If you want organic search visibility, rankings and web traffic, you have to commit to consistently creating optimised content. Content and SEO work hand in hand to catapult your website to the top of Google rankings.
No time to create SEO content inhouse? Hire a Content Marketing Agency.
Why is content important for SEO?
Search engines like Google require fresh, informative content that answers user queries. Content can come in many forms (audio, text, video, imagery) and it serves different purposes. It’s essential to determine whether you want your content to entertain, inform, educate or a mixture.
By consistently publishing high-quality content that targets relevant keywords, you will establish yourself as an authority in your field. This makes your website more trustworthy and relevant to search engines, boosting your ranking in search results.
Google’s algorithms are always evolving in an effort to deliver useful and relevant results. And such results are the pieces of content that are available through the web. Think of it this way: the more valuable content you offer, the more likely users are to find your site through search and engage with it. This engagement sends positive signals back to search engines, further solidifying your position.
The impact of content on SEO
It’s all well and good to create relevant and engaging content, but if your content doesn’t reach your audience then it doesn’t have SEO value. Content needs to be optimised in order for search engines to find it. There are over 5.6 billion searches per day on Google, many of which could be done by potential customers. So it’s worthwhile to optimise your content to rank organically in search engine results pages (SERPs).
But SEO content is important for many more reasons than just ranking high in SERPs. You will be able to:
- Target topics that are relevant to your business
- Reach your target market
- Improve your online visibility
- Build a loyal customer base
- Grow your backlink profile
- Boost your crawl frequency
- Improve the user experience
- Prepare for AI’s impact on future SEO
- Earn a higher click-through-rate
- Increase your revenue from search
Tips for a winning SEO content strategy
- Know your audience
Before diving in, understand who you’re creating content for. It is important to always write content for your audience and not the SERPs. Research their needs, interests, and the kind of language they use. Collect ideas from social media comments, your sales team’s calls, Google reviews, email responses and Q&A sites. This will help you target the right keywords and craft content that resonates with them.
- Keyword research is key
Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant search terms your target audience uses. Tools like Google Keyword Planner or Surfer SEO can be extremely useful for this. Select terms based on relevance to your audience’s pain points and what they will be searching for. It is advisable to get a specialist SEO agency to do this for you so you know you’re targeting the right keywords.
- Create a content plan
Using the keywords you’ve found, create a list of topics that potential customers will want to know about. Take into account the search intent of each keyword to know exactly what type of content is required. For instance, Google knows that people searching for “how to make quiche” want to learn how to make the dish and will display recipes in the results page.
- Have a mix of short-form and long-form content
Both short-term and long-form content pieces can be beneficial to your marketing strategy. You just need to choose the right form of content in the right context. Long-form content is necessary for ebooks, detailed blog posts, guides and tutorials. Short-form content is concise and is used for social media posts, short blog articles, web copy and email newsletters.
While consistency is important, prioritise quality over churning out mediocre content. Focus on high-quality, informative content that provides genuine value to your audience.
- Optimisation
Once you have stellar content, SEO experts can optimise it for search engines. They will include your target keywords in titles, headings, and write compelling meta descriptions. Optimisation is a key step for the content to reach your audience and offer SEO value.
- Promote your content
Don’t just publish and pray. Actively promote your content on social media, relevant online communities, and through influencer outreach.
- Stay fresh
Search engines love fresh content. Regularly update your existing content and publish new pieces to keep your website buzzing with activity. Don’t stick to one format. Experiment with blog posts, infographics, videos, and interactive and visual content to keep your audience engaged and cater to different learning styles.
Work with an award-winning content marketing agency
Our content marketing and SEO teams work closely together to create a brilliant strategy for your business. We get to know your business goals and do thorough research and strategising before creating content. We’ll take care of everything from ideation and copywriting to designing captivating graphics.
Contact us to find out more.
