When a consumer is searching for a particular product or service, he or she will typically turn to a search engine, such as Google or Bing, to do the leg work. In fact, 89 percent of consumers turn to a search engine to find information on products, services or businesses prior to making purchases, according to research from Fleishman-Hillard and Harris Interactive.
With the majority of buyers starting their purchasing process online, search engine optimization (SEO) has become one of the most-effective strategies for attracting visitors to a brand’s site as it ensures that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine.
It takes a strategic approach, however, to land anywhere near the first page of results, something many businesses find challenging. In fact, only 14 percent of companies rate their SEO efforts as “very successful,” according to research from Ascend2’s “SEO Marketing Benchmark Report.”
While optimizing on-site elements and improving your site’s load speed can improve SEO, the best solution to reviving poor search engine results lies in improving the quality of your content. Below are five content marketing strategies businesses can utilize to improve SEO:
1. Mix Up the Length of Your Content: When your objective is to increase SEO, it’s best to begin by creating a varied mix of long-form and short-form content. Short-form content—or blog posts ranging from 250 to 1,000 words—are great for immediately captivating your audience. However, once you’ve caught your audience’s attention, you’ll need to demonstrate your thought leadership, which is where long-form content comes into play. In-depth content, such as white papers or case studies, offers more insightful information that intrigues your visitors. What’s more, Google—in its ongoing attempt to eliminate low-quality “spammy” content— has updated its Panda 4.0 algorithm to bring favor to articles that are longer and more detailed.
2. Write the Way People ‘Search’: While your keyword choices are vital to your SEO rankings, as Google’s algorithm Hummingbird optimizes for specific characteristics, don’t forget that content is read by people, not just tracked by Google algorithms. Make sure your word choice is conversational, as people tend to type informally into search engines. It’s also crucial to properly align your keywords to your content—otherwise, Google will detect a discrepancy and squelch your chances of a high ranking.
3. Make an Intriguing First Impression: The quality of your article titles and meta-descriptions can make or break your content ranking. Keep your titles short, as the longer they are the more likely they are to be cut when they appear on a search engine list. In addition to keeping your headlines short and snappy, it’s important to do the same with meta-descriptions. In approximately 150 characters, explain exactly what the user will be reading should they click on your article. This is not the place to use fluff—just like writing a title, keep it concise or run the risk of losing prospects’ attention.
4. Cross-Link When Appropriate: It’s a smart strategy to cross link to your business’s services when referencing them, in say, a blog post. However, make sure you are only doing so in a way that is helpful to the reader; for example, cross link to a white paper in which a user can further explore a specific topic. While cross-linking improves SEO for your brand, it could also mean bad news if links are not used sparingly. Customers may begin to feel like the content is not genuine and more of a sales trap. So remember, cross-link to increase SEO, but do so sparingly and subtly.
5. Industry Insight: If you can effectively establish yourself as an industry expert, you can also boost your SEO. Make more connections with industry leaders to build connections with authoritative websites. This will gain credibility for your business as well as your website’s content. Running in the ranks of the most popular sites in your industry will automatically give your SEO a big boost.
If this seems like a big job, that’s because it is. Luckily, a helping hand in high-quality content creation is closer than you think.
Edited by
Brooke Neuman
