How to create relevant content that ranks

Google wants to rank the most relevant results for searchers. So if your content isn’t relevant, it won’t rank.

But relevance isn’t just about repeatedly including a keyword. Actually, it’s not about that at all.

This guide will teach you how to create relevant content that Google wants to rank.

It does this in different ways.

1. Does your page mention a search query?

According to reports Googlethe most basic relevance signal is whether your content contains the same keywords as the search query.

2. Does it mention related things?

Relevance goes beyond simple keyword matching. Google also checks if the page contains other relevant keywords.

For example, if the page is about Apple, the page will inevitably also include relevant things like iPhone, iPad, App Store, iOS, MacBook, etc.

Recommended reading: Google Knowledge Graph Explained: How It Affects SEO

3. Do searchers find it useful?

On the same page, Google also mentions this:

This is partly why the top ranking results for “apple” refer to the tech company rather than the fruit. Google knows from interaction data that most searchers are looking for the manufacturer of the iPhone.

In the same sense, this is one of the reasons why freshness can be important. For queries that depend on timeliness – for example, football broadcasts, election results, etc. – searchers want to see the latest news. And Google favors these results over others.

Relevance is specific to each query. So before you can create “relevant” content, you need to make sure you have the keywords you want to target.

If you haven’t done this step yet, do it now. Follow the process in this video to find the keywords you want to rank for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMJQPqG2Uas

Recommended reading: Keyword Research: Ahrefs’ Guide for Beginners

1. Determine the purpose of the search

We noted earlier that a key aspect of relevance is whether searchers find the search results useful. This means that Google is constantly finding out why searchers search for this query ie. search purpose. Google then serves up results it believes fulfill that purpose.

That is, if you want ranked high on Google, you need to figure out what the search intent is for your target keyword. And since Google strives to display the most relevant results, we can actually look at the top-ranking pages to determine the three C’s of search intent:

• Content type – Is there a dominant type of content on SERPs such as blog posts, product pages, videos or landing pages?
• Content format – Is there a dominant form of content on SERPs such as guides, lists, news articles, opinions or reviews?
• Content angle – Is there a dominant angle on the SERP, such as freshly updated content or content aimed at beginners?

For example, let’s say we want to rank among the “best pans.” Let’s analyze the three C’s for this keyword:

• Content type – They are mostly blog posts.
• Content format – They all voted.
• Content angle – The main angle is 2022, which means that freshness is an important angle.

To rank for this keyword, you’ll probably need to create a “best pan” publication of the list updated to the current year.

Recommended reading: What is the purpose of the search? A complete guide for beginners

2. Cover everything the searcher wants to know

To earn a spot on the first page of Google, you’ll need to cover all the things searchers expect and want to know.

How do you do it?

Again, we’ll turn to the relevant top-ranking sites to determine what we should be covering.

Look for common subtitles

Subheadings provide a quick insight into what searchers are looking for, especially if they are the same or similar to top-ranking pages.

For example, if we look at the top ranking pages for “guest blogging,” we’ll probably have to talk about subtopics like these:

• What is guest blogging
• Benefits of guest blogging
• How to find guest blogging opportunities

And more.

A quick way to see all the subtitles in a post is to install Ahrefs’ SEO toolbar and use the free content report (which I did above).

Find subtopics among keyword rankings

The page can rank for hundreds of different keywords. Most of these will be different ways of finding the same topic, while some will be important subtopics that you will want to cover.

You can find these subtopics by:

1. Paste some top URLs for your main topic into Ahrefs’ Content Gap tool
2. Leave the bottom blank
3. Rush Show keywords
4. Set up Crossroads filter to 3 and 4 targets

We can see that the pages are also organized by subtopics like these:

• What are guest posts
• What is a guest post
• Why guest blogging
• Guest blogging opportunities
• Guest Post for SEO
• Guest Blogging Strategy

And more.

Look at the fields People are also asking

In recent years, Google has introduced a People Also Asking (PAA) field for most queries:

These questions provide insight into other things that searchers may want to know. You can use a tool like AlsoAsked to pull all PAA questions related to the topic you are targeting:

Manually see the top ranking pages

Finally, there’s no better substitute than simply going through each page manually to see if you’ve missed anything.

Once you’re done with your research, get down to breaking down and creating your content.

In addition to creating content, there are a few other ways to prove to Google that your content is relevant.

Here’s how:

1. Reduce your basic on-page SEO

You’ve done the hard part – you’ve created thorough and relevant content that Google and searchers want to see. Now is the time to put the icing on the cake and make it doubly clear to Google and searchers that your page is relevant.

You will do this by optimizing the “technical” stuff ie. Page to page SEO. Here are the basics you need to do:

1. Include your keyword in the title – Confirmed by Google the importance of headlines in 2020. If this is not possible, do not try to squeeze the keyword. Use a similar version instead.
2. Use short, descriptive URLs – Compared to URLs like ahrefs.com/blog/36778url ahrefs.com/blog/seo copywriting helps searchers understand what the page is about before they click.
3. Write an attractive meta description – Although Google is not a ranking factor, it does bold words and phrases that are closely related to the query. It also further helps entice searchers to click on your results.
4. Optimize your images – File names and alt text help Google understand images better. So make sure you name the images appropriately and write alt text that is descriptive.
5. Link to relevant internal and external resources – Links to relevant internal and external resources help visitors navigate your site and find more information.

Recommended reading: On-Page SEO: A Beginner’s Guide

2. Consider building content hubs

Content hubs (also known as topic clusters) are interconnected collections of content on a similar topic. They consist of three parts:

1. Column side – A high-level guide on a broad topic.
2. Subpages – In-depth guides on parts of the main theme.
3. Internal links – They connect the side of the column and its sub-sides in both directions.

Google looks at links and theirs anchor text understand the content of the page and thus its relevance.

For example, if a coffee website links to your coffee page, it is “certifying” to Google that your page is about coffee. Makes sense, right?

The same works for internal links.

Most links provide some additional context with their anchor text. At least we should, right‽

— 🫧 to johnmu from Switzerland (personal) 🫧 (@JohnMu) November 23, 2017

So by linking your pages with relevant internal links at the heart of your content, you help build semantic relationships between your content.

Additionally, because of the perceived value of a hub – as people tend to prefer to link to the best, most useful resource on a topic – content hubs tend to attract a lot of backlinks. Not only does this improve relevance, but it can also help improve rankings (links matter Google ranking factor!).

I recommend following the guide below to learn more about how to create a content hub.

Recommended reading: Content Hubs for SEO: How to Get More Traffic and Links with Topic Clusters

3. Make connections

If links help establish relevance, then the next logical step is to create more.

Link building is a whole topic in itself, so I recommend watching this video to get started:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ddo63kHHI

We also have tons of link building resources on our blog, so check them out:

Learn more

Want more resources on how to create great, relevant content that ranks? Check these out:

Have questions or comments? Notify me on Twitter.