Aren’t search engine optimization and content marketing two sides of the same coin? Some would argue yes. This is why search engine optimization content marketing is an ideal strategy.
SEO focuses on improving traffic quality and bringing as many people as possible to your brand’s website. Content marketing focuses on creating valuable, useful, and relevant content and distributing that content to a target audience. An SEO content marketing strategy should focus on using SEO to drive people to your website, where they will come across content that has been created specifically for them. At the end of the day, the content people have found thanks to a search should inspire them to take some sort of action.
An SEO Content Marketing Strategy Puts the Audience First
Outdated ideas about SEO might be one of the reasons why people often keep it separate from their content marketing strategy. In previous times, SEO mainly focused on keywords. In fact, you could argue that it did so to the detriment of everything else. It didn’t matter if the content that was created on the page or that showed up in the search engine results actually accomplished what it promised. As long as the content was ranking, people thought they were happy.
But Google and other search engines have updated their algorithms. Keywords aren’t the end all, be all of SEO now. Instead, the focus is on quality, and providing content that meets the needs of users/audience members.
That’s not to say that keywords aren’t still part of an SEO content marketing strategy. In fact, it makes sense for SEO to still focus on keywords somewhat. After all, the keywords are what people type when they conduct a search.
When it comes to SEO content marketing strategy, using keywords is all about balance. Rather than stuffing a piece of content with keywords to the point that it becomes almost incomprehensible, an SEO content marketing strategy should focus on using those keywords where it makes the most sense — such as in the title of the content and the title tags.
When Should You Use an SEO Content Marketing Strategy?
Is it always appropriate to use an SEO content marketing strategy? Should you always be concerned about content marketing when building up SEO?
Not in all cases. Operating a small business includes adding new, local customers regularly. This is why SEO content marketing isn’t always the best option. Using social media to promote your content and SEO to attract local customers is likely to be more cost effective and efficient for your company.
Companies that are looking to scale and grow over time are the ones that are going to see the most benefits from SEO content marketing. Using SEO with content marketing helps you produce evergreen content that people can search for and find even years into the future.
What Are the Benefits of an SEO Content Marketing Strategy?
Creating an SEO content marketing strategy offers multiple benefits for your brand, both in terms of your content and your bottom line.
One benefit is that focusing on SEO can encourage you to boost the quality of your content. Content that is unique and top-notch is more likely to rank highly on the search engine results pages than content that’s run-of-the-mill or generic. Rather than confine you to a box filled with keywords, focusing on the SEO side of your content can free you to take more risks and produce better blog posts, videos, and so on.
Another benefit of an SEO content marketing strategy is that it can lead to more conversions. In part, that’s because more people are likely to find your content when you pay some attention to SEO and because the content you produce when you’re aware of SEO is likely to be better.
One final benefit of an SEO content marketing strategy is that it can improve the user experience on your website. Several factors that help to make a website easier to navigate and use also improve its SEO. For example, a website that’s got a mobile-first design is going to rank better in the results than a website with a desktop-only design. Mobile-friendly sites are also much easier for people to use and read on smaller screens.
The tags and meta data information, as well as headers that are encouraged as part of SEO also improve user experience. It’s easier to scan a piece of content that’s broken up by headers. Meta information lets people know right away, even before they land on the page, if they’ll find the info they want there.
How Your Brand Can Put an SEO Content Marketing Strategy Into Place
Putting together an SEO content marketing strategy involves understanding at least some of the technical aspects of SEO. Additionally, the requirements of content marketing, then fusing those together. Here are a few steps you can take to put an SEO content marketing strategy into place:
Identify your niche/subject area
Figure out what you’ll be creating content about (hint: It should have something to do with your brand or company but not overly promote your company).
Identify your audience
Determine who you’ll be targeting with your content. Identify their needs, preferences, tastes, and the type of content they want.
Set a goal
What do you hope to gain from an SEO content marketing strategy?
Do keyword research
Now it’s time for the SEO bit — use what you know about your audience and subject area. Research keywords that your content can rank for
Find a home for your content
Its important to figure out where your content will live. Such as on your own website, guest-posted on another site with a lot of authority, or elsewhere. Once your content has a home, you can think of how you’ll track its performance. Use it to build links with other content you’ve created as part of your strategy.
Using an SEO content marketing strategy is an ideal way to get more people to your content. It can help you reach your content marketing and business goals without having to spend more.
