What Is Human-First SEO?

If there’s one marketing strategy that applies to all businesses across every industry, it’s search engine optimization (SEO). These days, search engines like Google control the flow of traffic on the internet, so if you’re not ranking on the first page, it’s almost as if your website doesn’t exist. The much-discussed Google Algorithm is in charge of what gets the top spot (that and ad spend), meaning many marketers try to placate the algorithm when creating content or updating landing pages.

While that may seem like a winning tactic initially, it won’t pay off in the long run. Instead, one of the best advanced SEO content strategies is to invest in human-first content marketing. People are the ones reading and engaging with your content, not algorithms. But how can you take a human-first approach? Let’s break it down.

What is Human-First SEO?

As the name suggests, human-first SEO means appealing to the people who find your site through search engines. If someone clicks on a link to your landing page, your content should satisfy some core expectations, including:

• Relevance – The landing page should be relevant to what the user was searching for.
• Added Value – The page should add value to the user’s experience so they want to engage with it.
• Easy to Consume – Attention spans are shrinking, so you have to appeal to your audience as quickly as possible. Content that is easily scanned and read is much more engaging than pieces with walls of text and no visual elements.

Overall, if you can hit these three targets with each content piece, you’ll see an improvement in your web traffic. However, that doesn’t mean you should still ignore other advanced SEO content strategies like keywords and title tags.

The Disconnect Between SEO Strategies and Audiences

In the early days of optimization, keywords were king. Having the right number of keywords (and derivatives) meant you’d rank higher in search results and get more traffic. Unfortunately, while Google’s algorithm has become far more sophisticated in recent years, many SEO strategists are stuck in the past.

Don’t get us wrong; keywords are still vital for SERP rankings. However, they’re not as crucial as some marketers believe. In many cases, a company will take a “cookie-cutter” approach to SEO by adding as many relevant keywords as possible to a piece of content. However, they’re ignoring the human element, which boils down to this:

“Why should anyone actually engage with your content?”

A visitor doesn’t care how many keywords you use. Instead, they care about whether the content satisfies their search intent. Most users won’t even notice specific keywords unless they sound bizarre or artificial.

Ultimately, the disconnect is that you may still rank relatively high on SERPs with a keyword-heavy approach, but you won’t get many conversions or user engagement. Since these metrics affect your bottom line the most, you need to focus on SEO strategies that improve them.

How to Write Human-First Content

The easiest way to craft human-first content is to put yourself in the position of a site visitor. The more you can understand user search intent, the easier it is to create content that appeals to their needs. Developing buyer personas can help immensely because it allows you to get into the right mindset.

Here are some core tips and tricks for valuable, conversion-worthy, human-first content.

• Answer the User’s Question as Quickly as Possible – One thing to keep in mind is that SEO marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. The goal isn’t to convert every site visitor the first time. The goal is to provide valuable content so visitors are more likely to come back. So, content should be upfront and informative. Users shouldn’t have to scroll and search for what they need.
• Don’t Sell – This tip may seem counterintuitive at first, but consumers are much savvier today, meaning they can spot a sales pitch immediately. If you’re pushing your products or services too hard, visitors will bounce quickly. Instead, present your product as a solution without “selling” it. Let the customer make up their mind.
• Focus on Value – There’s a reason someone clicked on your link and visited your landing page. That reason may be to find out information about a specific topic. Or, the reason might be to compare the prices of a product. Make sure your human-first content adds value to this experience. For example, if someone is comparison shopping, maybe your content could compare other similar products for them.

The Impact of Human-First Content

In March of 2024, Google announced an update to its algorithm that aimed to remove “low-quality” content from SERPs. This update was designed to ensure that valuable, engaging content ranks higher than spammy, keyword-heavy pieces.

In short, Google announced it was favoring human-first content.

If that’s not enough of a selling point, there’s another reason why this type of content can boost your rankings and get you into the top spot: AI-enhanced search results.

As you’ve probably noticed, most Google results these days include an “AI Overview” above all organic search results. The goal of this overview is to provide valuable information for users so they don’t have to leave Google. However, the overview also links source articles and content to back up whatever it’s saying.

So, if your content is valuable and engaging to your audience, it will likely show up as a link in this overview. Because this section supersedes all other results, getting into it can make a huge difference in your site traffic.

The only downside is that human-first content is hard to scale and requires more critical thinking (more than AI writing programs can provide). However, investing in higher-quality content marketing can yield substantial returns over time.

The Difference Between Algorithm-First and Human-First SEO

If you’re unsure whether you’re developing algorithm-first SEO or human-first SEO, here are some factors to consider:

• Keyword-First Approach – Low-quality content starts with a set of keywords and tries to incorporate them as much as possible. High-quality content focuses on user intent first (based on a primary keyword) and then adds relevant keywords afterward.
• Burying the Value – If you’ve ever searched for a recipe online, you know how annoying it is to scroll through pages of content to find what you need. Put the value at the top and let users decide whether to dive deeper.
• Content Checklist – While it’s good to have an idea of what to include in your content, don’t focus as much on checking off boxes. Again, build each piece based on user intent and add technical SEO elements later.

Modern SEO Strategies for Better Content

If you’re not sure how to improve content or your search rankings, don’t worry. For better content and SEO strategies that will set you apart from the competition, contact CSP today. We understand what it takes to engage with your audience and elevate your content beyond surface-level keyword baiting. Start seeing better search rankings sooner with help from CSP.