How to Write a Comprehensive & SEO-Friendly Guide

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搜索引擎优化内容的目的是吸引流量并产生点击；如何吸引更多流量并让用户对你的内容赞不绝口？SEO优化指南了解下！！

Anyone who takes a deep dive into the world of SEO content creation knows that there are many, many factors at play when it comes to making content search-friendly and click-worthy.

From choosing the right keywords, to conducting audience research, to writing engaging titles, it can be a long, painstaking process to create content that outranks your top-ranking competitors.

This desire to create bigger and better content has led to this often cringe-worthy trend: turning every article into an “ultimate guide”.

Is There Such a Thing as an ‘Ultimate’ Guide?

“Ultimate guide” implies that your content is the best, right? That no one else can top it. That it’s the blog post to end all blog posts.

The issue is that with so many articles claiming to be “ultimate guides”, throwing this into your post title has started to lose its meaning. Claiming that your article is the best doesn’t make it so.

If we remember that the purpose of your SEO content is to attract traffic and generate clicks, we’ll see that the magic of creating an “ultimate guide” is not in the title or even the length.

It’s in the value.

Here’s how to create a true ultimate guide – the right way – in order to attract more organic traffic and get readers raving about your content.

An Ultimate Guide Is More Than Just a Listicle

Many content creators and SEO professionals approach content with the belief that longer is better – despite the numerous studies that have shown diminishing returns on content that is too long.

There’s a sweet spot for every topic and niche, and simply adding more bullet points for “top tips” to your ultimate guide does not necessarily mean you are adding more value.

Your goal in creating an ultimate guide is to provide better information than all of the top-ranking posts for your chosen focus keyword.

You do that not by making it longer (necessarily), but by doing your research to determine what the existing articles offer that your guide has to have.

Step 1: Have a Purpose (Beyond Ranking)

I get it. It’s enticing to go after those sweet money keywords when you see an opportunity to outrank your competitors.

But beyond rankings, there’s typically the ultimate goal of getting readers to take action – by subscribing, by buying a project, or by filling out a form.

That’s why it’s short-sighted to create an ultimate guide for the sole purpose of targeting a particular keyword. Instead, it’s best to have a strategy that works to drive conversions through your content.

Before writing your ultimate guide, consider what action (if any) you want readers to take. Are you:

Simply aiming to inform readers about a topic?

Trying to build brand trust?

Trying to generate subscribers or leads?

It’s essential that you know your end goal.

Having a clear objective in mind will help you determine what value you need to provide and how. It will keep you focused on writing content that serves to not only attract traffic but also make the most of that traffic.

When it comes to marketing content, its success should be measured in terms of the return on your investment (ROI). Writing with conversions in mind will help you get the ROI you are looking for – in the form of subscribers, phone calls, leads, and sales.

Step 2: Choose Your Keyword(s)

Not every keyword is suited for an ultimate guide.

Just because your goal is to provide more value than the content that’s already ranking, doesn’t mean throwing “ultimate guide” in front of it is the move. It may be better suited for a different type of content (like a standard blog post or a listicle).

“Ultimate guide”-type keywords are ones that warrant a well-thought-out, in-depth piece of content. They should be topics that necessarily require a comprehensive guide in order to leave readers feeling sufficiently informed.

Relatively broad topics are a great fit an ultimate guide because they require many sections, explanations, examples, and actionable steps.

“Best places to visit in Thailand” can be summed up in a relatively concise listicle. “How to travel in Thailand” leaves much more room for elaboration.

Consider whether an ultimate guide would do your chosen keyword justice, or whether a different type of content would be a better fit instead. Some things to consider are:

-What is the user intent behind the keyword?

-Could you answer the user’s primary question in a relatively short (or standard-sized) article?

-Can you effectively write a comprehensive guide about the topic without stuffing it full of fluff?

-Are there already tons of “ultimate guides” about this topic?

-Are you confident that you can at least offer 2X the value of the top-ranking articles?

In summary, choose keywords that warrant a comprehensive piece of content.

If you feel that in order to create an ultimate guide you’ll have to chock your content full of useless facts and tips, you should probably take a different approach.

Step 3: Scope out the Not-So-Ultimate Guides

Not all ultimate guides are created equal.

If you’ve decided that your focus keyword warrants an ultimate guide, then your next step should be to look at what’s already ranking. Chances are, you’ll find some existing “ultimate guides”.

In this step, you’ll want to look at what your competitors are doing right and wrong.
-Are they simply regurgitating the same-old information?
-Are they bringing anything unique to the table?
-How can you learn from them and make your content 2X better?

Since your competitors are ranking for that keyword, they must be doing something right.

Look for similarities and characteristics that you think may be giving them a competitive edge. Then, looks for gaps in information that you can fill with your ultimate guide.

Your ultimate guide – as the name implies – should aim to be the best of the best. That means capitalizing off of what your competitors are doing right and then making your content even better.

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