Table of Contents
(And What to Do Instead)
Most SEO strategies today start the same way:
✅ Find the top-ranking pages.
✅ Analyse them in a tool.
✅ Mimic the format and keywords.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Your competitors’ top-ranking content? It’s not your blueprint. It’s your warning sign.
Let me explain.
The Problem with Copycat SEO
When you build content by mirroring what’s already ranking, you’re not creating something new – you’re remixing what Google already has.
And guess what? Google doesn’t reward redundancy.
You end up with a slightly worse, less interesting, less helpful version of what’s already there. Amidst a flood of similarities, it’s the unique content that stands out and attracts attention, resulting in more clicks.
“Ctrl+C content doesn’t earn Ctrl+1 rankings.”
If your strategy is to follow the leader, you’ll always be one step behind. You’re late to the party and bringing yesterday’s snacks.
What Google Actually Wants
Straight from their Helpful Content Guidelines, Google ranks content that:
- Provides substantial additional value and originality
- Offers insightful analysis beyond the obvious
- Leaves users with a satisfying experience
Ask yourself: Does mimicking your competitor’s format, length, and keyword strategy deliver any of that?
Of course not. Because great SEO isn’t about copying. It’s about competing—differently.
Six Contrarian or under-addressed gaps
🔍 1. Originality ≠ Format Change Only
What others miss: Most “zag” advice stops at “use a different format” (e.g., add video, create a tool).
Your angle:
“Originality is not just adding a video or infographic. If you say the same thing in a fancier wrapper, it’s still copycat content. True originality means saying something new, useful, or unpopular—but true.”
Add a section contrasting “surface-level originality” vs. “substantive originality.”
🧠 2. Most SEO Tools Encourage Sameness
What others miss: Tools like Surfer, Clearscope, and MarketMuse encourage optimisation based on averages—which by design promotes conformity.
Your angle:
“Most content tools are designed to reduce your risk. But when every writer is using the same scoring tools, the content becomes indistinguishable. The more ‘optimised’ your page is, the less memorable it becomes.”
Call out the paradox: tool-driven content is statistically optimised—and emotionally irrelevant.
💡 3. SERPs Reflect What’s Worked—Not What’s Best
What others miss: People forget: the top results reflect what Google has liked historically—not what users are secretly hoping to find next.
Your angle:
“Google doesn’t know what’s missing from the SERP. It only knows what’s there. That’s your edge.”
This invites you to explore intent gaps, freshness gaps, or knowledge gaps—where you create the page that should exist, not just the one that already does.
⚠️ 4. The Risk of “Reverse-Engineering” Without Judgment
What others miss: Even the idea of reverse-engineering can lead to safe derivative content if it lacks editorial judgement.
Your angle:
“Reverse-engineering is only useful if it informs creative decisions—not if it becomes an excuse to imitate safely.”
Show how to interpret SERP data with strategic thinking, not blind mimicry.
🧭 5. Zagging Should Be Strategic, Not Random
What others miss: Being “different” can veer into irrelevant or confusing if it’s not aligned with audience goals.
Your angle:
“Zagging isn’t about being edgy for the sake of it. It’s about showing up in the exact way your audience didn’t realise they needed—but immediately value.”
You can even include a “Zag with Purpose” checklist:
- Does this serve a deeper or clearer intent?
- Does this make the decision easier for the user?
- Does it challenge assumptions in a constructive way?
🔄 6. There’s Power in Post-Publish Optimisation
What others miss: Most advice ends with publishing. Few talk about learning from content that didn’t zag hard enough.
Your angle:
“Sometimes the zag isn’t in the first draft—it’s in the third revision after publishing. Use heatmaps, SERP behaviour, and click-through data to zag smarter over time.”
This opens up a content ops angle: zagging as an iterative process, not a one-time lightning strike.
So, What Should You Do Instead?
🔄 1. Reverse-Engineer the “Why”—Not the “What”
Don’t obsess over what their blog looks like. Ask yourself why it ranks.
Is it:
- Topical depth?
- Internal linking?
- Backlinks from authority sources?
- Search intent coverage?
Once you understand the “why,” you’re free to change everything else.
🔎 2. Fill the Gaps They Missed
Even high-ranking pages have blind spots. In fact, that’s where your biggest opportunities are hiding.
Ask:
- What questions didn’t they answer?
- What assumptions did they leave unexamined?
- What user intent is underserved?
- What formats are missing (video, tools, charts, interviews)?
Then: go there. Fill that void.
That’s how you zag while everyone else zigs.
⚡ 3. Make Your Content Feel Risky
The best content doesn’t just answer a query—it takes a stance.
If your content feels 100% “safe,” there’s a good chance it’s also invisible. Why would Google replace the page it already trusts with your slightly watered-down version?
You have to give it a reason. Originality doesn’t mean being outrageous. It means having a bold, useful point of view.
“This popular opinion might be wrong—and here’s why.”
Be the brand that isn’t afraid to say what others won’t.
Real-World Examples of Zagging
✅ They: Write a dry how-to guide. You: Build a smart, interactive tool
✅ They: Avoid tough truths. You: Address them directly—with evidence
✅ They: Publish a lifeless 2,000-word article. You: Include quotes, charts, and customer stories
✅ They: Assume readers are beginners. You: Speak to pros and go deeper
✅ They: Play it safe. You: Challenge assumptions and reframe the issue entirely
Stop tracing outlines. Start drawing blueprints.
The Acid Test
If your page disappeared from the internet tomorrow… Would anyone notice?
If the answer is “probably not,” then you haven’t zagged hard enough.
Best-practice SEO is seductive. It feels measurable, predictable, and safe.
But in a saturated SERP, “safe” is actually dangerous. It makes you invisible by design.
The Job Isn’t to Please Google
It’s to serve the reader better than anyone else—and to be memorable.
Google’s systems are trained on engagement. On links. On shares. On dwell time. On return visits.
You don’t earn those by echoing others. You earn them by saying something original, in a way that’s useful, brave, and different.
🚨 Is Your Content Too Safe to Succeed?
Most content blends in. This tool helps you stand out.
✅ Take the Content Risk Score Test — 7 quick questions to find out if your blog, landing page or guide is bold enough to actually rank. Find out if you’re playing it too safe — and get instant suggestions to zag where others zig.
👉 No email required. Just brutal honesty.
Content Risk Score Calculator
Answer the questions below to assess how bold, original, and differentiated your content is.
✅ Final Thoughts: How to Start Zagging Today
- Audit your competitors’ top-ranking content
- Reverse-engineer why it ranks
- Find what’s missing—and go all-in on it
- Say what others are too cautious to say
- Create something that doesn’t feel safe—but feels real
The best-performing content often starts with a risk. The worst-performing content rarely does.
So go ahead—zag hard.
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