Here are 6 reasons why a Case Study can improve your SEO position.
1. ‘Case Study’ is a powerful phrase that smacks of research and careful composition. When you consider that Google’s job is to find quality content on the web to place in front of searchers, a document with Case Study in the (H1) Heading and also in the Title tag is going to flag to search engines that this is content worth prioritising.
2. As the estimable Danny Rosenberg recommends in his blog, if you put some keywords into your H1 and H2 headings, in other words your Title and Sub-title or Section headings, Google will notice them more than if you only use them in your text. So for instance, if you run a PR business that’s about rehabilitating politicians who wreck their careers by saying goofy things, a growth industry, don’t call your piece ‘Case Study – Politician back in vogue’. Instead make sure your favourite keywords are in there, so ‘Case Study – How Nick Clegg made a political comeback and became the nation’s favourite politician’ would be a good start.
3. Google likes to see web sites that are being added to regularly, not just left like fish hooks whose bait has gone stale. Just the fact that you’ve added a new article, leaving aside the content, will impress Google to pay more attention to you. Why not make a decision to add a case study to your site every month?
4. Image tags. Case studies are fantastic documents to add images to. If you insert a photo or logo make sure to tag it thoughtfully. Typically your site will ask you to give the image a Title and Description at the least. Don’t just leave the title as image.gif, or whatever the default is. Give it a Title that says what it is and that will mean something to Google. Similarly take a minute to use some meaningful words in the Description. All these things matter and may just make the difference in whether your page comes #1 or #2 in Google’s search results. That could be the difference between gaining a new client or not.
5. Name your client and her company at the end of your case study. For instance ‘This case study approved by Helen Morgan, Purchasing Manager of Hotlips Cosmetics, Inc.’ Then link Helen’s name to her LinkedIn profile and her employer to their web site. Google won’t punish you for outbound links when they are relevant and in proportion to the text. But the credibility of your piece will be considerably enhanced when readers can see that Helen is a real person, not just a name you’ve conjured up.
6. If your service involves delivery of a product, for instance if you design and install kitchens, then a 360 degree photo added to your case study can boost your web traffic by an average 22%, according to Robert Steepleton of Business Photos 365.
