Want to perfect your SEO content strategy? Or perhaps you are new to SEO content? If you fall into the latter camp, let us explain first what is meant by the term “SEO Content”.
“SEO” refers to search engine optimization or the process of optimizing a website so that people can easily find it via search engines like Google. By “content,” we mean any information that lives on the web and can be consumed on the web So, putting these two concepts together: SEO content is any content created with the goal of attracting search engine traffic.
SEO content can include any of the following:
Product Pages – The bread and butter of any retail e-commerce site. A good product page can serve as both SEO content and a PPC landing page.
Blog Posts – A blog is one of the easiest ways to create a regular stream of effective SEO content.
Articles – Think news article, interview, or feature piece.
Guides – A longer piece of content that explains in detail how to do something.
Videos – Depending on what type of site or business you run, videos can be a great way to attract and reach an audience. Consider creating video tutorials of how to use your products.
Infographics – these are large-format images that contain a lot of data on a single subject and can rack up a lot of page views and links.
Glossaries – If you work in a specialized industry, a well built-out glossary can be a good way to capture some search traffic.
The above list contains just a small selection of the basic types of SEO content, but don’t let this list limit you – the possibilities are virtually endless.
Now you have a base level understanding, it is time to develop an awesome SEO Content Strategy. Here are the essential steps you need to take in order to really define your SEO content strategy:
First, determine your goals. Are you looking to drive sales through your website? Or perhaps you monetize your site via ads and therefore just want to increase traffic and return readership? Your goals will determine what types of content you should focus on. If you answered driving sales when considering this question, then make sure you focus on attractive, informative product pages that are optimized for both search and conversions. Your secondary focus could be helpful blog content that illustrates when and how to use your products, linking to those pages where relevant. If you are more concerned with increasing traffic because your site operates on an advertising model, you will want to focus on rich content (such as long-form articles or video resources that are informative, entertaining or both).
Consider your audience. This one is easy to determine via surveys and your analytics software. You need to gather information about who your typical visor is. Consider developing marketing personas, or characters that represent your ideal site visitors and customers. Then think about what kinds of content those personas would be looking for. If your business targets teens, for example, you might want to focus on frequent updates with less text and more images and video. You’ll also want to be sure your site is optimized for mobile usage.
Once you have an idea of who you are targeting, you can start to build an editorial calendar. An editorial calendar is a schedule that dictates when you will publish new content and what type of content it will be. This will help you stick to a regular schedule (it’s especially important to create new content on a regular basis if you have a blog), as well as prevent you from scrambling to come up with a topic for new content at the last minute. You can easily do this via Outlook or Google Calendar.
Finally, regularly analyze your SEO content to see what’s working and what isn’t. Consider page views, links, comments (on blog posts and some other types of content), social shares (Facebook likes, tweets, etc.), and conversion rates. Look for patterns. Maybe your audience love blogs, then create more blogs!