The 9 Best SEO Content Types That Boost Your Ranking
Every business wants the same thing: Growth. From social media marketing to paid advertising and even traditional marketing, there are plenty of ways to achieve your goals, but SEO continues to be one of the best strategies around.
In 2024 alone, Google processed an average of 14 billion searches per day, and when you can create high-quality content that addresses each searcher's pain points, you can look forward to long-term growth.
The problem? Knowing which content types will offer the most SEO value for your website.
In this post, I'll reveal nine types of SEO content that consistently deliver results. From informational content to local content and interactive content, integrating these into your strategy is a smart move.
1: Blogs and Articles
They may be the OGs of content marketing, but blogs/articles still play a key role in any content marketing strategy. Not only are they highly popular with readers, but blog posts can also help your website climb up the search engine results pages.
According to Social Media Today, 73% of people read blogs regularly, making them invaluable for growing and established brands.
The problem? Many brands create content for the sake of creating content, instead of factoring in the most important thing: everything you create should offer genuine value to the reader.
This means aligning with search intent, providing original perspectives, and staying on topic. Understanding how to write a blog post can be challenging, but once you nail down your strategy and learn the best practices, it gets a lot easier.
Listicles
We all love listicles because they provide actionable information in a digestible format. You can focus on Top X lists, X Best Habits, or create a unique reverse post. For example, X Ways to Destroy Your Brand.
As you can see from this screenshot, listicles regularly dominate the search results.
How-To Guides
In a world where digital marketing is less about selling and more about nurturing your target audience, how-to guides are one of the most important blog content types. These guides often feature long-form content, providing readers with in-depth information.
They can include tips on choosing products, marketing your small business, or using a product.
Interviews
Interviews are a highly unused type of content that can elevate your SEO strategy. Google cares about authority, and if you have access to industry experts, interviewing them will make your content stand out.
There are also opportunities to interview previous customers, which gives your audience a chance to see how your brand might benefit them.
Top Tip: When planning a blog post, look at which content is ranking and assess what you can do better. Explore other top blog writing tips.
2: White Papers
White Papers are another underused resource, with video content becoming more popular. However, don't ignore their unique benefits, as many B2B brands still use them to showcase industry knowledge and establish thought leadership.
A 2025 Forrester Report revealed that 78% of decision makers are more likely to trust B2B companies that produce white papers. Why? Because it builds trust.
B2B marketing requires a long-term approach. If you can demonstrate your knowledge and provide an audience with unique insights, they're more likely to consider you when it's time to invest in a product or service.
5 Popular White Paper Ideas:
Thought Leadership: Picking trending or evergreen topics in your industry and covering them in detail.
Educational: These white papers are similar to how-to guides, but they often go into more detail.
Market Research: Market research white papers are highly popular, as they provide valuable insights. Plus, readers will often link to them.
Technical: If you have a complex product, technical white papers provide instructions on how to get the most out of it.
Visionary: While thought leadership papers look at the past, present, and future, visionary papers are all about blue-sky thinking.
3: Landing Pages
Landing pages play a starring role in PPC campaigns, but they're also beneficial for your SEO content strategy. As the name suggests, these pages are what your audience lands on when they're searching for information or solutions to their problems.
While a blog post or traditional website page often features multiple internal and external links, landing pages have a clear, single action in mind. This can be asking people to sign up for a newsletter, add a product to their cart, or book a consultation.
When implemented correctly, they can improve SEO performance and boost conversion rates.
Tips for Creating Great Landing Pages:
Keyword Integration: Landing pages can—and should—rank organically, so remember to use relevant keywords. However, you should focus on providing conversion-focused content and avoid keyword stuffing.
Value Proposition: Your visitor should instantly understand what you're offering and how it might benefit them. Refine your value proposition and keep it simple.
Matching: Always match your landing page copy to the visitor's search intent. You're there to solve their problems, so avoid going off topic.
One Goal: As mentioned earlier, landing pages should have one clear goal and a single action. For example, if the page is advertising a free lead magnet, your CTAs should only focus on that lead magnet.
Visuals: Adding visuals to your written content can make it more appealing and potentially improve your SEO rankings. Wherever possible, use tools like Canva to create custom and branded visuals.
4: Infographics
Infographics are great examples of both visual and short-form content. Instead of providing a list of statistics or tips, they simplify it into digestible graphics. Why do people love infographics?
Well, they're great for presenting complex information, are one of the most shared content forms on social media, and are easier to digest. And let's face it, they're also fun to create.
As you can see from this infographic, the visual content takes industry research and transforms it into something that everyone can easily understand.
But What About SEO?
I hear you! If content for SEO involves finding and strategically inputting keywords, then how can infographics be effective? Well, following these tips will help you optimize your infographic and enhance its reach:
Introductions: Create concise but optimized introductions that explain what the infographic is about and how your audience can benefit from it.
Alt Text: Image alt text is integral to SEO, and you can add keywords here. However, make sure they're relevant to the images.
Backlinks: The main types of SEO are technical, on-page, and off-page. Backlinks can give your off-page SEO a boost because people often link to them. In turn, this means that your other web pages will achieve more visibility.
5: Videos
Nobody can ignore the mighty video. According to Saga Pixel, brands that incorporate videos into their content marketing strategies typically achieve a 40% increase in organic search traffic.
A high percentage of people are visual learners, which means they're more likely to view a video. While videos require more time and resources, many would agree that the initial effort leads to long-term results.
If you want to achieve maximum reach, create evergreen content blog posts and give audiences the option to watch a video instead.
The Best Types of Video Content for Improved Organic Rankings:
How-To Guides: These videos directly answer how-to queries and will rank in rich snippets or video carousels.
Product Demos & Reviews: Ask influencers to review your products or showcase them. People love product demonstration videos, as they provide visual support.
Explainers: Simplify complex topics or services to enhance understanding and increase engagement.
Testimonials & Case Studies: Social proof is an important component of SEO success, and these videos provide it, as long as they're authentic. You can also make user-generated content more visually appealing (e.g., turning text testimonials into videos).
Thought Leadership: Video thought leadership content on your website and social channels establishes your brand as an industry authority.
Behind-the-Scenes: Create a connection with your audience by showing what goes on behind the scenes.
6: Case Studies
Getting people onto your website is just one stop along the conversion journey. To make a profit and achieve lasting growth, you'll need to turn those visitors into customers/clients.
Case studies are one of the best types of content for SEO because they're keyword-rich and showcase the results and positive impact of your products or services.
However, case studies should always be authentic and feature data-led content. You don't want to overstate your results, because it can damage your brand's reputation.
Instead, focus on what you've achieved and the lasting impact it's had. Most importantly, show your results. Nobody likes bold claims without proof.
The Anatomy of a Fantastic Case Study:
Inspired Title: A benefit-focused title is key here. You want to immediately hook your readers. For example, “How [Your Company] Helped [Client Name] Achieve X% Growth"
Executive Summary: Provide a high-level overview of your case study. Describe the challenge, propose a solution, and provide a brief summary of the results. This ensures that busy people can get an overview.
Client Introduction/Background: Tell your readers about the client, including their industry, size, and other information that’s relevant.
The Challenge/Problem: Now it’s time to clearly define the client’s pain points and how they have impacted them.
The Solution: Explain what you did to address the problem, the steps you took, and why you chose the approach. Be cautious with jargon, unless your target audience is highly technical.
The Results: Showcase what you achieved and provide proof through screenshots or reports. Ensure that you clearly explain how these results benefited the client.
Client Testimonial/Quote: Ask the client for a quote or testimonial to enhance credibility.
Call to Action: Provide a clear CTA so your readers know what to do next. For example, “Book A Consultation”, “Request A Demo”, or “Read the Full Report”.
7: Short-Form Content
It's no secret that our society has an attention span issue, and it's easy to see why. With constant distractions from digital devices and an always-on mindset, many people lack the time—or the inclination— to read long-form pillar content.
So, while it's still essential, you should also focus on short-form content. For example, social media posts, visuals, and reels can drive more visitors to your website, which improves your organic rankings.
You can use a range of content formats, including short posts, reels, stories, and live feeds. Just remember to keep it relevant to your brand.
8: Digital PR
Digital PR isn’t exclusively a type of SEO content, but it works in conjunction with your organic strategy to help you achieve lasting results. From press releases to guest posting and securing links in authoritative publications, the right PR strategy can supercharge your search engine rankings.
For a start, you can generate valuable backlinks, which improve your off-page SEO, while also establishing brand authority. Think of it like this: if a brand features in an industry-recognised publication, audiences will view that brand as more credible than one with links in low authority publications.
When your brand gets mentioned across different platforms, it expands your reach and can lead to direct searches. You can also look forward to more referral traffic and the opportunity to distribute your content across diverse sources.
Securing mentions and citations from high-authority domains will also improve your chances of being featured in AIOs and cited as resources by AI Models.
Local SEO
If your brand operates within its local community, digital PR provides you with the opportunity to become a go-to resource. By securing placements in local publications, you can attract new customers and clients while also building a solid reputation.
For example, if you get involved in community events or sponsor a local non-profit organisation, it can make a significant difference to how people perceive your brand.
9: Interactive Content
You can also use SEO content to boost the amount of time people spend on your website, which results in higher rankings. The best way to do this? By creating interactive content that people can actively engage with.
Users don't just read or view the content; they take actions to engage with it, including answering questions, playing games, completing self-assessments, and using calculators.
Top Performing Interactive Content Types:
Quizzes: Free personality tests, knowledge quizzes, or assessments.
Calculators: Cost calculators, product comparison calculators.
Data Visualisations: Visualisations and interactive infographics are valuable content types, as people can click on them to learn more.
Games: You'll often find that brands use games as social media content, but they can also increase conversion rates.
The Bottom Line: SEO and Content Marketing Go Hand in Hand
Content creation is one of the most rewarding yet challenging tasks for any brand, no matter its size or budget.
But when you choose the right piece of content for each goal, you can look forward to higher Google search results and the opportunity to turn website visitors into conversions.
From cornerstone content to interactive quizzes and short-form posts, there are plenty of ways to get creative...so what are you waiting for?
P.S. - If you need some help with your content strategy or the content creation process, I specialise in working with small to medium business owners just like you. Please get in touch with me today for more information.
FAQs
What Content is Good For SEO?
Quality content that aligns with search intent and clearly addresses the reader's needs is good for SEO. It's not so much about the type of content you create, but how you create it.
Whether you're focusing on case study content on your site, digital PR for your local SEO strategy, or creating shareable content on social media, quality is the most important factor.
Here's how to boost your website visibility in search results:
Answer the searchers' questions and stay on topic.
Provide original insights and research.
Use SEO techniques wisely and avoid stuffing.
Remember to factor in UX (user experience).
Should I create different types of SEO content?
Absolutely. Effective SEO content is diverse and aligns with the wants and needs of your audience. Wherever possible, you should create a combination of long-form content, shorter content, visual content, and interactive content.
Why is on-page SEO vital for my content strategy?
On-page SEO is a key element of your SEO strategy as it:
On-page SEO is vital for your content strategy because:
It signals relevance
It boosts rankings
It improves user experience
It increases click-through rates
It's the foundation for your off-page SEO
