They say ‘Content is king’ for a reason; it’s the lifeblood of websites, the fuel for social media engagement, and the secret sauce that keeps audiences coming back for more. But with so much content out there, how do you make yours stand out?
In powerful, so much the answer lies a powerful approach called people-first content.
People-first content is any content that, directly or indirectly, relates to the creation of content that best serves the audience’s needs and preferences. In other words, it is the departure from centering all efforts on the search engine algorithms and ranking factors to capturing the purpose of creating material that will be useful and adding some value to the readers’ lives.
The following blog post dives deep into the world of people-first content and compares and contrasts it with the traditional school of SEO. We will also dwell into actionable strategies you can implement to create content that not only catches a reader’s fancy but also ranks well on SERPs.
People-First Content Defined
More than a buzzword, people-first is a philosophy of content for the ages. It consists of three basic building blocks: authenticity, relevance and value.
Authenticity is being true and honest with what you’re saying, really knowing something about what you’re saying, and having that special quality that comes through your writing.
Relevance is putting everything into perspective with the audience, and making the content literally speak to what the readers wish to address. This entails detailed research on the audience, with content specifically addressed to certain demographics and pain points.
Value is when you give your audience something in return for their time. It could be information or advice, stories or ideas. It could be something that provokes thought or entertains the mind. It is in giving valuable content that you begin to establish yourself as a person in authority and as one to trust within your field.
Benefits of People-First Content
The people-first content comes with several benefits for the audience and the business. The following are some of the most pronounced advantages:
Improved User Engagement and Satisfaction : If your content is interesting to them, they will spend more time on the site, read the articles and react to the CTAs.
Long-Term Audience Trust and Loyalty : Over time, high-quality content that meets the needs of the people will breed trust and loyalty from the audience. This would translate to visitors coming back repeatedly, some becoming brand advocates, and in turn, increased conversions.
Better Alignment with Modern Search Engine Algorithms : Most search engines, notably Google, now give more weight to intent and user experience. People-first content that places the real value in front of them totally fits this and is likely to end up at the top of the search results.
For example, if we take a hypothetical blog topic: “Top 10 Kitchen Gadgets 2024”. Traditional SEO would look for the keywords “kitchen gadgets 2024” and list generic products that do not meet user needs.
The people-first content approach would be to change the title to “The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Perfect Kitchen Gadget.” This title, above all else, speaks to what the user needs to be—quality versus quantity. It could be a comprehensive guide that considers budget, type of cooking, and even if there is not much space in the kitchen. The upshot is as follows:
Increased User Engagement : Readers feel the content understands their unique needs and are likely to spend time reading.
Improved Conversion Rates : Would be able to bring out specific products that cater to individual needs, leading to a more focused approach to product recommendations.
Enhanced Brand Trust : By surfacing real products over generic lists, a brand can be seen to a user as a resource truly trying to help.
A Brief Overview Of Traditional SEO Content
Before looking further into people-first content, let’s take a quick look at traditional SEO content creation. Traditional SEO means the adjustments made to the content to suit a particular set of keywords that would be highly competitive on a search engine, the building of backlinks from other websites, and the technical structure of a website to make it search engine-friendly.
Benefits of Traditional SEO
While people-first content is the future of SEO, traditional SEO still offers some advantages:
Quick Gains in Search Engine Rankings : Traditional SEO approaches will help you get quicker results in terms of search engine rankings for highly competitive keywords.
Structured and Measurable Approaches : Traditional SEO uses structured and measurable approaches with defined strategies so that progress can be tracked and actions can be measured for effectiveness.
Effective for Highly Competitive Keywords : It is through traditional SEO techniques that your content will stand out while going after highly competitive keywords.
People-First Content vs. Traditional SEO: Key Differences
Having known both approaches, let’s take a look at the major differences between people-first content and traditional SEO:
Approach to Content Creation
People-First : Mostly addresses what the audience wants to read or learn more about, except that it tries to present quality and engaging reading that can solve a problem or answer a question.
Traditional SEO : Addresses the factors based on search engine ranking, which often leads to approaches of keyword stuffing and certain technical SEO methods that may compromise readability.
Content Quality and User Experience
People-First : Values high-quality, engaging content that provides value to readers. Prioritises the user experience and clear navigation with good design.
Traditional SEO : Might make the content good only for search engines, discarding readability and the user experience.
Long-Term Impact and Sustainability
People-First : Makes a feel of belonging and trust with users. Value and trust keep the content meaningful and updated at all times.
Traditional SEO : Might need constant updates and changes in the wake of newer algorithms. Highly optimized content tends to get old very fast.
5 Strategies To Create People-First Content That Converts Readers
1. Create Informational, Relevant, Useful Content
Get to know the audience through demographic data, interests, and pain points.
Search for their queries and questions with the help of keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs.
Produce content that answers their needs and solves their problems.
What would be considered informative and useful to the reader? Some examples might be blog posts answering specific questions that customers often have, how-tos, in-depth industry reports or product reviews.
2. Make it scannable with short paragraphs and the active voice
Use examples that relate to customer experiences and draw in readers.
3. Design and Navigation of Your Website
Design and navigation are some of the most important engagements on a website.
Make sure every little piece of your site has a clean design, including all menus for user-friendly navigation.
Steps to make it more understandable for the audience:
Misinformed text: This will make the font scannable on the design and navigation of the website.
The color of the text: This will make the font color on the design and navigation of the website.
Make your content mobile-friendly so that anyone can enjoy it on any device.
4. Utilise the power of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
By sharing your content with a broad audience on those platforms.
Run ad campaigns on social media that target certain demographics and interests.
Team up with some of the respected influencers in your niche to get your content in front of a new audience.
Respond to comments and join in the conversation to drive up social media engagement.
5. Utilise Audience Insights to Shape Content for Maximum Relevance
Utilise website analytics tools such as Google Analytics to monitor user behavior and how visitors are interacting with your content.
Keep an eye on metrics like page views, bounce rates and time on page.
Run surveys and polls that help you gather direct feedback from your audience in terms of their preferences and needs.
Don’t Use the Following Kinds of Content:
Keep an eye out for the following types of content that might negatively affect your people-first approach:
1. Inauthentic, Untrustworthy Content
Misinformation, plus no fact-checking, can hamper your brand image and break the trust of users.
Base all information on facts, referring to well-known materials.
Serious research: work that helps the trust approach and independent recognition of authoritativeness in a certain area.
Make it insightful so that it leaves a long-lasting effect and keeps the reader hungry for more.
Try to make a difference with what you write by actually having something to say, not by fulfilling a word count.
2. Pointless Content That Does Not Add Value in What Is Meant to Be Conveyed
Avoid producing filler content that has no meaning and does not provide anything of value to the reader.
Create content that is thought-provoking and informative, getting under the skin of the readers.
Quality over quantity; make a difference with your content.
3. Inappropriate Content
Be professional and make sure the content is suitable for the targeted audience.
Avoid controversial or offensive issues unless highly pertinent to your subject area and treated with respect and sensitivity.
Word the text clearly and straightforwardly so that there can be no ambiguity or misinterpretation.
4. Content That Does Not Match the Target Audience
Segment your audience and create content that appeals to the specific needs and interests of each segment.
5. A Topic Is Not Promoted Or Poorly Promoted
This normally should never happen to great content.
Develop and execute a strong content promotion plan that uses multiple channels to reach your target audience.
Harness email marketing and social media marketing to improve your content and bring more traffic to your site.
Ready To Supercharge Your Business ?
Where SEO is going is to find ways to create content for people, not algorithms. When you create value, trust and a good user experience (which can attract read and rank) ‘people-first,’ you’re doing just that above simple, step-by-step processes.
But of course, growing a business is hard work and making these strategies actually execute can be a daunting task. If you ever feel like you do not have enough time or resources to implement a plan, better reach out to the experts.
Primal, Thailand’s award-winning SEO agency, can assist in developing a people-first content strategy with strong SEO methodologies for any business.
The experts in our team carry out in-depth research to understand your ideal customer, create content that resonates with them, optimise visibility in search results and then strategically promote that content to drive relevant traffic to your site and further establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry.
Partner with Primal to create people-first content that resonates and performs. Learn more about our services in content marketing to achieve your SEO goals by contacting us today.
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