Staying competitive in today’s commercial landscape requires more than just differentiating yourself via the product or services you provide. Businesses also need to remain aggressive with their digital content strategies in order to keep step. SaaS innovations have made building a website an effortless undertaking, and social media accounts for businesses are non-negotiable. In a world where these tools are prerequisites rather than novelties, incorporating SEO-driven content marketing techniques into your digital strategy will boost your ranking on search engine results pages and provide your business with a competitive edge.
Mobilize Your Website
There are scores of technical components factored into Google’s algorithm, but the general trend is placing higher emphasis on elements that impact user experience. A reported 2 billion people access the internet exclusively using smartphones, and Google has adjusted their methodology accordingly. Since 2019, the ubiquitous search engine has implemented mobile-first indexing, which prioritizes mobile versions of websites over desktop counterparts. Many website building and hosting companies offer out-of-the-box mobile optimization, but if your provider isn’t one of them, you should consider giving your website a phone-focused upgrade.
One of the metrics Google uses is Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) which measures how long a webpage takes to load. The combined focus on LCP and mobile-first indexing places express importance on ensuring the visual content on your website is uploaded in a mobile-supported format and strikes a balance between being high-quality and compressed enough to download quickly.
Finding the Words
Even though video will represent the majority of IP traffic by 2023, text is highly influential in the relationship between SEO and content marketing. The best strategy for SEO-driven content marketing is to build upon a high-quality foundation. Google is designed to connect users with answers to their questions, so keep that in mind when creating posts and pages for your blog or website. Rather than turning to SEO optimization as a means to drive traffic your way, use SEO techniques to inform the content you create.
One of the ways Google expedites finding users the answers they’re looking for is through Featured Snippets. Featured Snippets are excerpts from web pages displayed above search results that Google thinks might answer the searcher’s query. Currently, no insight has been disclosed as to how to get your page highlighted, but Featured Snippets commonly contain lists, directions, and definitions. Think about incorporating this type of content to get your page flagged as Featured Snippet-worthy.
The ‘People Also Ask’ tool also helps users by suggesting either related or more refined questions. Use this to your advantage as part of your SEO-driven content marketing strategy. Think of the questions your current and potential customers are asking and use those subjects as the framework for your company’s blog posts. When thinking about topics, being as specific as possible also helps your SEO strategy in that you can hone in on long-tail k
As an example, if you are a financial coach aiming to expand your digital presence, you’ll have much more competition for that first page of Google using keywords like ‘financial literacy’ and ‘budgeting tips’ than ‘financial literacy for college students’ or ‘budgeting tips for freelancers.’ Utilizing long-tail keywords in posts that correspond to specific queries will drive more traffic to your website than posts that are broad and general.
Edit the Archives
If you already have an established blog with a sizable catalogue but are just now considering SEO, don’t assume you have to scrap it all and start over. Work with what you have and edit existing web pages to enhance their SEO quality. Expand and make your content more specific, or transform broader posts into pillar pages that link to specialized content. Posts with over 2,000 words tend to perform better in search engine result pages, but if you’re enriching your articles with updated information, make sure to—like Google—keep user experience in mind. Break up long chunks of text with headings and subheadings that make paragraphs easier to read and pages easier to navigate. As a finishing touch, write compelling meta titles and meta descriptions to draw more readers in.
Whether you’re implementing these approaches yourself or considering external SEO content marketing services, bolstering your digital presence through SEO is a straightforward but powerful way to get customers clicking on your website before your competitors’.