30 second summary:
- The recipe space is very competitive
- And sites like BBC Good Food 22% increase in search visibility for things like The Good Times May Be Over
- Award-winning performance marketing agency, repeats Digital’s SEO Account managers on how to rank while algorithm updates may still be in play
- is the search term returning video results ?
- Is the recipe already ranked? If so, will video take it to the next level?
- Is it a recipe that could really benefit from a video? Are there many steps or changes?
Google is a popular recipe home. The search engine giant sees millions of recipe searches every day, with users seeking inspiration or learning how to make a specific meal, snack or baked good.
The recipe market is highly competitive, competing for your attention with big names like BBC Good Food and Delish, brands like Gousto and Hello Fresh, and thousands of dedicated recipe bloggers. Google has done a great job of making this recipe content attractive in the SERPs, with rich results showing user ratings, how long the recipe takes, gourmet food, and more. This means that searchers can get all the information they need in one convenient snapshot before they click.
Recipe sites saw significant growth in November following algorithm update: sites like BBC Good Food saw a 22% increase in visibility just a few months later. It’s a similar story for most major recipe sites, with allrecipes.com growing 94% in the months following the update. There has also been a significant increase in the aforementioned brand sites. In fact, just three months after the update, Gousto’s popularity has increased by over 150%!
But the good times may be over, at least for now. After the latest algorithm update in May, those generous parts of the big increase have been eaten up and replaced by a significant reduction. Sites like Gousto and Hello Fresh were the most affected, as the visibility of those brands dropped in half!
Source: Searchmetrics
Blog sites had to accept a similar fate…
Source: Searchmetrics
Algorithm update apparently for recipes Websites have had a huge impact, but Google has also been playing around with recipes for quite some time. For example, in recent months, many searchers have noticed that the recipe carousel is segmented by “recipe type.”
Obviously, recipes are a particular focus in core algorithm updates, so there has never been a better time to make sure your recipe content is the best it can be.
Make your recipe page tastier crème
Here are some important tips to make sure your recipe page is crème de la crème. By following these steps, your content will have the best chance of not only appearing at the top of the SERPs, but also increasing traffic by making it more attractive compared to other results:
1. Provide supplementary information
This includes dish, cooking time, difficulty and calories. Also, remember to implement structured data (if you haven’t already!)
2. Add relevant optimized images
We eat with our eyes first, and images are a great way to make recipes more engaging and easier to understand. It’s also important to choose the best images that will appear in the rich results, it needs to be clear, the recipe in question and of course look delicious!
In a competitive space, images are your chance to get users to click on your results and not other results. Unphotographed products (shown below) or low-quality images are missed opportunities that can cause competitors to lose traffic.
Source: Google Search
3. Create video assets for high-value recipes
We all know videos are great for recipes, but creating videos for each recipe can be time-consuming, especially if you have hundreds of Even thousands of back directories. Instead, focus on those recipes that have the greatest chance by asking yourself the following questions:
Did a major competitor use video to create this particular recipe? Are there good recipe searches on Google and YouTube (maximizing ROI)?
As the data shows, the recipe content is not stable, but there are some small tweaks and improvements to ensure you The recipes have the best chance to rank at the top and encourage users to click.
Robert Scott is an SEO Account Manager at award-winning performance marketing agency Reprise Digital. Rob has 5 years of SEO experience with a strong interest in content and overall search.
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