Did you know that 91% of online experiences begin with a search engine? If you’re a digital marketer, search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most powerful tools you have to increase brand awareness and attract attention.
However, SEO is difficult to master. Search engines like Google and Bing are constantly updating their criteria for what ranks highly. But with a few basic tips and techniques, you can ensure that your website is SEO-friendly and performs well in search results.
Add these four strategies to your SEO content playbook to increase organic traffic from search engines and drive more qualified leads.
Leverage strong keywords
Before you begin creating content, you should research and list out several important keywords that you’ll focus on within your copy. The keywords should be centered on information that your target audience is seeking out and should relate to your offering.
For example, if your company sells marketing software, you could create a blog post, infographic, or online assessment tool about keywords such as “email marketing strategies” or “demand generation statistics.”
Keywords should be used throughout the text, along with synonyms and similar variations of the same phrase. And don’t forget to include your priority keyword in the title and meta description of your post.
Focus on readability
When assessing your website content, search engines give high priority to pages with easy-to-read language and content that’s written in natural, human language.
Not only does your readability score incorporate your word choice, but it also assesses the visual flow of the page as well. Make your content easier to digest by using headers and subheaders, short paragraphs, bullet points, and bolded sections of text.
If you need help, online tools like Yoast can assess your readability score and give you recommendations to improve it.
Prioritize backlinks
When another website includes a link to your site in a piece of their content, that’s what’s known as a backlink.
Backlinks are often used in blog posts to provide a source for an idea, statistic, or concept that originated on another site. In essence, a backlink tells the search engine that you’re a trustworthy site with information that’s valuable to others.
While you can’t force other sites to link to your content, there are a few strategies to earning more backlinks, such as the skyscraper technique. But in general, guest blogs, news articles, and press releases are all good ways to generate inbound links back to your website.
Publish original content
Another critical factor that impacts your SEO is the freshness and originality of your content. Google gives preference to content that is unique and genuinely useful. Otherwise, if it featured sites that used copied or rehashed content, it would diminish its authority as a reputable search tool.
However, there are instances in which you may post content that’s already been published on another site. If you’re cross-posting a guest blog to other sites, for example, make sure you use a canonical URL so you don’t get penalized for duplicate content.
When you’re developing a digital marketing strategy, SEO is one component that can’t be overlooked. Investing in search marketing will boost your search ranking and drive more relevant traffic to your site.
