What’s driving you to create content?

Perhaps, you’re like 55% of companies who, according to HubSpot, rely on content as a top marketing strategy. Or maybe you’re blogging for leisure or to raise awareness. Regardless, the reason doesn’t matter as much as the audience you are creating content for.

There are two audiences that we are going to address in this article. Their engagement and understanding (or lack thereof) will make or break your content. That’s right we’re talking about the consumer and the search engine.

When we inquired some Boston SEO firms who are really doing their job well. They enlightened the importance of SEO optimized content and what search engines like to see. They also said these days search engine focus on the content only that is most relevant and helpful to the user.

Now, quality content does not only mean creating a piece that is easily understood by search engines. It also requires purpose, authenticity and reliability, among other factors that real people value. That’s not to say that SEO work alone is ineffective. Rather, search engines are closer now than ever before to understanding the content in a human-like way.

Read on for a better understanding of how these two audiences intertwine. Check out these smart tips that you can try out.

Target Content Realistically

It’s unrealistic to target a vast group of people.

Instead, narrow down your target audience by selecting a niche demographic. This helps you to find the right keywords, blog topics and content marketing strategy for your brand.

To find your niche consider what makes the brand different from competitors. What core beliefs do you have? What other brands and influences do you respect? What is your mission statement?

Make effort to be the brand that embodies these ideals. Take care to interact with your audience at every opportunity and learn the best ways to relate with them. Of course, there are tools that will help you do that as well.

Get Help from Tools

A great set of tools in your arsenal will make your strategy clear and put your goals within reach.

There are countless free and paid marketing tools for just about anything you could need or imagine. When combined, they help create powerful opportunities to connect with your target audience.

For example, you can use a website like answerthepublic.com to help you come up with blog topic ideas.  After some brainstorming, you can take your ideas over to Buzzsumo or Google Trends for more insights on those topics.

Social media is another great tool for finding trending topics within your niche. Through similar methods, you can also learn a lot about the best keywords to include in your writing.

Understand Keyword Optimization

As you may already know, keywords serve a dual purpose in your content writing. First, they help search engines understand what the article is about. Second, they help consumers find what they are looking for – your business!

However, because Google is prioritizing alternative searching methods such as mobile and voice search, keyword usage has shifted. Whereas medium-tail keywords once dominated content, long-tail keywords are now on the rise. Furthermore, a low search volume and CPC is indicative of low ranking competition, which can be quite beneficial.

Still, remember to limit the use of seed keywords to 1 or 2 times, and liberally use supporting LSI keywords in many different forms. Also use them in your taglines and subheadings, to help guide both consumers and search engines. This gives the search engine context to determine if the piece is useful or not, thus affecting your rank.

Conversely, if users don’t like the writing and bounce from the web page, this will lower your rank regardless of keyword usage. You must write engaging content if you want to avoid those kinds of issues.

Create Content with Value

The best ways to engage readers is to entertain them, connect with them emotionally, or give them useful information. Without at least one of these factors, you are not providing any value. Give consumers what they crave with these content writing tips.

  • Utilize tools to pick relevant topics and implement keyword usage.
  • Provide relevant links in the article for better SEO and user experience
  • Make headings informative and summarize the content in that section
  • Break up large paragraphs by adding videos and images in between
  • Write content with a goal or purpose in mind
  • Provide solutions to problems and queries
  • Create separate pieces of content that go in depth in different areas of the same topic.

That last point about topic clustering is important for keyword ranking. By addressing a key term from multiple angles, the content works seamlessly together.

This consistent knowledge is also favorable among today’s consumers, who greatly value authentic brands.

Authenticity is Key

Maintaining a unique perspective and a distinct voice will take your content marketing efforts far. Continue to keep in touch with topics that resonate with your niche and find original ways to approach the subject. Also, be on the lookout for the questions or issues that people are searching for answers to.

If the given work is not 100% of your making, don’t forget to give credit where it’s due. This act of good faith will not only be favorable to search engines, consumers will appreciate the resource too. Furthermore, never underestimate the power of a website with high domain authority.

Linking back to those websites within your article can be beneficial for you too. Not to mention, facts and statistics from high authority sources are much more likely to be accurate. That being said, you should fact-check all your references.

The Takeaway

To create properly SEO-friendly content is to create user friendly content. The two are so closely related that, when done right, they are seamlessly integrated into a single plan.

Try these tips within your own content strategy and tell us how it works for you!