What kind of content can serve both users and search engines?

Chapter 4: Content Marketing · Question 51

Many people treat "writing for users" and "writing for search engines" as two separate things, and even consider them contradictory. In reality, search algorithms after 2024 have become highly aligned with the idea that "content users find good = content search engines find good." The real contradiction isn't users vs. search engines, but ratherlazy content vs. thoughtful content。

What do users want? What do search engines want?

You'll notice that the answers in both columns are almost different expressions of the same thing.

Characteristics of content that serves both sides

1. Authentic answerssearch intent, not just keyword stuffingKeyword。 For example, when users search "Xiaohongshu (RED)how to grow followers", they don't want a 500-word conceptual explanation—they want specific steps, case screenshots, and reusable templates.
2. Present information in a structured way. Use tables to compare the pros and cons of options, numbered lists for steps, and bold text to highlight key conclusions—users can grasp the key points at a glance, and search engines can more easily understand the content structure.
3. Has unique value (information gain). If what you write is already covered in the first three pages of Baidu, the search engine has no reason to rank you. Adding your own hands-on data, customer cases, and exclusive viewpoints is what truly constitutes "incremental information."
4. Complies withE-E-A-Tprinciples. Label author identity, showcase industry experience, and cite authoritative data sources—this both earns readers' trust and satisfies search engines' quality assessment.

A practical example

Suppose you are the marketing lead at a SaaS company and want to write an article about "customer success management":

• ✗ Pure SEO thinking: stuffing keywords like "customer success" “ customer success management “ customer success manager responsibilities, with empty content that leaves readers with nothing gained.
• ✗ Pure branding thinking: writing an article of reflections from the company CEO, beautifully written but nobody searches these terms, resulting in zero organic traffic.
• ✓ Win-win thinking: centering on "the complete guide to customer success management," including definitions, frameworks, practical steps, and your company's real data (e.g., "retention rate improved by 23% after implementation," sample data, not industry average), delivering both search value and brand persuasiveness.

Practical recommendations

• Before writing each article, ask yourself two questions: Can readers solve their problem after reading? Does this article contain something no one else has written? Only start writing when both answers are "yes."
• Review content using the "four quadrants of search intent": informational, navigational, transactional, comparative—confirm that your content structure matches the user's search stage.
• Review old articles once a quarter: update outdated data and add new cases, serving existing readers while signaling "freshness" to search engines.