The Google Plugin strategy – your secret SEO weapon

Do you want to win in SEO? Well, then this new system is for you.

I call it the “Google Plugin strategy” or the “Neil Patel strategy”. You’re about to find out how it can boost your rankings!

What is the Google Plugin strategy?

It’s not enough for SEOs to create acceptable user experiences any more. Anyone serious about topping the ranks must develop comprehensive answers to user queries, according to Google’s E-A-T guidelines:

E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The concept comes from Google’s Search Quality Rater guidelines, and it became well known after the infamous Medic Update in August 2018. E-A-T is one factor that Google uses to evaluate the overall quality of a web page.

In the context of an entire website, this can be very demanding. The excitement of topping the ranks can wash away in the deluge of tasks set before you. So, where do you even start?

I follow a set plan that shows me how to rank for any keyword. My Google Plugin strategy boils down the content optimization process into three stages:

1. Analyse everything that is returned regarding SERP results for a keyword (text, images, video, rich results, featured snippets, etc.)
2. Create a better version of this information on your website and “plug it” into Google

It seems simple, but it’s an advanced SEO strategy to beat your keyword competitors. Next, I’ll tell you what it can do for you.

Why Do You Need the Google Plugin Strategy?

Unfortunately, “good enough” pages don’t cut it any more, but thorough answers to user queries that win the day.

You need to understand everything your competitors are doing right. Then, beat them at their own game. You need to live by this rule.

The Google Plugin strategy makes that simple. My plan will help you revolutionize your content production. It’s a comprehensive plan to create 10x content that wallops competing sites.

Here’s what you’ll get out of it:

Higher Rankings

The Google Plugin strategy guarantees better rankings through better content. You’ll create pages that Google loves by learning to develop the best answer to user searches.

Advanced Content Gap Analysis

While content gap analysis isn’t new to SEO, I don’t see the community taking it to its full potential.

However, the plugin strategy beats competitors wherever they fall short. It’s foolproof for spotting gaps in your opponent’s content and taking advantage.

A Refresh Strategy

Most content marketers don’t use article refreshes to their full potential. I’m constantly seeing sites push out great content, only to let it rot and become outdated.

To make sure you’re consistently nurturing your evergreen content, it helps to create systems for updating and refreshing content that hasn’t been touched lately. This is particularly important if it’s seeing declining traffic, rankings, or conversions (and definitely if it’s all three). That ends with the plugin strategy. Your content will be fresh as ever and adored by Google following my scheme.

Organic Backlinks

The plugin strategy will help you create content so good other sites can’t help but link to it. When you’re creating the best articles out there, you’ll earn natural referrals.

The Plugin Strategy: Step by Step

This part is where the fun begins! I’ll break down each step of the Google Plugin strategy for you. You’ll know everything you need to get started by the end of this section.

1. Choose Your Keyword and Google It

It starts with your target keyword: the search phrase for which you want to rank. Once you have that figured out, pop it in the Google search.

2. Analyse Top Ranking Results

Now’s when the Google Plugin Strategy works its magic. It’s time to analyse the results Google provides for your keyword.

With these results, you’ll understand what works when ranking for your keyword. Then, we’ll “plug in” all that information into your page.

Type of Article/Page

Pay close attention to the pages Google is returning for your keyword. Those pages will show search intent, especially if the keyword has a lot of coverage.

For example, I’ll search for the term “SEO tools” and I’ll find one kind of page in the top results: listicles. This consensus means searchers like listicles the best, so we should make one too.

Searcher Intent

The types of articles Google returns will also be a key indicator of user intent. In the above example, we see a clear sign of commercial research.

The articles listed feature free and paid SEO tools. Free tools show people aren’t ready to buy anything and likely prefer free tools. However, the paid tools show that searchers will buy if they have to.

That’s the information we need to plug in to a hypothetical article targeting “SEO tools.” Using the information you’ve gathered, list the best SEO tools, both free and paid. A listicle like that will best match searcher intent.

Article Structure

Next, look at the structure of the articles found in your search. Notice how they organize headings to present information as efficiently as possible.

Going back to our “SEO tools” example, we’ll see most of the articles are structured as a heading + sub-heading list. A table of contents, of sorts.

You also might see some articles dividing it up into more specific sections, like free and paid.

Media

Media—such as pictures, videos, and audio clips—play a massive role in SEO success.

Rich content conveying information makes for a great user experience, which Google loves. So pay close attention to the media in articles ranking for your keyword.

For example, maybe infographics are present. Take that as a cue to include one on your page. Perhaps there are videos explaining the article’s content? Consider creating one yourself.

Article Length/Word Count

You should pay attention to the average word count of articles ranking for your keyword. Article length is a good indicator of how much information is required to answer the user’s question comprehensively.

Let’s say you’re targeting the keyword “email outreach.” The average word count for pieces ranking for that is 5,000. In that scenario, your chances of ranking with an article smaller than 5,000 are slim; searches have indicated they want an exhaustive presentation of the subject.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Content pros use FAQs to present widely searched info to readers quickly. They’re added to the end of articles to answer any remaining questions the user may have.

If you notice FAQs being a standard fixture in competing pages, it’s good to include one yourself.

Structured Data

You need structured data to make sure search engines can understand your site. Search engines present information on web pages in dynamic ways using structured data. Rich results can also present how-to guides, product information, events, videos, and more.

Search for food recipes or products or services and notice the extra ratings, the prices and additional features below the search results snippet. You can see how structured data can make a big difference with all those cool features. So, it’s essential to see how your competitors use structured data and use it for yourself.

Content

Note all the information presented in articles ranking for your keyword. It’s easy to get caught up in the big picture of the topic and miss all the minute details, making each piece unique.

Do they have lots of quotes, research, and unique insight? Make sure your pieces are rocking all those bells and whistles.

Core Web Vitals

Last — and certainly not least — let’s discuss the Core Web Vitals (CWVs) defining the technical performance of top pages. If you don’t know, Core Web Vitals are a set of three metrics Google uses to measure a website’s performance:

1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
2. First Input Delay (FID)
3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Core Web Vitals are a great way to make sure your pages are loading quickly for visitors. If your CWV tests are returning poor results, you’ll find your rankings suffer. After all, it doesn’t matter how great your content is if users can’t load it.

Lighthouse is a WordPress performance tuning plugin, removing lots of default WordPress behaviour, such as filters, actions, injected code, native code and third-party actions.

No Stone Left Unturned 

Don’t stop there. Look for anything else that can add value. Tables, charts, industry studies, facts, data and more…

3. Plug in the Information

Now that you’ve analysed the competition for your keyword, it’s time to apply everything you’ve learned. Review the observations you’ve made and plug each of them into your content.

4. Update Your Pages Often

A core principle of the Google Plugin strategy is that it’s not one-and-done; it’s ongoing. Google’s mission is to provide the best information possible; freshness is a huge part of that.

So, you need to plug in new and improved information into your web pages. Otherwise, Google will bump pages with fresher content over your own.

Use the strategies in the first three steps, updating based on how competitive the keyword is.

For example, less competitive keywords only need quarterly or monthly updates. However, ultra-competitive keywords will need new plugins weekly, if not daily.

5. Build Links to Your Pages

As superb as your content might be, nothing says “authoritative” to Google like backlinks. There’s no alternative to the rankings boosts backlinks provide.

High-quality content will naturally receive links, but that can be a years-long process. To turn the wheels of link building faster, you’ll need a good outreach strategy to earn those placements.

Conclusion

The greatest SEO trick is providing the best answer to the user question. So, in creating the Google Plugin strategy, I wanted a blueprint for always doing that.

The Google Plugin strategy is the perfect intersection of hard and intelligent work. While it’ll need some elbow grease on your part, it’s a recipe for success in an increasingly competitive field.