By Elisa Gabbert
Source: WordStream
If you’re relatively new to the world of search marketing, you may have heard the term “SEO content” being thrown around in marketing meetings.
This beginner’s guide is designed to answer three questions:
- What is “SEO content”?
- What types of SEO content are there?
- What is my SEO content strategy?
If you have any questions about strategies for SEO content creation that I don’t answer here, let me know in the comments and I’ll answer them here or in a future blog post.
Let’s get started!
What Is SEO Content?
To understand what marketers mean by SEO content, it’s helpful to break down the phrase into its component parts:
- “SEO” refers to search engine optimization, or the process of optimizing a website so that people can easily find it via search engines like Google.
- By “content,” we mean any information that lives on the web and can be consumed on the web (more on the various types of content below).
So, putting these two concepts together: SEO content is any content created with the goal of attracting search engine traffic.
I’m not going to tell you everything you need to know about optimizing your content for search engines here; that’s a whole ‘nother guide. But here’s a super-quick refresher on what you’ll need to do in order to SEO your web content:
- Keyword Research: If you want to generate traffic through search, it’s best to do keyword research before you start writing. This way, you can focus on keywords for which a certain amount of search volume already exists – in other words, write toward topics that people are already searching for information about.
- Keyword Optimization: Know where and how to use keywords in your content for maximum searchability. (SEOMoz offers a great guide to on-page optimization.)
- Content Organization: The content on your site should be organized in a logical way. This is not only good for SEO, it also helps visitors on your site find other related content easily. (The longer they stay on your site, the better.)
- Content Promotion: Increase visibility to new content you create by sharing it on social networks and building links to your content (both internally and from external sites).
A keyword research tool like the Keyword Niche Finder will help you identify specific topics to target in your SEO content.
A Quick Word on Intentions
It’s important to keep in mind that if search engine traffic is your only goal, your results will probably suffer. In order to please both the search engines (who will reward you with high rankings over time) and potential customers and return visitors, you need to offer value above and beyond search engine optimization. In other words, don’t produce “thin” content that ranks and get clicks, but doesn’t provide any additional value to the search engine user. Sites that promote “thin,” low-value content run the risk of being penalized by Google; they also tend to have high bounce rates and low conversion rates.