It’s the second (full) week of February and you can probably guess what that means! More slushy roads? Seven days until Washington’s birthday? Black Panther comes out this weekend?
Yes, yes, and yes to all of that, but also, it’s Valentine’s Day! And what does Valentine’s Day have to do with content marketing? Not much, really. But there are some parallels between a romantic pairing and SEO and content marketing.
SEO and content marketing are two things that go together like a horse and carriage. You know, like that famous song about summer wind.
But in all seriousness, like your famed romantic pairing of choice, SEO and content marketing are inextricable. Sure, you could try and separate them, but without one, the other wouldn’t work as well. They hold each other up. With SEO you can discover the keywords you need to create the content that will rank higher on Google. With that in mind, let’s look at a few easy ways you can leverage this match made in heaven:
Create content based on keyword research.
That’s what we do. It’s what our whole philosophy at S&G is based around! People are searching—on search engines no less—for certain keywords. You can find out what those keywords are with tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner or SEM Rush. Once you figure out what customers are searching for, then you can tailor your content to those specific keywords.
While some content creators suggest writing about topics you’re passionate about, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a sound keyword and SEO strategy for every piece of content that is published by your brand. After a while, your blog, GIF, video, or whatever it may be will start to rank for those related keywords. Increased visitor volume means increased opportunities for lead gen and sales. If you did everything correctly (i.e. made high-quality, entertaining, valuable, informative, relevant, shareable content—no pressure!), then your great piece will get out there, get shared, and your brand awareness will blow up.
Write high-quality, thorough content.
This sounds simple, and maybe it is. But if you’re low on quantity content at least you can be high in quality. A great way to do that is to take a search term and do an in-depth deep dive with it. Not only will a detailed, lengthy article be valuable for inquisitive visitors, Google’s search engine algorithm (as of now) favors high-quality, well-researched, and thorough content over low-quality clickbait with low word counts. And that informative, well-written, piece could also lead to higher potential for more backlinks, or hyperlinks on other web pages that link back to your website, which leads to higher traffic numbers.
Keep that content evergreen, or at least relevant.
All content should be practical, fun, and informative, but some of it only stays relevant for so long. Eventually people will stop searching for that latest news headline, movie title, or trend. But there are some search terms that are long-lasting, like an evergreen tree. Or a true commitment like marriage. That’s why it’s a good idea to pepper your content strategy with topics that never go out of style. Some quick keyword research can yield some valuable ideas—things like advice pages, FAQs, or quizzes that will stay useful and appear in search results for a long period of time. And of course, make sure that headline is well-optimized so search engines pick it up.
SEO can be complicated. Same for content marketing. But when you break them down you’ll see that they’re not all that difficult to comprehend and that one depends on the other, and vice versa. When content marketers understand things like keywords, word counts, and headline optimization, they can write organically and fulfill the goals of SEO harmoniously. In short, when SEO and content marketing are together—like a horse and carriage or Jack and Rose—then magic can happen, and your chances of being found are even greater.
And isn’t that what we all want? Along with maybe a card and some flowers?