Content Success Factors Data-Driven Performance Insights For 2016

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Reginald Baker
5 years ago
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1 Content Success Factors Data-Driven Performance Insights For 2016

2 Slides! hmny.co/lotsofcontentdata 2

3 So let s get the definition of success out of the way. 3

4 Your Goal: Brand Awareness Engagement Conversion Retention Your Success Metrics: Traffic, Links, Shares, Rankings Subscribers, Content Downloads Leads, Sales Repeat + Recurring Revenue, Referrals, Reviews 4

5 Your Goal: Brand Awareness Engagement Conversion Retention Your Success Metrics: Traffic, Links, Shares, Rankings Subscribers, Content Downloads Leads, Sales Repeat + Recurring Revenue, Referrals, Reviews 5

6 1 What Ranks? 2 What Earns Links & Shares? 6

7 Remember all of those great studies you forgot to read? 7

8 I read all of them for you 8

9 SOURCES: Moz Ranking Factors: Searchmetrics Ranking Factors: Backlinko 1 Million Study: Buzzsumo/Moz Shares & Links: Stat Featured Snippets: hmny.co/mozfactors hmny.co/searchmetricsfactors hmny.co/backlinkofactors hmny.co/buzzmoz hmny.co/statblog 9

10 1 What Ranks?

11 Word Count? 11

12 WORD COUNT Backlinko: Average page one result is 1890 Words. 12

13 WORD COUNT Searchmetrics: Average page one result is 1285 Words. Heavy spike towards bottom of page 1. 13

14 WORD COUNT STAT: Average page one result is 906 words. 14

15 WORD COUNT STAT Data: Modest upward trend on featured snippet SERPs. 15

16 WORD COUNT Moz Correlation: 5.6% Searchmetrics Correlation: 7% 16

17 WORD COUNT Verdict: Kind of important. 17

18 WORD COUNT Verdict: Kind of important. Make sure you re above average for the primary SERP you re targeting words seems safe. 18

19 Schema.org? 19

20 SCHEMA.ORG Backlinko: Upward trend for positions Sharp decline on

21 SCHEMA.ORG STAT Data: Lower Schema.org usage in #1-4 on featured snippet SERPs. 21

22 SCHEMA.ORG Moz Survey: 5% Correlation Expected Moz Data: 1% Actual Correlation 22

23 SCHEMA.ORG Verdict: Don t do it for the rankings. 23

24 SCHEMA.ORG Verdict: Don t do it for the rankings. Schema.org and other types of markup are important for rich snippets, however, so you shouldn t totally ignore it. 24

25 Keyword Usage? 25

26 KEYWORD USAGE Backlinko: Solid higher average topic authority for positions

27 KEYWORD USAGE Searchmetrics: General upward trend except #1 & 2. 27

28 KEYWORD USAGE STAT DATA: Pretty clear trend. 28

29 KEYWORD USAGE Moz: Raw # of Keyword Matches In Body Text 29

30 TITLE TAGS Backlinko: Solid trend and quite a jump at #1. 30

31 TITLE TAGS STAT DATA: Mild trend peaking at first organic slot (#2 since #1 is a snippet). 31

32 KEYWORD USAGE Verdict: Would you believe me if I said keywords are still important? 32

33 KEYWORD USAGE Verdict: Would you believe me if I said keywords are still important? Don t get so caught up with link strategies and launch campaigns that you forget to block and tackle. 33

34 Readability? 34

35 READABILITY Searchmetrics: Very slightly easierto-read content leading the pack. 35

36 READABILITY STAT DATA: Trend looks mild but 2 points higher between #

37 READABILITY Verdict: Mildly Important 37

38 READABILITY Verdict: Mildly Important Readability is probably more important for shareability than for rankings alone. 38

39 Images & Video? 39

40 IMAGES Backlinko: Almost no trend here. 40

41 IMAGES Backlinko: Almost no trend here. 41

42 IMAGES STAT DATA: Actually a downward trend, with featured snippets tending to have fewer images. 42

43 VIDEO Searchmetrics: Pretty big page one jump here 50% higher on average than page 2 results. 43

44 VIDEO STAT Data: Zero trend here within page 1 results. 44

45 IMAGES & VIDEO Verdict: Not a make-or-break factor. 45

46 IMAGES & VIDEO Verdict: Not a make-or-break factor. Use images & video to improve overall user experience and content quality, not for rankings. 46

47 Lists? Tables? Links? 47

48 UNORDERED LISTS Searchmetrics: Upward trend towards #2. 48

49 UNORDERED LISTS STAT Data: Pretty flat. Modest bump for first two organic results. 49

50 ORDERED LISTS STAT Data: Quite a bit more of a trend here, especially for the featured snippet position. 50

51 TABLES STAT Data: Similar trend to ordered lists, with featured snippet URLs being much more likely to have a <table>. 51

52 OUTBOUND LINKS STAT Data: Another noticeable trend for #2-3 positions. 52

53 LISTS, TABLES, OUTBOUND LINKS Verdict: <ol> & <table> usage trends almost as strongly as keyword usage on the page. 53

54 LISTS, TABLES, OUTBOUND LINKS Verdict: <ol> & <table> usage trends almost as strongly as keyword usage on the page. I m not going to say these are ranking factors, but I think they re all indicative of well-formatted content. Use them! 54

55 2 What Earns Links & Shares?

56 Buzzsumo & Moz: The vast majority of content gets <8 shares and 0 links. 56

57 Buzzsumo & Moz: No correlation between links and social shares. 57

58 Buzzsumo & Moz:...except for posts with over 10,000 total shares: Reverse is not true. Highly-linked posts show no correlation with social shares. 58

59 Word Count? 59

60 WORD COUNT Buzzsumo & Moz: Pretty clear trend here for social shares and links alike: 60

61 WORD COUNT Verdict: Pretty important. 61

62 WORD COUNT Verdict: Pretty important. 62

63 Formats? 63

64 FORMATS Which Post Formats Earn Links Versus Shares?: 64

65 FORMATS Which Post Formats Earn Links Versus Shares?: 65

66 FORMATS Which Post Formats Earn Links Versus Shares?: 66

67 FORMATS Data-Based Research Content Earns Higher Average Links: 67

68 FORMATS Verdict: Know your goal. 68

69 FORMATS Verdict: Know your goal. Making content linkable & shareable is possible but needs to be well planned. 69

70 TAKEAWAYS 1 - Design & formatting matters. 70

71 TAKEAWAYS 2 Use long-form content to build links & domain authority. 71

72 TAKEAWAYS 3 Use short-form content to keep audiences engaged cost effectively. 72

73 TAKEAWAYS 4 Align each content type and purpose with your keyword planning. 73

74 THANK YOU! Slides! hmny.co/lotsofcontentdata Founder, Content Harmony

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