Abraham Maslow said, “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” When it comes to search engine optimization techniques, it’s important to make sure you have the right tools for the job. Otherwise, you might end up with SEO content that shines in one area but misses the mark in another.

Which SEO tools do you absolutely need, and which can you skip? And is it possible to do SEO yourself for free? Let’s explore these questions and more.

What are SEO tools?

SEO tools are programs that help you use SEO techniques for your website. With these tools and techniques, you can work to improve your website’s ranking and appearance on the search engine results page (SERP). Over time, a well-designed strategy can earn you a high volume of traffic that’s organic - meaning you haven’t paid for it.

Of course, organic traffic isn’t free. It takes resources to research and develop your strategy. And it takes even more resources to deploy it. You must plan the content, create it, and promote it with organic tactics like backlinks and social sharing.

But done right, the return on your initial investment in SEO will be astonishing. With the right tools, your SEO strategy can build your authority and bring in qualified organic traffic for years to come.

Can I do SEO by myself?

In short, yes. Armed with some foundational knowledge and valuable tools, you can get started on SEO basics by yourself. Some marketers and business owners prefer to start this way.

If you have the time to invest in self-learning, a DIY approach is a good way to get some hands-on SEO experience. That experience will contextualize any work you do with an expert down the road and help you make better decisions.

However, if you don’t have time to spend learning SEO and need results right now, it might make sense to hire an expert. That could be an in-house specialist or a full-service SEO agency.

Can I do SEO for free?

There are both paid and free SEO tools available to boost your efforts. Some of the best SEO tools for beginners are the free versions of paid tools. As you start to make progress, you’ll eventually run into features that are only available for paid users.

Using a trial or free version will allow you to learn what the tool does and decide whether it’s worth paying for a more robust version. You don’t need a tech stack of 10 expensive SEO tools. Instead, try several as you build out your systematic SEO process. Take note of where you consistently hit a wall with free tools.

Evaluate: Is there a way to gather the desired information manually? Can you build that into your process? How much time would you save with the paid tool? Often, it’s worth it to pay for a feature that buys back your team’s time for more strategic work, and less data entry and basic research.

How much do SEO tools cost?

The functionality and cost of SEO tools vary widely. Many of the big players in the SEO tech space position themselves as all-in-one solutions. Their target customers are large brands in competitive industries.

These companies have a lot to gain from dialing in their SEO efforts and capturing the top SERP rankings for all their target keywords. With such a high ROI, enterprise-level SEO platforms can cost tens of thousands of dollars per year.

However, there are also free SEO tools and everything in between. Tools that are less comprehensive than the big players but still sophisticated can cost around $50-$100 per month depending on the level of functionality you need. Typically, you’ll need to pay for any tool that gives you access to exclusive information like competitor analysis.

Why should you use SEO tools?

Most SEO tools are designed to help with the research that goes into an effective SEO strategy. They provide data you don’t have access to, or quickly synthesize data that would take a long time to pull together.

And, well, we don’t have to tell you about the importance of rooting your strategy in data. It takes a lot of time and resources to create high-quality content with a chance of ranking. Even if your marketing budget is in the millions… you can’t afford a “spray and pray” approach to SEO.

Here are a few ways you can use SEO tools to build a data-driven plan:

• Gain a holistic understanding of your current content’s performance. You must know what’s working and what’s not to plan for the future.
• Generate quick competitor analysis reports for on-page SEO elements like keywords and content structure.
• Identify high-priority technical issues with your site that might be red flags to search engine algorithms.
• Discover new keywords that interest your target audience and fit in with your content strategy.

Chances are, once you start digging into your SEO tools of choice, you’ll be blown away by the data available to inform your SEO strategy and tactics. The most successful brands are using tools for SEO, and you should take the opportunity too.

Does Google have free SEO tools?

Yes, as the world’s largest search engine, Google has several free tools that are valuable for beginners and experts alike. They can give you baseline information and complement any paid tools or services you might use.

The three main Google SEO tools are Google Analytics, Keyword Planner, and Search Console. We’ll talk about all three as well as some of the leading paid SEO tools on the market.

Which is the best SEO tool?

What are the best SEO tools for digital marketing? It depends. There are tools for each phase of your SEO plan. Most of the huge, all-in-one solutions have features that can help with every phase - and price tags to match.

Should you invest in one of these all-inclusive platforms? You might decide that approach works best for your organization. But first, let’s pour one out for our brothers and sisters who have fallen talk about falling for to the SEO tool “paradox of choice.”

Getting sudden access to 50+ new features can be paralyzing. Without the right context and experience, you might feel unsure how to use your new platform effectively… and therefore, not use it at all.

To avoid this, you can put together an efficient plan by choosing to pay for specialized tools where you need them most. Or, if you don’t have an in-house SEO expert to manage a suite of tools, it might make more sense to hire an agency.

Keyword research tools

High-performing content starts with choosing the right on-page SEO keywords. Sure, you can win some organic traffic with excellent content even if you haven’t chosen a keyword. But since you’re spending all that time on content, don’t you want to get more than “some traffic”? Don’t you want to get the most traffic you can?

That’s the purpose of researching and optimizing to for keywords. It’s not keyword stuffing. It’s not “black hat SEO.” It’s simply adding a strategic layer into your content creation process. We’ve said it before, elegant content doesn’t pay the bills. Strategic content does. And the best SEO content is both.

What are the best SEO keyword research tools? We like Ahrefs’s keyword generator. It provides volume and difficulty metrics for any keyword. For a free tool, try Google’s keyword planner. You can enter your website to see keywords that match your existing content. You can also get volume forecasts.

Tools to audit your site

Before you can create new content and deploy new SEO tactics, you have to know how your current site is performing. There are a few tools to help in this area. SEMRush’s website audit tool will give you a report on the technical aspects of your site. You’ll easily identify concerns and opportunities with elements like site speed, crawlability, and internal linking.

To assess your existing content’s performance, Google Analytics has you covered. You can build custom reports on your most important content metrics, like:

• Conversion rates
• Assisted conversions
• Demographics
• Engagement rates
• Return visits

Google Search Console also has several features designed specifically to help you check your website’s current search performance. You’ll be able to answer:

• Which keywords are already bringing traffic to your site? You want to make sure you stay on top of these high performers to keep your traffic share. You can also use this info to try to rank for similar keywords.
• Which keywords are getting lots of impressions but few clicks? The way your content is showing up on the SERP isn’t matching searchers’ expectations for those queries. Time to dig into why.
• Does your site have any glaring technical issues that could impact search rankings? Some examples are broken links, duplicate content, and crawl errors.
• What external sites are currently linking to your content? You can see which pages are being linked to and what the anchor text is for those backlinks.

Content optimization tools

The information you uncover when auditing your site will help you optimize it. As you’re creating new content, you can also use SEO tools to ensure it’s optimized and ready to put its best foot forward. Among the big SEO players, SEMrush and Moz both have features to help optimize your content.

If you host your site on WordPress, you can also use a search optimization plugin like Yoast. In addition, newer tools like Frase.io use artificial intelligence to help you build and optimize your content.

All these content optimization tools are designed to give your content has the best chance at ranking for your target keyword. They’ll help you make sure the keyword appears in all the right places and including meta data fields. Some of them also look at the content currently ranking for your keyword, and then provide additional keywords to include and questions to answer.

Tools for analyzing backlinks

Building backlinks is an off-page SEO technique you can’t afford to skip. One of the best ways to target publishers for future backlinks is to look at who has linked to your content in the past. Serpstat’s backlink analysis tool provides insights like number of backlinks, referring domains’ quality scores, and competitor backlinks.

If you don’t need that much detail, you can look at the Links report in Google Search Console. You can also  find insights into the engagement of your backlink traffic in Google Analytics. Here’s how:

1. Check out the User acquisition report under Reports > Acquisition.
2. Filter the first column to First user source / medium. Now you can see how many users were referred from specific websites.
3. Click the plus sign to add a new column to the report. Add a column for Landing page + query string. Now you have insight into where users landed on your site for each referral source.
4. Look to the engagement-focused columns on the right to see how engaged each group of users is and how they’re converting.

You might need to use data from any or all of these sources to put together a well-rounded view of your backlink performance. You know what they say: The more data, the merrier.

SEO tools help you prioritize and thrive

Search engine optimization is a broad field that can be overwhelming if you don’t know how to prioritize the work. And when it comes down to it, this is what SEO tools help you do. They provide data and context to help you figure out which elements of your SEO strategy are the most important.

Without the right tools, your SEO marketing strategy will fall flat. You won’t get the results you expected. And worse, you’ll waste a lot of effort doing work that a program could’ve done in a fraction of the time.

What’s the very first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

Oh, deep breathing and yoga? Well, aren’t you just a ray of sunshine?

We were expecting you to say “look at my phone,” which is what most Americans do. We spend a lot of time online. In our fast-paced world, we’re always looking for the quickest way to get where we want to go.

For most people, the quickest way to get where they’re going online is a search engine. And, well, we wouldn’t be marketers if we didn’t find a way to influence those online experiences.

Thus, search engine optimization (SEO) marketing was born. Today, marketers use SEO strategy to achieve a variety of goals from increased organic traffic to higher conversion rates. And since 68% of online experiences begin with search it’s vital to have a strong strategy.

What is SEO marketing for beginners?

To newer marketers, SEO might seem like a labyrinth of tags, keywords and coding. But search engine marketing is less mysterious than you think, and it can help you achieve your business goals. If you’re just starting out, here are a few SEO marketing tips for beginners .

What is SEO in marketing?

SEO refers to improving your website’s rank and appearance on the search engine results page (SERP). The benefits of SEO reach far and wide.

From a marketing standpoint, SEO is a cost-effective way to bring more organic traffic to your website. Since the average working-age internet user now spends 6 hours and 37 minutes online each day, you can’t afford to skip SEO.

SEO’s meaning in business

SEO also has business benefits outside of marketing:

• Effective keyword research can help you better understand your customer. This intelligence spans from market shifts at a macro level, down to consumer intent on a micro level.
• High-quality content can improve your customer satisfaction, retention, and upsell performance.
• Building a positive online brand presence over time can strengthen your reputation and dilute any negative SERP hits that pop up.

You can also use SEO to grow your business. An increase organic traffic to your site can result in more sales and increase your conversion rate by improving the customer experience.

How is SEO used in digital marketing?

These days, most marketers define digital marketing as… well, marketing. We live in a digital world, and your website is often your first impression to potential buyers. For this reason, it’s hard to overstate the importance of SEO in digital marketing .

Your marketing plan probably involves many channels, like advertising, social media, email marketing, and public relations. SEO is part of your content marketing strategy , which you must have if you’re creating content. After all, you can create the best content in the universe (big ups if you’ve done this), but if the right people don’t see it, it hasn’t accomplished anything for your business.

Organic search is the main source of traffic for many websites, so an investment in SEO is a gift to your brand that keeps giving. By spending resources up-front on creating optimized content, you can generate organic search traffic for months and years to come.

What are the 4 types of SEO?

Once you master the basics and start digging deeper into SEO, you’ll learn there are four types of SEO : on-page, off-page, technical, and local. The best SEO strategies integrate all four.

On-page SEO

On-page SEO includes the activities you probably think of first when you hear “SEO.” Because search engine algorithms are more sophisticated than ever, today’s on-page SEO strategies start with truly valuable content. You can’t trick, automate, or keyword-stuff your way to the top of the SERP.

Instead, focus on understanding your audience and the keywords that are relevant to them. If they were looking for your content or product, what types of keywords would they use – informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional?

Once you’ve done your keyword research, create high-quality content focused on the relevant keywords you’ve identified. Your content should:

• Center on one keyword theme
• Educate or entertain your reader
• Cite original research and credible sources
• Reveal new insights and perspectives

Off-page SEO

Alexander the Great, notorious narcissist, said, “Even when I am gone, I shall remain in people’s minds the star of their rights.” But it was only after his death that he earned his Great title. If he’d spent his life talking about how great he was rather than doing “great” things, no one would’ve remembered him despite his self-aggrandizing speeches.

Similarly (but way less dramatic), promoting your own content can only get you so far in the SEO game. Why? Credibility. Of course you think your content is great. What do others think? Search engines look for backlinks as a sign that other users have found your content helpful.

Off-page SEO involves making sure your content is linkable, and then building a strategy to get backlinks. Linkable content has been crafted with backlinks in mind. Some common hooks are data (the more surprising the better), quotes from industry leaders, and engaging media like podcasts and videos.

To get the most out of your linkable content, identify trustworthy, popular sites within your space and track down a contact. Ask them to link to your content. Include a summary and how it benefits their readers.

Technical SEO

For some marketers, the word “technical” might kick your heart rate up a notch. But don’t be intimidated by technical SEO. Just like the rest of your SEO strategy, it centers on user experience.

Your first step for technical optimization should be ensuring that you’re following web design best practices. Do a website audit with these questions in mind:

• Are the topics and audience clear?
• Is the site easy to navigate?
• Are there extra pages, clicks, or scrolling that could be eliminated?
• What’s your load speed?
• Is your site experience just as good on mobile as it is on desktop?
• Do you or your tech colleagues have any security concerns?

If you come up with underwhelming answers for any of these, you’ve found your starting point for improvement. And remember, as Churchill said, “Perfection is the enemy of progress.” Your site doesn’t have to be 100% optimized to be an effective business asset.

Make improvements as you go, starting with the simplest work and tackling more complex technical SEO later. Before you know it, the organic traffic will be flowing.

Local SEO

If you offer products or services to a particular geographic region, you don’t want to skip local SEO . Generally, any optimizations you do on-page or off-page will boost your local listing. But if local SEO is a priority for your business, there are a few areas you should focus on.

• Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile .
• Include local keywords in your content.
• Share content regularly on social media and engage with your audiences.
• Design a mobile-first website.

One of the big benefits of local SEO is lower marketing costs, since it helps you focus on targeted geographic areas instead of the antiquated “spray and pray” approach.

What are examples of SEO marketing?

If you’ve made it this far, SEO might make sense in theory… but what does it look like in practice? Let’s look at some examples of SEO marketing .

For these examples, we’ll consider an auto shop that also sells car accessories, Amazing Auto Accessories & More.

Step 1: On-page and technical SEO

Let’s say AAA&M wants to use on-page SEO to organically capture more traffic looking to buy windshield wipers. They publish a blog post focused on the keyword “new windshield wipers.” They include the keyword in the post’s title, slug, meta description, headers, and body.

From a technical SEO perspective, AAA&M digs deeper. They:

• Decide the URL is a bit long, and shorten it to /blog/new-windshield-wipers
• Fix any broken links in the article
• Implement a rel=“canonical” tag on any duplicate versions of the post

Step 2: Off-page SEO

The post is optimized and gaining organic traction, but AAA&M isn’t done yet. They know to get the most out of the article, they need to deploy a backlink strategy for off-page SEO. They regularly share the post on their social channels with engaging calls to action and target external sites publishing content related to vehicle maintenance and ask for backlinks.

Example social post: Ever been caught in a rainstorm on the highway? Driving in a downpour can be tense… and you DON’T need the added stress of limited visibility. If it’s time for new windshield wipers, we’ve got you covered with this guide. Do you have a go-to wiper brand? Let us know in the comments!

Example backlink email: Hi [name], your piece “7 things you didn’t know your car needed for routine maintenance” is killer. (Have I ever replaced my brake pads??) Anyway, we just published a guide to buying new windshield wipers, and I think it would be a great addition to your article in the “replace your windshield wipers” section. What do you think?

Step 3: Local SEO

Of course, providing a thorough guide to buying new windshield wipers is great for AAA&M’s brand trust and authority. But we’d be lying if we said they don’t want to sell new wipers to every single person who Google's the keyword. Windshield wipers are a $4.7 billion industry, after all.

For that reason, they target the “new windshield wipers” keyword with their local SEO strategy by making sure it’s included in their Google Business description and product catalog.

How do I SEO my website to Google?

After digesting everything we’ve discussed, you might be wondering: How do I use all this info to optimize my website for Google and other search engines?

Here’s a tip for how to do SEO well: Start where you are. If you’re already creating content but have never considered keywords, do some keyword research. Google Trends is a great SEO tool. Check out the keywords your competitors are using.

If you’ve been optimizing your content to keywords for a while, but have no idea how your website performs technically – start there. Run your site through Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool and share your findings with your tech colleagues. Find out what high-impact, quick-win opportunities there are. Google search console is another SEO tool to learn more about your search performance. 

The most important thing is to start making progress. At the end of the day, SEO is about user experience. Anything you can do to better understand users’ expectations and improve your content’s ability to meet them is a win for SEO.

How much does SEO marketing cost?

The beauty of search engine optimization is that it brings in more organic search traffic – meaning you didn’t pay for the traffic with advertising. However, like everything good in life, SEO is not free.

Creating and executing a comprehensive and effective SEO strategy is a big undertaking. Enterprise companies often have a whole team of full-time marketers dedicated to SEO services. That’s how valuable it is.

The cost of excellent SEO is in the time it takes to create high-quality content and optimize your website. If you’re ready to take your strategy to the next level, there are SEO-specific tools available that can cost as much as $500 per month.

Launch your SEO marketing strategy today

Fortunately, you don’t have to spend $500 a month on software to put your SEO marketing plan into place today. There’s constant innovation in search engine optimization , and tomorrow you could discover a brand new tactic that’s perfect for your business.

But don’t get distracted by shiny, new tactics without mastering the basics first. Getting a handle on how the four types of SEO fit into your marketing strategy will put you miles above your competitor who’s ignoring SEO.

And when your potential buyers wake up in the morning and grab their phones, your content will be there waiting.

Invisibility is poison for a brand struggling to grow and earn market share. If your target audience doesn't see you at critical moments in their buyer's journey, it's like you don't even exist. Without online credibility, authority, and visibility earned through SEO strategy, it’s difficult to convert or close a deal. Everything you do in marketing is more complicated and exhausting.

SEO strategy remedies invisibility, and it's critical for brands investing in growth marketing.

What is an SEO strategy?

A search engine optimization strategy is the practice of improving your website’s ranking and appearance on the search engine results page. It’s all about aligning the content you create with your ideal customers.

An SEO strategy will help you clarify and act on the following information:

• What are your target customers searching for online?
• How do they use that info to make decisions?
• At what point in their journey do they search for it?
• What experience do they expect when they enter your site?

Search engine optimization techniques

SEO revolves around user experience. It’s about creating people-first content. But it still requires research, testing, technical optimizations, and content marketing expertise.

No matter what you may have heard, keywords still matter. You can’t create people-first content without knowing what people search for and how they use the info. Keyword research answers these questions.

On top of that, your website must deliver an amazing user experience that people remember and want to come back for. When your SEO strategies keep that focus, everyone wins.

What’s the role of SEO in marketing?

SEO strategy helps you meet the marketing goals that impact your company’s bottom line, like:

• More organic traffic
• More leads
• Higher quality leads
• Increased customer retention
• Lower customer acquisition cost
• Increased customer lifetime value

The benefits of SEO strategy start with more website traffic. In today’s digital world, no marketer will say no to more traffic.

But all traffic isn’t created equal. The source of your website traffic impacts its quality. And when higher quality traffic comes in, that quality cascades down your whole funnel to increase conversion rates and retention.

When you do SEO right, the organic traffic it brings in is higher quality than, say, advertising traffic. Why? Think of it this way. Every time someone clicks an ad, you're trying to build credibility from scratch. When was the last time you built a meaningful relationship with someone in a few minutes?

Advertising is also an expensive way to get traffic. And when you stop your campaign, the traffic stops flowing in. By contrast, using SEO as an evergreen marketing tactic is a gift that keeps giving long-term.

Here’s how to design an SEO marketing strategy.

SEO marketing strategy

Nearly 70% of online experiences begin with search. And as technologies like voice search become more ubiquitous, that will increase.

What’s more, 91% of websites get no search traffic because they’re not ranking for any relevant keywords. As a marketer, you must have a strategy to insert yourself into your audience’s online experiences. Because it’s not going to happen on its own.

That’s where your SEO plan comes in. Having a solid plan in place will improve three crucial areas for your brand:

• Visibility. That should be obvious. But this isn't about being everywhere at once. You're visible in the places ideal customers are.
• Credibility. People know that Google goes to great lengths to show the most credible sites first. Search result visibility communicates that your brand has staying power and is likely to deliver on its promises. Relevant content boosts brand credibility.
• Authority. Potential customers can see that customers and influencers care what you have to say. You are a thought leader rather than a follower, and an expert in your industry.

These three together make you hyper-relevant in the eyes of your potential customers. They generate the benefits of SEO.

What are the types of SEO in digital marketing?

There are four categories of SEO strategy in digital marketing. 

1. Technical SEO

When launching a new SEO strategy or auditing previous efforts, we often start with technical optimization. That’s because a solid technical foundation is table stakes to play the SEO game.

Moz co-founder Rand Fishkin said, “Technical SEO is like the plumbing of a website… it’s crucial to ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently.” Creating content and building backlinks are essential strategies, but they’re only as strong as the tech they run on.

If your website has technical issues, it’s a big red flag to search engine algorithms. And that means the content you worked so hard on has a slim chance of ranking.

Here are the most important technical SEO aspects to include in your strategy.

• Crawling and indexing. You must ensure search engines can crawl and interpret your website content. To find out if you have any hangups in this area, check the Index Coverage report in Google Search Console.
• Website speed. It goes without saying that speed should be a top priority. If your content takes too long to load, no one will read it - insightful or not. For a report on your core web vitals, use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. Some common issues are large media files and unnecessary code.
• Structure and navigation. A simple, clear site structure helps both human users and search engine crawlers. Use short, descriptive URLs and breadcrumbs so users always know where they are.
• Mobile-friendliness. More than half of online traffic is mobile. If your site is somehow still stuck in non-responsive 2012, it’s time for an overhaul. Many content management systems let you customize elements for different devices.
• Accessibility. Speaking of device diversity, users today are searching on a wide array - from voice-enabled smart devices to assistive devices like screen readers. Make sure your content is accessible to all by being intentional with your use of meta data fields and alt tags.

Technical SEO is important because user experience is important. It’s one of Google’s top priorities when deciding which content to show searchers.

2. On-page SEO

Content is the backbone of on-page SEO. But by itself, great content isn’t enough to get you all the benefits of a comprehensive SEO strategy. You need a keyword-driven content strategy focused on quality.

Which, of course, starts with research.

The key to keyword research

There are many keyword research tools out there. Google’s free keyword planner is a great place to start. Competitor research is another way to contextualize your own content strategy. What kinds of keywords are in your competitors’ ad copy and SERP headlines?

Use your keyword tool of choice to answer these three key questions:

1. What looks achievable based on keyword difficulty? Often, the highest volume keyword or most relevant to your business isn't the best place to start. The competition for it may be through the roof. You won’t rank well for very difficult keywords if your website has a lower domain authority. Instead, start gaining traction with long-tail, niche keywords that have lower difficulty and lower volume. Then, leverage your newfound authority to pursue the tougher keywords.
2. What has a decent search volume? With the above in mind, you don't want to target keywords that have no volume at all. No one would see it! You're looking for a sweet spot for your keyword strategy - achievable keyword difficulty with at least some volume.
3. What aligns with your content strategy? Finally, look for keywords that align with the topics you want to be an authority on. You should never target a keyword if it doesn't relate to your brand. This would lead to the creation of irrelevant content that doesn't align with the search intent. And SEO strategy is all about aligning your goals with your target audience's goals to maximize your visibility and relevance.

Once you have enough info to select some target keywords, it’s time to get down to business and start creating high-quality content.

Pulling off high-quality, helpful content

What, exactly, is high-quality content? This isn’t a nebulous concept that marketers have to guess at and hope for the best. As the world’s largest search engine, Google has put out extensive information on what it considers when judging content quality.

In late 2022, Google’s “helpful content update” confirmed its intention to focus on people-first content. It’s becoming impossible to trick search engines with the black hat SEO techniques of yesteryear as the algorithms learn what’s truly helpful for users.

In the helpful content update, Google suggests creating content for people, not search engines. It also reminds marketers to rely on the E-E-A-T framework to ensure their content shows:

• Expertise: The person who created the content is an expert on the topic.
• Experience: The creator has some degree of experience with the topic.
• Authoritativeness: The creator and the website hosting the content demonstrate authority.
• Trustworthiness: The creator and the website are reliable and credible.

One effective content strategy is the pillar (or cornerstone) method. To start, create one substantial post for a keyword you'd really like to rank. Then create several related sub-topic posts. Link these other posts to your pillar.

This method maximizes your ROI because the supporting posts are faster and easier. But they increase the authority of the pillar they link to.

Of course, your content will be the most “helpful” if it shows up to the people who will benefit from it most: your ideal customers. And since you know exactly what keywords they’re using, you’re ready to optimize.

Be sure your focus keyword is naturally woven into these areas of your content:

• Title
• Slug
• Headers
• Meta description
• Image tags when relevant

3. Off-page SEO

Now the fun part: off-page. What is off-page SEO? In a nutshell, backlinks.

You can spend all day talking about how great your own content is. But there’s a reason why 82% of consumers trust reviews, and only 4% trust ads - credibility.

When ranking your content, search engines look for signs that other users have found it helpful. Lots of relevant links from high-authority websites are a big green flag.

To be clear: backlinks aren’t just a ranking factor. They’re critical. Inbound links show you're connected to a community. Your content has authority with the people who matter.

Links also show who you're associating with. Links from spammy, untrustworthy sites may hurt your ranking more than help. You want links from relevant web pages on mid- to high-authority websites.

How to get backlinks

Backlinks come from other websites you do not own.

Of course, Google wasn’t born yesterday. Backlinks you can easily build yourself (social media, Quora, ads) don’t carry the same weight as a link created by others because they appreciate your website. Still, they don’t hurt.

Backlinks can be tough to get, but the payoff is worth it. You can earn them through link-building strategies like:

• Creating linkable content people want to cite. This kind of SEO content includes data and actionable insights that are well-organized and engaging.
• Performing link outreach in a targeted and mutually beneficial way. Think news sites, industry publications, educational sites, and guest posting opportunities.
• Networking with publishers and influencers online.

The last one is a more invested strategy. But it's also the most effective. It's often employed by SEO agencies supporting many clients.

4. Local SEO

Any business operating locally can’t afford to skip local SEO. By targeting users searching for location-specific keywords, you can lower your marketing expenses and make sure your brand shows up in the right place at the right time.

How? For starters, claim your Google Business Profile and complete the information. This will ensure your business listing shows up by the map when users search for local keywords.

If there are particular keywords you know you want to rank for, be sure to include them in the services or description of your listing.

Focusing on these areas will also boost your rankings in local SEO results.

• Creating high-quality content that includes local keywords
• Having active social media accounts
• Optimizing your website for mobile

How do I create an SEO strategy?

To create an SEO strategy, start by identifying your goals and ideal customer profile. Then, invest some resources into researching your ideal customer. This investment is either your own time, money on SEO tools, or outsourcing the work to an agency.

Your research will provide context to help you determine which elements of your SEO strategy are the most important. From there, you can prioritize the four types of SEO we’ve discussed.

How do beginners do SEO?

For SEO beginners, all the strategies and tactics can be a bit overwhelming. The good news is that you don’t have to come up with your process from scratch. There are many checklists and frameworks out there for beginners.

Here are the basic steps to follow when you’re starting out.

1. Set your goals
2. Audit your site for technical issues
3. Do keyword research
4. Build a content strategy
5. Develop a plan for backlinks
6. Track progress and optimize

What is an example of SEO strategy?

Researching keywords and creating a content plan is a fundamental example of SEO strategy. Let’s say your gym offers exercise classes for night owls. Your approach might look something like this.

1. Through keyword research, you learn that your ideal customer is searching for “is it okay to work out at night?”
2. You develop a piece of content that answers this question. To optimize your content to the target keyword, you incorporate it in the post’s title, URL, meta description, headers, and body.
3. As you create your content, you focus on linkability. It’s not enough to simply answer the question - hundreds of pieces of content already answer it. Go the extra mile by citing original research, creating engaging assets like videos or infographics, and interviewing a credentialed expert.
4. Once you publish your content, you reach out to publishers and influencers in the exercise space to build backlinks.
5. Since your gym serves a specific geographic area, you claim your Google Business Profile and include keywords like “evening exercise class.” This will help the right audience find out about your offering.
6. You plan to do a quarterly technical SEO audit to make sure there are no performance issues with your website.

What is the best SEO strategy in 2023?

The most effective SEO strategy in 2023 and beyond will focus on content quality. As search engines become more sophisticated and the digital world gets more flooded with content, the very best content will rise to the top.

The brands that win will be the ones that have an SEO strategy rooted in understanding their customer and content niche. Then, on that foundation, they’re willing to test new tactics and keep up with trends.

Tracking progress is critical to meeting goals with SEO. You'll have trouble influencing a metric if you can't measure it. And you certainly won't be able to test or optimize.

There are advanced tools available, but for starters, you need to make sure these free analytics tools are set up on your website.

• Google Analytics. Measure and analyze traffic volume, sources, engagement, audience, and sales funnel conversions.
• Google Search Console. Track search ranking, backlinks, indexed pages, and other measures that influence your ability to meet SEO goals. Manage your backlinks, indexed pages, and other behind-the-scenes technical tasks.

Think about what KPIs you want to track. For SEO, track conversions, ranking, organic traffic, and new subscribers to your blog or email list.

SEO tools

Research is at the heart of a thoughtful SEO strategy. To some extent, you can do SEO research and optimizations on your own if you have the time to invest.

Eventually, you’ll need SEO tools to boost your efforts. There are free and paid tools available. The cost and functionality vary, but most fall into one of these categories: 

• Keyword research tools
• Tools to audit your site
• Content optimization tools
• Tools for analyzing backlinks

Many of the household names in SEO offer all-in-one solutions to help with all these phases of the process. Should you invest in one of these platforms? Perhaps, if you have the budget and the internal resources to use it.

Alternatively, you can put together an efficient plan by paying for specialized tools where you need them most. If you have a larger budget but no internal SEO professional, you might choose to hire an agency.

What are common SEO mistakes?

Nobody’s perfect. But when it comes to SEO strategy, mistakes can be costly. Here are some common SEO mistakes to avoid.

1. Targeting the wrong keywords. Companies often target the keywords with the highest volume. Unfortunately, high-ranking results for these keywords can be almost impossible to topple. Instead, narrow down your target keywords to long-tail and zero volume keywords at first if you are starting from scratch. If you're already ranking for a decent amount, evaluate search volume and keyword difficulty to find the sweet spot for keywords to target.
2. Not Matching content to keyword intent. Optimizing your content by inserting your target keyword in the right spots isn’t good enough for today’s sophisticated algorithms. Your content might get a user to click through, but if it doesn’t meet expectations once they get there, Google will know.
3. Throwing resources at backlinks without focusing on content quality too. The most costly mistakes happen when you start investing in promotion tactics but don’t focus on quality onsite content to support it. Whether it’s buying low-quality backlinks or churning out content that’s just plain bad, this is a real waste of money. Focusing on quality first and foremost will make earning backlinks much smoother.

How SEO will change in 2023

The field of SEO moves fast. If you want your SEO strategy to keep performing and remain relevant, you must stay on top of changes and trends. Here are a few of our predictions for 2023 and beyond.

1. Algorithms will get even better at identifying and prioritizing helpful content.
2. Marketers will explore how to incorporate AI and automation into their content creation process while still putting people first.
3. A strong technical foundation will continue to be crucial.

SEO strategy is the heart of growth marketing

An effective growth strategy includes visibility, authority, and credibility. Growth-minded businesses focus on reducing customer acquisition costs to maximize ROI. They do this by investing in sustainable, long-term branding strategies - like SEO.

An effective SEO strategy emphasizes manageable growth through fantastic customer experience.

It builds your brand on a firm foundation and creates a brand that attracts trust and loyalty through your authentic desire to help customers. It focuses on creating a welcoming and relevant user experience for your target audience.

Without these features, it’s just not SEO. And without SEO, your brand is invisible.

If you want to take your business to the next level, growth marketing is an essential strategy worth consideration. Growth marketing is a data-driven approach that focuses on acquiring and retaining customers through experimentation and continuous optimization. 

In this article, we'll discuss several growth marketing ideas that you can use to boost your business along with examples of companies that have successfully implemented these strategies.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website in search engine results pages like Google’s. This is accomplished through techniques such as keyword research, meta tags, and link building. SEO is an extremely powerful way to drive traffic to your website and grow your business. While this is a long-term strategy that requires a lot of effort and dedication, the payoff can be significant. 

In 2023 every business needs a website, and SEO is the way to get it in front of the right people. Improving your website's ranking in search engine results pages can increase visibility, drive more traffic, and ultimately grow your business. There are a variety of businesses that really benefit from SEO, but to see who’s really coming out on top, just take a look at who’s sitting in Google’s number one spot. 

Onsite Content

An SEO strategy is essential for modern businesses, but it’s not really worth much without quality onsite content. Audiences can’t search for content that doesn’t exist, so without it, you’re practically invisible online. Put simply, your content signals to search engines and your audience that you know what you’re talking about. When prioritizing onsite content, you want to make sure your business’s website has relevant material. Types of content may include blogs, infographics, and/or videos, but you have to choose what’s best for your business. 

Leveraging your online content allows your business to showcase your expertise, which can help you earn your audience’s trust and gently move them through your sales funnel. Canva is a popular design tool, and they are killing it when it comes to onsite content. They offer users thousands of design tutorials through their design school. It teaches people how to use their product while also showcasing  the features their service has to offer.

Digital PR

Digital PR is a powerful tool to help businesses build their online reputation and brand authority. With time, it can help you become a reputable industry leader. When done successfully, a digital PR campaign will result in brand mentions and backlinks from sites with quality domains, which increases a brand’s authority both in the eyes of search engines and human readers.

Any current industry leader is most likely benefiting from digital PR. Think about businesses positively mentioned on sites like The New York Times, Forbes, or Entrepreneur. Once those mentions are obtained, it heightens a company’s level of authority. So much so, it’s common practice to see “as featured in” sections on their website. Those sections speak to a level of authority and convince your audience by providing social proof. Strengthening the relationship your business has with the public is important, and digital PR does just that.

Influencer Marketing

Almost everyone is familiar with who influencers are and how they contribute to the marketing space. But to define for those who don’t know, influencer marketing describes a partnership with individuals who have a large social media presence to promote their products or services. Partnering with these individuals can be an effective way to reach a large and engaged audience that is likely to be interested in your products.

With this marketing strategy, you’re able to leverage influencer connections to promote your business. An example of a company that has had great success partnering with influencers is Fashion Nova. They’ve partnered with celebrities like Cardi B and Amber Rose to promote their brand on Instagram. The company made a million dollars on the first day that Cardi B’s line dropped — and that’s largely due to her dedicated fan base. 

Referral Marketing

Referral marketing encourages existing customers to refer their friends and family to your business. To incentivise these referrals, companies often offer rewards and additional perks to these existing customers. This can be an effective way to acquire new customers at a lower cost than traditional marketing methods.

Dropbox is a great example of a company who benefited from referral marketing. They grew their user base by offering more storage space to users who refer their friends to the service. Their company grew 3900% (not a typo!) in just 15 months. That’s wild, but it speaks to how capitalizing on your customer’s connections can really benefit your business.

Mobile Optimization

Optimizing your website, products, and services for use on mobile devices is crucial if you want to grow your business. According to Think with Google, “Almost half (46%) of consumers prefer to use their smartphone to complete the entire process from researching to buying.” This means that having a mobile-friendly website and making sure your products and services are easily accessible on smartphones is crucial to reach customers. Through optimization, you can increase visibility, drive more traffic, and ultimately grow your business.

Personalization

Personalization has become more and more important over the years as audiences expect to be treated as individuals rather than statistics — and rightfully so. However, it can make some marketing efforts more difficult. Personalization as a marketing strategy tailors messages and experiences to individual users based on their behavior and preferences. This can be a powerful way to increase customer engagement and retention.

Netflix is known for its personalized recommendations, which have been successful in keeping users engaged with the platform. According to the company, over 75% of the content that users watch on Netflix comes from its recommendation system. This highlights how effective personalization can be, especially as it keeps users engaged.

A/B Testing

A/B testing is the process of testing two or more variations of a marketing campaign, website, or product feature to see which performs better. This allows you to make data-driven decisions about which changes will have the biggest impact on your business.

If you’re familiar with the meal kit delivery service HelloFresh, they provide a nice example of A/B testing with their menu display update. When they redesigned their menu to create a seamless user experience while also promoting upselling opportunities, they compared their original design to the update. They found the final version contributed to a 7% increase in upselling, proving the second variation performed better.

Remarketing

Remarketing is a strategy in which advertisements are targeted to users who have previously interacted with your business. This can be a powerful way to increase sales and customer retention. Studies show that retargeting can increase conversion rates by as much as 150%. It also helps re-engage the 98% of visitors who leave a website without making a purchase.

Amazon's retargeting ads, which show products that a user previously viewed on the website, have been very effective in driving sales. Just think about how your social media pages look after you’ve been scrolling on their product page. Those great finds sitting in your cart almost immediately end up on your newsfeed. If you’re not remarketing already, it’s an idea worth considering.

Deciding What Strategies Are Right For Your Business

It's important to note that a single method may not necessarily drive the growth of your business. It is important to use a combination of multiple strategies and methods to achieve the best results possible. But you may also find some strategies aren’t worth the resources they will cost your company.

Growth marketing will look different for every business because not all approaches will help you reach particular goals. Continuously testing and refining your approach can help you identify what works best for your unique audience. The above-discussed growth marketing ideas are just a starting point, and you should continuously experiment with new strategies to find what works best for your business.

As a marketer, you are always looking for ways to grow your business and achieve your growth marketing goals — or at least you should be. You’re likely already familiar with the content conversion funnel, but if not, there are multiple steps along the process you may be focusing on strengthening. In its most basic form the funnel has three main components.

At the top of the marketing funnel, you should prioritize attracting high-quality traffic. This is really where you build awareness. Within the middle of the funnel is where you want to build trust. Your audience will evaluate you and your product or service. The bottom of the funnel is where mutual value is created and your audience will make a purchase or follow through with another call to action. Some approaches add additional steps prioritizing retention or referral, which we agree is extremely important.

It’s important to consider whether you’d like to focus on top of the funnel organic traffic or bottom of the funnel converting traffic to drive growth. You need to decide which approach would work best based on your organization. Occasionally, this varies depending on industry. It will also vary based on your established growth marketing goals.

Should You Prioritize the Top or Bottom of the Funnel?

To help you make this decision, it's important to understand the differences between top of funnel and bottom of funnel traffic and how each can impact your growth marketing goals.

Top of funnel traffic refers to the early stage in the customer journey. This stage is where potential customers are starting to become aware of your brand and are considering engaging with you. This traffic is typically generated through awareness campaigns, such as content marketing and social media.

Bottom of funnel traffic refers to the later stage in the customer journey. Here, potential customers are actively considering making a purchase or taking some other desired action. This traffic is typically generated through conversion campaigns, such as email marketing, retargeting, and paid search ads.

For both, SEO and content can play a role in helping you show up for important terms in either top or bottom of the funnel. You just need to decide which to focus on first.

So, How Do You Decide? 

In all honesty, this decision about what to prioritize varies across industries, and your overall marking approach is a big factor as well. Here are a few factors to consider:

Your business goals and objectives:

When making any strategy decisions, you need to ask yourself what you're trying to achieve with your marketing efforts. If your goal is to drive brand awareness and reach a larger audience, focusing on TOF traffic may be the way to go. This is a common top priority for new businesses that need to get their name out there. 

Keep in mind TOF traffic is typically gained by targeting search terms that are broad with high search volumes. When you start ranking well for those terms you’ll see your site’s traffic go up, which means more potential for leads. If you don’t have strong conversion paths set up, this may not do you much good, though.

Say your goal is to drive sales or conversions, then BOF traffic may be more appropriate. If you’re in the fourth sales quarter and numbers are down, prioritizing conversions would probably be the best use of your time. Focusing on customers who already know and trust your company can be an easy way to boost sales, but it’s important to retain a personalized connection with your customer base to successfully utilize this approach. 

And opposite of TOF, BOF traffic is typically lower search volumes, but more quality searchers. You may not see that satisfying spike in traffic, but will ideally see an increase in conversions if you have strong paths and CTAs.

Your target audience: 

Second, ask yourself who you are trying to reach with your marketing efforts. Understanding your target audience’s needs, wants, and behaviors can help you determine the most effective way to engage with them. 

If your target audience is primarily made up of first-time buyers or those who are unfamiliar with your brand, focusing on TOF traffic may be the best approach. A witty social media campaign or partnering with a fun influencer can get your business in front of new eyes. 

If your target audience is made up of repeat customers or those who are already familiar with your brand, BOF traffic could be more effective. This could look like sending out a personalized email marketing campaign to previous customers. You might even send them a promo code or coupon to thank them for their previous purchases and encourage a repeat sale.

Your marketing budget: 

How much money do you have to allocate toward your marketing efforts? TOF traffic tends to be more expensive than BOF traffic, as it requires a longer-term investment in content creation and SEO strategy. 

BOF traffic, on the other hand, can be less expensive because you know your audience and how to reach them. It also allows for a more immediate approach, like email marking discussed early. An additional benefit that comes with this approach is that email is an owned media, so you’ll be using resources like time and energy rather than chipping away at your budget.

Your marketing resources:

Before making too many plans, it’s important to take inventory. Do you have the time, talent, and resources needed in order to execute a TOF or BOF marketing strategy? If you have a small team or limited resources, it may be more feasible to focus on only one side of the marketing funnel. This may mean creating quality content that doesn’t need much follow through. Or instead, you really prioritize making past customers feel special.

On the other hand, if you have a larger team and more resources at your disposal, then you’ll probably be able to focus on both TOF and BOF traffic. And to be honest, combining both strategies at the same time yields additional benefits. However, you have to determine if it’s worth the cost for your business. Not all organizations can prioritize both, and in some cases stretching yourself too thin can cause more harm than good. Marketing requires balance.

In the End, It’s Up to You

Using both approaches can be particularly effective to help grow your business. However, not all budgets or team configurations allow for that approach. Focusing on TOF traffic helps build your brand and reach a wider audience, while BOF tactics convert those potential customers into paying customers. 

These strategies can help you drive both awareness and conversions, leading to sustainable growth for your business. However, the ultimate decision of whether to focus on TOF or BOF is up to you. If you're really unsure, it may be time to consider a growth marketing agency. By considering these factors, you can determine the best approach for achieving your growth marketing goals.

In an era when more and more people are using their smartphones to shop, digital marketing has exploded, so it makes sense to “go where your people are” via newer growth marketing channels.

Growth marketing is an increasingly important goal shared by small businesses and large corporations alike. However, tapping into some growth marketing channels, such as search engine optimization (SEO) or email marketing, can produce more growth than others.

All fine and well, but the question remains; how do you allocate a finite marketing budget?

Allocate Your Marketing Budget for Maximum Impact

Traditional marketing practices, such as outdoor advertising, still have their place. However, many of your potential customers miss these messages entirely. They walk right past your place of business, staring down at their smartphone. As they ride shotgun with a friend, their handheld device commands their attention…so they could easily miss that expensive billboard.

Spending on growth marketing channels makes it tempting to go with an either/or decision. However, businesses need to do a little bit of both to remain successful. As your marketing efforts increasingly shift into the digital realm, it might be helpful to have a roadmap. Which channels will be the most effective in your niche? If you plan to break out of your comfort zone, it would be great to be confident you are heading in the right direction.

Nowadays, most marketing experts agree that the following eight channels bring the most ROI for businesses. The channels you select will depend on your niche, but you can adapt most of these top eight growth marketing channels to suit your needs. As you devise your growth plans, ensure they will be worthwhile. For example, if video marketing isn’t the best choice for your industry, you’d probably like to know before investing in equipment.

1. Search Engine Marketing

Search engine results pages (SERPs) represent the critical metric for the success of all your assorted growth marketing channels.

If your growth marketing efforts are not moving the needle on SERPs, you’ll want to recalibrate until that changes. Dive into what keywords you should be ranking for, and what type of content you’ll need to create to move the needle. Once you are on the board, you’ll want to keep a close eye on your rankings and tweak strategies as necessary. Success on this channel can lead to relatively inexpensive yet consistent traffic for your site.

2. Content Marketing

The quality and usefulness of your online content are the primary means by which your company demonstrates that it knows its stuff. Content represents the main channel by which your domain authority (DA) will rise or fall. A rising DA signals search engines that your digital footprint should be ranking for those key search terms.

Search engines will crawl your site and verify that your company has the knowledge and content to support its claims. That content is also vital for moving a prospective customer through every stage of the sales funnel. It should answer questions and address common pain points at every stage of the visitor’s journey. Because of that, if you aren’t paying enough attention to this channel, now’s the time!

3. Digital PR

If a meaningful discussion is occurring online relevant to your industry, you want your company to garner a mention by others.

Third-party validation of your products and services is another key to building your online credibility. As unpaid third parties begin linking to your materials, citing you as an expert on the topic, your DA should rise correspondingly. This can help lead to better search rankings and can help your brand build credibility, all of which will help with growth.

4. Email Marketing

Email marketing is an integral part of promoting growth. As prospective customers move through the sales funnel, provide opportunities to learn more via email. Your online presence should nurture leads by providing in-depth materials that won’t perform well on smartphones.

For example, a website overview on a relevant topic could offer the opportunity to download an in-depth white paper in exchange for an email address. This way, your company will educate and respond to real-world needs as you grow your list of leads.

5. Paid Advertising

Don’t forget to allocate a portion of your online marketing budget to the growth channel of paid advertisements. Paid insertions on search engines and social media platforms that are popular with your target audience should provide measurable results.

As your company grows, you can reliably compare the cost of these ads to the number of referrals you receive. They play an essential role in ensuring that your company pops up in front of potential customers in the right place and at the right time.

6. Referrals

A robust, win-win referral program will pay enormous dividends as you seek recognition as an authoritative voice. When your products work well and your services generate positive buzz, you should leverage what others say to a great advantage.

As non-competing businesses begin to look to you for reliable answers, many others will feel the influence to follow along. Customers become unpaid cheerleaders. Satisfied customers begin to chat you up. Business owners start to notice when your company solves real-world problems for others. As a result, your DA climbs.

7. Influencer Marketing

For many industries, influencer marketing is more critical today than ever before.

Having another well-respected voice in your corner reassures potential customers that you are who you say you are. When someone with a respected reputation validates you with a recommendation, they are putting their reputation on the line.

Don’t jump in recklessly, though. It’s vital to sift potential influencers. Are they flashy? Is their reputation appropriate for your target client base? Try to steer toward respected industry voices. Avoid controversy at all costs.

8. Affiliate Marketing

Of all the growth marketing channels you need to address, affiliate marketing can represent “low-hanging fruit” for companies looking to see remarkable growth.

Once again, the enduring quality of your partnerships will strongly influence the quality of the audience. When any well-respected voice cites your company as authoritative, they carry all of their influence on others in their wake.

That’s a wrap.

So there you have it! You now know which eight marketing channels will appear on nearly every Top 15 list worldwide. Now it’s up to you to pick the growth marketing channels that make the most sense in your context.

Go in expecting at least some trial and error, but be quick to base all future decision-making upon empirical data should it appear that you need to change course.

Of course, many SMB owners are far too busy delivering quality products and customer service to have the time to devote to developing growth marketing channels. In these cases, it might make more sense to use a growth marketing agency to get you up and running. As you consider this option, look for an agency with the heart of a teacher. You’ll want to partner with someone who gives you a boost but “teaches you to fish for yourself” as its ultimate goal.

As you branch out into various growth marketing channels, try to remind yourself and your staff to have some fun and freedom to experiment. No one can predict with any 100% certainty how the swells in our shared digital ocean will move, so some adjustment will always be required. Just play to your known strengths, and remember…keep it real.

As more and more people join the ranks of those currently using their smartphones to complete secure business transactions, it's become increasingly vital to get with the content marketing trend. So yes, it's critical that you create high-quality, reliable content specific to your niche. However, if you don't know how to optimize content for SEO, all the great content in the world is unlikely to boost your online visibility.

There is both an art and a science to creating helpful content while balancing that against remembering how to optimize content for SEO even as it is being produced. Today there are plenty of diagnostic tools to help you grasp the basics, such as Yoast SEO. But there's much more to it than just the effective use of tools.

For example, you might use Google Docs and Grammarly to put a spit shine on your writing, but you're going to need more than that. Being talented in one area of SEO is great, but to get a boost in search engine results pages (SERPs), you will need to be highly skilled in other areas. Someone highly adept in only one area is roughly analogous to someone who only knows how to change a flat tire thinking they are a certified car mechanic.

Great Content Fuels SEO-Powered Sales

Well-planned and executed content contributes powerfully to your overall SEO strategy. Learning how to optimize content for SEO makes your website content more readable and enjoyable to consume overall. It also helps readers and search engines understand what you've posted.

There are many simple ways to optimize content for SEO. Below are eight industry practices you can use to help you get started. Think of them as checkboxes that must be ticked, such as including onsite and offsite links, using the right keywords to help you optimize your onsite content, and ensuring you are addressing issues about which people care.

Before you start learning how to how to optimize content for SEO, it will help immensely to put together what experts refer to as a client creative brief. A client creative brief is nothing more than a rough outline of what you hope to achieve. Think of it as a blueprint containing project details, both short-term and long-term objectives, and what you need to get from here to there.

If you are not planning to outsource your SEO project to an agency, you should nonetheless put your ​​client creative brief together. Feel free to modify your brief as your project progresses, but don’t dive in without a roadmap. Getting lost and muddled in strengthening your domain authority and showing up prominently in search engines is too easy.

How to Optimize Content for SEO

1. Use heading tags.

If you are coding your written content by hand, you already know that H1, H2, H3, and H4 tags provide readers with a taxonomy of information. H1 is the coding equivalent that signals Header 1, H2 signals Header 2, and so on. These tags help provide a helpful taxonomy of data for the human eye and for the search engine "spiders" that repeatedly crawl your website, digesting your information.

Nowadays, though, no one needs to learn to code HTML to generate these codes.

WordPress, for example, does this automatically, behind the scenes. Writers leverage a user-friendly interface to raise and lower the status of their headings, subheads, bulleted lists, and more. Once the content has been published or updated, search engines use these automatically inserted tags to answer one straightforward question: "What is this piece about?"

If you publish content without providing these distinctions, it quickly becomes monotonous. Human readers and search engines alike see what you've written as one big, long, perhaps sleep-inducing blob of text. Human beings will quickly bounce as they can't scan your content. A huge part of learning how to optimize content for SEO is making effective use of hierarchical elements, especially heading tags.

2. Include internal links.

An internal link is a hyperlink inserted into your text that links to additional content on the same site. This link should be germane to the topic as you’ve rendered it in the text and images. An internal link communicates an expectation in the mind of a human reader, something along the lines of "there’s more to learn about that subject if I want it."

When you interlink the content on your site, it signals to search engines that you are an expert on specific topics. It creates a web of authority that strengthens the value of your domain. Links should tell readers you know a great deal about a particular niche. If you have great information about a certain topic, this fact will become immediately apparent to readers and search engines. Therefore, pick your links and keywords with the utmost care.

3. Add value with external links.

Avoid trying to be an expert in everything. No one can do this. Better by far to recognize where your expertise ends, and the expertise of another begins. When you hit that boundary in your online content, insert external links to high-authority, helpful content on external websites.

Keep in mind that your site's authority is at stake as you choose the external sites to which you plan to link. Let’s face it; you can probably find something on the internet to back up just about anything you write, no matter how ridiculous (or worse, untruthful). Consequently, it’s critical that you use domain authority tools such as Moz to make sure you are only linking out to high-quality, reliable information. Your reputation is on the line here!

One of the best uses of external linking is to help your readers access information to back up your statements with statistics, charts, and data. When you use external linking to educate and inform your readers, you send a signal to search engines that you are a reliable source. This helpfulness, too, will contribute to helping your site rise in popularity and SERPs.

4. Do your keyword research.

Perhaps the most labor-intensive task in constructing an effective content marketing campaign is not (as many might guess) producing the content itself. That’s a crucial piece of the puzzle, obviously. However, before generating the content, you want to be locked in on your target keywords. Making sure you’ve selected the right keywords will pay off handsomely when you begin the content development phase.

Experts recommend choosing longer-tail keywords that bypass the more obvious choices if you don’t quite have the authority you need for those more difficult keywords. If your onsite content is solid and optimized to a longer-tail keyword, you’re more likely to rise in SERPs specific to your service area and area of expertise. You will want to optimize as much of your content around those longer-tail keywords as possible. You will want to steer clear of what’s known as "keyword stuffing" and opt instead for related keywords only as necessary.

5. Work to match the search intent of your intended audience.

Have you ever experienced an internet "Gotcha!" moment? Did you click on a link expecting one type of content…only to land on a site that has nothing to do with your intended purpose? Chances are better than even that this misdirection was intentional, the result of manipulating keywords and SERPs to nefarious ends. No one likes misleading links. In all likelihood, you bounced from the site immediately. You should expect the same treatment if your chosen keyword in any way defeats user expectations.

Treat your internet audience with respect. Ensure the content you create matches the search intent for your selected keyword.

For example, an educational blog might be best for a keyword if the purpose is primarily informational. A well-built product or service page may be best if the user's intent is commercial. When you work to consistently meet (or exceed) the expectations of search intent, your users are far more likely to reward you with repeat visits.

6. Be sure to include an intuitive URL and meta description.

Believe it or not, many users still scan the entire URL displayed in the dialog box of their web browser of choice. Set up your site's hierarchy and posts to provide a logical "trail" for your users. This practice reinforces the web of authority around the topic or theme and (let’s face it) is much easier on the eye. Which of the two URLs makes the most sense to you? Perhaps more significantly, which URL are you more likely to copy and text to a friend or family member?

• www.xyz-company/products/plumbing/shutoff-valves.php
• www.xyz-company/sv/M8&5aa-pro-sku7y84763/43/dksaaGT5768324%20%Delv%20%Ship4v45

When you begin building links, remember that brevity is the soul of wit. Keep the slug for every page and post as short as possible yet meaningful to human readers. Four to five words are optimal. This will not always be possible for every site. However, it’s a good rule of thumb to implement it whenever and wherever possible.

Similarly, every piece of content you post should include a META description. These descriptions offer search engine spiders a concise overview of the subject matter of your content. Your online content will begin to show up in its niche when your URL, META, and keyword work in unison.

7. Use titles and descriptive ALT text for images.

Making your content available and accessible to the broadest possible audience makes good business sense…and it’s the right thing to do. In the U.S., for example, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990. Yet, even today, many websites implement ALT tags and descriptive language as an afterthought. Sadly, many still ignore these online content attributes altogether.

Search engines, however, have brought commerce to bear on this issue. Many sites to this day consistently lack ALT tags for images. Other portions of the site are inaccessible to adaptive computing equipment. Consequently, those sites are likely to get dinged for it. Today, search engines more or less serve to police the ADA by lowering site rankings and domain authority.

When including ALT tags, use your selected keyword where it makes sense. Again, don’t try to "stuff" keywords into your ALT tags and other hidden fields. Search engines long ago figured that one out. As stated above, attempts at deception will get you dinged. Plenty of online testing tools are available if you’re wondering how your site scores for adaptability. "Listening" to your website content through a screen reader can also prove an enlightening experience.

8. Write for the reader.

At this point, you might well be wondering if you should be writing content for Google or your intended audience. Well…can it be both? If you are doing your job well, your ranking on SERPs will go up if you keep an eye on your customers and search engines. However, if you must fall off the fence one way or the other, fall in favor of your readers.

Over time, as more users begin taking in and backlinking to your site, the usefulness of your content will become apparent, even if you don’t tailor absolutely everything to please the almighty algorithms.

As you write, produce photos, and develop your content, keep the reader foremost in your thinking. Imagine yourself in the position of someone trying to learn more, solve a problem, or find information. As your audience validates your usefulness through repeated clicks and more extended amounts of time spent on the site, your commitment to reader service can only contribute to greater domain authority and positioning on SERPs.

"Cabbie, how do I get to Carnegie Hall?" Practice, practice, practice!

That corny old joke has become a cliche and stuck around in the collective unconscious for a reason. It points to an enduring truth. You're unlikely to achieve perfection whenever you take your first shot at anything. Whether playing the violin or optimizing content around a longer-tail keyword, you will need to keep at it until it becomes second nature.

Don’t despair if your initial efforts at optimizing content to your niche are less than stellar. That’s completely normal. You need to keep spinning so many plates that it can initially feel overwhelming. Use the guidelines above, refer back to them often as you develop your content, and keep at it!

Even if you plan to staff up in-house, you may need to engage the services of a professional SEO agency on the front end. If you find that you do need help, consider reaching out to one of our sales associates for a no-cost consultation. At Relevance, we eat and sleep SEO, but then we are quick to admit that we’re a bit odd that way.

Whether we like it or not, search engine optimization is a constantly evolving technical skill. What worked yesterday may fall completely flat next week. Constant research and updates are the meat and potatoes of every SEO agency.

Search engine companies, for their part, continue to update their algorithms to provide a better user experience. Frequently, they will release an algorithm update into the wild without much in the way of advance notice.

To better understand how successful SEO tactics really work, it might help to check out the 2014 film "The Lego Movie." In that cinematic masterpiece, the protagonists Emmet and Wyldstyle elude their murderous pursuers by constructing a high-powered getaway vehicle out of random bits of Lego as they run at full speed down an alleyway. At the last possible second, the engines snap into place, and our heroes launch themselves to safety.

Putting together a successful SEO campaign and keeping it afloat is only slightly less harrowing. Any number of factors can influence the results showing up on search engine results pages (SERPs). Given the ever-shifting terrain of SEO and your need to focus attention elsewhere, hiring an agency can be a somewhat daunting, albeit necessary, task.

Ideally, you will partner with an agency that will grow organic traffic to your website. They'll work to improve your search rankings and help you generate more leads. Should you elect to go this route, there are several questions you can ask that will help you determine if potential agencies really know their stuff and can help you move ahead in your market niche. Listed below are nine to consider.

1. Can you guarantee specific results?

Be wary of anyone who answers "Yes." Why? Because it is almost impossible to promise a specific ranking status. If the company you are considering "guarantees" a certain number of visitors to your website, a percentage of increase in sales, or a specific ranking position, you might be hearing more hype and hustle than anything else.

Most agencies will tell you they're confident of the results they can produce based on past clients. However, anyone who promises a specific ranking or traffic level is not being entirely truthful. (Let's just say it that way.) Instead of being drawn in by extravagant promises, focus on doing business with companies that commit to following search engine protocols established to provide benchmarks for quality of work. Go with verifiable "best practices" rather than pie in the sky.

2. How long will it take to see results?

Committing to effective SEO practices represents just the first step on a journey. Again, if anyone you are considering promises overnight results, they are showing you that they haven't been working in the SEO niche very long.

First, your digital footprint must have a solid foundation and strategy. That foundation often takes the form of reliable, high-quality content on a well-maintained and mobile-optimized website. After that, you'll need that onsite content to support your link acquisition goals. Once you have a stable platform, you can begin securing link acquisitions.

Anyone who promises instant results isn't using sustainable techniques. Simply stated, they aren't being honest about the realistic possibilities or working with SEO.

However, that reality shouldn't prevent an experienced agency from giving you an estimated time frame for results. You should generally expect results from reliable providers within six to twelve months, depending on how demanding your goals are. Any number of factors can rise up to skew your hoped-for results. It all depends on the competition, your site's domain authority (DA), and how difficult it is to rank for your specific keyword.

Some niche businesses may see results within a few months. Others could take significant time to see any return. Keep in mind that many third-party factors lie outside anyone's ability to control. This is all part of the SEO process. Consequently, if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

3. Have you ever worked with a similar company before?

One of the best ways to know if any SEO agency can handle your project is if they've already achieved similar results in the same niche as your company. If they have, they'll already know some of the strategies it takes to get results. They should be able to explain clearly how taking you on as a client wouldn't result in a conflict of interest.

However, if they haven't previously worked in your niche, that shouldn't immediately disqualify them, either. Many of the tools and tricks that work for one niche are transferable to another.

What you're trying to learn through this question is whether or not your company is a fit with their agency and vice-versa. One positive sign is the courageous sales rep who is transparent about never having worked in your niche.

4. How has SEO changed within the last few years?

Be careful if an SEO agency you're considering explains that SEO is more or less the same today as it was a few years ago. While it is true that the core fundamentals haven't changed much, many specific tactics have been updated to keep up with changes.

Recall that search engine companies frequently announce significant changes to how they index websites. As the online marketplace shifts attention from one highlighting metric to the next, these algorithm changes can't help but affect site rankings and SERPs.

If you want to walk in better prepared, spend at least a few minutes charting the various updates to the Google search algorithm over time. Take notice if the people you're talking to can't walk you through specific updates and demonstrate how they'll impact your business. You need an SEO agency that can speak both technical and business in understandable terms. If, on the other hand, you feel your head start to spin in technical jargon, that's not a good sign. Say something about it and gauge the response this request receives.

5. What metrics do you think are most important to measure?

Rankings, traffic, and backlink numbers are all essential to monitor constantly. However, leveraging effective SEO tactics means doing more than simply increasing rankings, decreasing bounce rates, or improving traffic levels. People spending more time on your website means very little if that loitering traffic never actually purchases anything. Rankings matter most when they're helping your business generate qualified leads.

What you've defined as your business needs should drive which yardsticks you use for measuring success. It's essential to look at various metrics based on specific goals you might have. For example, some metrics could include the ranking position for a keyword or how much traffic a site is getting for that keyword. Tracking these metrics will help you understand the progress being made and if an agency fully grasps what you mean by success.

Ultimately, you want an agency that can tie its SEO efforts back to your bottom line. You need an agency that can visualize the big picture and articulate that vision to you. An SEO agency's success metrics should be based on your personal business goals. Individualization of statistical reporting will be critical for your review sessions.

6. How do you choose the keywords to target?

Effective keyword research requires considerably more effort than most realize as they begin their initial foray into the world of SEO. The overall relevance of any selected keyword is crucial, of course. However, trying to understand the default headspace — a.k.a. "search intent" — of the person conducting an internet search is equally as important.

What's typically going on in the thinking of someone who might have at least some interest in your products or services? What terms are these people likely to type into search engines? That might sound like an impossible question to answer, but it isn't. Meaningful statistics can be harvested and brought to bear, providing a solid starting point.

Make sure any potential agency you're considering refers to search intent as their basis for crafting your SEO campaign. They should also be taking into consideration keyword difficulty, as well as search volume. Not all keyword targets are created equal, so a good agency knows the balance between what is achievable and worthwhile and what isn't.

Ask them to speak at some length about the specific tools and techniques they use to determine keyword intent. If the entire conversation revolves around the number of searches for a keyword they've targeted for your needs, they're more than likely operating on outdated SEO practices.

7. What's your link-building process?

Some SEO agencies will promise to build thousands of links on your behalf within a short period of time. However, the unpleasant reality is that those links may not be valuable if they originate from a bunch of low-quality, low-DA sites.

Your conversations should focus on building quality links over a large quantity of links. You want to ensure that the links you receive come from sites with some authority in their niche and that the content your links are in is relevant to the site where they are placed. If you're a health company and an agency secures you a link in a home renovation site in content that has no connection, it may not be relevant. While you can't stop anyone from linking to you as they wish, you'll get more positive backlinks when you publish consistently excellent online resources.

Online users are quick to click away when a link doesn't yield anticipated results. Modern link-building practices favor those who provide high-quality content relevant to the site on which it will be published. You probably won't move the needle if you're not getting that.

8. How should SEO be incorporated into our overall marketing strategy?

The most successful SEO initiatives are integrated into an overall marketing plan. SEO goes hand in hand with content marketing, public relations, and social media activities to create effective links. Your potential SEO agency should be open to collaborating with marketing, web development, and sales teams and your existing marketing initiatives.

The alarm bells should start to go off if the SEO agency you're talking to ignores or downplays what's worked well for your company in the past. The number of successful companies that need to "chuck it all and start over from scratch" are infinitesimally few. Instead, an SEO company that knows its stuff will take the base you've established and elevate it to new heights.

Properly understood, successful SEO is a blend of onsite content, link acquisitions, and even some aspects of digital PR. Strategic link acquisitions from external publications are also a vital piece of the SEO puzzle. Typically, well-regarded publications agree to link to your content using a specific keyword. Keep in mind that high-DA sites are only interested in linking to high-quality content as they realize that their linking practices affect their credibility.

External digital PR that mentions your brand helps signal search engines that you are recognized as an authority on a specific subject. Incorporating digital PR and boosting your domain authority will provide another shot in the arm to help you rank well.

9. What do you need from clients to be effective?

Reliable SEO agencies should have a long list of questions and needs. To conduct their work effectively, they'll need detailed information about your audience, industry, and goals. Pay attention to their eagerness to interview you just as much as you want to interview them. You can take that as a bad sign if you sense they're going through the motions.

SEO agencies need flexible and cooperative clients to make SEO-focused site changes. The clients who tend to see the most success are willing to let an agency guide onsite strategy and link acquisition strategies. Clients should be able to keep the high-level goal of ranking for a specific keyword as the focus of the relationship.

In a more traditional commercial transaction, you pay money to acquire a product or service. The extent of your commitment is cutting a check. Working with an SEO agency will require making payments, of course, but it's also better to think of the process as a relationship rather than a transaction. Both you and the agency have a vested interest in making sure you see results from the relationship.

Conclusion

Your goal is to make an informed decision when choosing an SEO agency. Hopefully, the questions above have laid the groundwork for that. It might initially feel intimidating to ask a lot of questions about different SEO options. However, asking the right questions at the outset will only set you up for success.

Agencies that know what they're doing will be open and honest about their processes. With a bit of homework on your part — and a willingness to walk away if you have misgivings — you're more likely to find an agency that delivers what you need by asking them these questions. Factor in some after-action time to evaluate their answers to determine the best fit for your niche. Knowing the techniques and policies an SEO agency employs before you dive in will serve you well as you seek to own the industry you operate in.

Finding a quality SEO company can be challenging. Not all can keep up with the ever-changing industry. As a result, it’s best if you take the time to educate yourself on SEO and all that’s involved. Learning the basics will help you understand the offered process and strategies, which will ultimately assist with choosing the right company.

The first step is understanding exactly what SEO is. Search engine optimization is the process of making changes to your website and content to make your site more attractive to search engines and, ultimately, consumers. Therefore, a company that provides SEO services partners with businesses to boost visibility within search engines through search engine optimization services.

Advantages of Utilizing a Professional SEO Service

Getting a grasp on the benefits of a good SEO company is the next step toward success, and if done correctly, you can expect the following results:

• improvement in rankings;
• increased overall traffic to your website;
• better overall website performance;
• higher conversion rates and sales, depending on your target keyword; and
• making strides to own your industry.

Things to Look For in an SEO Agency

Increased visibility in search engines leads to more traffic, exposure, brand credibility, and improved rankings. SEO strategy is a valuable investment that you should start sooner rather than later. When choosing a company, you want to look for the following elements to find a reliable agency with a strong foundation.

1. An Emphasis on Goals

You want to discuss your goals to ensure you choose the right company for your brand. Talk to them about what you hope will come out of your SEO efforts. Are you struggling to reduce bounce rate and increase conversion rate? Are you looking to boost product sales by ranking? What does your website need to get ahead of the competition?

No matter which SEO company you choose, make sure you’ve discussed the type of results you want to accomplish. If a company doesn’t know what they’re working towards, you’ll likely both end up unhappy.

2. Customer Reviews

Check testimonials and reviews for the SEO companies that are at the top of your list. The best companies typically have many long-term customers who have referred others to the same service.

Although online reviews can be helpful, marketers can also manipulate them. This means that a good way to find a qualified SEO company is by word of mouth. Ask people within your professional circle who they would recommend.

It can also be helpful to ask other businesses within your industry because the services they recommend will already have experience in your specific field. If a company has numerous negative reviews, you are often more likely to find them! You want to stick with companies that have maintained a strong track record.

3. A Solid Company Website

The websites of SEO companies provide information about how they view and execute the process. There are so many SEO agencies out there, and everyone does it a little differently. This is why it’s essential to pay attention to the different viewpoints among agencies and choose the right one for your business.

Learning more about their services, approach, and the results they have generated for past clients will tell you more about what they can accomplish for you. SEO companies maintain their websites as the best indicator of the services they can offer your business. Consequently, viewing their content helps you get a sense of their personality and their approaches.

4. A Strong Understanding of Strategy

Any successful SEO strategy will include keywords, but that’s only the starting point. The way to win is to create a plan that establishes benchmarks (current and future), measurements of organic traffic, backlinks, the competition, goals, KPIs, click-through rates, and extensive keyword research.

The company you want to trust is the one that starts with a thorough content audit and begins to weed out low-performing pages or redirect them as needed. After that, they’ll dive deeply into your traffic based on destination, demographics, and referring sites. Insist on a “hub and spoke” strategy that draws prospective customers in with valuable information that supports your keyword strategy with rankable content. You might know what constitutes the pillars of your business, but conveying that to someone who operates outside your niche is the golden key.

How does your specific expertise help other people solve everyday issues? At what point does what you have to offer to intersect with felt needs? Who needs what it is that you do? The agency you choose need not be experts in your niche, but they need to be able to communicate clearly to the average person how your company can improve their lives.

5. Emphasis on Tracking Progress

Monitoring the correct KPIs is the best way to avoid spending time and money on something that isn’t helping you achieve your goals. KPIs serve as a control system that identifies which tactics work and which don’t. The best monitoring indicators include organic traffic, search rankings, visibility, links, and bounce rates.

You should select specific KPIs based on your project goals to benefit the most from the process. Start by specifying your business goals and what you want to achieve.

You want an agency to look at your monthly progress and objectives to ensure you're moving in the right direction. Ideally, the agency would iterate and optimize each month based on what you need to succeed.

6. A Good Team

While it might be more convenient, no one person can effectively take care of all the details required to boost a company’s standing on search engine results pages (SERPs). Even if it were possible, it’s not wise.

You want a handful of uniquely talented voices speaking to your SEO project. Keep this in mind as you search for an agency to help you increase your visibility. Pay close attention to the give-and-take process that marks a company secure enough in its diverse abilities to defer to the talents of its resident experts.

Get to know who will be on your team, and make sure you have a group that will be focused on helping you achieve your goals. The ideal team will be supportive and just as excited to tackle goals as you are.

Wrapping Up

The critical piece of information to remember is that nobody can guarantee results.

It is almost impossible to promise a specific ranking status. This is why it is essential to be careful when companies “guarantee” a certain number of visitors to your website or a particular ranking position. Instead, focus on companies that promise to follow search engine guidelines for quality of work and the overall SEO process.

Remember that SEO is a complex process that involves many details and variations. However, it always has the same goal: to make your website easier to understand by search engines, increase online visibility, and increase user engagement. Use these tips to choose the right SEO company for you, and be careful with those who cannot provide a clear explanation of how they will optimize your website.

We all knew that marketing had changed forever once consumers began using smartphones to price-check products and services. True, in-person shopping still has the considerable advantage of immediacy — customers can take your products home right now — but profit margins had to shrink to overcome the willingness to wait a bit for competitors to ship to the doorstep. Suddenly, it seemed, SEO and content strategy were separating the successful from the dwindling.

This dynamic has affected every industry, whether you provide products or services. Consumers nowadays show an endless appetite for calling out price gouging or poor service on social media. Bad online word of mouth can sink a business seemingly overnight. On the flip side, prospective customers are more willing to believe positive reviews submitted by verified buyers. When someone speaks well of your company, it can help nudge others into action.

In this ever-shifting terrain, it’s no longer enough to be highly skilled in your specific niche. Your expertise must be visible online if you hope to achieve any significant growth. What you say about yourself is a great starting point, but what other people say about your business (both online and offline) matters now more than ever.

Learning to Train Your SERP Dragon

Assuming you’ve been actively marketing your products or services online for more than 15 minutes, you already understand the incredible importance of search engine optimization (SEO).

By now, most of us are well aware that “The Holy Grail” for all forms of eCommerce is to have your content displayed on Page 1 of search engine result pages (SERPs). In a perfect world, a prospective customer or client would enter a keyword directly related to your niche, launch that query into the vast wilderness of cyberspace, and BOOM! Your specific expertise would land on the top of the SERP, prominently displayed for all to see.

If only it were that simple, right? Unfortunately, experts estimate that well over five billion — with a “B” — comprise our worldwide digital population. That number is hard to imagine, let alone compete with! Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to raise your odds of engaging with your target audience.

1. Optimize all of your online content to the search intent of relevant keywords.
2. If the goal of a keyword is to sell products, you must have a landing page for every product to perform well in SERPs.
3. If the keyword intent is primarily to inform and educate, you must provide long-form content that offers lasting value.

Are you keeping tabs on what are other businesses doing?

To guide your content development, spend some time studying the competition. What type of content is currently performing well in your niche? In other words, what shows up today when you search your keywords? Where are the pain points? How can you provide solutions that address a problem that prospective customers are trying to solve? Can you narrow your content's focus to attract your ideal audience?

At this point, longtail keywords become crucial.

For example, suppose you hope to rank for the keyword “computer repair” but you don’t have any helpful content on that specific topic published to your website. In that case, your business is likely to struggle to rank well, if at all. It could end up all but buried on SERPs by the big box stores with massive marketing budgets. If, on the other hand, you effectively optimize all of your content to “computer repair,” your local shop can reasonably expect an uptick in clientele once you begin to rank.

Onsite Topical Authority Is the Meat and Potatoes for SEO and Content Strategy

If you are unfamiliar with the term “topical authority,” it’s pretty much what you would guess. In short, modern search engines crawl the web endlessly, sniffing out authentic expertise.

Suppose, in the example above, your computer repair shop in Biloxi has a website crammed with helpful content, an online reputation as affordable and competent, no shortage of stellar reviews verifying great customer experiences, and backlinks from other trusted providers. In that case, your topical authority should elevate organically.

Simply stated, you will rank higher on SERPs if search engines confirm that you know what you are talking about.

On the other hand, your team might very well comprise the most talented and efficient computer repair techs across the American South. But if you do not have trustworthy, authoritative onsite content — and the subsequent topical authority to go along with it — your business is unlikely to rank well in SERPs.

Of course, you may not have entered the computer repair business to spend your time optimizing and curating online content. However, this is what it will take if you want to grab the attention of someone using a smartphone to search for help.

The good news is that whether you realize it or not, you generate valuable content every day. Whenever you assist a client with a real-world issue, that’s valuable content. Developing strong, rankable online content is primarily a matter of communicating solutions in digital format. Build a website crammed full of helpful solutions. You are far more likely to attract the attention of Google and other search engines. You will also build customer loyalty as they look to you for the expertise and (you guessed it) increase your topical authority.

Better Optimized Content Grabs More Search Traffic

The best roadmap for pursuing a winning SEO and content strategy is (thankfully) reasonably simple. Solve problems for other people.

True, some of the people you help will never darken the doors of your business, but that’s OK. Keep in mind the thousands upon thousands of people in your local area. If every single one of them showed up at your door, you’d have a seriously tough time accommodating them. If millions (let alone billions) of people emailed you with a relevant question, your servers would spontaneously combust. You are not trying to interact with everyone but rather target those most likely to need what it is you have to offer.

What’s the Search Intent Behind Your Target Keywords?

Once you boil down the essence of your business to relevant longtail keywords, it’s time to focus your efforts on search intent. Is your target audience of that target keyword trying to find a specific online resource…or conduct research? Are they actively shopping to make a purchase…or just learn more before they commit? While you might hope to push all four of these online searchers to your product pages, long-term success comes by providing content tailored to each.

Online audiences tend to shy away from pushy content. Can you provide a link to your product or service on an informational tutorial? Absolutely! Just make sure that your tutorial is the primary focus. Your goal should be to establish trust and reliability. You are more likely to gain authority if the content you serve up directly relates to search intent.

Returning to our modest computer repair shop in Biloxi, a smartphone user might read an article stepping them through a confusing software upgrade. Assuming your information was easy to find, easy for anyone to understand, and easy to implement, that person is highly likely to commit some portion of the experience to long-term memory. Months or even years later, when the need arises to replace an outdated machine, they recall the excellent customer experience you provided. Your shop suddenly becomes the first stop on the shopping circuit.

Optimize Content to Relevant Longtail Keywords

Keep in mind that even small bits of additional online traffic can add up to a significant boost to your bottom line. No, it probably won’t happen overnight, but SEO and content strategy is a process that will yield results as you continuously create, post, monitor, evaluate, and tweak.

Your content establishes your authority. Your longtail keywords should act as arrows pointing to the center of your expertise. Marketers often refer to this as the hub and spoke strategy for content development. If you select keywords that garner a lot of online traffic but aren’t directly related to your niche, misled users will leave (quickly) with a negative impression.

When done right and appropriately maintained over time, your value-laden information can start an SEO and content strategy snowball rolling down the hill. You increase your domain authority by optimizing your blogs, videos, and online materials around longer-tail keywords. As third-party voices — customers, industry experts, influencers, etc. — begin touting the value of your product or service, you gain additional authority. Every time your niche SEO snowball rolls over in the hills of cyberspace, it will pick up even more credibility.

Putting Yourself in the Buyer’s Shoes Meets Search Intent Needs

Why would someone go to the internet to poke around? Because they have a specific problem, they need to solve. Typically, in this realm, patience is at a premium. If your target customer happens to land on one of your resources and does not immediately find it helpful, they will bounce. Knowing your audience's search intent is the North Star for creating content designed to solve the immediate problem.

The best way to offer your potential clientele a rewarding online experience is — this may sound overly simplistic, but it’s true — treat others as you would like them to treat you. You can do this by being relentless about crafting an online buyer’s journey that doesn’t leave your target audience with cartoon question marks popping out of their heads. Treat your users' time as valuable (it is) and move them along with purpose and clarity.

How can I buy from you if I've never heard of you?

Your first step is to create awareness of your niche expertise. Awareness content is information designed to educate and inform, not sell. At this point in the buyer’s journey, overly promotional content simply does not work. Your goal is to solve problems, answer commonly-asked questions, and provide solutions. The user has a problem. You’re helping to solve it, regardless of whether it results in a sale or not.

If you can solve problems and make a sale, great! But keep your primary focus on offering helpful, evergreen, bulletproof content. If you can do that, just trust that your niche authority will rise over time…and so will your sales.

We understand that most businesses would prefer to reverse the sequence, but the online world doesn’t tend to work that way. You don’t have any customers “trapped” in your showroom. As a result, they feel zero reluctance to bounce off your site if they sense you are not trying to help.

Domain Authority Stems from Reliability and Trust

The world of SEO and content strategy can be complicated and confusing, but it doesn’t need to be. As you develop your online presence, it might help to remind yourself of a simple truth. People prefer to buy products and services from people who know their industry inside and out.

Hopefully, you also bring a great deal of enthusiasm to your niche. Is it your desire to help people find solutions to real-world problems? If that desire is authentic, that authenticity, combined with expertise, will put you on the path to sustainable growth. If you’re unsure as to your best next move, we can help. Schedule time with one of our marketing experts today.