User-generated content (UGC) is an extremely effective and attractive option if you want to produce a highly successful, long-term SEO strategy. Not only is it created automatically and consistently, but UGC also leverages psychology economics through the power of herd behaviour and popularity to deliver tangible results.
But what is user-generated content and how can you make it work for you?
What is user-generated content?
User-generated content (UGC), also known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content – images, videos, text, audio etc. – that has been posted by users on online platforms.
For the purposes of SEO, content such as customer ratings and reviews as well as product questions and answers (Q&A) has the most potential. After all, it’s the most trusted and credible content you can have, according to both Google and online shoppers, because it comes from independent third parties.
What’s more, it’s packed full of keywords and phrases that are directly related to your products and website. These same keywords and phrases tend to be extremely diverse and highly valued by search engines.
How to make ratings and reviews work for your SEO strategy
Product and seller reviews provide keyword-rich UGC both on- and off-page. But there’s a difference between the two…
- Seller reviews – This is ‘top of the funnel’ content as it typically creates more visibility and traffic to your website. They are collected and syndicated by trusted 3rd party review platforms, showing up in a variety of strategic locations online.
- Product reviews – This can directly influence every stage of the sales funnel. Along with strategic locations online, product reviews can also be actively displayed on your category and individual product pages to educate and influence more customers.
How to make questions and answers work for your SEO strategy
With question and answer content, you can address the issues your customers have about your products or services. When done correctly and marked up with the proper code, Q&A content will organically improve your individual page rankings and could even qualify for Google’s Featured Snippets.
There are a number of other ways Q&A content can boost your SEO:
- Increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) – Q&A can create more search optimised copy in more places to drive better traffic, improving your site’s authority and visibility.
- Reduce Return Rates – By answering more of your customer’s questions before they buy, you will eliminate concerns and set the right expectations once they receive their order.
- Reduce Support Costs – Q&A content creates less work for support in the future as new customers can simply look up the right answer on the product page before they buy.
- Get More Leads – Every new question that is asked could be put behind a form, giving you all the information you need to follow up and increase your sales.
- Improve Sales and Conversions – Q&A content predisposes visitors to buy, based either on your answer to their question, or your answer to a previous customer’s question.
