Building the very best content requires both dedication and focus. Your audience obviously has many choices when looking for content in virtually any niche; pleasing them is of the highest priority. This becomes easier once you learn who exactly is in your target audience, what kinds of content they prefer, and how they tend to browse the internet.

Equally important is the way that search engines perceive your content. Search engines such as Google try to emulate the desires of their users, serving up content they best feel is relevant. However, pleasing both search engines and visitors doesn’t always involve identical considerations.

Let’s take a look at how you can build a better content strategy that’ll please both of them.

Understand Your Target Audience

It should go without saying, but it is truly shocking how many brands and businesses create content without an idea of who or what they’re targeting. Search engines and people alike are joined at the hip in many ways; as search engines want to ensure the results being displayed are the most relevant for a particular SERP, targeting one entity often means targeting both.

However, pinging search engines with content cannot be done properly without first knowing exactly what your target audience desires. This relates not just to the broader topics and questions they may have, but also means finding out what angles or points of views they prefer for the content delivery, where they live, what other interests might overlap, and so forth.

Assess Your Existing Content

For brands that already have a smorgasbord of content published, looking to it is generally a good idea for learning from past mistakes. Many entities perform what are known as content audits, which can be an effective method for discovering which types of content are performing well and which ones are flopping.

Content audits are also useful in determining if there are any specific technical mishaps or methods that are affecting search engine visibility. For example, broken links, poor formatting, inferior keyword usage and off-topic content are all elements that can be uncovered with just a bit of prior research. By assessing your existing content, you’ll begin to paint a broader picture of both what search engines and audiences prefer from you, based on the level of interaction with each piece.

Produce Lasting Value

Last but not least, search engines generally value what is known as evergreen content; this is content that will continue to remain relevant for months or even years. A news article, for example, does not necessarily provide long-term value if it is disseminating time-sensitive information; evergreen content focuses on providing information, instruction or entertainment that will continue to be relevant to audiences for as long as it is published.

While some specific pieces may require occasional updates as new information within the topic becomes available, focusing on content that can continue to provide value for years will help improve rankings and appeal to your target audiences.

It’s important to remember that you’re not just pinging search engines with content: you’re also aiming to reach people. With a lot of overlapping methods, appealing to both groups may be easier than it seems – but it’s vital to remember that the primary goal of content creation is to produce real value that audiences love.