There is a market for children’s content on the web, but the sheer size of it may surprise some in the marketing industry; research by The Economist has found that up to 90% of 15 year old children own a smartphone.
Changing the User Experience
If websites change up just one aspect of their SEO strategy for appealing to children, that aspect should be user experience. Experts having their say in Forbes agreed that user experience is more important than ever, and it goes without saying that the user experience adults desire is likely far removed from what children want. Switching the basic content to appeal to children is the most straightforward way about this.
Consider, for example, tailoring a website to a younger audience. The use of graphics, simple English and easily followed info graphics is likely to reduce your bounce rate. Consider the value of the content on your website, too – what is an appropriate online experience for children? Increasingly, social responsibility is tied in with online content. Enabling children to learn about budgeting, and what the web can do to help that, and asserting online safety are two important aspects of this. Focusing on this theme of responsibility can aid your user experience.
Harnessing Video
Video is already the most important media source. When it comes to children, however, it has an added layer of importance. Video is, rightly or wrongly, consumed on huge levels by children worldwide. One study, reported in Quartz, estimates that 50% of under 8s in America owned a smartphone, and that the majority of these children viewed video media over any other one source. Harnessing this responsibly is key to amending your SEO strategy for children’s content. Make use of fast-loading and engaging video at regular intervals to find your way up the ranking.
Sticking to the Script
A 100% content change will do a lot of harm to your SEO ranking. This is the opinion echoed by experts, including Forbes-rated top 10 marketer Neil Patel. Hard work gone into generating a buzz for your work and finding your way up the ranking will be destroyed by completely overhauling your content.
Take incremental changes to your web pages and start there. A video here, or recoloring there. A simple thematic change may be effective in pulling in initial new numbers. Over time, changing the overall experience of your content will come, but it’s better to make consistent and incremental changes instead of making wholesale changes. Provide a hint to the algorithm that this is a page for children, but don’t forget that you still need to feature in those rankings to continue your digital growth.
A website geared towards children has a different set of criteria for success than one tailored only to adults. How this manifests in SEO is through an acceleration of current trends; the user experience should be better and the use of video more pronounced. Despite this, any changes should be incremental, to preserve work that has gone before.
About the Author: Lucy Thompson
Lucy is a professional freelance writer. When not writing or driving, Lucy enjoys reading, hiking and spending time with her husband and two children.
