Content Teardown with Clearscope and Siege Media

What's wrong with your content? Or better yet, what's right?

Join Bernard Huang of Clearscope and Siege Media's founder + CEO Ross Hudgens as they lead us in an entertaining teardown and audit session of attendee-submitted content.

Bernard and Ross review sites live and give candid feedback about what they'd do more of—or what they'd do differently.

Top 5 takeaways from this session

Check out these fresh tips to use on your own site.

1. Text placement and size signals importance. Google is smart enough to know that if you’re using tiny text in an H1 position, it’s not the most important thing on your page.

2. Differentiation is how you’ll make more competitive content. There’s a lot of generic content on the web, and HCU updates (and SGE) deprioritize it.

3. Your meta data and H1 should align. Don’t target separate queries or search intents in your meta title and actual page title.

4. Sometimes SEO isn’t the exact right play. Got a crucial keyword that includes a brand other than your own? PPC might be the right choice for that specific query.

5. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your content. If you think ads, load speeds, or cluttered design may be affecting your rankings, run some simple tests.

Watch the full webinar

Your Content Teardown questions, answered

It was a jam-packed webinar, and there were a few attendee questions we were unable to get to. We’ve rounded up those Q&As here below.

Q: What’s the difference between how this piece of content utilizes FAQs and the ones Clearscope recommends in content reports?

A: This is an excellent question. In the wake of Google's HCU algorithm updates and Gemini rollouts, generic content is less effective in search rankings.

Clearscope adjusts to match Google's preferences, prioritizing content that effectively meets search intent. Some FAQs in this content piece are overly broad, easily addressable by AI or SGE. When considering the targeted query "[employee engagement strategies]," it's evident through quick search that users are seeking actionable ideas rather than basic definitions.

A review of Clearscope Report Research tab for this query reveals a search intent for more specific, actionable Q&As. If this piece hasn't been updated since the algorithm changes, it may be time for a refresh.

Q: How do you get your rankings from the 20-30 positions to go up?

A: Another great question. Check out How to Improve Your Google Rank: Best Practices Guide. If you still have questions after going through this guide, send us a note.

Q: What if you didn’t get to my site in this Teardown or I wanted to submit and missed the submission window?

A: We received so many submissions… and more Clearscope Content Teardowns are headed your way in the future. So please circle back.

And if we haven’t told you lately, we’re grateful you trust us with your content. You’re in good hands!

Q: What Chrome extension was Ross using for his Google search results?

A: Ahrefs, and you can find it here: https://ahrefs.com/seo-toolbar

About Bernard:

Bernard is the founder of Clearscope, the leading SEO optimization software for high-quality content teams. Before Clearscope, Bernard started an SEO consulting agency, was a growth advisor in residence at 500 Startups, and led growth at a YC startup called 42Floors.

Follow Bernard on Twitter or LinkedIn.

About Ross:

Ross Hudgens is the founder + CEO of SEO-focused content marketing agency Siege Media. His work has been featured on Moz, Search Engine Land, Forbes, AOL, and Hacker News. He is also a frequent speaker with appearances at well-known conferences MozCon, LearnInbound, SearchLove, and MNSearch, among others.

Follow Ross on Twitter or LinkedIn.

About Siege Media:

Siege Media is a 95-person SEO and content marketing agency. Siege has made the Inc. 5000 six years in a row and has worked with Asana, TripAdvisor, Casper, and Intuit among others.