience, now’s the time. Your newsletter is written for those potential customers, and it should show them your expertise.

2. Set clear goals

Know what you want to achieve with your content distribution. Do you want to increase website traffic? Boost sales? Build brand awareness or loyalty? Use analytics to measure the success of your newsletter against these goals.

3. Craft compelling content

From the very beginning of your process, your task is to catch and hold your audience’s attention. That starts with the subject line. It should be catchy and intriguing — enticing recipients to open the email. The newsletter itself should be content that solves problems, offers insights, gives updates, or entertains. You may want to include industry news, tips, case studies, or success stories.

Since you have only a brief window to keep grab your audience, the writing needs to be clear and concise. Unnecessary fluff or dry, industry jargon might give your newsletter a one-way ticket to the virtual trash bin.

Personalization is another way to grab your audience through an email newsletter. According to Zippia, the open rate for email rises by 50% when subject lines are personalized. Many content management systems enable you to add personalized greetings or tailored content to the recipient.

4. Design for readability

Use a clean and professional design that aligns with your brand and matches all of your other color schemes and brand elements. Include images, infographics, and videos where appropriate. Mobile-friendliness should be a key concern, too. And for good reason — according to Mobiloud, mobile browsing makes up 58.21% of global internet traffic.

5. Optimize for deliverability

Before you hit “send” on your finished newsletter, do some internal testing. Send the newsletter out to others in your company so they can check for formatting issues and give feedback.

Don’t forget to refresh your understanding and application of email marketing laws and regulations, too. GDPR and CAN-SPAM are two of the most important ones to keep in mind.

6. Foster engagement

A newsletter doesn’t have to be a static document. Even if you’re unable to embed certain elements, you can still include clickable links to polls, surveys, or other parts of your website itself. Encourage readers to reply with their thoughts and suggestions to create a two-way communication channel. Add social media buttons to allow readers to share your content easily and engage with your brand on other platforms.

7. Analyze and adjust

Analytics tools can help you monitor the performance of your newsletters. Google Analytics can help with monitoring if you’ve published the newsletter on your website. But for the email itself, Mailchimp, HubSpot, and many other CRMs have comprehensive ways to check on your KPIs. Pay attention to metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.

Once you’ve decided on your KPIs and developed some benchmarks, it’s time to do some A/B Testing. Experiment with different subject lines, content formats, and sending schedules to see what works best. Is there a certain day of the week or time of day in which your target audience is more likely to open your email newsletter? Are there certain subject lines that seem to get more traction?

Let Rellify help you craft and distribute your best newsletter yet

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When it comes to building and implementing a content marketing strategy that includes well-crafted, optimized, relevant email newsletters, Rellify can provide a significant ROI. As an all-in-one content marketing solution, you can research, plan, and write your emails within the platform, all while receiving pointed guidance from both AI and Rellify experts. Ready to find out how Rellify can revolutionize how you do content marketing? Hop on a quick call with an expert today for a demo of your customized Relliverse™ and a free quote!

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By Jayne Schultheis — For centuries, the word “cornerstone” meant a basic, foundational element. It referred to the first stone laid in the masonry of a building — the one that set the course for all other stones. In the realm of marketing, the “cornerstone” of your web content should be blog posts and articles that exemplify the knowledge, authority, and expertise of your brand. In this article, we’ll clearly define cornerstone content and give you tips on crafting it.

What is cornerstone content?

Cornerstone content refers to high-quality, foundational articles on your website that are crucial for its SEO strategy and overall content marketing efforts. They’re designed to provide comprehensive, authoritative information on key topics that are central to your website’s niche or industry.

What are some key elements of cornerstone content?

Before you start drafting outlines, you’ll need a good understanding of what characterizes cornerstone content:

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• Comprehensive and in-depth. These articles cover a topic thoroughly, often serving as the definitive guide on that subject. They aim to answer all relevant questions a reader might have.
• Authoritative and trustworthy. Written with expertise and backed by research, cornerstone content establishes the website as a credible source of information. AI text generation has rapidly and significantly re-shaped the public discussions of credibility and expertise, so this is a critical element of content creation in the current context. That’s not to say AI text generation has no place in cornerstone content, but you should be conscious and discerning of how you use it.‍
• Evergreen. Cornerstone content is not necessarily evergreen (we’ll have more on this later). However, it can be written to remain relevant and useful over time, often requiring only minor updates. These updates should be reflective of both up-to-date information on the topic and any content optimization relating to SEO. Refreshed keyword research can make a huge difference in updating content what has been online for a while.‍
• High-quality. Well-written, well-structured, and free of errors. It includes visuals, infographics, videos, and other media to enhance understanding.‍
• Strong SEO. Incorporates strategic keywords, internal links, and a clear structure to improve search engine rankings.

Examples of cornerstone content

Several formats lend themselves to the creation of cornerstone content, including:

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• Guides and tutorials that inform readers on how to achieve a particular goal or complete a task within the site’s niche.‍
• Foundational articles that cover the basics and essential knowledge about a core topic in detail.‍
• Pillar pages that serve as a central hub linking to various sub-topics (cluster content) around a broader theme.

Why is cornerstone content so important?

When you’re executing a strategy for content curation to connect with your target audience, you need a strong foundation. Here are some reasons you should focus on cornerstone content:

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Search results. By its very nature, cornerstone content will possess E-E-A-T, which is valued by Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (SQEG). Articles that show “Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness” are full of relevant content as well as important keywords. That helps them to rank higher in search engine results, driving organic traffic.

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Audience engagement. High-quality, informative content keeps users engaged, reduces bounce rates, and increases their time spent on the site. A well-structured site with clear foundational content also provides a better user experience, which keeps people on your pages for longer.

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Authority building. Establishes you as an expert in your field, which can lead to higher trust and credibility among readers and peers.

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Internal linking. These articles serve as hubs for internal links, helping to distribute link equity and improve the SERP of related pages on the site.

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Backlink strategy. Cornerstone content is ideal for obtaining backlinks. It has the quality that makes it worthwhile for another site to link to your page.

How does cornerstone content differ from evergreen content?

We briefly mentioned “evergreen content” earlier, but what exactly sets it apart from cornerstone content? “Evergreen” and “cornerstone” can and probably should be part of your content strategy, but they serve different purposes.

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“Cornerstone” content refers to the most important, comprehensive articles on a website. These pieces are central to the site’s content strategy and cover core topics in-depth, serving as the foundation for related content.

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The main attribute of “evergreen” content is that it remains relevant and valuable over an extended period. This type of content does not lose its significance with time, much like evergreen trees that stay green throughout the year. A relatively short article can be an evergreen but not a cornerstone. Or, an evergreen can be a spoke article that supports a hub, or cornerstone, article.

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A piece of content can be an evergreen or a cornerstone, neither, or both!

What are some best practices for cornerstone content?

Whether you’re conducting a content audit or just starting the process of content marketing, here are some goals you should set for your cornerstone content.

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• Identify key topics. Determine the main topics that are central to your blog or website’s mission. In-depth content analysis, keyword research and topic ideation are crucial for finding your corner of the internet and raking in leads and customers. Rellify can help with this. By strategically using AI-assisted technology, we help clients find niche topics and keywords that will help content naturally rank well on search engines and resonate with your target audience.‍
• Research thoroughly. Gather all necessary information to create a comprehensive article on the chosen topic. Check out your top competitors’ websites and take note of structural similarities you see between their cornerstone pages. Do some market research on what kind of blog or design elements resonate best with your target audience.
• ‍Use SEO to boost quality. Write detailed, well-structured, and meaningful blog articles that are highly relevant to your niche. Relevant keywords, meta descriptions, headers, backlinks, and internal links are all critical parts of SEO. Rellify is an expert on SEO, and our platform tracks key elements of your SEO efforts and shows you what needs to happen to get your cornerstone content to start ranking.‍
• Update regularly. Keep the content updated so it keeps its relevance and stays accurate over time. Evergreen is the name of the game.
• ‍Promote actively. Share the cornerstone content through social media, newsletters, and other channels to drive traffic. You can even slice and dice the content into smaller elements, repurposing it so it’s more digestible, relevant, and intriguing for users all along the customer journey.

Rellify can help you create expert, relevant cornerstone content

Rellify knows the value and power of cornerstone content within a robust and diverse content strategy. That’s why we worked so hard to develop machine learning tools that help your content creation. With our AI and the Relliverse™, we have streamlined the process for making well-researched and targeted content. Our content management system can help you identify the best opportunities to reach your content goals. Then, within the platform, you’re set to create expert cornerstone content that will help you climb the search rankings naturally.

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Ready to find out exactly how Rellify can revolutionize your content and processes? Schedule a quick call for a free demo and quote from one of our experts!

By Jayne Schultheis — All's well that ends well, right?

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In this case, yes!

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When you're blogging, the final paragraph or two of a post offers a chance to have a tremendous impact. If you've held your reader's attention for the entirety of the article, it means you've succeeded in one of your core engagement goals. And when you're ending blog posts, you should aim for a more specific goal. Let's talk about what the end of your blog post should ultimately accomplish, and how to make it happen.

How do you write a good ending to a blog post?

A common strategy for the concluding section is to re-state the main points of your article. A business that's writing online content, however, needs to do more. A "call to action" is a passage in a blog post that encourages your reader to perform a task. It's a sound strategy to end a post with a strong call to action. Just be clear on your goals, because there are many types of action you could request. Let's look at how you can write killer endings for blog posts that can help you reach your goals.

Encourage engagement and interaction

Get people clicking, re-posting, and commenting!

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• Comments and discussion. Prompt readers to leave comments or share their thoughts on the topic.
• Social media sharing. Encourage readers to share the post on their social media accounts across various platforms.
• Surveys and polls. Include a link to a survey or poll to gather feedback and insights. These kinds of analytics can help you shape your blog content and strategy.

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Drive traffic to other content

The longer you can keep your audience's attention, the better.

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Internal linking. Link to related blog posts or content on your website to keep readers engaged and on your site longer.

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Content upgrades. Offer downloadable content (e.g., eBooks or guides) that require an email signup.

Build a subscriber base

You want your readers to be further invested in your company and its products or services outside of your website.

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• Newsletter signups. Prompt readers to subscribe to your newsletter for more updates and exclusive content.
• RSS feed subscription. Offer an option to subscribe to your blog's RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed.
• Invite readers to join online your communities. Encourage readers to join your company’s online community, like an Instagram page, Facebook group, or LinkedIn group.

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Enhance SEO and search visibility

Ranking high on search engines should be one of your primary goals, especially if you're making longform, evergreen content. And it should inform every single part of your blog, from the introduction to the conclusion.

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‍Encourage backlinks. Ask readers to link back to the post if they find it valuable, which can improve SEO.

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‍Keywords and content optimization. Make sure the end of your blog post includes terms from your keyword research and appropriate backlinking to enhance search engine visibility.

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                                    To learn more about blog posts, read our guide on blog introductions.

Establish authority and trust

Authority is one of the primary factors that makes search engine crawlers rank your content higher than that of your competitors.

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• Case studies and testimonials. Link to relevant case studies, customer testimonials, and relevant guest posting to build credibility.
• Expert advice and further reading. Offer additional resources or links to authoritative sources that back up your content's claims or main point.
• Brand story and values. Lean into the storytelling aspect of content creation! Share insights into your company’s mission, values, or behind-the-scenes stories to build a deeper connection with readers.

Promote products or services

If your company sells a product or offers a service, this is the time to let your readers know. If the article lays out a problem or issue, your company needs to be the solution.

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• Product links. Direct readers to product pages or service descriptions relevant to the blog post topic. The products don't necessarily have to be yours. You may opt to include affiliate links if you use affiliate marketing as a part of your content marketing strategy. Just keep in mind that these kinds of links will draw readers away from your website, so do this sparingly.
• Special offers and discounts. Highlight any current promotions or discounts that readers can take advantage of.
• Free trials and demos. Encourage readers to sign up for a free trial of your product or schedule a demo.

What you should do before publishing your blog

After you've written your perfectly-crafted conclusion, you might be eager to hit "post" and start tracking insights through Google Analytics. Slow down! There's a few things you should do first.

1. Make sure your SEO is airtight. Rellify quantifies your SEO efforts and relevancy into a comprehensive R-score. The AI behind the Rellify score covers many factors, including mobile optimization, because the majority of users are visiting websites from their mobile devices. Fundamental issues like site speed and blog design are important, too.
2. See where it would best fit on your content calendar. Too much similar content posted consecutively can undermine your reputation as a versatile, yet knowledgeable expert in your field. Keep blog diversification in mind as you implement content scheduling.
3. Is the writing fluid? This is another aspect of SEO that Rellify tracks and quantifies. Readability scores will change depending on the level of topic expertise your target audience holds. Be sure to run a grammar and plagiarism check, too.
4. Add visual content. Visual content like pictures, graphs, or videos help bolster user experience and keep audiences engaged. They also can help provide featured images for blog promotion on other platforms.
5. Does every section of your blog have a consistent brand voice? Brand voice is a crucial part of marketing that should impact every part of your process, from headline writing to conclusion paragraphs.

Ending blog posts is easy with Rellify

Aren't you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering how we're going to end this blog post?

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Well, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention how Rellify makes every part of content curation and blog writing more efficient and effective. From the very beginning of your process, you'll get expert insights into niche topics and keywords that will help you naturally rank higher on search engines. Not only that, you can effortlessly build smart briefs based on your keywords and incorporate expert AI in your processes wherever you see fit.

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‍Contact a Rellify expert today to find out how you can start implementing your data-driven, AI-advised content strategy within the Rellify platform.

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By Jayne Schultheis — Companies have a maximum of 10 seconds to grab a customer’s attention in a blog introduction.

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Have we caught your attention yet?

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Blogs are the cornerstone of long-form content marketing. With the proliferation of AI, how you craft your content matters. People on search engines aren't looking for generic text regurgitated over and over. They want high-quality information that provides value — something that grabs their attention and holds it until they've found the information they seek. And they'll give you only a few seconds to deliver, according to user experience data and market research by the Nielsen Norman Group.

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Ideally, the quick, authoritative way you answer the question will keep them on your blog page even after they've learned what they came for. Now you have a chance to surprise and delight them with information they weren't expecting.

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In this article, we'll look at how to create compelling and effective blog introductions that help convert your web traffic from visitors to valuable leads, and even customers.

The basics of blog introductions

A solid content strategy is one that takes into account every aspect of blog creation — from start to finish. Establishing standards and best practices will make your content process run smoother, especially if you plan to incorporate guest blogging or outsource to freelancers.

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Let's say you're a dog food company and some of the goals and standards for your blog are:

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• Boost your SEO (search engine optimization)
• Build up backlinks
• Incorporate monetization through affiliate marketing
• Re-purpose material through other forms of content distribution, such as social media and email marketing
• Broaden your content promotion

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You conduct topic and keyword research and decide your next blog post's focus keyword will be "safe dog foods." Here are some best practices and blogging tips to make your opening paragraph stand out among your competition.

Provide a hook

In school, this is how we first learn to write engaging content for an audience. It's a fishing analogy, and the "hook" is wording that will grab your audience and prevent them from wandering away. A "hook" might be a thought-provoking question, a shocking statistic, or an intriguing statement. It's something that makes your reader want to find out more.

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"Did you know that certain fruits and vegetables can boost your dog's health, while others can make your dog sick?"

Define the problem and offer the solution

If your company has the solution, you might want to just get right to the point. A good blog post introduction can state the problem clearly and promise the solution. If the solution is simple and easily stated, provide it immediately.

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"Many pet owners don't know that dangers lurk in some everyday foods. Feeding your dog the wrong treats could lead to serious health issues. In this guide, we'll tell you about safe dog foods to share with your furry friend and teach you about foods to avoid."

Establish authority

Authority is one of the key factors that wins the trust of both search engines and website visitors.

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"With years of experience in pet nutrition and a passion for keeping dogs safe, our team has compiled this comprehensive list of safe dog foods."

Include keywords

One of the SEO best practices for content optimization is to use your focus keyword or phrase within the first few sentences of the blog introduction. This makes the focus of the article clear to readers and helps search engine crawlers identify your content as knowledgeable and authoritative. Besides the focus keyword, any additional keywords you can use naturally in your blog intro adds SEO value.

Create curiosity

This is like a combination of a "hook" and a "call to action." It entices the reader to discover something more if they keep engaging with the blog.

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"Read on to find out which common pantry items can double as healthy dog treats and which ones to avoid at all costs."

Set expectations

People searching online tend to skim text to find exactly what they're looking for. Let them know right up front that time spent with your blog will pay dividends.

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"We'll discuss the best fruits, vegetables, and other foods that are safe for dogs, as well as some surprising foods to steer clear of."

Use engaging language

At the heart of both storytelling and marketing is a common denominator: a compelling use of language. Using large, complicated words won't establish trust — unless you're doing some niche blogging for other experts in your field. For the most part, your language should strike a balance between clarity, readability, consistent brand voice, and creativity.

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"Let's dive into the world of dog nutrition and discover how to keep your pup's tail wagging with delicious and safe treats."

Include visual appeal

Your blog design should include visual content, like photos, infographics or video content, and it helps to get something at the top of the page to pair with your introduction. You want something that's visually compelling, but not too complicated. And it should complement the meta title and not repeat the same message.

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You can include more detailed infographics or photos that require detailed captions as you get further into the content's main body. Some applications, like WordPress, even provide a conveniently formatted section for a "cover photo."

With Rellify, blog introductions are easy

Rellify upgrades and streamlines every part of content creation, from keyword research to blog introductions to analytics. With a custom Relliverse™, a company-specific AI subject-matter expert to identify your strategic topics, you're set on the path to better SEO from the very start. In the Rellify platform, you can keep track of how well your blog fulfills crucial SEO elements with an "R-score." Every single part of the Rellify platform is designed to make evergreen content creation simpler and more effective — and that means a higher ROI and more conversions for your blogging efforts.

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Ready to find out more? Contact a Rellify expert today to find out how Rellify can change the way you blog.

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By Jayne Schultheis - Your website is doing ... OK. Something's missing, though. Your organic web traffic definitely needs a boost. If this sounds like you, some guest blogging might be just the thing. While it builds traffic it can also help to build brand authority and secure your place as an industry leader. In this article, we'll take a closer look at guest blogging, why it's so important for SEO, and how to best implement it as part of a robust content strategy.

What is guest blogging?

Guest blogging, also known as guest posting, is the practice of writing and publishing an article or blog post on someone else's website or blog. Guest blogging is a mutually beneficial strategy. The content creators share their expertise on another platform, gaining exposure and credibility. The host blog enriches its content offerings and attracts more visitors. This collaboration helps both parties achieve their marketing and engagement goals, all while making readers happy.

Why your company should use guest bloggers

Using guest bloggers can help to drive a robust content marketing strategy for any company with an online presence. Here are some blogging benefits that every brand should consider:

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• Diversified content. Guest bloggers introduce fresh voices and varied content, keeping the blog engaging and informative for its readers.
• Increased traffic. Guest bloggers often promote their published posts on their own networks, driving additional traffic to the host blog.
• Enhanced domain authority. Featuring knowledgeable guest bloggers can bolster the host blog’s credibility and authority on certain topics. This is critical in the realm of public opinion, but also signals to search engines that you're a reliable expert.
• Cost-effective content creation. A guest post gives the host blogging platform high-quality content without the need to invest additional time and resources in content creation.

Define your guest blogging goals

To keep the strategy for your business blog crystal clear, you need to first set some clear objectives. If you're not sure where to start, here are some good examples:

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• Increasing brand visibility, website traffic, and audience engagement
• Boosting search engine ranking and backlink profile
• Establishing authority in your industry
• Diversifying content and perspectives

Identify the right guest bloggers

Once you know what you are trying to accomplish, you can think about which guest bloggers are most likely to get you there.

Understand your target audience

Defining audience personas helps you identify the specific needs, interests, and challenges of your ideal readers. This will help you decide which guest posts will be relevant and valuable. Audience personas are valuable in another way: Give them your guest bloggers to help them understand the people you are creating content for.

Find and evaluate potential guest bloggers

You might have to tap into several key sources to find potential guest bloggers. Industry experts and influencers are ideal candidates because their insights and authority can add significant value to your blog. They also have audiences that will follow them to your website. Engaged followers and customers can also be excellent contributors, bringing authentic perspectives and showing a strong connection with your brand.

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Scouting on social media, professional networks, and relevant blogging communities can turn up good candidates as well.

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Before you give them the green light, review their past work and credentials to make sure they have the expertise and writing skills needed to produce high-quality content. Assess how well they fit with your brand and audience. Their voice, style, and topics should align with your blog’s goals and resonate with your readers.

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When you contact potential guest bloggers, personalize your outreach and highlight mutual benefits for both your organization and the individual. Every interaction should reflect your brand's professionalism and expertise. Include all of the necessary information such as guest post guidelines, content ideas, the submission process, deadlines, and any other relevant details. Many guest bloggers will write for free, simply to increase their exposure and obtain backlinks. Some may ask for a fee, however.

Manage submissions and content

The best way to keep the submission process streamlined is to establish clear guidelines and workflow.

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A guest blogger might tell you what they will write about or might accept direction from you on the topic and the ground to cover. It helps to give the guest blogger a roadmap — a content brief and outline — for how you'd like your content to flow. For SEO purposes, it will include keywords, the focus keyword, text length, tone — everything they need to know about your content guidelines.

Promote guest content

Content optimization and airtight keyword research certainly can boost your ranking on SERPs. However, that doesn't mean you should just publish the blog and forget about it! Content collaboration has the added touch of personal value, something that's invaluable in today's widely-AI-generated landscape.

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A key part of guest blogging is creative, targeted content distribution. Try using social media promotion and newsletters to promote the article. At the same time, encourage guest bloggers to share the article on their channels. Respond to feedback and engage in discussion with consumers and other industry leaders in the blogging community.

Measure the impact of guest blogging

Once you've published and promoted your guest blog, your last step involves quantifying its impact. That's right — you've got some number crunching to do. Or rather, your tools have some number crunching to do.

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Look at your chosen KPIs, like organic traffic, engagement, backlinks, bounce rate, and conversions. You can find these types of metrics with web analytics tools like Google Analytics. Rellify can pull these kinds of metrics directly into our platform after publication.

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From the KPIs you've tracked and information you've gathered, you should begin comparing your outcomes with your initial goals. How well did they match up? Was there anything that could have been done differently to strengthen the impact of your web content?

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Adjust your strategies as-needed, and assess whether the guest blog was an overall success. Going forward, would you ask them to guest blog again? Is there someone else who might be a better match for your blog's goals, tone, or style? How has the entire experience shaped the way you approach blogging outreach, content creation, and collaboration? Shape your process according to your newfound knowledge.

Make guest blogging more effective with Rellify

Rellify's content marketing platform can make working with guest bloggers a breeze. It's easy to welcome them into the system so they can write there, if they choose, and the platform is clean and simple to use.

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Rellify enables writers and editors to collaborate directly. They can work on the document at the same time. Timely feedback makes sure contributors are informed and can make necessary adjustments quickly. Rellify's "comments" feature enables immediate, direct feedback for writers and editors. They can talk to each other through the comments to make sure the content reflects your editorial guidelines.

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Our platform can keep everyone on the same page, whether it's building out a content calendar, exploring keywords, or KPI monitoring.

Optimizing posts for SEO benefits

This is Rellify's bread and butter. Our Relliverse™ — your company-specific AI subject-matter expert — uses deep machine learning to find the best topics to write about and the best keywords to use. In addition to that guidance, the Rellify platform helps you form effective meta descriptions, meta titles, and subtitles. Our AI-powered platform gives real-time feedback on the quality of the article, showing the way to content that's set up for success.

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There's no shortage of blogging opportunities out there for those who are excited to share their expertise and engage with brands. If you're ready to take your website to the next level and boost your content marketing returns, adding guest blogs to your publishing schedule might just be the right choice.

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Fortunately, the Rellify platform provides everything you need to begin your venture into guest blogging. With Rellify, there's no more guesswork. Just data-driven results.

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Want to find out more about how Rellify can be an asset to not just your guest blogs, but your entire content strategy? Schedule a meeting with a Rellify expert to see exactly what Rellify can do for your business.

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