SEO and Content Marketing: Synergistic Relationship

If you want organic search results, content marketing should be naturally integrated with your plan. In fact, despite confusion that content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) are at odds, they are actually tied together.

Neil Patel of Kissmetrics explains that some pros have wrongly described Google as shifting from an SEO to a content marketing philosophy, as if transitioning into a new relationship. “It’s not as if SEO and content marketing are two different people,” he says. “To borrow the same metaphor, SEO and content marketing are actually two personalities of the same person.”

8 Steps to Better SEO Through Content Marketing

Here are a few steps you can take to use content marketing to improve your prominence on the search engines, offered by Jodi Harris of the Content Marketing Institute:

Step 1 – Write down your plan.

To address SEO, you want to build it into your content strategy. That means the plan should include your preferred SEO tactics, what metrics you’ll track, and overall objectives.

Step 2 – Perform an SEO audit.

You want to review your SEO methods on a regular basis. Rethinking the ways you approach the search algorithms is especially helpful given how often their parameters are updated.

Step 3 – Monitor Semantic Search’s 4 V's.

As search becomes increasingly focused on semantics (context and meaning rather than strictly defined keywords), it’s helpful to check content for four attributes: volume, velocity, variety, and veracity.

Step 4 – Zero in on the most powerful keywords.

In the semantic search universe, keywords are not as critical as strong, user-friendly content. However, if you research keywords carefully, you can improve your targeting.

Step 5 – Optimize for the keywords you’ve chosen.

Make sure that your content reflects the keyword priorities you’ve made. In his piece outlining how to target a specific keyword on a particular page, Alex Chris notes that it is easy to overdo it. “Optimization is good, as it will increase the page’s rankings,” he says, “while over-optimization is bad, as it can generate exactly the opposite results.”

Step 6 – Get inbound links from credible domains.

You need backlinks, also known as inbound links. One simple way to get high-quality inbound links is through SlideShare. One reason this site is such a great place to build your presence and link to your site is that transcription is built into each slideshow by default, giving Google more to read.

Step 7 – Embrace rich snippets.

Rich snippets will improve your visibility on the search engine results pages (SERPs) through the inclusion of additional data. Examples include reviews, ratings, and video previews.

Step 8 – Blend your social media and SEO.

It’s easy to think that Facebook, Twitter, and Google Search are all their own unique, disparate environments. There’s not that much delineation, though.

“To succeed in the world of semantic search,” says Harris, “your social media and SEO efforts should complement each other.”

Download Your Free Guide

Do you want to create a dual social media and SEO approach so that all channels can work in tandem to accelerate your growth? At Social Savvy Geek, we help you cut through the confusion and get a program in place that works for your business. 

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