How to Improve Your SEO in 2018 Through Content Marketing

If you’ve been involved in the internet for any substantial period of time, you may remember the popularity of “black hat” tactics many webmasters used to “trick” rudimentary search engines. These tactics were used to get web pages ranked higher by these search engines. Such tactics would include loading pages with content that was stuffed with keywords and keyword phrases that the search engine would “see” and thus rate it higher in their organic rankings. The effect was that irrelevant websites often showed up while searching for the content users were in search for. This, of course, posed a problem for search engines, whose job it was to determine relevant content for its users.

The solution became better systems and bots to scan content, punish users of these black hat tactics with poor rankings and to reward websites who were providing higher quality, pertinent content. The results have been dramatic. Over the course of several years, Google made multiple changes which caused a seismic shift in how webmasters and marketers had to use content to improve their SEO efforts. Today, content marketing is a critical part of online marketing. What exactly is content marketing and how can small to medium-sized companies use it to stay competitive with larger competitors? What are some “best practices” of content marketing and what are the real benefits? How can smaller enterprises keep up with bigger competitors to keep up when it comes. to content marketing?

The Two Ways Content Marketing Helps Your Marketing

A solid content marketing strategy will help your organization in two general ways. First, it will help in your organic search engine rankings. Pertinent, up to date content will rank higher than older content that a bot may view as outdated. This gets more eyes and presumably more clicks. The other significant aspect of content marketing is it helps funnel potential customers to you who may view you as an expert in your field.

In other words, if you sell all-natural dog treats on your website, not only will helpful information that includes words like “organic dog treats” and “healthy natural pet treats” help in attaining a higher ranking but the information you provide will work to steer prospects to you as an expert in your category. If you provide an article on “Five Ways to Keep Your Dog Healthier”, readers interested in the information have a higher likelihood of being interested in your healthy dog treat products.

A well-executed content marketing strategy achieves both higher rankings and a marketing philosophy that funnels readers right to you. That is well worth the effort.

Content Marketing Strategies that Work

While there are certainly some best practices for using content marketing, they should not be confused with previous “black hat” strategies of the past. If a search engine ultimately views your site as intentionally deceptive, it can work against you, placing you further down in the rankings. So the first thing to keep in mind in content marketing that your goal is indeed, to provide valuable content.

What is considered valuable? Timeliness is key, as is relevance to what users are searching for. When your content is shared, it is viewed as more valuable. Shared links can help in your rankings. This is why so many organizations focus on social media to promote and share content. It is also why it is important to include easy-to-share social media logos and links to your content. Create content that is useful, up-to-date and widely shared are you are in the zone. Google is always in search of relatable content that keeps its search engine valuable.

If your company can benefit from greater local and regional visibility, be sure to include the names or local towns, landmarks or highways in your content. This can be particularly helpful for real estate, property management companies, insurance agencies and even attorneys. Many of these businesses are licensed to operate in a particular state and can benefit from local, SEO focused content. In this case, blogs and articles on “Distracted Driving Laws in Florida”, or “Finding Affordable Apartments in Boston” can pay dividends. Content marketing can be a very effective way to target in local markets.

What Are the Best Forms of Content Marketing?

It is harder for bots to determine actual content from a graphic image or video than from words, so written pieces are critical to content marketing efforts. If you have a jewelry store, for example, having helpful articles and content on “How to Buy a Diamond”, “What is Pure Gold?” and others can attract potential customers. Adding a short video or graphic examples can help but be sure to include your keywords and phrases in the content itself. “How To” videos have become extremely popular on YouTube and video sharing services, so do not ignore this visual content. Just make sure you have plenty of written content as the backbone of your strategy. Tag graphics and video content with written descriptions.

Written content can be in the form of webpage content, articles, or news releases. Most have found blogs as a useful way of sharing content. Blogs allow a company to add personality to its posts and serve as a way to better interact with readers. Readers often ask questions, offer topic suggestions, and share interesting blogs with others. All of this serves to help your content reach higher and higher in your SEO efforts.

If you can’t find the time to update your content yourself, there are other resources, including internet marketing companies, social media marketing companies, and even freelance writing websites that can provide customized content on a per piece basis. Take steps necessary to provide new, useful content on a regular basis. If you are not employing a content marketing strategy, now may be the time to start. Add valuable, pertinent, and timely content to your online presence and watch your SEO rankings soar.