How to Create Unique Content That Ranks #1

What is a Unique Content Concept?

The unique content concept relates to search engine optimization and outstands from the competition with its value and perspective. Value is what gives you an edge over the crow and pushes your blog posts or any content type higher in search engine rankings. 

Why Is Unique Content Important for Your Site and Search Engine Optimization?

There are many reasons why unique content is crucial for a site. 

1. Uniqueness fills customers with value and develops long-term relationships with them.
2. Original articles help you improve Domain Authority and boost your SEO.
3. You will get more backlinks! It is a direct indicator of value for Google.
4. Your value-charged blog posts will top search engine rankings.
5. Consistently producing unique content will help you improve your sales and conversions.

Creating Unique Content vs. Duplicate Content vs. Plagiarized

Unique (Original) Content

Creating any content types: including blog posts & articles, infographics, and white papers, requires utmost dedication. But with all the noise on digital platforms, it is worth the effort as blogs with different ideas will break the ice in competition. 

If you decide to add uniqueness by providing personal knowledge to your blog posts, your website will see significant benefits. 

Duplicate Content

Duplicate content appears on the internet in various places per single URL. So if texts appear more than once on your site, you have duplicate content. That way search engine bots struggle to understand which one is more relevant for specific queries.

For example, we do not recommend using the same texts for keyword research in all your articles. Try to use different wording and diversely present the same ideas. 

Plagiarized Content

Plagiarized content is the opposite of unique content. Some companies also prefer producing plagiarized content and trying to outsmart the algorithm. But, this effort always ends with failure as Google penalizes any site that violates its core policy and steals others' work. 

How to Create Unique Content?

When we say unique content, we don't mean that you have to reinvent the wheel. We say that you can present the subject with your uniqueness and style to get the reader's attention. 

Uniqueness is no longer nice to have. Now it is necessary to survive in the fierce competition. Your brand will only thrive in today's environment if it differentiates!

Create Persona for Content Marketing Strategy

Creating personas is essential to developing a unique content marketing strategy and understanding who your audience is. Each company should walk in the customers' shoes and understand their needs, problems, and challenges detailly.

Before you jump on identifying painpoints, you should first create the general profile of your audience. 

• Demographics - gender, age, ethnicity, income, etc
• Goals and values - what are the goals and standards or judgment they stand on?
• Behaviors - how do they act in specific situations?
• Challenges - what are the challenges they want to tackle to simplify their daily lives?
• Source of Information - what channels do they use to receive information? (Social media, digital media, tv, magazines, personal experiences)

1. Conduct market research. See what is trending on Google Trends, research your competitor content products, and do not forget to run the internal survey. 

Therefore, you will be able to pull the data regarding their needs and behaviors. 

2. Use the abovementioned insights and build customer profiles. Again, include specific demographic information (age, income) and traits (values, views, interests)

3. Once you have a clear picture of your persona, you can define other aspects of your unique content marketing strategy – tone of voice, readers guide, etc. 

Yes, indeed, it is a complex task. But you will be able to plan and produce unique content that resonates with your audience!

Keyword Research

Keyword research is an integral part of any article production. Moreover, it is the fundamental step for understanding your customers and blog idea generation. 

Content with a good keyword research background is more visible, relevant, and value-driven. Keywords are clues for google. You need keywords on your page to be relevant to what people are typing in so they find your unique content among the results.

You will also need tools like Semrush and Ahrefs to conduct thorough keyword research.

Furthermore, you should distribute keywords strategically throughout the blog to help search engine bots index your blog posts. Make sure to include keywords in:

• Meta title
• Meta description
• Alt text
• Headings
• Links anchor text
• Content text

Ideation

One of the most critical aspects of the content marketing world is taking initial steps on idea ideation. We recommend you use a hub and spoke strategy to develop article ideas and understand a single subject in 360° view.

Hub and spoke model focuses on a comprehensive pillar page that discusses several related topics. After providing some information about the subject, you transfer readers to your other article to explore the issue in-depth. 

It is a more organized brainstorming concept. Once a reader enters your webpage, you keep him engaged with several articles, never leaving your site. 

Set Up Content Calendar

Once you create the list of upcoming articles, you should find the best way to plan, produce, and measure your unique content. 

One of the best ways to tackle the challenge is by creating a content calendar. A content calendar is a simple method to coordinate all the actions and divide your workload into clear, manageable pieces.

Here are some tips for setting up a unique content calendar:

• State your goals
• Choose the platform where you will execute the calendar
• Define your content writing style guide
• List preferrable content types
• Create a list of upcoming blogs 
• Set clear goals and deadlines for each article

Create Brief

A content brief is a set of requirements and recommendations for blogs. It's like a recipe, with specific instructions on what is needed to make the final products successful. A meeting is not a content brief, and neither are your jumbled meeting notes. A good brief provides a written record of content expectations —including what should the blog cover, how it should match search intent, etc

Briefs are vital for SEO content, as they provide goals and structure for writers. Going slightly overboard than leaving out information is always better when creating briefs. And while most briefs will look different depending on the project, there are some general best practices that all briefs should follow:

Start with a primary keyword or overview of subtopics/long-tail keywords

• Questions the content should answer
• The rough outline of the content and sections
• Goals for the content
• How the writer should match search intent
• Recommended word count
• Deadlines and milestones
• Requirements for internal and external links
• Background research

While all of this might seem daunting, don't worry! We have free templates available on our website to help get you started.

Start Writing Unique Content for Blog

When it comes to creating unique content, the most important thing is to start writing. 

Many people get hung up on the details, such as what they should write about or how they should say it. However, these are things that you can figure out later top. The most important thing is to start putting words down on paper (or onto a computer screen).

It doesn't mean that you shouldn't plan your content. Planning is essential for creating high-quality content. However, don't spend too much time worrying about the small details. Just get started writing and worry about the finer points later on.

Edit the Draft & Check Unique Content

As you work on your writing, keep in mind that proofreading is not the last step of the editing process. You should expect to find errors as you go along - it's normal! However, don't let this stop you from progressing through the draft. Fix what you can as you go and save the complex fixes for later. This way, you'll at least have a complete piece to work with when it comes time for a final edit.

Promote Content

No doubt that content creation is crucial. But, coming up with a strategy to promote your pieces - blogs, articles, white papers, etc. is equally considerable. You have invested so much in your content! Thus, make sure to include promotion in your unique content production workflow. 

Companies that started producing content in the early days had a much more comfortable environment. All they did was publish blogs, as no one was competing for their place in search rankings and driving their traffic. 

Nowadays, content promotions have become an inseparable part of off-page SEO optimization, and every business tries to create as much noise as possible in the content world.

What Are the Common Mistakes People Make With Their Content and SEO?

Creating Duplicate Content

Content duplication is a common issue that can occur in several ways. For example, content may be duplicated within a website or across domains.

The most common type of duplicate content is when the same information exists on more than one page on a website. You can often resolve it by using canonical tags or 301 redirects. However, if the identical text exists on multiple websites, it can be challenging to control and may result in a poor user experience. 

Another common issue is when content is copied from other sources and presented as original work. It can range from discussion forum postings to items listed for sale in an online store. While there's nothing inherently wrong with this type of duplication, it's crucial to ensure that all information is accurate and up-to-date. Otherwise, you may end up providing opposite information to your visitors.

Not Using Keywords Strategically

One of the biggest mistakes people make with their content and SEO is not using keywords strategically. Keywords are the foundation of uniqueness and, if selected correctly, can help to increase traffic and conversions. 

Still, keyword research requires knowledge. But after a while, you understand the space, keywords, and audience. This understanding allows you to select the right keywords for your business and products.

Another mistake people often make is they create content without doing keyword research first. This value-rich piece may have great information but won't perform well if users can't find it using search engines. 

Determining keywords is challenging. There are many factors to consider as competition level, relevance, and SERP features like images or videos that may steal traffic from your site. Warning signs that you're using the wrong keywords include low click-through rates (CTRs) or impressions relative to your competition and a high number of bounces compared to the average.

Not Creating Enough Content

Many people make the mistake of not creating enough content. They believe that if they create one great piece of content and post it on their website, sites will get all the traffic and conversions they need. However, it is the opposite. Frequency does matter. 2-4 times per week provides the best results in traffic and conversions. More than 15 client websites with data from multiple studies and our experience support this finding.

Having Plagiarized Content

Plagiarism refers to taking someone else's work and passing it off as your own. It includes copying passages from any source - articles without crediting the author. 

The consequences of plagiarized work will hurt your website rankings badly, and there is a chance you will receive a ban. Search engines are that smart to detect plagiarism, and there is no chance of escape. 

You also can not hide the copy-pasting tactic from your reader, as sites with unique blogs have better domain authority and rankings. Customers will understand which is the unique content. 

Not Determining the Goal of Each Blog

Ignoring the content marketing funnel that visualizes customers' journey from the first interaction to purchase is not a good idea. All the articles you read on the web have a specific goal: to get you subscribed to a newsletter or provide you with triggering information to push you to explore more or to buy. 

Even the blogs like "Top 10 corporate blogs to follow now" has some specific influence behind them. 

The four stages of the content marketing funnel consist of awareness, evaluation, purchase, and delight. Each blog you craft should focus on that stage. 

For example, in the first stage - awareness, you should understand that your readers are maybe unaware of your company and the topic. So, try to orient more toward educating them. When writing the blog - Beginners guide to chatbots, do not act pushy and use clear words throughout the text.

The same goes for other marketing funnels. If customers trust you, they understand your unique content concept and the problem and persuade them that your products are the best fit for them. 

Not Updating the Old Content

Imagine you have written the article three years ago and did a great job. The blog was ranked, and people interacted with it. But as years passed, you did not add anything new to it. So, the content was outranked by competitors, and your readers have moved on. 

Rather than upload the new page, you should update the existing article. 

1. You will spend less time working on the article, as some part of the research and writing is already there.
2. You will get the higher quality because you will try to decorate it with more depth.
3. You will get the chance to rank higher in Google because the URL was indexed in the past and may already have backlinks and established authority. 

Tools for Exploring Unique Content Ideas

Google Trends

Google trends reflect real searches people make on Google daily. So, you can easily understand what is a trending topic in your niche and explore keyword opportunities to include in your unique content concept. 

Google trends can also display search volume for a given period with detailed geographical information. It is a free tool and a fortune for every content writer. 

SEMrush Keyword Research Tool

The SEMrush keyword research tool offers an all-in-one content marketing solution. 

With the SEMrush keyword research feature, you can identify trends, list valuable keywords for your campaign, and understand how your competition utilizes keywords.

You can also use the free feature of SEMrush. But it will also limit you to only ten searches per day. 

Ahref Keyword Explorer

Ahrefs Keyword Explorer helps you research multiple terms and receive reports based on specific phrases. The tool provides you with a huge amount of data solely on keywords and guides you to understand the following criteria geographically:

• Search volume
• Search traffic
• Keyword difficulty

Editorial Tools

Grammarly

With over 10 million active users, Grammarly has established itself as one of the best tools for writing. It allows users to check written pieces for any errors. 

The free version addresses the challenges of spelling, punctuation, and grammar, while the paid gives you stylistic and best-writing-practice suggestions.

You can use Grammarly as an app or extension of your browser and check writing on different platforms: Microsoft Word, Facebook, WordPress, etc. 

Hemingway Editor

Hemingway Editor is a desktop app for improving readability. It highlights errors such as passive voice, overuse of adverbs, and confusing or overly complex sentences. The paid version of the app is $19.99. If you are a blogger, freelance writer, or someone who simply enjoys writing as a hobby, use the Hemingway app to improve your readability grade.

Tools for Visual Content Creation

Canva

These days you do not need to be an expert graphic designer to produce the poster or image that sums up your article's main points. Canva is an exceptional tool that allows you to create pictures with drag and drop actions. Hence, the ease of use will help you save time and money on complicated tasks. 

You can design various content types in a single space

• Presentation
• Logo
• Instagram post
• Flyer
• Poster
• Certificate
• Brochure
• Infographic
• Letter
• Newsletter
• Facebook post
• Youtube thumbnail
• Photo collage

Giphy

Everyone loves gifs, and thus, many unique content creators include them in their blogs to break up the content. After reading multiple words and pages, it is always good to insert gifs to smoothen up the readers and keep them engaged.

We recommend using Giphy, an online database of animated gifs. You can smoothly search, share, and discover niche-related gifs on the internet. 

Ceros - for Infographics

Ceros is the only platform of its kind with the ability to produce experiential content at scale. That means you can create interactive infographics, videos, and more without coding or development knowledge.

All you need is a basic understanding of Ceros' easy-to-use tools. With drag and drop assets onto the canvas, you can add animations with a click of a button and preview your work in real-time. 

Unique Content Checker Tools

Even if you are sure that your writing is not plagiarized, we recommend using tools to check that nothing was unintentionally plagiarized or duplicated. 

• Copyscape -  is useful for URL search. 
• Smallseotools plagiarism checker - With the free version, you can upload the any-type of a document or copy-paste the text up to 1000 words.
• Duplichekcer - free version gives you the ability to upload various documents and check the text for plagiarism up to 1000 words.

How to Measure the Success of Your Content and SEO Efforts?

Website Traffic

Check how many visits you have in a given period and compare it to previous results. This way, you will understand how your unique content went down in SERP s and how many visitors it has pulled to your site.

Time-On Page

Time-on-page measures how long a reader spends on a particular page. It helps you understand whether people are interested in your unique content and whether they're reading it all the way through.

Time on-page is usually measured in seconds, and you can find this information by using Google Analytics. To do so, go to Behavior > Site Content > All Pages. You'll see a list of all the pages on your website, and you can see how many people visited it. 

However, it is worth mentioning that there is no standard for perfect on-page numbers. A 5000-word guide will probably have a much longer time on a page than an 800-word blog post. And 80 percent of readers might make it through that blog post versus only 20 percent who read your long guide. So be careful when comparing the content of different types and lengths of time on the page. 

Bounce Rate

The bounce rate states how often visitors stay on the same page from their initial entry. If someone clicks on a link from Google, then immediately leaves your website, that would be considered a bounce. What is the normal bounce rate? It depends on your industry and what you're trying to accomplish with your website.

You cannot judge your site based solely on its bounce rate; you must look at other important KPIs (key performance indicators) and understand the nature of your industry. 

An extremely high bounce rate of 95% could mean something is wrong with your website, but it could also mean that you're targeting the wrong audience or the content isn't relevant to them. 

Also, make sure that

• The website loading time is optimal.
• The website is mobile-friendly.
• The layout design is user-friendly.

Unique Website Visitors

A website's success is often determined by the number of unique visitors it attracts. Unique visitors are first-time website visitors for a defined period - usually a month. This count is determined by the user's IP address and cookie on the browser. So, if someone visits a website multiple times in one day, they will only be counted as one unique visitor.

Why should you care? To understand your web traffic over time. If you see a spike or lag in your unique visitor numbers, you'll want to investigate and find out what caused it. For example, were there new products or big promotions driving traffic to your site? Analysis of spikes and lags can help you plan future marketing campaigns more effectively.

F.A.Q

Conclusion

Writing unique content is not an easy ride - it consists of several steps audience research, keyword research, writing, editing, and proofreading. 

So, do not worry if sometimes you find yourself being better at one than the other. 

That's why many companies decide to bring assistance or outsource the whole content creation. For instance, at greatcontent, we work with numerous businesses and take their SEO content to a unique level. 

By pooling international writing talent, bringing in SEO experts, and carefully overseeing projects, we can ensure that your unique content outstands the competition, tops the ranking, and minimize the stress of opening up new products.