Creating a content marketing strategy
Content marketing is the cornerstone of an effective SEO strategy
How are your audiences looking for you?
The first essential task is to research how your audiences are looking for you. This needs to include pertinent phrases and descriptions as well as questions people ask around your subject matter.
Content Strategy
You content should be based around the key phrases and questions identified in the research. Use this is as your basis but don’t be prescriptive. Allow yourself to be flexible so that on a regular basis you choose the key phrases that are most relevant to that time. It may be to promote a new product, or provide an opinion piece or a white paper.
Always schedule in the creation of new content but also try and write it at the time it makes sense for your business. That way it will be more relevant.
Types of content
Most content is going to be text-based as that’s easiest to create. But, try and add to it with pertinent imagery and video if possible. These index well in google and there will likely be less competition for these media for your phrases. So try and mix the media and optimise all of it.
Unless writing for a technical audience, keep the content readable, concise and useful. Follow these rules:
Identify – Define the issue straight away. Good content solves a problem, so identify the problem to match search phrases, and questions are especially good at starting an article
Solve – Once identified, show how you have solved the problem before, and provide a solution
Action – Give them something to do whether it’s to call you, request more info or download further info create engagement.
Create a range of article types such as:
- case studies
- opinion pieces
- commentary on related industry news
- solve defined problems
- create topic based FAQs
Copywriting for search engines should be written to make sense to the visitor, but a strong eye should be cast to how search engine spiders view the pages of a website. Although things like key word density are important in SEO copywriting, there is more at stake to get good results in search engines.
It is best to focus upon 3 – 4 key words per page, but also use variations of those words as well as supporting words to modify the phrase a little. Search engines are becoming more sophisticated and are becoming more adept at providing returns for related phrases as well as specific phrases.
Summary of where to include key phrases when writing copy for search engines
Within the copy
Many SEO “specialists” will harp on about key word density, as though there is some magic formula as to how many times you need to repeat a phrase. Not enough and you won’t get well indexed, too many and you will be penalised. In practice this is rubbish. Ensure your copy reads well and naturally includes the relevant key phrases. To re-inforce the importance of the key phrases use them as early as is practicable in the first paragraph, and if you can repeat them naturally then do so. However it is also important to use the variants of the key phrase for page in context throughout the copy of the specific page. Use variants and associated phrases on the page rather than mindlessly repeating the phrase.
Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks are essential to good SEO. Off-site links are obviously very important, but do not overlook the importance of the in-page links. You should aim to link to each of your major pages using the principle link phrase from at least one of key page in the site. These links should be as natural as possible and within the flowing copy of a page.
Cornerstone Pages
Cornerstone Pages are pivotal topic pages that are high in hierarchy of the site and link to and from related niche content around it.
And Finally
Remember, don’t just write for the search engines, however tempting it may be. If you go overboard then you can fall foul of the search engines and be penalised for spamming. In any case if it looks spammy, then your visitors won’t like it and will be more inclined to go elsewhere. Ensure that your content reads well, is talking about your subject and also includes the key phrases where it is appropriate to do so.
More information about search engine optimisation.
What would you like to do now?
1. contact us for help with your SEO campaign
2. get some help with your copywriting. Call 01273 972 992