When an SEO marketer and a content marketer come together, you know the conversation is going to be in-depth but informative.
Recently, Omega Digital joined Content Queen to talk all things Search Engine Optimization and how you as a business owner can level up on your SEO strategies and use content marketing to complement your marketing efforts.
So, Let’s take you through the key takeaways from the podcast episode.
First, what is SEO in the simple form?
Search engine optimisation is a process of virtually improving your search engine rankings on Google and being on the other little minor search engines.
So in particular, whatever people are searching for, let’s say it’s LCD TVs, you want to be ranking on the first page, and on that first page, you probably want to be ranking in the top three positions, because although fourth, fifth, the top three is ideal for exposure.
You really want to be able to build a backlink profile, more on this later on, and you actually want to improve your domain authority and user experience to get you on the first page for as many related and targeted keywords possible.
In a nutshell, SEO is how you show up when people search for you on search engines.
What is the best way to go from good to great SEO?
To achieve good to great, you would always be working on your SEO, there’s providing a return on investment based on the amount of input you’re putting in and in great SEO, we crush those numbers. But also think along the lines of user experience.
Obviously, a great SEO goes a little bit further and starts getting into more in-depth content marketing strategies and more into the user experience. It is all about engaging highly with a target audience and becoming a thought leader in your space.
So good SEO is the strategy you implement, great SEO is the content you provide to engage with your audience. It is all about the energy you put into i
What are some of the steps business owners can take to improve their SEO themselves?
To do your own SEO, really you just first and foremost, need to get the mindset, right. You need to start thinking about what makes sense for the customer, and then everything branches downwards from there.
So, if you think about the customer and “how can I build my own content that they will love”.
A lot of what Google is actually trying to do is really providing sites that are going to best serve what their own customers are searching for on Google.
As long as you’re starting off with the right mindset, by asking “does my website meet the brief and expectations and intent of what my customers are looking for on the website”, you have the user experience in mind.
For example, Google gives sites that are quick and easy to download on mobile a boost. If the website design looks great on mobile, that also gives you a minor boost.
What we tell clients, whether they are existing clients, previous clients, potential clients need to be considered before you worry about SEO.
Okay, so why should I provide a good user experience? Because Google gives us better rankings on Google? Well, that doesn’t make any sense. Because then you’re always playing catch up to Google.
So, work out, okay. Does my website design make sense on mobile for the people that I’m trying to reach? Does my content have the user intent in mind?
Also, Google actually tells you what people are asking for generally within your industry if you know how to find it. Look, so many sites we see these days have a blog full of the company news. It’s all about Bob getting a promotion. Let’s be real. No one cares about the fact that Bob got a promotion in your sales department. No one cares, well not everyone anyway.
You want to take a step back and ask, “what is my target audience is searching for”? Then produce content on it. You might be selling jewellery. So, things like white gold versus platinum might be a hot topic, so produce that content, this could look like creating that content on YouTube, blogs, podcasts, etc.
Another thing you need to remember about SEO is, people think of it as a sales tool rather than a marketing tool. There is a big difference between trying to marry on the first date approach to let’s build on this – make sure you develop the engagement.
First, let’s build trust, through our content through what we deliver, what we give, and think about the customer first. So, the people that have landed on your website go, “I’m getting an experience where it feels like this brand actually cares about me”. Then that trust barriers increase, and the skepticism decreases, which means you are more likely to convert SEO.
What you need to do is know your target audience, build a great experience, and then get them to engage with the site. How do we build a great experience? By creating content, our audience is looking for. Once you do this, you can build on your SEO because you are creating the content people want, and you are creating an experience Google is looking for.
How can we measure if my SEO is up to scratch or not?
Well, obviously installing tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console can help you measure your SEO.
First of all, make sure you get Google Analytics installed first, and then locate the organic search tab within analytics, and measure how much organic traffic is your website generates. It depends on how long you have been around for. It depends upon how much content and user experience is, but really focusing you want to focus on, what are the goals and objectives?
So, you want to ask yourself questions like, what does a successful campaign look like for you? If it’s not measured, it can’t be improved. What are you trying to achieve? First and foremost, where are you at currently not knowing those stats, knowing how much inquiries that SEO is generating.
Then you want to ask “how much effort do I need to put in to reach this in 12 months?”
“Why does Google reward what Google rewards, you know because Google likes you. Right? Google favours you because you are delivering on the searcher’s intent, not because they like you.
How does content marketing help with SEO?
Content Marketing is a voice in a very noisy world. So, if you’re not even creating content, it prevents you from sharing the voice for your business.
Content is different on your social media as it is from an SEO perspective and your blog. The content produced on TikTok is very different than mine SEO content.
So, content marketing, even within itself, is very in-depth depending upon the medium, but it allows every business to have a voice in a noisy world. If you’re a small business, it just means that you’re going to have to speak the loudest and not just ramble.
A classic example of content marketing:
At Omega Digital, we had a Painter call us, and he said, “look, I can’t afford SEO. What else can I do myself on social media or SEO?’ We said to him, you’re a painter, just build your brand on Instagram and Facebook and forget about SEO at the moment. So, we also said to him, “Howard, every time you go to a job, that’s a piece of content”. Howard went out and created content, he built a following on social media, and now he is so busy, he didn’t need to hire someone, he just needed guidance.
Content Marketing helps you create that value Google is looking for! It enables you to draw in the audience that shows Google you are relevant. Do not take content marketing for granted when you want to build on your SEO. Of course, it takes time, but it works.
“Content Marketing without user experience is like a car without an engine” – Andrew Glyntzos.
A myth about SEO
The best takeaway that you can make that you can’t do your SEO is not true. You can, it’s just it’s going to be very challenging, and you’re going to have to work long hours to learn, but you can do it. You have the ability to do your own SEO if you can’t afford it right now.
Another myth about SEO is, that it is cheap and when you hire someone to help you with your SEO, and they say: “you don’t need to do a thing”, they aren’t doing SEO properly.
Any SEO that does not involve you as a business owner is not beneficial SEO, that should raise red flags. You need to be involved, and you need to understand the strategy. Think about doing work with your SEO to develop a content strategy that’s in line with your brand. And there are no shortcuts. You know, there’s no elevator to success, you got to take the stairs made like an SEO now, the value of a link has changed the game, which we will discuss very soon.
The other major key elements of SEO
Keywords
Look, keyword stuffing is dead. So, anyone just doing this because you increase the amount of keyword density, again, go back to the mindset of thinking about the user.
First, there’s no point hiring someone to write you a piece of content that is just written for a robot. This is a 2008 type strategy. Should you include keywords? Of course, you should! Google does look for keywords because those are the words the searcher is looking for in a piece of content.
But, it comes down to the user. You want to write the content that is best suited for the user. So yes, of course, use the keywords they are searching for, but create the content they will engage with, not the content that is made for Google algorithm. Create sustainable content for your business.
Link Building
Yes, also a big part of SEO.
When you do produce content for SEO, it’s not so much an issue with social media. But with SEO, when you build your content, try to work out how you get people to link to it.
Two ways you can generate backlinks:
- Find people who mention your site and not linked you and send them an email asking if they would link to you (for the best user experience, you want to tell them that is the outcome – well because it is)
- Generate good content people WILL want to refer to!
- Link others in your content and (hopefully, if you build a connection) they link to you
How do you find out people are mentioning you? Use tools like Mentions (below). The more links you have, the higher chance you have of ranking higher on Google, because they will see you are a relevant source!
SEO Tools
There are many tools for SEO, but here are some of our favourite are Omega Digital:
Have a look around and find the ones you like to use!
Final thoughts
How are you feeling about SEO now? Are you asking, how long will it take me to rank #1 on Google?
If you are, don’t! Remember, shift the mindset, build on your SEO because you want to make it a smooth and easy process for the user, not because you want Google to find your information useful! That is a bonus!
You want your audience to find it useful! Think of it like this…
“Why does Google reward you? Not because they like you. Google favours you because you are delivering on the searcher’s intent.”
Want to learn more about content marketing and SEO? Please send us an email or message on any social platform mentioned on our website (top right or bottom right)!
