With the rise in digital marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO) has long been a major focus for many in their marketing strategy. It’s still a highly effective part of your approach and should absolutely be included, but it’s important you don’t put so much energy into SEO that you neglect other marketing channels.
It’s easy to push SEO to the top of your priority list, especially as website content should also be one of your priorities. However, with search engines continually changing search parameters and site rankings, it could feel that you’re shooting a moving target when trying to get your content at the top of the lists.
The fact of the matter is that Google will put the user first because that’s how they make money.
So, what can you do?
Focus on content
Websites with high-quality content will help your site organically reach the top of the rankings. Google reads it as more helpful and will serve it to the user at the top of the results. So, while SEO keywords are still included in rankings, your focus should be on creating informative and engaging content that happens to be SEO-optimised, and not the other way around.
So, make sure you know your audience and what they’re looking for, and ensure your content still features your brand and the unique selling points of your goods or services.
Use your budget to create quality content
If you shift your focus to creating content, funnel more of your budget to quality content rather than search engine marketing.
When your content is high-quality it will stay around longer and gain more traction in the search algorithm over time.
Once you have a visitor on your site, great content will keep them there! They’ll click through to other content expecting the same level of quality – so make sure they find it. If people leave your website quickly, it will count as a strike against you in the eyes of Google. And great content will get shared and distributed organically by users, essentially promoting your brand for free.
Use your data to improve user experience
In an effort to keep users on your site longer, you’ll need to make it easier to find the things they need.
If someone is looking for a specific term and is brought to your site, encourage them to search further. They’ll not only explore more, but you gain data about what is useful for your audience. If a specific search query consistently pops up, think about adding something to your site that leads directly to the answer.
Build your following
A robust and supportive following has numerous benefits. They’re exactly the audience you’re appealing to so chances are your content will be shared organically, which is why you should prioritise content creation. This helps keep your engaged customers coming back which can be more financially beneficial than attracting brand new customers and it will actually help boost your SEO too.
Need help with your marketing strategy?
If you know that creating informative and engaging content should be the centre of your marketing strategy, but you don’t have the time or staff to support what you need to do, contact the team at Marketing Square.
From research and strategy to implementation and analytics, we provide end-to-end support. We can help you craft a content marketing strategy that helps you meet your business goals and objectives and aid in the creation process.
