4 Major SEO Goals for 2020 (and How to Achieve Them)

Want to know what happens in an Internet second?

There are over 77,000 Google searches.

Search has penetrated our lives – we Google everything.

So, there’s no question that you want your site to rank well in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

But the trouble is that search engines improve and get smarter all the time.

Which makes achieving your SEO goals extremely difficult.

no idea gif

It’s like trying to fight a boxing champion who keeps ducking and weaving out of the way.

There have been some major algorithm updates recently.

And brands have been adopting new SEO trends.

(This will always be the case.)

All you can do is try and keep up with the latest in SEO and roll with the punches.

So, what should your SEO goals be according to the latest algorithm updates and trends?

And how can you use content to achieve them?

CONTENTS

  1. Earn Links
  2. Optimize for Search Intent
  3. Increase E-A-T
  4. Win at Featured Snippets and Voice Search

Bonus Material: 11 Content Ideas to Boost Your Search Engine Rankings

Why Is Content Important for SEO?

There are two sides to the SEO coin.

If you want to increase your rankings and consequently organic traffic, you need to do two things:

1. Get the technical set up right.

2. Create quality content.

SEOs agree that content is more than just an aspect of SEO…

According to Moz

“Content and SEO go hand-in-hand. Without one, your efforts on the other are seriously diminished. For example, your keyword research won’t do much good unless you then use those keywords in your content. And, creating content without knowing what your audience is looking for will leave you without any significant traffic. Beyond that, high quality content is what earns you backlinks, and it’s also what search engines crawl when they arrive at your site.”

Content is SEO and SEO is content.

So, let’s take a look at how you can optimize your content strategy for SEO nowadays…

The best way to generate more links is through high-quality content.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – if you want backlinks, you need content that’s worth linking to.

Why are links so important?

It’s been common knowledge for a while now that links are one of the top ranking factors.

And Moz’s most recent research suggests that there’s still a high correlation between links and ranking.

Also, Google still dishes out penalties for poor quality links.

If links weren’t important, why would they do that?

Here’s how to use content to earn links:

Earn Links Naturally with Link-Worthy Content

This is the first and most important step.

Top sites and blogs only link to high-quality resources.

So, you better make sure your content is on point.

You should also think tactically about your approach to earning links.

Certain types of content are more likely to help you acquire links than others:

  • Data-driven content
  • Original Research
  • Infographics
  • Resource Pages
  • Long-form Guides etc.

To give you a quick example, here are Smart Insights’ top posts, ranked by number of links:

Content for earning links

All three posts are statistics compilations, i.e. posts based on data and research.

So, if one of your SEO goals is to earn more links (it should be obv.) then create and promote more link-worthy content.

Guest Post on Relevant, High Authority Sites

Guest posting is not dead.

Natural, editorial links that aren’t labeled as a guest post with your author box and brand at the bottom are better.

But guest posts are still a valid way to earn quality links…

Growth expert Adam Enfroy says that guest blogging is his number one strategy for getting backlinks in 2019.

He recently carried out an experiment where he published eight guest posts on high authority sites over 15 days.

Like this one:

guest post example

(Image Source)

The result: 247 new backlinks, an additional 12 points to his domain rating and a 372% increase in organic traffic.

You can’t argue with that.

Guest posting works as long as you exercise caution.

Only post on relevant, high authority sites.

Build Genuine Connections

The best outreach strategies focus on building relationships over time.

It may take longer than sending out a bunch of cold emails to build links.

But you will reap the benefits later.

Connect with others in your industry on LinkedIn, Twitter, forums, in comment sections, via email etc.

So that when it comes to sharing your content with them, it’s natural.

And make sure it’s a reciprocal thing – read and chat about their content, too.

The point is, if your content is fresh in their minds, there’s every chance they’ll link to your stuff of their own volition.

Especially if you create quality content.

Because that’s what it all comes down to at the end of the day.

2. Optimize for Search Intent

Search intent is a buzzword in SEO at the moment.

Some have theorized that Google’s March 2019 update was all about how well Google’s algorithm is satisfying users.

Are users finding the type of results they were looking for?

Or are they bouncing back because they had something else in mind?

Roger Montii at Search Engine Journal says,

“The ultimate decider of what goes to the top of the SERPs is the user. Google always shows sites that users want to see, that is what their algorithms strive for.”

So, it comes down to the algorithm’s ability to figure out the intent behind a search term.

For instance, if you search “how to share a post” there are tons of results about Facebook:

search intent example

The search term does not include the word “Facebook”.

But the SERPs show these results because this is the kind of information most people are looking for when they search for this query or similar.

Google shows the most relevant result for what it thinks the user’s end goal is.

Meaning traditional keyword research doesn’t cut it anymore.

You have to really think about the searcher’s intent and create content that matches it.

Here’s how to optimize for search intent:

Understand the Different Types of Search Intent

There are four main categories of search intent:

  • Informational – The searcher is looking for an answer or solution e.g. “What is machine learning”
  • Navigational – The searcher is looking for a specific site e.g. “Buzzfeed”
  • Commercial Investigation – The searcher is looking for a specific product or service but isn’t ready to commit yet e.g. “best social media software”
  • Transactional – The searcher is ready to buy e.g. “HelloFresh Coupon”

But the really interesting thing is that Google knows exactly what type of content the user wants depending on the semantics of the words they use.

For example, if you search “best social media software”, you get tools lists, review articles, comparisons etc:

user intent example

This means that if your company offers social media tools, there’s no point in trying to rank your home page or features page for “best social media software”.

Google knows that the intent behind this keyword is commercial investigation so it only shows content that matches that intent i.e. tools lists etc.

Therefore, it’s a good idea to search Google for the keywords you hope to rank for.

Note what kind of content comes up, right down to whether it’s a list post or ultimate guide or case study etc.

And create the type of content that Google wants.

Anticipate User Needs

Google goes above and beyond for the user.

If you want high rankings, you should too.

A lot of your content will fall into the informational category.

So, you must provide a comprehensive solution to the user’s problem or a complete answer to their question.

Google’s question box can be helpful here.

Let’s say you want to rank for the term “how to increase web traffic”.

A Google search shows us this:

Users who search for this topic, also want information on organic traffic and the most up-to-date methods for increasing traffic.

Therefore, if you want to rank well for this term, you need to cover these topics on your blog, whether it’s in one comprehensive guide or a series of posts.

STAT’s Rob Bucci says,

“People Also Ask queries have made the importance of topics much more obvious to the SEO industry. With PAAs, Google is clearly illustrating that they think about searcher experience in terms of a searcher’s satisfaction across an entire topic, not just a specific search query.”

At the end of the day, it’s all about using content to serve the needs of the user.

3. Increase E-A-T

Nowadays, it’s really important to Google that you don’t have any Tom, Dick or Harry writing your content.

They want to see E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust).

This became evident after their 2018 medic update.

Which hit sites in certain categories particularly hard, e.g. health, e-commerce, business and finance.

In other words, YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) sites where you need expert content…

I don’t know about you but I don’t want anybody but a pro giving me advice about the pimples on my butt or how to file my taxes etc.

So, I get it.

And clearly, Google feels the same way.

Furthermore, experts believe that the June 2019 core algorithm update was also about E-A-T.

Along with YMYL sites, some news sites received a slap in the face from Google this time around.

This included the British tabloid the Daily Mail. 

Which is pretty hilarious if you’re a Brit like me.

Anyway, like a teen scrawling the name of their crush on their notebook…

Google’s Search Quality Evaluator’s Guidelines now have advice about E-A-T written all over them.

So, if you hope to see better rankings and more organic traffic (or hope to recover from these updates) you need to pack your content with E-A-T.

Create Quality Content

The first thing you need to know is…

To prove that you’re an expert in your niche you need to show that you thoroughly understand your audience and their needs.

In other words, optimize for search intent.

Secondly, you need to create quality content that meets the standards of your industry.

Google rewards those who create quality content and bumps those who don’t – it’s that simple.

What does this mean?

There are many aspects that characterize quality content.

But, here I want to emphasize the idea of creating posts that are credible sources of information.

Show that your content is reliable by using evidence to back up your claims.

For example, Toggl uses research to support this post about the benefits of sabbatical leave:

E-A-T content

(Image Source)

Also, avoid any attempts to mislead users, such as click-bait headlines or sales-y writing.

And be sure to provide genuine value to the reader, for example tangible advice and resources they can take away and use.

The same Toggl post as above has a list of questions for readers to answer at the end of the post.

They can use these answers IRL to support their request for sabbatical leave:

E-A-T example

There’s no doubting this is an expert piece.

Use Expert Authors

Your site and authors need to ooze E-A-T, too.

This is because audiences need to be able to trust what you’re saying…

Remember what I said about pimply butts.

So, display author credentials on your site or in a box underneath your content.

And expand your authority across the web through guest posting or acquiring links/mentions on other authoritative sites.

Google doesn’t only want to deliver the best results…

They also want these results to come from the best sources of information on the web.

Featured snippets and voice search are major SEO trends.

The number of featured snippets has increased by 230% in the last few years.

And it’s likely that the number of search queries that have featured snippets will only continue to rise.

Furthermore, in the first quarter of 2019, 42% of the worldwide online population had carried out a voice search in the past month.

It’s thought that voice search will only get bigger as time goes on, too.

So, these are two SEO trends that you must keep an eye on moving forward.

And I’ve not just lumped the two together for jokes, by the way.

By optimizing for featured snippets you also optimize content for voice search.

When you ask your Google Assistant a question, the answer is taken from a featured snippet.

Therefore, you use the same SEO tactics to win at both featured snippets and voice search.

Here’s what you need to do:

Optimize for Informational Queries

The search queries you’re optimizing for need to sound natural.

In other words, something a human might actually say…

Unless that human is the Captain from Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

captain holt gif

Think about questions real people might ask about your topic or product.

Because content optimized for informational, long-tail keywords does well in featured snippets.

The number of words in queries with featured snippets has increased over the last couple of years:

featured snippet study

(Image Source)

Again, it’s about putting the user first.

Researching existing featured snippets also helps at this point.

Say there’s already a featured snippet for the query you’re going after…

Can you provide a more relevant, up-to-date or informative answer?

Format Blog Posts for Featured Snippets

There’s a particular format that tends to result in more featured snippets…

You need to give a direct answer to the question at hand before fleshing out the answer.

For example, if you search “what is a content marketing funnel”, this snippet from Single Grain comes up:

featured snippet example

Single Grain uses the query as a header early on in their content:

content for featured snippets

(Image Source)

They then go on to give a detailed guide on the topic.

Weirdly enough this works for both paragraph and list featured snippets.

Though for list featured snippets, you need to make sure your content is formatted in an organized list with header tags as well.

So, to win at voice search and featured snippets you need informative content that thoroughly answers user questions and that’s formatted in the right way.

Final Word

SEO is ever-changing.

Therefore, you need to consistently adjust your SEO goals to withstand algorithm updates and smash new trends.

Content should be at the epicenter of your SEO strategy.

Because content and SEO are basically one and the same.

For 2020 and beyond, there are some major aspects of SEO you need to concentrate on when creating content:

  • Links
  • Search Intent
  • E-A-T
  • Featured Snippets/Voice Search

In terms of optimizing content for SEO, there are clear features that Google wants to see from you and reward you for.

But it all boils down to creating high-quality content that meets user needs.

If you do that, then you will see your rankings soar.

Bonus Material: 11 Content Ideas to Boost Your Search Engine Rankings

To help you get off to a good start, I’ve created a list of 11 solid content ideas to boost your search engine rankings.

With real examples that you can emulate…

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