Simple SEO Tips to Improve Your Product’s Help Content
Crafting product help content that actually helps your users and is easy to find on search engines is essential for any business. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can make a big difference in how visible and helpful your technical writing content is. In this post, I'll describe some straightforward SEO best practices for your user-friendly product manuals, guides, and help content that both your audience—and search engines—will appreciate.
1. Understand What Your Audience Needs
The prime directive for all technical writing (all writing, really) is empathy. In the same way that you put yourself in your users' place to determine what help they need to use your product, you also should consider what they would search for when seeking help with your product from a search engine.
Use simple language and think about the sorts of words they would use. For many small businesses, tools like Google Keyword Planner can help you find common search terms related to your product. Or, if you’re a larger business, enterprise SEO platforms like Conductor can help you dig into audience intent while also providing a slew of other resources and tools for managing your online presence.
2. Create Clear and Catchy Titles
Titles tags are essential for both users and search engines. They provide your audience and the search engine a chance to see that your content can help them with their problems. Include your main keywords in the title, but keep it simple and engaging. Make sure your title gives a clear idea of what the content is about and encourages users to read more.
Consider Titles Like:
"Your Guide to [Product Name]: Easy Tips and Troubleshooting"
"Mastering [Product Name]: A User-Friendly Manual"
"Confused About [Product Name]? A Step-by-Step Guide to Help!"
3. Write Friendly and Informative Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions are short summaries about your page that appear in search results. They don't affect your ranking directly, but they can encourage people to click on your content. Keep your meta descriptions brief, around 150-160 characters, and provide a clear overview of what your audience can expect.
Here are some example meta descriptions:
"Find simple tips and troubleshooting solutions for [Product Name] in our user-friendly guide. Master [product] in no time."
"Discover step-by-step workflows to help you become an expert in using [Product Name]. Start troubleshooting now"
"Confused about [Product Name]? Our guide simplifies everything for you. Get the answers you need today."
4. Prioritize User Experience (UX)
Make your content easy to read and navigate. Use the following elements to break down complex information:
Clear headings.
Bullet points.
Images.
(See what I did there?)
Provide straightforward instructions and consider using videos when they would be helpful. The more user-friendly your content is, the more likely people will find it helpful and stay on your page.
5. Link to Related Content on Your Website
“Internal linking” is simply linking to other relevant pages on your website. This helps users find more useful information and indicates to search engines that your content is relevant and valuable to users searching for help.
When you mention a related topic in your product help content, provide a link to a more in-depth guide on that topic.
6. Optimize Images and Videos
Visuals can greatly improve the usefulness of your content, but they need to be optimized for SEO. Use descriptive filenames for your images, and add alt text that explains what the image is about. This helps search engines understand your visuals and makes your content more accessible to all users.
7. Ensure Mobile-Friendly Content
With many people using smartphones and tablets, it's crucial to make sure your product help content looks good on smaller screens. Test your content on different devices to ensure a seamless experience for all users.
8. Keep Your Content Updated
Regularly update your product help content to keep it relevant and accurate. New features or changes to your product may require updates to existing documentation. Few things are more frustrating to a user that trying to navigate user guides that don’t reflect what they are seeing in your product.
And of course, address common user questions and feedback to improve the quality of your content continually.
Summing it up…
Create product help content that is not only helpful to your users but also easy to find on search engines. Providing value to your users and staying relevant to them and to search engines is fundamental to SEO success.
If you want more information about title tags, meta descriptions, and other SEO fundamentals? Check out the Conductor Academy.
