Search Engine Optimization & Content Marketing: Combining them Effectively
SEO and content marketing go hand in hand when it comes to developing an effective online marketing strategy. Here we will discuss how to combine these two techniques for the best results.
What is SEO?
SEO is the process of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This can be done through on-page optimization (such as improving site speed, adding relevant keywords to titles and metatags, and creating high-quality content) and off-page optimization (such as link building and social media engagement).
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is the process of creating and sharing valuable content with a target audience to attract and convert them into customers. This can include blog posts, infographics, videos, eBooks, whitepapers, and much more.
So how do you combine SEO and content marketing for the best results?
1. Use Keywords in your Content
Keywords are still an important part of SEO, so be sure to include them in your content. However, don't go overboard. The goal is to provide valuable information that will interest your target audience, not stuff your content with keywords just to have them.
2. Integrating Social Media
Blog posts, infographics, videos, and other content are great for your content marketing strategy. However, sharing them across social media platforms is also an important part of the equation, especially if you want to reach a wider target audience. This increases traffic to your site, which can help boost search engine rankings.
3. Provide Search Engine Optimized Content Forms/Call-to-Actions (CTAs)
This can be in the form of blog posts or lead magnets that offer subscribers valuable information while also providing contact information.
This helps improve SEO while also increasing your email list, which can be used for future focus campaigns requiring opt-in permission from subscribers (for example, newsletters).
Before you publish a post, ensure that it is optimized for search engines by including relevant keywords and performing a quick check on SEO plugins to make sure everything is in order.
4. Build Backlinks with Guest Posts
Guest blogging is a great way to get backlinks to your website.
When other websites publish your content, it helps improve your site's authority and can help increase your search engine rankings.
Backlinking is considered to be one of the top authority-building factors when it comes to ranking on search engines in your respective market industry.
5. Use Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising is another effective way to reach a wider target audience with your content. This can be done through Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and more.
SEO and content marketing are two of the most important aspects of online marketing and using social media as an advertising platform is doing wonders for eCommerce all over the world.
By combining the techniques, you can create an efficient approach that will help you reach your target audience and convert them into customers.
6. Connect with Influencers
One way to gain social media followers and build relationships with potential customers is through guest blogging (where you write an article for another blogger's website).
To make the most of this strategy, be sure to research influential bloggers in your niche and contact them directly before pitching your ideas.
This will help you create high-quality content that influencers want to share with their audiences and provide valuable backlinks (which means more SEO benefits).
7. Produce Quality Content
You want your content to be accessible not only to your customers but also to search engines as they crawl, index, and rank your website.
Your content's formatting has a significant impact on its overall performance. People skim articles, which is why they benefit from headings and subheadings, lists, and small blocks of text separated by white space.
Individuals, and Google as well, do not respond well to massive blocks of text.
Also, keep an eye on what's trending and compile a list of potential content ideas.
A topic is the starting point for all content. The subject you choose has the potential to make or break your content marketing strategy's effectiveness.
It's critical to choose topics that are timely and relevant to your audience.
8. Optimize Page Techniques
On-page SEO (or 'on-site SEO') is the process of optimizing a webpage's content for search engines. On-page SEO's ultimate goal is to communicate in search engines' terms' and to assist search engine crawlers in comprehending the meaning and context of your pages.
On-page SEO is critical because it provides search engines with a variety of signals that assist them in determining the subject matter of your content.
Search engines attempt to associate web pages with keywords and search terms entered in the search box during the indexing and ranking processes.
You can direct them to the keywords for which you want your pages to rank by utilizing on-page SEO elements.
9. Optimize your Images and Videos
Include alt tags with the appropriate keywords for all your images and include a descriptive title and description for each video on YouTube to attract more viewers and improve search engine optimization.
Also, be sure to use meta-descriptions as they contain valuable information that will encourage people to click through to your site from social media posts or SERPs. This is especially important if you're using Instagram as part of your marketing strategy because it has its own unique set of features that can help promote your content.
10. Track Progress and Results
It's always a good idea to track the progress of your efforts so you can see which techniques are working best for you. Use tools such as Google Analytics to measure website traffic, social media insights to track engagement, and Ahrefs or Moz to monitor your website's backlink profile.
By following these tips, you can create a well-rounded SEO and content marketing strategy that will help you attract more customers and boost your business online.