Remember the days of going to the library? Maybe growing up you were fascinated with a certain topic and wanted to find books to learn more. Or recall your college days, all those awful research papers where you had to find authoritative sources. For a research paper you need a book with quality content – you can’t just use any source.
Just as we expect to locate quality books with valuable information from a library, these days we expect to find quality content online. When we go to a website, we want to be able to find the information we need. Websites are valuable when they work for us – when they provide the information, tools, or services we are seeking. And if you have a business or work for one, you want the website to be valuable to clients and potential clients. We all know having a digital presence is of the utmost importance for business today.
SEO (search engine optimization) content has been a buzzword for quite some time now. SEO content is media (text, videos, and images) that is created with the intent to gain traffic from search engines. Content that is optimized for search engines allows you to be found on sites such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. (This site has an updated list of the most popular search engines used today!)
Do you need to know about SEO content and how to utilize it on your site? In short, yes.
Search engine optimization strategies (a.k.a. improving your website’s traffic and ranking online) are absolutely beneficial. Although SEO teams and marketers have been changing their strategies the past few years, there is a resounding “Yes, SEO is needed and crucial for business.”
If the SEO landscape is continually changing, what SEO strategies can you trust? Well, this is where “SEO content” comes in. Creating quality content for your website or blog proves to be an authentic and sustainable way to gain traffic to your site. (Check out our recent post on SEO strategies and how content benefits your business.)
Here are the first few steps to take when creating SEO content. If you feel overwhelmed by SEO, we’re here to break it down.
Create a platform
Blogging is a great way to continually update your online presence with fresh information (content). If you need a website or blog, we can set up hosting for your business. As a business, you need your own domain (even just for a blog) to build credibility with online users. Researchers at HubSpot found that blogging frequently for business (at least 11 times a month) greatly impacts inbound traffic! First pick your platform and then start writing!
Think about the user
Secondly, thinking about your audience is crucial when it comes to writing search engine optimized content. Google creates their search engine algorithms (changing the SEO landscape) in order to make the online experience beneficial for the user. So what we see in SEO strategies is that considering the user is becoming the focus. Search Engine Land sums it up as, “Creating an engaging, resourceful, helpful website that allows users to complete the tasks they came for is the foundation of a strategy that attracts Google’s attention.”
What is your niche audience? Think of a problem that your target market faces and write about a solution to that issue. Delivering useful information is what will effectively develop your website’s traffic.
Be authentic
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – there are no shortcuts in SEO and using cheap and fast tactics (such as keyword stuffing) will not help your website get a higher ranking on search engines. However, developing genuine content for you website or blog that is effective. Stay true to your business by writing about the services or products you provide. Another important aspect here is to remember to not mimic competitors. Look to competitors for inspiration or even what to avoid, and then create original content.
Building a quality brand identity (for your business) which delivers useful content is how you will kick-butt at SEO. When you have great content on your site, it will convert visitors into leads. Don’t worry, we’ll continue to share tips for search engine optimization and how to improve your website! We get excited about these kind of things.
No matter where you are at with developing your digital presence, we will come alongside you in your journey. We can help you in everything from designing an entirely new website or livening up the blog you haven’t updated in months. Set up a time with us today to get together and discuss creating SEO content for your website!
“What we do know for certain is that the constant in SEO is the experience — and that experience stems from the type of content a brand creates and how it delivers that content.” – Search Engine Land
