🗒️ Overview
- How to optimize your content creation and internal links
- How Forbes shows E-E-A-T
- How smaller niches can compete with massive websites
How does Forbes keep ranking for everything? We want to know (so we can do it too). In this week’s episode, we sit down with former Forbes SEO strategist Shawn Hill, to explore the secrets behind Forbes’ SEO success.
Forbes’ Content Organization and Planning
Forbes releases 20-50 pieces every single month. To meet the demands of their content production, they hire freelance writers and editors who work together with SEO strategists. The SEO strategists provide highly detailed content briefs with specific instructions for optimization. That means that after the editing process, they can publish content without a final quality assurance step.
Similar to running multiple niche sites under one domain, Forbes organizes their content creation by categorizing their articles. To maximize their potential to attract targeted organic traffic, their content planning process is done quarterly, with a strong emphasis on keyword research to identify valuable opportunities.
Optimizing Content and Internal Links
Another way to boost your rankings and drive targeted traffic? Redirect old information articles with a high number of linkable domains to relevant commercial pages.
To optimize content effectively, identify important pages for updates. Compare competitor pages and update content based on the information gap, focusing primarily on pages that bring in the most revenue.
Link Building
When it comes to link building, Forbes uses well-researched PR pieces and statistics pages. These pages feature original surveys and external statistics that add significant value to their content.
Internal linking plays a vital role in Forbes’ SEO strategy, and their team actively works on rebalancing internal links to favor important pages all the time.
Shawn found that typically, people who were more keyword focused with their internal links usually won. And you can be successful by spamming anchor text quite heavily in internal links.
Pay Attention to Detail
Execution is key to success in SEO, and implementing best practices consistently across pages is crucial to building and maintaining organic traffic.
Forbes pays meticulous attention to small details in their SEO strategy to maximize results. This includes updating product descriptions and features, adding FAQs, and optimizing content to match user intent.
E-E-A-T
Love them or hate them, you can’t deny that the strategies Forbes use are effective for ranking and driving traffic.
Forbes places great importance on E-E-A-T, and they’ve built their authority and expertise over a long time. They’re a trusted source because they focus on research, expertise, and unbiased content creation. This approach, together with their wide coverage of topics, has earned them Google’s recognition and rewards.
Shawn stressed the importance of striking a balance between SEO optimization and showcasing expertise. Building links and establishing a strong brand presence, along with optimization efforts, will contribute to long-term success in SEO.
Competing with Large Websites
To compete with larger websites entering smaller niches, focus on topical authority, creating a strong brand presence, and building relevance and authority through backlinks. By establishing expertise in a specific area, it becomes easier to attract targeted organic traffic.
While it’s true that Google’s algorithm may currently favor big sites, there could be a shift in the future. AI-powered ranking factors could prioritize quality and user experience over website size, which will benefit smaller sites that offer substantial value.
