Rellify's Blog

By Nora Firestone - You may be wondering how zero search volume keywords could possibly be useful — because, well, the implication of "zero search volume" seems pretty straightforward. But not all is what it seems in the world of search engine optimization. Let's explore how incorporating zero search volume keywords into your content strategy can effectively boost your traffic and conversions.

What are zero search volume keywords?

Zero search volume keywords are search terms that reportedly receive no monthly searches — according to keyword research tools. While these terms don't always register in terms of search volume, they can still be valuable for your SEO strategy. Often highly specific, these keywords can reflect emerging trends, local preferences, or unique queries that have yet to gain mainstream attention.

Why should I target zero search volume keywords?

Targeting zero-volume instead of high-volume keywords can offer lower-profile opportunities for businesses looking to optimize their digital presence. Why? Because "zero search" volume doesn't mean no one is searching. Rather, the search frequency is registering below a certain threshold. And with this lower competition, it's easier to rank high for these particular keywords. So your content gets seen by those who are specifically searching for it. Cumulative use of these keywords can drive significant website traffic over time, especially when combined with other long-tail keywords.

Common misconceptions about zero search volume keywords

Perhaps you've heard some of the same opinions we've heard on the topic. Here's our professional perspective on a few common notions.

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• All zero search-volume keywords are equal. Not so. Not all zero search volume keywords offer the same value. Some might be emerging trends or seasonal terms that spike at certain times. Others might remain consistently low. It's essential to understand the context surrounding the keyword rather than dismiss it based on search volume alone.
• Popular SEO tools always provide accurate data. No keyword tool is perfect. They might not capture every search, especially for less frequent or newer queries. Diversifying research methods can provide a more comprehensive view of keyword data.
• They're only suitable for small or niche websites. Larger websites can also leverage zero search volume keywords, to fill content gaps, answer specific queries, or target emerging topics before they become mainstream.

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How can zero search volume keywords be most effectively used?

Seasonality and trends

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• Consider seasonal spikes. Many long-tail keywords have seasonal relevance. For instance, "DIY Halloween costumes for toddlers" or "best budget mineral sunscreen brands" might have zero or low search volumes during off-season months. But they'll see a surge during the spooky season or summer, respectively. By recognizing this seasonality, businesses can prepare content in advance, optimizing for these seemingly low-volume keywords before the peak season.
• Get ahead of emerging trends. With the fast-paced nature of the internet, new trends emerge (and pass) quickly. A term with zero search volume one month can suddenly explode in popularity due to a viral event, cultural phenomenon or global news. By identifying potential rising trends early, businesses can create content around these zero search volume keywords before they become mainstream. As a result, they may begin establishing authority and continue to rank higher as the trends catch on.
• Anticipate event-driven searches. Keywords related to specific events, such as an upcoming movie release, a scheduled sports event or a newly announced product, might initially have zero search volume. As the event date nears, searches can spike. By anticipating these events and targeting zero-volume keywords associated with them, businesses can be among the first to provide relevant content in search results, thus capturing the surges in traffic.

Niche or specific topics

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• Target a specific audience. Certain topics cater to a very specific segment of the population. While the overall search volume might be low or even zero, the audience searching for these terms is highly targeted. By focusing on niche keywords, businesses can attract a distinct group of visitors who might be more engaged, more loyal and more likely to convert than a general audience.
• Appear as search habits evolve. As search engines become more sophisticated and users more search-savvy, there's a trend toward more specific, long-tail searches. These specific search queries often fall into niche categories with zero or low initial search volume. Users often input precise, long-tail queries when they have a distinct need or when they're closer to making a decision. Businesses anticipating and catering to these detailed queries can offer more direct answers, resulting in greater user satisfaction.

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Limited audience or geographic location

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• Raise your relevance to hyper-local and geo-specific searches. Some products or services cater to a specific demographic within a limited geographic area. For example, in Anaheim, California, the volume of searchers looking for "easy recipes using canned boysenberries" might be much higher than the global search volume. The nearby Knott's Berry Farm sells plenty of boysenberry products and could inspire park-goers to look for ways to bake and cook with their new favorite berry after buying five cans at the gift shop. Given the precise targeting, such keywords might lead to more traffic and higher conversion rates.
• Connect by language and dialect patterns. Phrases or terms unique to certain dialects or languages might not have large search volumes. However, they can be immensely relevant to a specific linguistic group. By using these regional or dialect-specific terms, businesses can create a stronger cultural connection with their local audiences.

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Using keyword research tools

So where do you start in the search for timely keyword ideas that'll rake in the organic traffic? Keyword research tools. They're pivotal in harnessing the potential of zero search volume keywords for content strategy. These research tools provide insights beyond mere search volume data, shedding light on related queries, seasonal trends and semantic variations.

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By analyzing these nuanced data points, content creators can identify overlooked niches or emerging topics. Furthermore, such tools often offer historical data, revealing if a zero search volume keyword is genuinely new or just temporarily in a lull. Keyword research tools serve as compasses, guiding businesses to strategic content opportunities within the realm of zero search volume keywords.

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While plenty of keyword tools exist, what sets Rellify apart is a comprehensive understanding and application of holistic keyword strategy. With extensive expertise in keyword trends and a dynamic approach, the company's SEO experts assist in customizing plans targeting keywords that best suit businesses' goals. Though it's only one component of Rellify's robust Content Intelligence application, this company-specific intel makes content strategy and creation significantly more effective.

Zero search volume keywords in the age of generative AI

You can leverage modern technology in this process by using artificial intelligence to test the waters in content creation. Generative AI is capable of quickly producing new content in mere seconds, with very specific parameters. It plays a major role in how Rellify's Article Intelligence and Content Intelligence applications support the success of content teams through their entire process. From topic ideation and keyword strategies to content planning, writing, optimization, publishing, analysis and beyond, end-to-end content development becomes quicker, easier and more efficient while driving the results they desire.

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Try out generative AI on the zero search volume keywords you discover in your research. Because you'll be able to produce such a high volume of content in such little time (and with minimal effort), you can publish as much as you'd like just to see what sticks. Look for any trends in which zero- or low-volume keywords are or could be working for you. Then adjust your strategy over time.

Example of zero-search volume keywords in action

Let's look at a real-world example of how to use a zero-volume keyword effectively. Let's say you're a travel agency looking to expand your business and generate traffic through long-form content marketing (blog posts and similar web pages). As you consider how to focus your content, one of your initial keyword ideas is "best hotels in Cancun." The term registers a search volume of 8,100 and a difficulty score of 58. Sounds like a credible option. But after deeper keyword research, you find a similar key phrase, "#1 hotel in Cancun," which registers both a search volume and difficulty score of 0. Prior to reading this article, you might have dismissed its validity. Now you wonder if it's worth considering.

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The key here is that these key phrases have similar search intent, and around travel seasons, you may get a significant bump in traffic as some searchers slightly shift their phrasing. In fact, with the more specific keyword phrase "#1 hotel in Cancun," you might even get a different kind of searcher — one who's willing and prepared to pay top dollar for the absolute best accommodations.

Using zero search volume keywords to your advantage

Ready to add zero search volume keywords to your content strategy? Are you just not sure how or where to start? Try leveraging Rellify's advanced analytical capabilities and intuitive insights to not only identify but also optimize these alternative relevant keywords. Doing so, you can position your business to be highly visible in search engines to the right members of your target market.

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To learn how Rellify's unique capabilities can benefit your business (and even try it free for 30 days), schedule a quick meeting with one of our experts. With so much to accomplish, you're bound to love the ability to publish high-quality, high-performance content with ease, confidence and results.

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By Alan Edgett, Gig Agency - An analogy for me is that the internet is like a river. These are the consumers, small businesses, or B2B participants, etc. They're just flowing constantly in a river. And what content marketers are doing is fishing on that river. Some clever companies have built a really nice dock (like Google), and then they rent it to you. You can fish off their dock, and that's good for them. Sometimes it's good for us too, but we all want to have our own fishing places on the river. There are many ways to fish on the river. Content is the bait that we use to allow people to experience our brand. The way I view content is multifaceted, and I think it's constantly changing. It's the one thing that's wonderful about the internet. We didn't use to have UGC from staring straight at a camera, and now we have TikTok and influencers. Now there's a new way to express content from a brand's perspective. If you think about content strategy in this way, it's not just articles, PR, blogs, or videos. It's also every one of your taglines, hashtags, comments, reviews, testimonials, etc. Content is multifaceted and always changing. And, of course, the KPIs around content are multifaceted and change depending on certain aspects of your business.

Which data metrics matter?

If you're a B2B or B2C company, some of the metrics that you might care about will change. So, it can get very complicated. Think about the river I mentioned and the large dock owners like Google, Facebook, etc.; they're using a tremendous amount of machine learning and algorithms to determine which content they elevate, amplify, promote, or even allow their users to see. Like the old cliche, you don't want to bring a knife to a gunfight. Understanding your KPIs and bringing to bear tools (whether an AI system like Rellify or an integrated analytics platform) so that you have all the data points you need is absolutely critical.

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Key KPIs to consider

I wanted to throw out a comprehensive list to get you thinking about other KPIs:

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• Time Spent (on Website/Blog Articles, etc.)
• Bounce Rate
• Scroll / Completion Rate
• Click-Through Rate
• Page Value / Influence
• Conversion Rate
• Download / Engagement / Email Subscribers
• Page rank / SEO Value (Inbound Links)
• Shareability / Comments
• 3 Second Video View - Try to understand the drop-off from the 3-second mark to the 25% mark to the 50% mark.

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These are critical pieces of information to funnel back to your content creators. This way, they'll write more compelling opening lines and make their videos more engaging in that first three seconds. You're probably very familiar with page rank, SEO, the number of backlinks, etc. These are all important KPIs in certain situations. However, you might find that you're not ranking well on particular keyword terms that you know you should be or that your competitors are. You may want to look at data and generate content specifically for this purpose. We do a lot of work with our clients around content generation. We often find the content folks have their own preconceived notions of what makes good, compelling content. Either they're writing, or they're videoing, sometimes coming in from a performance perspective. If they don't go beyond the 3-second mark, it doesn't matter how good the video is. You've got to get the consumer or whoever it is watching locked in. Just changing the openings, or even the display screen on a video before viewing is super important.

How do I create data-driven content marketing?

You should consider several metrics also on social channels. Sometimes B2B clients don't always consider how blogging or social posting is interacted with as a metric. They're very more familiar with their traffic KPIs on their website. Sometimes the social teams are disconnected, or they don't necessarily get that data or that feedback. Please don't ignore the number of people that like, comment, share your content, etc.; this can be a pretty awesome KPI to track. There is a lot you can push into the data layer when an individual interacts with the website. You can send that information using events to all sorts of things: Facebook, Google Analytics, CRM systems, or other tracking systems. There is a rich set of information that's very relevant to content marketers. I find there's sometimes a little bit of a disconnect between the analytics groups and the content marketers themselves.

Marketing tools

If you use some marketing campaign automation engines, whether it's Marketo or HubSpot, Salesforce, etc., you get unique insight as well. AB testing tools, Multivariate tools, or heat map tools are all useful as well. I think it's absolutely critical that you A) get knowledge yourself and B) loop in tools (such as rellify) that help you fight the fight with machine learning, among the many things that you can do with the good data points coming back up to you. As I mentioned, identifying content topics that are resonating with specific audiences, specific channels, and in real-time are three critical and different aspects of judging content. What do I mean by a specific audience? We all have multiple buyer personas that we are targeting. Within those buyer personas, you might have slightly different use cases. So, in most cases, acquisition marketing has specific business goals or use cases in mind when it's creating an advertisement or a blog article. Different use cases and different personas will receive content differently. You should try to pass your audience variables through your analytics tools so that you can then judge how your audiences are interacting with the content (because they're going to interact with content differently).

Different marketing channels

Different channels behave differently - I'll bring up TikTok again. It's vastly different in the way it was built and the way the consumers are interacting with it. The expectation of the nature of the content changes based on the channel. If they're on YouTube, they're expecting longer-form content. If they're on Instagram and they're watching a story, they're not. On LinkedIn, perhaps, they're a little more interested in reading. Then over on Facebook, video works quite well. The nature of the content needs to change when audience interaction with that content is going to change.

Data reveals trending content.

I mentioned real-time because I think what's most interesting for content marketers is to be able to react to the data that they're getting. The quicker you can react, the better. It's very difficult to change editorial calendars, but it's critical that you react quickly to customer data. I'll give you one example: We had a client who produced many live events on Instagram and had a lot of attendees to a particular event in the discussion. Comments were coming in for a particular sub-point that we didn't think was one of our major points. We all realized that it was a hot area. So the next day, we tried to sit down and figure out quickly how we could shoot a longer-form video on just that one topic. Then, we took that video and turned it into a blog article over the following week. We chopped up the existing content and created taglines, and created advertisements. Suddenly, from a point where we had just a few comments on a live event. Two weeks later, we had a pretty robust content explosion that we did not anticipate on a particular topic. Our audience gave us that feedback, and we reacted appropriately.

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Why is data important for content strategy?

Here are five reasons data should drive your content strategy.

1. Analytics and results from data will maximize your content's impact.

The degree that you can get into a virtuous circle of data-driven content marketing will impact your success. Pay attention to the results, and allow that to influence your next content creation. That can go as far as monitoring and boosting organic traffic like blogs that you notice are getting more attention. It can also include more traditional paid performance testing. The nice thing about paid performance marketing is you can direct the traffic quickly. For example, if you're not sure which subject line is best, you use Google Ads to quickly test and get more information in a day or two, depending on your spend. So, tying together content tests across your paid and your organic producing teams is very valuable.

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2. You prioritize the right objectives.

There are common mistakes I see, especially with B2B folks. They don't always assign micro values to micro-events. In B2B, these types of things are critical for lead scoring because the nature of B2B lead generation isn't so straightforward. If I'm from a larger company, I'm probably not just going to land on your website and just sign up on a form. I'm probably going to poke around, watch things, read things, etc., multiple times over multiple days over multiple channels. So multichannel marketing and tracking micro-conversion events are the secret to success.

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3. You can coordinate your marketing efforts across all channels.

Making sure everyone is coordinated is important, especially in data-driven content marketing. Same with SEO; I find SEO folks are working on what's optimized for Google. Then, you have a social media post blog article being written for other reasons, and it doesn't reflect the SEO important words or strategies or phrases. A sharing of knowledge is super helpful for testing as well. You can take organic interactions. Let's say you do a native blog article, and then you post about that on your organic social channels like LinkedIn. Suddenly you get more shares and more likes than you've ever gotten before on a particular piece of content. Immediately turning that into an advertisement is a smart idea.

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4. You minimize overlapping variables.

When testing content, I work off the principle that Google shares: you should always have just one reason why a test fails, not two. If you have two reasons, you don't know which one caused the failure. Try to minimize your overlapping variables. If you are testing taglines or body changes and not defining your hypothesis and then documenting the results, it's very difficult to share that across your organization. A lot of organizational knowledge gets lost because the testing plans weren't necessarily well documented or well shared. We want to not only validate that hypothesis but to share it with the rest of the organization so that emails and social media posts change, etc.

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5. You can understand your competitors.

Finding out what other people (or what competitors) are doing can oftentimes lead you to create more content or a content calendar. Producing so much content in this day and age and coming up with ideas that have already been validated as important to your target market is hard. So, using some of those tools can help with data-driven content marketing, as can a system like rellify.

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Use data to enhance your content strategy

If you're searching for ways you can incorporate data into your content strategy, a content performance platform like rellify can enhance those efforts.

It's the digital solution that enables you to formulate web content with maximum web relevance for your target audience. We are focused on leveraging AI for the purposes of improving relevance. The idea is to leverage AI and machine learning to apply practical insights to create informative, useful, helpful content. This will ultimately put you in a great position with your target customers. We focus on visibility first and foremost. We're applying an innovative AI model, and really, it's all about relevance at the end of the day.

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Reach out to one of our content specialists to learn more. And if you want additional insights on how data can improve your content marketing, be sure to check out Alan and the Gig Agency.

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By Jayne Schultheis - SEO is a rewarding undertaking — but it can be challenging. It's tempting to take shortcuts to get to page one of search engine results. But ultimately, your best bet is to lay down solid SEO groundwork. So, let's review 15 essential SEO best practices your business should use. Then, you'll be ready to get the most out of your search engine optimization efforts.

What are the 4 pillars of SEO best practices?

To boost your company's SEO, start with the four mainstays. As we discussed in an earlier article about improving website rankings, these four piers are:

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‍1. Technical SEO

‍2. Domain authority

‍3. Content relevance

‍4. User experience

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‍If you would like more detailed information on the four SEO best practices, click on the article that interests you. This article provides a more superficial overview and deals with all four pillars.

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1. Technical SEO

This pillar involves making your site Google-friendly. You want to let people and search engines know exactly what your site offers. Here's a more detailed look at three ways to get your on-page SEO right:

Optimize performance with site speed

Modern search engines consider site speed to be an important ranking factor. Users get frustrated if pages take too long to load. WebPageTest.org offers a free, quick check. Ideally, pages should load in less than two seconds on all devices. Some steps that can increase page speed include eliminating code bloat and optimizing images.

Ensure crawl-friendliness

Search engines actually have crawl budgets for each site. To make sure you don't have more pages than the budget allows, reduce duplicate and low-value content or don't index it. Screaming Frog is a free tool for determining how crawler-friendly your site is.

Make it indexable

Both a human user and a search engine crawler should be able to easily navigate the website. You can use the Google Search Console Crawl Stats and Index Coverage report to spot problems. Yoast SEO is another good resource.

Optimize Images

It's easy to get caught up in your written SEO strategy and forget about the visuals. But image SEO is a crucial part of determining search engine rankings and getting organic traffic. Often, Google images are the first thing at the top of search engine results pages. Images with higher resolution and larger dimensions greatly slow your page load times. They should be scaled down, sized for the web, and stick to JPGs and PNGs. Make sure to optimize the image file and title names, use alt tags, and include captions.

Write title tags that reflect your content

Title tags are essential for SEO because they provide search engines and users with context on each respective page. They're one of the most crucial on-page SEO factors that give search engines an idea of what your page is all about. Make sure the title's a manageable length, it has strategic keyword placement, and every page has a unique title.

Include a great meta description and meta tags

Compelling meta descriptions can boost the click-through rate of your organic search results. Consequently, more people who see your web pages in the search results will actually land on your site and stay. That means more traffic for you, even if your ranking stays the same. Be sure your meta descriptions are clear and concise and include the target keyword at the beginning. Lots of rich keyword phrases help, too.

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2. Webpage or website authority

Hundreds or even thousands of sites can compete for the same keyword rank. Google wants to instantly serve up the best site to its users. To satisfy them, Google looks for ways to determine which site is the most relevant.

Use internal linking

Having one great page with many target keywords is not enough. Google wants to know that you're an expert. Experts have lots of pages on their websites that users can visit to learn more. Use plenty of quality internal links to other posts on your website, to show Google that you're not a one-trick-pony.

Build backlinks to your website

Nobody knows exactly how Google's search algorithm calculates the relative domain authority. However, we do know that the size and quality of the site and its pages' backlink profiles help establish authority when compared to other sites or pages. Many SEO marketers rely on domain authority tools on sites like Moz.com to deliver an estimate. Poor-quality external links or irrelevant backlinks generally won't help and may even hurt search rankings. Some Google updates have even penalized backlink spam. Irrelevant backlinks won't help inform the Google search crawler about the site's content. Strategic use of high-quality links from credible websites will help develop trust. You'll see increased traffic from both search engine bots and humans.

Earn authoritative backlinks

Your SEO best practices should include link building, and many SEO tools are available to help with this. Ahrefs and Google Analytics provide plenty of helpful information on a site's current backlinks and even that of competitors. Sources of high-quality backlinks could include industry journals, popular blog posts, and news sites.

Add anchor text

The anchor text is the visible, highlighted, clickable text in an HTML hyperlink that opens the target web page. It's often colored blue and underlined. Make sure to use anchor text that provides context to both users and search engines. It should indicate what a user will see on the linked page if they click on it. Search engines use the anchor text to index and rank web pages.

3. Content relevance

Match search intent

Search intent refers to the reason someone is searching online. Obviously, visitors hope to find that a webpage provides the information they searched for. Google prioritizes delivery to the most relevant pages. Each page tries to signal to Google's algorithm that it better matches user intent than its competitors. For example A search asking "how to make pizza" will return videos and articles about baking pizzas. The search phrase indicates that the user doesn't want to buy a pizza. Google delivers little or no results about ordering pizza. If you want to sell someone a pizza, you must structure your article accordingly. A search for "how to buy pizza" yields a page of results with pizza reviews and restaurant websites. Plus, the page will usually display plenty of ads. Keyword research helps companies determine what people are searching for and their intent. High-quality content will have the right keyword density to make the content easy to find and meaningful. At Rellify, we use AI to help businesses make sure that they craft content to match search intent. This ensures Google's search bots will understand the page's relevance. Most of all, it helps businesses enjoy high-quality visitors who find exactly what they are searching for. That means more click-through that turns visitors into customers responding to your call to action.

Publish good content

Have you ever visited a website or blog and thought, "I'm not sure this person did any research on this topic before publishing," or "do they know that spellcheck exists?" Users notice that kind of thing — and so do search engines. Relevant content also means quality content that provides readers with valuable, new, and interesting info. Refrain from regurgitating something you found on another website. Use your brand's tone, style, and unique voice to make the information compelling. And don't forget to naturally incorporate your main keywords early in your content. This signals that your content does precisely what it says it will do. Content is always king.

4. Your site's user experience

Many customers experience their first impression of a business on its website. Businesses with solid content marketing will make sure their sites have covered on-page SEO fundamentals to support their quality content.

Ensure mobile-friendliness

Many people use mobile devices for web surfing and e-commerce. A positive user experience, or UX, will improve engagement metrics that search engines use in their ranking algorithms. Make sure to test website features and pages on several different kinds of devices. You want to be sure that the website looks professional and works well. To get started, BrowserStack.com lets you see exactly how your site looks on different devices, like phones, tablets, and laptops. In addition, Google uses a secure HTTPS connection as a positive ranking factor, and it also builds trust with people.

Build easy navigation

Have you ever been lost on a website? You may get frustrated when you can't find the information you need after visiting multiple pages. Easy navigation is one of the most critical aspects of user experience. One of the best things you can add to your home web page is a search bar. This takes users directly to the page or information that they need. If you publish long-form content, another great way to help users navigate your site is to feature related articles at the bottom of the page.

Stick with easy-to-read text

It's easy to get excited about a cool font (OK, maybe that's just us). Maybe you even think it'll set your website apart. But it's best to choose a clear, professional font within your brand's style guide. Sans-serif fonts are a great place to start. For long-form content, black text on a white background is a wise choice. It also helps signal to search engines that you're an authoritative website and not just a 13-year-old who knows how to code. Although if you're a 13-year-old coder reading this, we're proud of you.

Use SEO best practices to boost traffic

Too much of a good thing? Not when it comes to SEO best practices. For organic search engine marketing, the winner really does take it all. Attention to technical SEO, page and domain authority, user experience, and content relevance will attract potential customers and search crawlers. Luckily, businesses can rely on handy tools and companies for implementing best practices. Companies like rellify can help audit and improve all aspects of website content, especially on-page optimization. If you're ready to optimize your website's SEO strategy, contact a representative at Rellify today.

By Jayne Schultheis - How do you become a thought leader in your industry? Short answer: You create content people care about reading! But, how do you do that? Julie Neumark and Holly Bowyer, founders of Media & Marketing Minds are experts in the field. Read on for some highlights about how to create content people care about reading.

Why in the World is the World of Content so important?

David Beebe says, “Content marketing is really like a first date. If all you do is talk about yourself, there won’t be a second date.” So content marketing is all about understanding what your potential customers or clients are about. It’s a two-way conversation - you don’t want to only talk about yourself. Learn, engage, and respond to the information that your customers are looking for. Understand what problem you and your company are solving. If people are coming to your site and reading your content they want to know what you can help them with. What insight and guidance do you offer outside of just your product? Don’t just talk about your product offerings. You’ve got to keep up with the trends: Marketers are actively investing in content marketing (HubSpot, 2024).

Content marketing 101: Laying the foundation

These five elements are critical when it comes to learning how to create content that matters.

1. Content brief

Create a document that holds the title, the audience, the description of the content piece, a detailed outline of the content (with supporting points, the intro, and the takeaways to set you up for success in the draft phase), and a timeline of the deliverables.

2. Story arc

Let's highlight the story arc. I’m sure you’re all familiar with this from grade school, but if you think about it, everything that we as human beings (with our brains hardwired for stories) are engaged in, follows this story arc. Whether it’s the latest thing you’re binging on Netflix or a piece of B2B content, it can be made more engaging by following this story arc.

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3. Recording and transcribing

A lot of content creation we’ve been seeing involves interviews. It’s super helpful to have tools to record and transcribe verbal or video interviews. (That’s what we did at rellify for this article, in fact!).

4. SEO basics

Finding out what your audience is interested in is something that rellify focuses on with their AI solution. This is huge. You can’t ignore SEO basics and beyond. At the bare minimum pay attention to things like the title length, images, meta tags, headers within your content, and keyword research.

5. Promotion

Unfortunately, content is not like the Field of Dreams, where if you write it they will come. You have to promote it, whether it’s earned, owned, or paid promotion.

Thought leadership content that people will want to read

We should aspire to have people excited about our content! The key to this is standing out. Here are different types of content and tips on how to create content that's unique.

1. Personal narrative

Definition: Content created about one's own story, focusing on personal growth, reflections, and life lessons. Use Case: An uninspiring tale of onboarding with Jerome Deroy In this video, Jerome Deroy, CEO of Narativ, used his own experience of onboarding at this first job to serve as a story of what not to do and why not to do it. Narativ specializes in business storytelling training to help organizations develop effective methods for onboarding, leadership, and sales. The personal narrative is applicable in all scenarios - you don’t have to be the CEO of a company. Applying it to you, ask yourself:

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• What are the pain points of my audience?
• Have I ever experienced anything like that?
• If so, what was my specific challenge, solution, and result?
• If not, what are some challenges I have experienced and how did I work to resolve them? How can I relate this to my audience’s pain points?

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2. Leveraging data currency

Definition: Using data to inform the development of a thought-leadership approach to content and beyond. Use Case: Development of a brand, blog, and content Momentive, formerly known as SurveyMonkey, wanted to firmly establish itself in the enterprise space as a leader in agile experience management. They used research tools to create:

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• a new brand based on data and insights
• a blog - Reshape
• new content

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When Momentive rebranded, they came up with a blog (which is really a new product), Reshape, which talks about all of the things they want to stand for in terms of using data appropriately and understanding trends in the marketplace. All of the things they’re doing around their brand and their content is about understanding who their customers are and developing thought leadership content to respond to the needs of customers. Applying it to you, ask yourself:

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• What is the data telling me?
• How does it relate to what my audience cares about?
• Where are the “aha moments” in the data?
• Like a puzzle, how do the data points fit together?
• How does the data relate to my product offering?
• What kind of content can I create based on the data?

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3. Subject matter expert (SME) interviews

Definition: Content created from:

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• in-depth and valuable information
• both proprietary and brand agnostic subject matter
• intel from experts on complex topics

Use Case: Gathering insights, knowledge, and education from a seasoned expert

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Hulu launched a new self-serve platform into the market and needed to educate small businesses on the advertising opportunities of streaming TV. Hulu’s Director of Ad Sales was interviewed to share her insights about the power of storytelling through Streaming TV advertising and how it has the ability to generate valuable brand awareness, which can be the foundation of increasing sales and creating better business outcomes. Applying it to you, ask yourself:

• Where is there a need in my brand and/or industry for simplification?
• What are the topics and terms that deserve a breakdown?
• How can I use internal expertise to educate the market?
• Who are external people that I can tap to help educate my audience?

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Some ideas for SME interviews are:

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1. Q&A with an expert inside your organization. Sit down and have a conversation with them, then from your conversation write an article.
2. Interview an expert and put it as a byline for that particular expert.
3. Use either of these methods with an expert outside of your company.

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4. Industry education

This type is a bit of an outlier from the last three.

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‍Data Storytelling Definition: Content created that is:

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• purely educational in nature
• showcasing the brand as a thought-leader and an educator
• steers away from promotion of the brand’s product or service

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Use Case: Educators in a complex and ever-changing space The ad tech space is nuanced, complicated, and evolving at the speed of light. As newer players, ShareThis is following a strategy of educating their audience on the challenges an

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d trends to position themselves as a trusted and knowledgeable source of information. The ShareThis blog is 100% educational in nature. This method is advantageous in that over time you will build trust with your audience to be seen as a thought leader. Don’t be afraid to give your insight away without promoting your brand.

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‍Applying it to you, ask yourself:

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• What are your customers’ FAQs? Talk to your sales and customer experience teams.
• How can I turn confusion on its head and create clarity?
• Who are the influencers in my brand’s space? What is the buzz? How can I break it down and educate my audience?

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Contact us for more information.

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Website indexing is the cornerstone of search engine optimization. Imagine it as your site being cataloged in a vast global library, where search engines like Google acknowledge its existence and present it in their listings. A Google presence is not optional—it's a must-have for the digital footprint of any thriving business.

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High visibility on Google can open the floodgates to web traffic and potential new customers. But before you can climb those search engine ranks, you need to make sure Google knows your website exists. That's where Google indexing comes into play.

Set the Stage for Search Engines: Indexing Your Website

First of all, what exactly is "indexing?" Well, it's the way that search engines, Google particularly, probe and rank pages all throughout the web. When your website sends out a signal that it wants to be included among Google's ranks, Google sends "crawlers" (information-gatherers) to your site to check it out. It looks for certain elements of optimization on your site and signs that your pages are user-friendly, high-quality, and expert.

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Imagine Google's index as a living, breathing organism—constantly evolving, never static. Its army of crawlers never stop scanning for new virtual territories to chart. To entice these digital explorers to your domain, you should:

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• Use Google Search Console to submit your sitemap — a map that guides crawlers through your site's structure.
• Use www.google.com/addurl to explicitly request Google to crawl and index your site or to keep certain pages out of the index.

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To confirm your site's URL submission and induction into the ranks of the indexed, a quick "site:yourwebsite.com/URL" search in Google should display your pages. Alternatively, use Google Search Console's URL Inspection tool for a behind-the-scenes look.

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Sometimes, you may want to keep certain areas of your site out of the public eye—like private admin pages—while ensuring your content-rich blog or store pages are fully indexed. This is where the "noindex" tag and strategic use of the robots.txt file come into play, directing crawlers on where (not) to tread.

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When Google Ignores Your Site: Troubleshooting Google Indexing Issues

It's important to verify the sitemap for errors and check your robots.txt file—it might be unwittingly turning away crawler guests. The .htaccess file could also be the invisible barrier keeping crawlers at bay.

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If not manually prompted, the indexing process through crawlers can take time, potentially up to three months or more. If you've rolled out the red carpet for crawlers and your site still isn't indexed, check for common issues. First, make sure the sitemap is error-free, because an incorrect sitemap will hinder indexing. Google Search Console can help in reviewing the sitemap. The robots.txt file may also contain directives that block crawler access, as mentioned earlier.

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This simple text file, located in your website’s directory, can prevent crawler access if it includes the following:

• User-agent: *
• Disallow: /

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For blocking specific pages, the commands would look something like this:

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• User-agent: *
• Disallow: /folder1
• Disallow: /subfolder2/subfolder3

Reaping the Rewards of Google Indexing

Once your website is indexed, you're in the running to achieve that coveted spot in Google's search results. A high Google rank is like striking digital gold, leading to more visitors and greater visibility. A robust sitemap doesn't just boost your SEO. It also enhances the user journey, and a positive user experience is a cornerstone of a website's success.

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Indexing is not just a technical SEO checkbox—it's your ticket to the vast world of Google search, where the visibility of your content, website traffic, and the satisfaction of your users can soar to new heights.

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Get help from the "indexing experts"

Here at Rellify, we're not only passionate about getting our clients' content published and indexed, but also ensuring they're reaching their target audience in web searches.

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Rellify's comprehensive content-development services include a review of index status, so that you know whether your content is being picked up by search engines. You can also monitor other indications of indexing, including impressions and Google rankings. Insights from our one-click analysis are derived from Google Core Web Vitals. While you can find these yourself through Google Search Console, what makes Rellify different is that we contextualize these insights. We use them to inform topic ideation and strategy tailored to your specific enterprise. You receive the information and direction you need to make informed, data-driven decisions about how and where to shape a most relevant and effective content strategy.

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Ready to find out more? We'd love to schedule a quick meeting to demonstrate exactly what makes Rellify different and how your company can benefit from our unique insights and services.

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Digital marketers are all vying to create content optimized for SEO, an acronym for "search engine optimization," but how did this practice come about in the first place? Read on to learn all about the history of SEO, how it has evolved, and where it's headed.

When did SEO begin?

The concept of SEO began before the inception of Google. According to legend, the rock band Jefferson Starship was at the center of SEO's birth in 1995. Promoter Bob Heyman received an angry call from the band when they were on the road and couldn't find their webpage.

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Several fansites had been writing so passionately about "Jefferson Starship" that they surpassed the actual band's page on SERPs. So Heyman and his partner Leland Harden boosted the number of references to "Jefferson Starship" on the official page, which catapulted them to the top of the rankings.

Who invented the term SEO?

According to this anecdote, Heyman and Harden invented the term SEO, but experts wonder how much of this story is true. Around that time, you could boost SEO performance just by including some inbound links, outbound links, and several references to your focus keyphrase, and posting content on a website that functioned properly. By the mid to late '90, several tech pioneers began using these tactics to see significant results.

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In 1997, the Webstep Marketing Agency was the first group to use the phrase "search engine optimization" in their marketing materials. And around 1998, Danny Sullivan, founder of Search Engine Watch, started popularizing the term and helping clients optimize their content to rank well in search engine results.

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By 2003, the term "search engine optimization" appeared in Wikipedia for the first time, cementing its status within internet culture as an industry of consultants and analysts formed to help companies rise to the top of search engine results.

The failed attempt to copyright the term "SEO"

Although the SEO industry was coming into its own, many marketers were using black hat tactics or word stuffing to improve search performance. In 2007, Jason Gambert, who may or may not be an actual person, tried to own the trademark to the term "SEO." Gambert allegedly wanted to protect the integrity of search engine optimization and save the internet from companies preying on consumers.

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Not surprisingly, other content marketers and SEO experts weren't too excited about this development, nor was the U.S. Patent Office, which denied the trademark by 2008.

SEO and the rise of Google

While SEO predates Google, the rise of this search engine juggernaut started by Larry Page and Sergey Brin has dominated SEO attention for nearly 20 years. So even though people refer to generic search engines, Google's the one that matters most in the history of SEO. Considering that Google accounts for almost 93% of search engine use, this dominance probably isn't going away any time soon.

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One of the main reasons Google broke through the pack of Yahoo, AltaVista, Dog Pile, Infoseek, Ask Jeeves, and others is because it provided better search query results. It has invested heavily in training machines to perform data augmentation and constantly improve its process. As of 2024, it evaluates more than 200 factors when determining SEO rankings, a number that has grown over time.

How has SEO evolved?

Since Google has been the dominant force in the SEO industry for years, many key dates revolve around the Google Core updates. Looking at the history of search engine optimization through a Google lens is a logical way to track how conventional search has changed over the years and which criteria matter most.

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Google has frequently introduced new algorithms to offer different features that improve the overall quality of results from searches. Matt Cutts, the head of webspam and search engineer at Google from 2001 until 2016, led many of these updates. Every algorithm update can bring agony or ecstasy to content marketers, as well as a shuffling of indexing of domains and determining what's actually "relevant content."

How have Google algorithms changed?

The history of SEO is full of changes to Google's algorithms, and they all work together to achieve the goal of providing more relevant content for the users. These updates tend to do one of three things: filter out spam and black hat tactics; prioritize fresh, relevant, local content; or provide relevant results for semantic searches.

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This evolution shows how conventional search has become increasingly refined. You can also see how different algorithms build on past ones. However, keep in mind that Google upgrades and refines each new core update. So even though an algorithm might be over a decade old, it's still impacting search results today. Version 4 of an algorithm will be quite different than version 1. Here are a few key algorithms that have shaped the history of SEO.

• 1996, Page Rank. This early project created by Sergey Brin and Larry Page helped pave the way for the juggernaut that would become Google. It weighted factors including domain authority and internal and external links. While this algorithm created a strong foundation for automatic indexing of the Internet, it was still vulnerable to black hat tactics.
• 2003, Florida. This marked the first major Google algorithm update, designed to filter out sites with large numbers of poor-quality links. They released it in November, and it caused a massive upheaval for many sites, right at the peak of the Christmas shopping season. Unfortunately, many quality sites were labeled incorrectly, significantly hurting small businesses. However, the introduction of link analysis helped shape the trajectory of SEO.
• 2004, TrustRank. The TrustRank algorithm went a step beyond the foundation of Florida as a way to filter out spam and black hat techniques from search engine results. This algorithm helps to identify how trustworthy domains are, so users get quality results.
• 2010, Google Caffeine. This algorithm gave Google search results a nice jolt of energy, as the capacity for indexing articles increased. Search results were able to prioritize fresher content.
• 2011, Google Panda. Google Panda was designed to direct people to higher-quality sites, like news organizations, and minimize the impact of content farms with thinly written, poorly cited articles.
• 2011, Google Freshness. Some websites, like a good recipe, can be timeless, but the vast majority need  regular updates. The Google Freshness algorithm did exactly what you’d expect; it prioritized fresh, relevant content and was an improvement over Caffeine.
• 2012, Google Penguin. Like Panda, Google Penguin took another hit at spammy websites, trying to weed out content that used stealthy techniques to boost their rankings. It targeted spam websites that set up pages with lots of external links linking to them to boost their domain authority and position in search results.
• 2013, Google Hummingbird. This robust algorithm offered a massive transition toward prioritizing natural language in search queries. Hummingbird prioritized natural language over keyword packing and unnatural attempts to fit in all the necessary words for an article.  This massive change represented a new trajectory and laid the groundwork for future improvements of artificial intelligence and natural language processing.
• 2015, Google Mobilegeddon. This update provided a big boost for websites optimized for mobile. Mobile optimization has created a much better user experience for people using smartphones to surf the web. Mobilegeddon, and the prioritization of mobile sites, helped catalyze this change. Mobile search grew from around 20% in 2013 to 63% by 2021.
• 2015, Google Rankbrain. This significant algorithm, which in some ways is an extension of Google Hummingbird, provided more clarity for unstructured data. So its main job is to understand what you’re looking for, even if you don’t use any “quote marks” around your query. For example, if you type in John Smith, it doesn’t look for all the Johns and all Smiths and identify where they overlap; it looks for the unique “John Smith’s.” It’s also a significant building block in the significance of natural language processing and its impact on search, as well as local search. 
• 2016, Google Possum. Does Google ever ask your location when you’re searching? Google Possum paved the way for local results. This algorithm update provided significant changes for local SEO and offered local businesses a way to connect with their audience. So if you look up “best fried chicken,” you’re probably not going to see results from a universal search of all the chicken places in the world. Instead, you’ll see fried chicken purveyors from your local region.
• 2017, Google Fred. If your website had been relying on black hat SEO tactics, you probably felt a dip after Google implemented Fred. This algorithm further sought to penalize poor websites with an overabundance of ads and fewer pieces of quality content.
• 2018, Google Medic. Anyone who has ever asked Dr. Google for answers to medical questions knows how important it is to have trustworthy medical sources in your search results. This algorithm helped prioritize websites with medical authority, like the Cleveland Clinic or Mayo Clinic, over others without medical authority.
• 2019, Google BERT. This powerful algorithm improved upon Hummingbird’s foundation and prioritized search intent and long-form keywords. BERT has improved search quality and prioritized relevance.
• 2023, Google Gemini. This update didn't replace BERT, but works in tandem with it. Gemini focuses on generative tasks and broader applications of AI. It aims to handle more complex queries, generate coherent responses, and engage in sophisticated conversations.

How BERT has changed

Google has updated BERT many times. Let's look at the timeline of how it has evolved.

December 2019: BERT Expansion

Google announces that BERT is now being used across multiple languages beyond English. This expansion helps improve search result relevancy for a wider audience by understanding the context of queries in different languages.

January 2020: Passage Ranking

Google integrates BERT into its Passage Ranking system. This update, known as the “Passages” update, allows Google to understand and rank individual passages within a web page more effectively. This enhances the ability to retrieve relevant information from long documents based on specific query intent.

November 2021: Improved Language Understanding

Google updates BERT to further refine its ability to handle nuanced language and complex queries. This includes improvements in understanding conversational queries and contextually rich language, enhancing the overall search experience.

March 2022: Enhanced Multilingual Capabilities

BERT’s integration is further enhanced to support more languages and regional dialects. This update continues to refine how BERT understands and processes queries in different languages, improving search relevancy globally.

April 2023: Integration with Google’s AI Ecosystem

Google announced advancements in BERT’s integration with its broader AI ecosystem. This update enhances BERT’s performance on complex and conversational queries, benefiting from new AI technologies and techniques developed by Google.

Google Gemini

You've probably seen the new AI-generated text box that appears at the top of some Google search results. This is the integration of Google Gemini, an advanced suite of AI models developed by Google DeepMind, officially introduced in December 2023. It's a rebranding and evolution of Google's earlier AI models, incorporating advancements in natural language processing and understanding.

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You might be wondering, "How are SEO trends going to change if Gemini presents the information to searchers automatically with generative AI?"

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First, Gemini's generative AI isn't employed with every search — only the ones for which the information can be most accurately and logically presented in that format. But Gemini is more than just generative AI integration, it's also an update to the algorithm. Gemini’s advanced natural language understanding (NLU) helps Google better interpret the intent behind user queries. This means search results can be more accurately tailored to match the context of what users are actually looking for, which is hopefully, your site.  

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Websites with high-quality, contextually relevant content are likely to perform better because Gemini rewards content relevance. With Gemini’s emphasis on understanding context and relevance, creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content becomes even more crucial for SEO and content strategy.

How does the history of SEO affect the future of SEO?

Producing great content has become a highly specialized process that often requires a team of experts and complex data sets and models. That's a far cry from keyword stuffing and link sharing of yesteryear's blogging.

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The core of SEO strategy has remained constant for decades. Search engines want to instantly give readers the best possible answers to their search queries. And companies want to be the ones providing those answers to potential customers. Content quality matters. As machine learning and artificial intelligence evolve, we'll see increasingly specialized search results that are based on relevance.

What are some basic tenants of SEO?

Let's look at some of the core elements of SEO when it comes to content and overall website optimization.

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• Keyword research. Identify relevant keywords and phrases that users are searching for. This involves understanding search intent and selecting terms that match your content's topic. While there are lots of SEO tools out there to help you find keywords, this is Rellify's bread and butter. We use deep machine learning to find the right topics and keywords that will resonate well with audiences and search engines.
• On-page SEO. Optimize elements on your own site to improve visibility. Content, meta tags, canonical tags, URL structure, and internal linking are all part of on-page SEO.
• Off-page SEO. This involves external factors that influence your site’s authority and relevance, such as backlinks, social media presence, Google My Business, and online reputation.
• Technical SEO. Make sure that your website’s technical aspects support search engine crawling (robots.txt) and indexing. Optimize page speed, mobile-friendliness, and secure connections (HTTPS).
• User experience (UX). Enhance the overall experience for users, including site navigation, mobile responsiveness, and page load speed. It'll help reduce bounce rates.

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This list isn't exhaustive, but it give you a basic idea of how to go about content creation in the context of SEO. Plenty of web analytics tools can give you insights and help you track every aspect of your SEO. Rellify makes monitoring your content's performance simple by integrating it into your content process. After publishing, you simply add your URL to the file in our content platform and click on “Monitoring.” Data and insights are imported directly from web analytics tools into the platform.

How can I make sure my content remains optimized for SEO?

Google continues to refine its algorithms, usually offering major updates twice a year. It's pretty clear about some of the ranking factors and guidelines, like prioritizing articles according to E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.) But even if you're doing everything according to the latest guidelines, you might occasionally see an unexpected dip in your analytics.

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If you notice your content seems to be losing traffic without any logical reason, don't panic! It's probably due to a new Google core update. You might need to tweak a few things, but if your content:

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• is well-written ...
• has sound technical SEO ...
• is based on extensive keyword research ...
• and answers the questions people are asking ...

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then your organic traffic should return or even improve during the next update. For this reason, you've got to keep the long-term results in perspective. Sometimes you'll see quick wins, but annual performance is often more accurate than monthly metrics.

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These algorithm fluctuations are one reason companies like Rellify are so important. With a state-of-the-art custom Relliverse™ from Rellify, you can employ AI-assisted machine learning to crawl and cluster industry-specific data to find what's already resonating with your target audience. So regardless of the next chapter of SEO, you can be confident your content marketing efforts deliver strong results. Be sure to reach out to a Rellify expert to learn more about how your business can get 10x the returns with 10x less effort.

By Sebeastian Paulke - The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is speeding up the already fast-paced world of copywriting. Backed by the power of AI in content creation, copywriters can become more efficient and effective. Collaborative AI tools are designed to perform many functions, including:

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• Conduct keyword research.
• Improve SEO performance.
• Help develop ideas and generate content.
• Facilitate editing and proofreading.

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However, for all its strengths, AI still has limitations when it comes to replicating the depth of human emotions, creativity, and critical thinking. The key is to pull the best from your AI tools and human intelligence, so that collaboration leads to high-quality content. As AI continues to shape the future of SEO and content marketing, it is crucial for copywriters to use this technology to stay ahead in the digital landscape.

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The Role of AI in Content Creation and Copywriting

AI has revolutionized various industries, and content creation is no exception. AI copywriting tools are specifically designed to generate SEO-friendly content. These tools use natural language processing algorithms to understand what answers people are looking for when they type in a search query as well as the context and intent behind each word in an article created to answer that search query. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI tools can generate highly relevant and optimized content that resonates with both readers and search engines. At Rellify, we can create a custom-made database — a Relliverse™ — based on your industry. We build neural networks for clients to serve their specific niches. In this way, we use content intelligence to make every facet of collaborative AI aim specifically toward a client's target readers.

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The impact of AI on content originality

One concern often raised about AI-generated content is its originality. However, AI technology has advanced to the point where it can create unique and original content. AI tools can analyze existing content, identify patterns, and generate new content that is not plagiarized. One form of collaborative AI occurs when copywriters use AI as a starting point to spark their creativity and then add their unique touch to make the content truly original.

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Strengths and limitations of AI in content creation

While AI has made significant strides in content creation, it still has its limitations. AI tools lack the human touch and intuition that experienced writers bring to the table. Generative AI may struggle to offer creative ideas, navigate complex emotions, or adapt to sudden changes in content requirements. Additionally, an AI text generator may lack the personalization and authenticity that a professional writer can provide.

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‍AI can excel in certain areas where human writers may struggle. For example, AI can process and analyze vast amounts of data in a fraction of the time it would take a human writer. It also can quickly generate content on a wide range of topics and in different styles.

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AI also can help with a challenge often faced by people: writer's block. AI tools can provide inspiration, generate ideas, and offer suggestions when a writer is stuck. They can also assist in organizing thoughts and structuring content, making the writing process more efficient. By collaborating with AI, writers can break through creative barriers and produce high-quality content.

For example, here are some of the ways a writer could use Rellify'scollaboration features long-form content:

• Get suggestions for headlines and subheads.
• Type in a question anywhere in an article and get an AI-generated answer.
• Break a logjam by highlighting a passage and asking the AI assistant to generate text to continue the thread.
• Get a real-time count of which keywords have been used, where they are, and how many times they appear.
• Get feedback on the quality of SEO components such as readability, meta titles, metadata in photos, and internal and external links.
• Generate a summary of a blog article that could serve as the meta description.

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Exploring the concept impact of AI on content originality

Collaborative systems integrate AI technology with human intelligence in many ways. They enable a content writer or content editor to leverage AI to the benefit of all parties.

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Some AI-powered collaboration tools allow multiple writers to work on the same document simultaneously. These tools also allow commenting, so that team members can communicate back and forth about an article from inside that article, and version control features. so that no work is lost. Another example is the integration of AI chatbots with content creation platforms, where AI can assist writers in real time by answering questions, providing suggestions, and offering resources.

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Long before an article is in the hands of a writer, AI copywriting tools can spur collaboration and streamline production of SEO-optimized content. Content marketing teams can take advantage of AI's ability to analyze data, identify trends, and devise a data-driven content strategy. For example, your content planning team can augment their own expertise by using AI to help with:

• Gap analysis.
• Content ideation.
• Keyword research.
• Content briefs, including blog outlines.

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The Future of Collaborative AI

The future of AI in content production and marketing is promising. AI tools will continue to evolve, becoming more sophisticated. But they don't have to be complicated. With Rellify, you can access the power of AI through an elegant, intuitive interface to achieve all the advances we've discussed and more.

We also make it easy to:

• Manage content calendars.
• Ensure timely delivery of content.
• Align your creative content with your content marketing strategy.
• Monitor the performance of your website copy.

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When it's properly harnessed, AI technology can lead to exceptional content creation and marketing outcomes. Contact Rellify today to see how content intelligence, backed by a custom-made Relliverse™, can take you from ideas to impact faster than ever.

By Jayne Schultheis - If you're using long-form content to achieve your marketing goals, you have to be strategic in every step. And no step is more critical than the first: ideation.

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Content ideation begins the content marketing process. You sift through potential topics looking for the "just right" fit between the stories you want to tell about your business and your target audience's search intent. And of course, you want content that search engines will choose as the perfect answer to your target audience's questions.

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At Rellify, we help clients create great content that gets seen by the right people. That's why we've harnessed AI in the topic ideation process, particularly in our latest development: the Relliverse™. In this article, we'll look at how to perform content ideation with AI to find keywords and build content that gets long-lasting results.

Machine learning and neural networks

Neural networks are a form of machine learning, and human neural networks are the blueprint for this type of AI.

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Neurons are nerve cells that process and transmit information through electrical and chemical signals. Each one has thousands of synapses that connect with synapses from other neurons. The synapses are "junctions" where neurons communicate with each other. The networks they form enable us to, for example, connect the smell of gasoline with driving a car, filling up a lawn mower tank, and fire, or to connect the sound of a siren with an ambulance, a speeding ticket and a feeling of overall fear.

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Think of an AI neural network as a huge, inter-connected web, where the strongest connections thrive. Through machine learning, the most relevant synapses (topics and keywords) are activated to further fill out the "web" of information. Neural networks create a clear, thorough, accurate overview of how people are engaging with a given topic on the internet. What's more, they can teach themselves to improve. Neural networks excel at topic ideation for several reasons:

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• Learning from large volumes of data. Neural networks can handle and learn from massive datasets. The accuracy and sophistication of the insights they deliver depend heavily on the quantity and quality of the data processed. The more good, specific info one receives, the better it can synthesize valuable material.
• Algorithms for pattern recognition and clustering. Algorithms in neural networks are designed to identify patterns and cluster data in meaningful ways. They detect patterns that are not apparent to humans and "connect the dots" in ways that would be impossible or extremely time-consuming for humans.
• Deep learning. A subset of machine learning, deep learning gets its name from the multi-layered (deep) neural networks that perform sophisticated analysis. These networks can make sense of data with a high level of abstraction and complexity, which is why they're used in advanced applications like natural language processing.
• Adaptive learning and evolution. Neural networks are not static. They evolve as they are exposed to new data. This adaptability allows them to stay relevant and accurate over time.

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Subject-matter AI beats general generative AI

There's a crucial distinction between general generative AI and subject-matter-specific AI, especially as it applies to content ideation and content marketing.

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‍General generative AI, like GPT-4, is designed to process unfathomable amounts of data from a massive range of topics. It offers general knowledge and versatile capabilities. Think of it like a general practitioner who has broad knowledge across many fields, but lacks expertise in any particular area.

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‍Subject-matter AI on the other hand, is akin to a specialist or an expert in a specific field. It's tailored to a particular domain, such as medicine, technology, or finance, and trained on datasets specific to that domain. This specialization allows it to provide more accurate, detailed, and contextually relevant insights within its area of expertise. It understands the nuances, terminology, and latest developments in its specific field far better than a general AI.

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Using the example noted earlier, a subject-matter AI would know which meanings of the word "gasoline" would help an article about electric vehicles rank high in organic search results (Hint: not "filling up a lawn mower tank" or "fire.")

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A subject-matter AI brings in-depth knowledge and nuanced understanding to topic ideation. It doesn't suggest bland topics for a content campaign or create articles with counterproductive tangents.

Introducing the Rellify Relliverse™

The Rellify Relliverse™ is our solution to your need for a subject-matter AI expert. We build custom-made neural networks for clients to serve their specific niches. Each Rellify Relliverse™ points the way toward reaching potential customers and satisfying search engines. Let's look at some of the specific ways a custom Relliverse™ works:

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Deeper understanding of topics/keywords due to the presentation of KPIs

Topic discovery, or ideation, is the first step in content creation. The incorporation of AI allows for the strategic consideration of KPIs (key performance indicators). These indicate to the brief-maker and/or writer exactly what the goals are for the overall campaign and each piece of content.

During topic ideation with a Rellify custom Relliverse™, you receive data on KPIs such as:

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• When topics and keywords spike in popularity
• Search volumes for keywords and topics
• How difficult it is to rank for certain words
• Which words are most relevant to each other
• How relevant certain words are to your core topic

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Understand how your competitors stack up

What's one of the first steps in making sure your content comes out on top? Know your competitors and understand what makes them different from you. A gap analysis conducted within a custom Relliverse™ helps identify differences between the current state of content and the desired state or goals. That is, it helps identify what your current content is missing and what you can do to achieve your objectives. Here's where AI's capacity to process huge volumes of data really comes in handy. By crawling the top competitors' websites and using deep language processing, Rellify can help answer these questions:

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• What are my competitors writing about? What should I write about to best compete with them?
• How many articles do my top competitors have on this topic? How many articles do I need on this topic to also be considered an expert by search engines?
• What keywords do I already rank for in comparison to my competitors? What keywords should I be using to get the highest visibility?

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How to use content intelligence to create great content

Now we get to the real fun — using the data from your Relliverse™ to create expert, relevant content.

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First, you use Rellify's Content Intelligence solutions to build your content strategy. This typically begins with lists of topics and topic clusters, all of which are unique to your business' specific path to ranking as high as possible on search engines.

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With Rellify's Smart Brief, you can easily build detailed specifications and outlines for each article. Use AI to do this with a couple of clicks or manually craft any part you choose.When it's time to start writing, you can prompt Rellify's Natural Language Generation feature to create text for an entire article.If you prefer, use it only to help you by suggesting a headline or subheads, or creating text to answer a particular question. The many AI functions operate from your custom Relliverse™ which understands exactly what kind of SEO optimization your content needs to catch the attention of Google algorithms. Our Article Intelligence Application will guide you on such factors as:

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• Quality of topic match
• Keywords and questions
• Text length/readability/structure
• Links
• Meta descriptions
• Titles

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As you write and edit, the article receives an R-score that reflects how it will perform in search engine results and connect with readers That's what makes Rellify different: better technology, better insights, and better results.

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Benefits of doing content ideation with AI

We'll conclude by looking at the way AI and human analyst teams each bring unique strengths and limitations to the table in the realm of content ideation.

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Strengths of AI in content ideation

As time goes on, these strengths continue to grow:

• Volume and speed. AI can process and analyze vast amounts of data much faster than humans. This makes it highly efficient for extracting insights from large datasets, such as all the material on a company's website, the websites of its competitors and the websites related to its business. Humans are prone to fatigue and can make errors, especially when performing repetitive tasks.
• Pattern recognition. AI excels at identifying data trends and correlations that may not be apparent to human analysts.
• Consistency and objectivity. AI systems can maintain a consistent level of performance without the biases or subjective influences that humans may have.
• Scalability. AI solutions can easily scale up to accommodate growing data and complexity without the constraints that it would place on human teams.
• Predictive analytics. AI can forecast trends and make predictions based on historical data, helping you anticipate content trends and consumer preferences.

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Why you still need humans to supercharge content intelligence

Machines might be useful for doing all the grunt work. However, humans are still an integral part of the topic ideation and content creation process. AI has certain limitations. Here's what humans bring to the table when it comes to content intelligence.

• Contextual understanding. AI may struggle with understanding context, especially in complex or nuanced situations where human insight is key.
• Creativity.While AI can generate ideas based on data, human creativity is essential for original thinking, emotional depth, and connecting with audiences on a more personal level.
• Ethical and cultural sensitivity. AI may not effectively navigate ethical considerations or cultural nuances the way a human can.
• Adaptability to novel situations. AI systems may not adapt well (or as quickly) to entirely new or unprecedented scenarios. It takes a human's quick decision-making to add real-time context.

At Rellify, the fusion of human expertise and AI can accelerate and improve the relevance of your content creation. Content ideation with AI enables you to make strategic decisions based on a custom-made Relliverse™, a neural network that identifies your best content opportunities. Contact us today to get a 30 day trial with no risk and no charge.

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By Daniel Duke - Exploring the intricacies of keyword density is part of unraveling the puzzle of the ever-evolving realm of SEO, where the conventional understanding of pleasing Google is no longer accurate. In fact, we shouldn’t even think about “Pleasing Google” when writing articles for our audience.

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In this guide, we'll provide an in-depth look at the concept of keyword density. We will challenge the common approach and reinterpret the concept. You'll learn that keyword density remains important for optimizing your website. However, the reason probably is very different that what you might think. Read on to learn about:

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• The original concept of keyword density.
• Reinterpreting the concept to emphasize readability.
• What is a good keyword density?
• Focus on quality content.
• How to avoid keyword stuffing.

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Understanding the Original Concept of Keyword Density

Keyword density is a term used in search engine optimization (SEO) to describe the percentage of times a keyword or phrase appears on a webpage compared to the total number of words on the page. It was used as an indicator of how relevant a keyword is to the content of a webpage.Many content creation platforms support this approach. They will tell you how many times you have to repeat which keyword in your text. This can lead to a disproportionately high repetition of a keyword. There are mainly two reasons why a platform defines one term as super important to the topic. Sometimes, it is due to high search volume for that keyword. The other reason is that the vendor wants to match or exceed the number of times a keyword is used on average in the top performing articles of that topic. But is this the way to go? Is this the holy grail to success in the world of content creation?

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Reinterpreting the Concept of Keyword Density

Not really. As search engines have evolved and become more sophisticated, keyword density is no longer the sole determinant of a webpage's relevance. (Why should it be?) It is still important that you include topic-defining keywords in your text. At the same time, search engines focus on the overall content quality, relevance and readability of a webpage.

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Readability: one of the really important Google ranking factors

Readability refers to how easily a reader can understand and comprehend the content of a webpage. It takes into account factors such as sentence structure, paragraph length, use of headings and subheadings, and the overall flow of the text. Google, as well as other search engines, prioritize websites that provide high-quality, well-written content that is easy for users to read and understand.

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High keyword frequency can lead to bad readability. Bad for the reader. Punished by Google. Bad for you.

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This shift in focus means that simply stuffing a web page with keywords to increase keyword density is no longer an effective strategy. In fact, keyword stuffing can now be penalized by search engines, as it is seen as a manipulative tactic to artificially boost rankings.

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Google's algorithm is designed to identify keyword overuse and penalize websites that engage in keyword stuffing. The algorithm analyzes the content of webpages and looks for unnatural keyword usage patterns. It is important to adhere to Google's guidelines and focus on creating high-quality content that provides value to users.

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Keyword density should not mean using a context-critical keyword as often as possible in a text so that search engines understand what it is about. Instead, it should ensure that no keyword is used too frequently in the text. (That's — by the way — what we offer in our Rellify application.)

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Simply said, it is about the maximum, not the minimum.

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What is a Good Keyword Density?

A good keyword density is the optimal frequency at which a keyword should appear in a piece of content to improve its search engine optimization (SEO) without overusing it. While there is no specific ideal keyword density, aiming for a range of 1-3% is generally recommended.

Can you calculate the keyword density for your text by yourself?

Of course, you can! Divide the number of times a keyword appears on a webpage by the total word count of your text. Then multiplying the result by 100. For example, if a keyword appears 10 times in a 500-word article, the keyword density would be 2%. They density for this article is about 1.6%.

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Less is More: Focus on Content Quality Instead of Keyword Counting

Content creators should aim for valuable, informative, and engaging content that is tailored to their target audience. This involves using keywords naturally and organically within the text, rather than forcing them in every sentence. By focusing on creating high-quality content that provides value to readers, your website is more likely to rank higher in search engine results. Furthermore, search engines now employ advanced algorithms that can understand the context and intent behind a user's search query. This means that even if a webpage does not have a high keyword density, it can still rank well. Requirement: It provides relevant and useful information that matches the user's search intent.

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3 ways to avoid keyword stuffing in your text

1. Prioritize creating valuable and engaging content that is relevant to your readers. Focus on providing useful information rather than obsessing over keyword density.
2. Instead of repeating the same keyword multiple times, focus on using synonyms and related terms as keyword variations. Care for the natural language and use it clearly and conversationally.
3. Ensure that your headlines and subheadlines accurately reflect the content of your text. Avoid stuffing keywords into headings just for the sake of optimization.

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Keywords? Whatever! It's All About Crafting Content for Real People

Remember, the goal should always be to create valuable content that satisfies your readers' needs. It is crucial to prioritize the overall quality and readability of the content. Search engines focus more and more on user experience and value. Remember the Google Helpful Content Update. That's why creating informative and engaging content should be your primary goal.

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Don't write for Google, write for your readers, potential clients, followers. That's all Google wants. Deliver matching answers to users searches. If you catch your readers' interest, if they trust you and come back to your content again and again: Congratulations. You nailed it.

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To learn more about how Rellify combines human expertise and AI to accelerate and improve the quality of your content creation, contact us today. Start now for 30 Days. No Risk. No Charge.

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By Daniel Duke - Here at Rellify, we're pretty passionate about using content briefs. They're an integral part of any content marketer's process for delivering expert, relevant content to customers. But how exactly does a brief play into the overall content production process, and why does it matter so much? We'll go over that here, covering:

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• What is a content brief?
• How to write a content brief
• What are the benefits of a content brief?

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What is a content brief?

A content brief is a document that describes what a client or editor wishes to see in an article, blog post or other piece of content. A brief contains the information a writer needs to efficiently complete the article envisioned by the person assigning it. An effective brief will include information about the client, target reader and essential elements of the article, and possibly an outline for article as well as useful sources. Even when the same person handles the planning, writing and editing, we recommend writing a thorough brief. Some might see this as a waste of time, but it's more efficient overall to start out with a brief rather than write an article without one and then make revision after revision.

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A good brief helps a writer:

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• Stay on track. This is especially important when a business is creating many pieces of content as part of a campaign. In such cases, you don’t want multiple articles covering the same subject matter and competing against one another. You want each one to have maximum impact.
• Save time that might be wasted researching and writing unwanted material. This also saves time for editors and helps get material published sooner.

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Writing a brief also forces the person assigning the article to develop a clear focus for it. Fuzzy, vague assignments can lead to fluffy, weak articles that won't rank highly in organic search results.

How to write a content brief with Rellify

Let's review how a brief is constructed to provide the maximum impact. For this walkthrough, we'll use the Rellify application's briefs process, but these concepts apply to any brief.

Focus keyword

This is the topic or “focus” of your article — the word or phrase you’re trying to rank for on search engines. All of your other keywords should relate to this term. The focus keyword guides the content's relevance, aligning it with user search queries. There are many tools for finding focus keywords and then keywords for specific articles. Rellify can use a Relliverse™— an AI-generated database specific to a client's business sector — to do keyword research. From there, it can detect the exact topics, keywords, and phrases that fit your brand and target audience's search intent. It creates a customized neural network of keywords that, when used properly, can strategically position your content to get picked up by search engines. This is one of Rellify's most advanced and groundbreaking features. However, you can still create an effective content brief in Rellify without it.

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In Rellify, once you've done research in the "Explore" tab and entered your chosen focus keyword into the "Brief" section under "specs," it guides the rest of your brief-building and content creation process.

Keyword research

Once you've found the right focus keyword, you're ready to find primary and secondary keywords to incorporate into the brief.

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Keyword research happens in the "Explore" tab, but once you've selected the keywords you'd like to include, they'll show up in the "Brief" tab under the "Outline" section. The writer doesn't have to use all the keyword suggestions, but rather the ones that most closely match the intent of the article. In the "Outline" section, you can indicate any keywords that you'd like the writer to know are "must-use" and "good to use." Be clear in the guidelines of your brief about how many keywords you expect to be included.

Content length/Word count

By providing a target word count , you allow the writer to better manage their time and resources. Although word count is not considered to be a ranking factor for Google, if you want an article to help establish thought leadership and E-E-A-T, a comprehensive (and thus longer) article might be called for. Your ultimate goal should be to match the text length to the user's intent and the nature of the topic, fully addressing it. At Rellify, we use artificial intelligence to analyze the top-ranking articles on your subject and recommend a word count in the brief tab under the "specs" section. With that recommendation in mind, you can still input whatever word count specifications you'd like within the text box.

Article type

Is this content meant to be a blog post? An in-depth guide? Is it a white paper that promotes or highlights your company’s product or solution? The brief should let your writer know exactly what you are looking for. It dictates the structure, style, and approach of the content, ensuring it aligns with the specific goals such as informing, getting leads, or entertaining the audience. In Rellify's "specs" section, you'll find a drop-down menu for "Article Type" where you can select accordingly.

Audience

This is a simple designation of who the reader is in relation to you, the content source. It's not anything extensive, but it helps pointedly guide the writer. It may fall into one of three broad categories:

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• B2B (Business to Business)
• B2C (Business to Consumer)
• C2C (Consumer to Consumer)

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However, you can write a more detailed description of your intended audience, including information such as search intent, demographics, and locality.

Audience expertise

A brief should set clear expectations for who your target reader is. While the writer may be an expert, that doesn't mean the reader will be. Tailoring the content to the level of audience knowledge improves its engagement and effectiveness. In Rellify's Brief, under "specs," you'll find a section titled "audience expertise," where you can select "general," "informed," or "expert."

Tone

Every brand has a unique style or tone that informs its content creation. In-house writers should have this down pat, but a reminder doesn't hurt. For freelance writers, direction on tone will be a big help — and probably save the editor a great deal of time and effort. It also helps to give a link or two to examples of writing that match the client's tone. In Rellify, you can describe the tone in detail in the Brief.

Top rankings

Checking out the competition gives insights into the content strategies and styles that are currently successful and visible in search engine results. This helps editors and writers understand the competitive landscape, audience preferences, and potential gaps in existing content. Naturally, you would Google your focus keyword to see what results it gets. When you identify your focus keyword, Rellify automatically crawls search engines to find the top three web pages that are ranking for it. In the Brief "specs" section, you'll find the links plus an AI-generated summary of the content.

Reading resources

You might trust writers to do their own research. However, if you come across good sources while writing a brief, it makes sense to pass along that information. It can help a writer avoid getting overwhelmed by the sheer volume of search results on your target keyword. You might save everyone a lot of guesswork by giving quality, directed background resources and detailed content information.

Outline

The background information has been set, now you can guide the structure of the article. You can write an outline based on what you see in competing articles, what ground you want to cover, and how you want to distinguish your article from the rest. The right structure, using subheads and bullet points to organize the material, makes it easier for readers and bots to gather information.

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Here's where Rellify's generative AI capabilities really begin to work for the brief-maker. Under the "Brief" tab, click on the "Outline" button. You will then see, on the left side, the focus keyword, primary and secondary keywords, and questions to answer. On the right, you have a blank field labeled "outline." To make full use of AI, you can create an outline with one click of the "Generate outline" button.

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You also can manually create a content outline section by section, starting with the title, the "H1." You can drag and drop keywords you would like to see in that introductory section. You also can write notes for what should be covered there. Then you proceed in the same way with subheadings — the "H2s" and "H3s." In any section, you can get AI assistance with writing titles and subtitles and with generating text that can guide the writer.

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The bottom line: you get to choose just how much you'd like to involve Rellify's article intelligence in the content brief process. It's totally customizable and can be altered according to the brief-maker's thinking and goals.

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Guidelines

You may have a few more instructions for a writer that didn't fit into the other sections. That's why, under the Brief tab, you'll find a third section titled "Guidelines." This is intentionally left blank so you can add background information or specific instructions. Or you can just write them a little note of encouragement or recognition for previous good work.

Suggested internal and external links

Linking is a huge part of SEO best practices. It’s essential to choose quality links to sources and include helpful “further reading” internal links. This information can be particularly helpful to a writer who doesn't know much about the content on your site. Also, be sure to say how many internal or external links you expect them to include. If you have expectations of where links should go in the content, include that info too.

Suggested metadata

This is “data about other data.” Suggest a meta title and a meta description. Even if you want the writer to take care of that, your suggestions provide more guidance on your vision for the article. Rellify's "article summary" feature uses generative AI to summarize any text you choose, which could be used for a meta description. You also can click an "AI support" button to general headlines."

Any media content you need

A big block of text, no matter how well written, is not inviting to the eyes. Photos, infographic and videos create an immersive and rich user experience. Compelling visuals also are a great way to generate quality backlinks and help with your domain authority. Because visuals are so important, the brief should make it clear whether the writer is expected to provide them. If they are, then detailed information is required.

Deadlines

This information helps with timely planning, creation, and publication of the content. It also helps in managing workflow and resources effectively. Depending on your content creation process, you might want to include deadlines for the following steps:

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• Keyword research
• Outline
• First draft
• Notes (if any)
• Revisions
• Approval
• Publication

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What are the benefits of a content brief?

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• Spells out the intent of the article. Content writers will do their best work when they’re given a complete picture of the article’s goal. It’s like looking at the picture on the front of the puzzle box as you put the pieces together. It helps tremendously with producing SEO-focused content.
• Identifies the reader’s needs. When people go to a search engine, they likely have a problem they’re trying to solve. Searchers may be looking for a particular product or just beginning to do research on ways to solve a problem. When a brief identifies the “problems” that are motivating searchers, it helps the writer craft relevant content that offers a solution.
• Improves efficiency. Even in a one-person content shop, writing a brief gets the writer/editor from idea to published content faster and more efficiently. Organization is a good writer’s bread and butter. Develop a content brief template to save time on any given project; you'll only need to fill in certain information once because it's the same for every article on a project. Establishing a good process with your content team or freelancers helps everyone get on the same page. This also can be very grounding for a writer trying to cover an unfamiliar subject.
• Helps with achieving goals and KPIs. KPIs reflect how well your content is doing. You want solid results on the metrics that best represent your company goals. Creating content briefs as part of a marketing strategy makes it much easier to achieve and measure the content performance goals you set for your content.
• Gets more mileage out of your content. Well-written, well-organized content has a better chance of being "evergreen.” This content doesn’t depend on current events for its relevance. It has the depth and lasting value needed to rank well in organic search results for years. And we all know that search engine algorithms change. When they do, an article crafted from a solid brief will need only minor tweaks, not an overhaul. A well-written — and well-structured — piece can easily be repurposed for email campaigns and other uses.
• Generates fully optimized content. Good content briefs include plenty of rich SEO keywords, directions regarding SEO best practices, and information about the intended audience. This all adds up to top-ranking articles. A well-directed, well-informed writer can do the majority of the SEO optimizing for you, especially with a Content Intelligence application like Rellify that tells you exactly what needs to be done.

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Streamline content creation with content briefs

Are you ready to use content briefs to help your writers produce winning results? At Rellify, creating a pointed, clear, and detailed content brief is an essential part of our full-service content marketing strategy for producing outstanding results. Many clients have already noticed significant gains in organic traffic, conversions, and leads since using Rellify. Ready to give it a shot? Experience a free trial of Rellify's Article Intelligence Application and explore the content brief process for yourself. If you're not exactly sure which of Rellify's services you need, schedule a consultation with one of our experts so we can tailor solutions to your specific goals.

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