Creating content for your audience on a daily basis can be exhausting. Even more so if you consider the fact that SEO matters now more than ever. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can effectively make or break any content you create.
Studies have shown that 43% of customers use search engines to enquire about any purchase decisions they might be about to make. This makes creating content relevant to their interests highly beneficial for content marketers. Creating a viable SEO strategy for your content marketing is just as important as actually writing it. With that in mind, let’s take a look at several ways in which you can use SEO marketing strategies to your advantage.
Set targets early on
Online marketing through SEO is just like any other marketing endeavor. This means you should set realistic, attainable goals before you create anything. Make sure to have clear timelines, milestones and end-goals in mind for your website or blog. For example, you can set a target of 200 new subscribers by the end of the month.
Any and all actions you take should focus on that goal and nothing else. This will help you decide which words to target through Google AdWords or alternative SEO software. Targeting different audiences through SEO marketing is much easier if you have a bigger goal in mind with your content. Don’t go into content creation blindly and hope for the best – plan ahead.
Keyword-oriented strategy
It’s always a viable strategy to focus your content creation on technical optimization. Using Google’s Keyword Planner can help you decide which keywords to focus on in your content creation. These keywords should find their way into your organic content, headings and URLs if possible. Data shows that 15% of active internet users in the US conduct a search at least once a day. This is a staggering number of potential hits which your content can generate.
The more natural your keyword density seems, the better your content will rank with Google, Bing and other search engines. This is one of the most popular SEO marketing strategies as it allows you to create content freely without thinking about strict formatting. Adding relevant keywords and phrases later on is quite simple. You can even conduct ongoing SEO optimization once the trends in your industry shift sufficiently.
Keywords relevant to your target audience should always find their way into your website’s pages regardless of the direct link with the content in question. While it may seem counterintuitive, it will flag your site as potentially interesting for readers and it will show up in Search Engine Result Pages (SERP) accordingly.
Focus on original content
Sometimes the best solution to an SEO conundrum is to simply do what Google says you should do. Original content can go a long way in making sure that your content ranks organically. Attracting new readers and generating traffic can be done without keyword optimization or any strict SEO regime. Instead, create original content based on your industry’s happenings, trends and popular questions.
Surveys show that 92% of people choose a website on the first page of their search engine results without question. This fact makes it abundantly clear what your SEO marketing goal should be. Offer your own take on pressing matters and try to spark up a conversation with your audience. You don’t have to be a SEO guru to end up on the first page of search engine results. All you have to do is deliver on your promises of original, quality content without any plagiarism.
Implement multimedia
One of Google’s main missions is to bring original content to as many people as possible. This often includes people with impairments such as dyslexia, eyesight issues and other medical issues. To that end, they have made it clear that sites with multimedia and alternative data can and will rank higher than others.
Multimedia content in websites and blogs in general takes form of videos, audio files, animations and other similar formats. These types of content can be experienced even if you can’t read through the content itself. As for alternative data, it represents written descriptions of said multimedia content. This will allow people who can’t see or hear the content you prepared to actually find out what it’s about.
Recently collected data shows that multimedia content such as video is 52 times more likely to show up in search results than an article on the same topic. Building a SEO strategy around multimedia content can be refreshing. So many bloggers focus on singular content types without paying attention to a wider audience. Take the initiative to offer more value to your readers and explore different types of multimedia that might work in the context of your website.
SEO in UX
Lastly, you can choose to forgo SEO optimization of your content for UX implementation. User Experience (UX) represents the next step in content creation evolution. It retains the hallmarks of SEO optimization without forcing you to use data in order to succeed. UX writing focuses on the psychology of the reader and what they feel like as they experience your content.
This type of content creation also covers User Interface (UI) writing, meaning that you will have ample opportunity to change your site’s navigation, categories and other relevant information. If you choose to go the UX writing route, you will have complete control over your readers’ browsing habits, conversions and other important end-user activities.
However, UX writing requires a higher level of understanding when it comes to content creation and writing in general. You should be fully familiar with your audience and their expertise, preferences and expectations. UX writing is nigh impossible without being intimately familiar with the follower base you work with.
In conclusion
Choosing the right SEO marketing strategy for your site can be difficult. Make sure to give each strategy a shot before dismissing it entirely. It can also be effective to shift from strategy to strategy if you feel like your website has become stagnant. Do what is best for your audience and the content you create at large.
Author bio: Kristin Savage nourishes, sparks and empowers using the magic of a word. She does her voodoo regularly on the Pick Writers blog and occasionally contributes to other educational platforms. Along with pursuing her degree in Creative Writing, Kristin was gaining experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in marketing strategy for publishers and authors. Now she had found herself as a freelance writer.
