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10 content formats to propel your site on Google

The choice of format is too often overlooked in a content marketing and SEO strategy. However, its impact can be decisive, for the satisfaction of the Internet user but also for the good SEO of a website.

In terms of SEO as well as content marketing, the choice of good keyword no longer enough. We must now produce quality content, but also know how to prioritize good format. Photo, video, interactive tools… This choice will indeed have direct repercussions in terms of SEO. This is what Rand Fishkin demonstrates in one of his famous Whiteboard Fridays.
After studying several hundred search results on Google, Rand Fishkin (SEO specialist at MOZ) listed the 10 formats most often used by sites ranked at the top of search results on Google. Here they are :

  1. Blog posts (regularly updated or rewritten content).
  2. Short articles and content, which require little or no updating
  3. Long articles
  4. Photo galleries and visual stories
  5. Lists detailed, rich in information
  6. Interactive content or tools, which provide an answer to the Internet user
  7. Categories  : prioritization of a site's content into different categories easily identifiable by the Internet user
  8. Reference guide on a topic. The guide must be comprehensive, deal with a specific subject and be structured in different parts
  9. Infographics or data visualization  : this type of format makes it easy to understand complex information
  10. Video  : YouTube or videos encapsulated on a page.

There is also an 11e format: the reports or presentations, in the form of PDF or Powerpoint documents. This type of format should be used with caution: they are difficult to open on mobile media and are unattractive. They also have very little impact on SEO.

This list, of course, is not exhaustive. But above all, it allows you to see the diversity of formats to consider when putting content online, or when designing a web page.

How to choose the right format? Rand Fishkin lists 3 questions to ask yourself before designing a page or a site or before uploading any content:

  • What are Internet users looking for?
  • What formats appear in search results?
  • How to satisfy my target AND influential sites?

Choosing the right content format is fundamental to the success of a content marketing and SEO strategy, as we explained in our last article. At stake, the satisfaction of the Internet user, but also the good referencing of a website.

Rand Fishkin (MOZ SEO Specialist) reviewed several hundred search results on Google. In one of his recent Whiteboard Fridays, he lists the 10 content formats most used by sites ranked at the top of search results on Google.

How to choose the right format? Here are the 3 questions to ask yourself before designing and uploading content:

What are Internet users looking for? What is the purpose of my website?

If the primary goal of your site is only to increase the conversion rate, the number of transactions, to promote a brand or a product, the choice of content formats will take a back seat. Priority will generally be given to other parameters: ergonomics, design, user experience, etc.

But for a news site, this strategy is not the right one. Rather, it should focus on satisfying Internet users and securing a good position in search results. Sites that wish to deliver quality information must therefore put themselves in the Internet user's shoes and ask themselves what they are looking for. The answer will determine the choice of the best format:

  • Quick response to a question
  • Efficient comparison between different information, different services or different products, in order to help and guide the Internet user in his actions (purchase etc.)
  • Summary of a topic
  • Awakening the curiosity of the Internet user: get them to know more about other related subjects, or on certain points of detail
  • Professional or scientific interest
  • Exploration of a topic all round

What format appears in search results?

Examining the most commonly used formats in top Google search results is always instructive. First of all, this allows you to broaden your field of vision and identify the most relevant formats used by the competition. We can then ask ourselves whether or not to use a format that we would not necessarily have thought of:

  • Classic formats or AMP formats
  • Photo galleries, computer graphics or data visualization
  • Information articles
  • Videos
  • Immediate answers (like Google Answer boxes), most frequently asked questions, deep pages of a site. This demonstrates the interest of Internet users for rich, structured content, for faceted navigation ...
  • Sitelinks (structured data), local referencing. If Google already answers a question satisfactorily before you do, it's over. Better to change your content strategy.

How to satisfy my target AND influential sites?

Here are some important factors to consider when answering this question:

  • The medium used: desktop or mobile devices. For mobile, the content will necessarily be shorter.
  • The expectations of an Internet user. If these expectations are numerous and relate to many different subjects, it will be necessary to guide him effectively through the site and offer him perfectly structured information. In this case, the following formats will be the most suitable:
  • Guide (several pages)
  • Multiple categories
  • Interactive tools, providing an answer to the Internet user
  • Detailed lists

Analyzing search results is a prerequisite for a successful content strategy. It has many advantages:

  • Stay alert to the arrival of new formats
  • Analyze the competition, not to copy it, but to understand how to stand out. If your competitors already have an influential and well-referenced blog, for example, maybe you will be able to stand out from the crowd with a simple effective interactive tool, or a photo gallery accompanied by short texts?
  • Do not focus on the positioning of a phrase or a single keyword. But rather try to position yourself on a set of keywords or phrases highly sought after by Internet users.

In short, vary the formats and be creative. This is the best way to satisfy your target ... but also to ensure a good referencing of your site!

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