The Superpower that Makers Can Leverage To Rank On Google

There is a deficit of high-quality articles. New content creators adopt publishing routines to benefit from the unlimited reach from the internet, but most of their content is mediocre. At best, it is a decent remix of what everyone knows. This phenomenon creates a knowledge gap that few fill.

While some brands and creators perceive the absence of content, established competitors petrify them. They perceive them as wealthier, older, and trust-worthy deities and don't realize their superpower: Being young, broke, and voiceless.

"They are wealthier."

Established brands invest in frameworks that optimize for speed and a set of rules—Sacrificing innovation in the process. The result is hundreds of list articles, "tips and tricks," and interviews with experts that you and I skim over.

Most of these articles rank on Google. Not because of the novelty of their ideas but because of the lack of alternatives.

Go into your preferred publishing platform and examine your competitors:

1. Are their ideas counter-intuitive?
2. Were their ideas insightful and surprising?
3. Is there fluff, useless, or unclear content?
4. Are their ideas challenging the status quo?
5. Can anything be explained in fewer words?
6. Would images, maps, or videos enhance the reader's experience?
7. Does their content provide the necessary tools to solve a problem?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, there is an opportunity to stand out.

"They have been publishing for longer."

Search algorithms favor established brands. Unlike them, you can't rank for broad terms like plants, headphones, and project management. This challenges you to write about specific topics that few people search for—House plants for gamers, white headphones for remote tech workers, and low-cost project management software for asynchronous teams. Those unaware of SEO believe that this is a curse. It's not.

Broad, high-traffic terms come at the expense of unfit visitors.

In my experience as a content strategist, I've found that established brands favor this content for two reasons:

1. They justify their content teams through publishing frequently.
2. They are unaware of the revenue and audience potentials of specific articles.

As a result, you see luxury shoe brands writing about the latest Tik Tok dance and Marketing Agencies discussing the origin of memes. Exceptional for search traffic but useless for company finances.

Challenge yourself. Dive into in-depth, undiscussed topics that are relevant to a small crowd. They will reward you with their love, support, and income.

"They generate more trust."

People and algorithms don't tolerate low-quality articles from nobodies. Even if their thesis is outstanding, people favor posts from a well-known CEO, and algorithms prefer to rank posts from the world's biggest news site. It's frustrating, I know. But there are dozens of content frameworks to boost your trust:

1. Perform expert round-ups.
2. Show results you have achieved.
3. Deconstruct an industry concept.
4. Film yourself while doing your job.
5. Challenge the thesis of a thought leader.
6. Talk about the history of your industry or offer.
7. Make data-backed predictions of the future of your field.

All trust-generating content frameworks follow two core ideas: Prove your expertise and be related to credible sources.

I prove my ability to create content strategies by deconstructing what has worked for familiar brands. At the time of writing, close to 200 fans of the brands I'm analyzing shared three of my case studies. Unless I burned out or got bored of publishing, following this framework would be enough to build trust.

Undersupply of quality content

At the beginning of your content journey, you are young, broke, and voiceless. But you also have the freedom to be unique, specific, and recognized.

There is a demand for high-quality content that only you can satisfy. Unless scientists prove the existence of replicas, there is only one you. Hit publish.

Is there a fourth fear you would add?

Comment the fear you'd add, expand on, or remove. Also, I welcome any feedback related to my thesis on "young, broke, and voiceless" brands. It's a fun idea I wanted to share with you.

PS: You can do it through here or message me personally on Twitter @ MrNicolasForero