SEO Content: Make Your Blogs Rank

Does your business create blog content for marketing?  If so, the next logical goal is to have your content found online so it is read.  If you want your blogs to be found in the search results, then you should engage in SEO Content practices. 

The Importance of SEO

Being found in search should be a primary concern for every business today.  In fact, every online activity should be done with an eye toward search engine optimization.  Here’s why:

1. Ninety-five percent of all Americans use the internet to find the products and services they need;
2. Ninety-one percent of those never look past the first page of the search results.

Taken together, these two facts explain why not only appearing in search, but also ranking on the first page, are so important to businesses today.

What is SEO Content?

SEO Content refers to creating content with the specific goal of attracting search engine traffic.  This is very different than simply writing a blog and having a SEO professional optimize it.

Instead, it involves a long-term strategy for developing content that your target audience will find helpful and that will rank well in searches.

Goals

The first step is to identify the goals for the content.  Are you looking to convert traffic into sales? Is your site monetized with ads and you just need traffic?  Or, do you have a specific call-to-action for visitors?

When you know your goals, you can shape the content to help achieve them.

Target Audience

Knowing who it is you want to reach determines how you will message them.  Creating blogs for single moms living with their parents will be very different than trying to reach married men in their fifties who are looking to buy a lawn mower.

Basic customer research will tell you the make up of your target audience. You can also gain insight into your website visitors by using tools such as Google Analytics.

Keywords

Your SEO Content strategy also needs to identify keywords, specifically those that you believe searchers will use to find a business like yours.  Also consider words or phrases that might be related to what you do.  For example, if you sell lawn mowers, then a related topic might be landscaping tips.

Then do keyword research to refine your list.  Look for those terms that already have a significant amount of search volume.  You can also do some searches yourself and see what terms Google recommends. All of this will ensure that you are writing about topics for which people are searching.

Remember, you need to think like a consumer here. Don’t let your industry knowledge override what the research results are telling you.  It’s not about the keywords that you think searchers should be using. 

For example, a throw-away tissue manufacturer might want to use the keyword, "facial tissue." But the keyword that gets the most searches for that type of product is actually, "Kleenex," a competitor's brand name and also the popular, generic term for this product. It might aggravate the manufacturer to use this keyword, but if he wants that search traffic, he needs to do it.

Don't trick yourself into using industry-correct jargon. What really counts are the keywords that searchers actually use.

The Selection of Blog Topics

Once you have your keyword list, you can begin shaping blog topics around them.  If your keyword list is small, then create several different blog topics for each.  The goal is to create as many topics as you can around your list.

If you’re having trouble, read this article on creating strong blog topics.

Editorial Calendar

With your blog topics identified, you can start creating an editorial calendar.  Your calendar could be in an Excel Spreadsheet, in a Word document or even in an online calendar.  What form it takes is up to you.  The goal is to have it written down and planned out and for you to follow it.

When placing topics in your calendar, you will also want to consider the time of year. For example, it may be that certain topics will drive traffic better in the summer months than others.  Schedule those accordingly.

Types of Content

For this article, the primary subject is using blogs for SEO Content.  But other types of content can be added to the mix, as well.  They include:

• Infographics
• FAQ pages
• Lists
• Guides
• Videos or podcasts
• Glossaries of industry terms

Putting It Together

With the importance of appearing in searches, every online activity of your business should be done with an eye toward your search ranking.  Creating helpful content for your target audience and having it rank well has become one of the most important things marketers should do today.