Create strategic content. This is part of an overall growth strategy which should be done once your website audit is finished and you have corrected the issues. You will want to use multiple SEO tools to audit. This includes technical errors like redirect chains for example). Any negative ranking penalties that have been triggered should also be fixed before this stage starts. This is an 8 part series on what to do if your SEO flatlined:

1. SEO Flatlined
2. Website Audit
3. Negative Ranking Penalty Recovery Strategy
4. Create Strategic Content – You are Here
5. On-Page SEO Basics – Optimize Content
6. Link Building
7. Keyword Maintenance
8. Traffic Optimization

Start Growing Organic Traffic – Keyword Research, Build Optimized Structure – Create Strategic Content

When those things are complete, you are ready to start growing your traffic again. The best way to grow organic traffic is by having a solid plan in place that covers the major areas of SEO. If you would like SEO Consultation, email us and we will give you feedback on your SEO strategies. The first step into building strategic content is to do keyword research and break it into a structure. From there you will know the articles you are going to write. The next step is to choose the keywords that you want to target on each page.

Content Writing Guidelines and Strategy

You will also need to add in industry research, competitor research and your own industry knowledge. Now that you have your content guidelines, it is time to start writing. We can create a content strategy for you and include templates for each topic. Email us the keyword you want to focus on and we will provide you with a free quote.

Creating Strategic Content and Writing for SEO – Word Count and Quality is Important

When you write content for SEO you will want to make sure that your articles are between 300 – 800 words. 400 is kind of the lowest word count we like to do, though having some with 300 words is ok too. It is ok to go over 800 words. This should not be the norm though. The overall average word count of your articles should be between 400-800. This is a sign of quality to search engines.

Balancing Word Count With Keyword Targeting and Focus – Critical for Any Growth Strategy

It is important to balance your word count with the keywords that you are targeting. If you go over 800 characters, it may be harder and harder to maintain keyword focus without straying from your topic too much. You always want to be able to focus your keywords properly. There should always be a reasonable balance when you use your primary keyword. Make it easy for search engines to know the main keyword of each article. This is critical for any growth strategy because if search engines are confused with which pages to rank keywords this could mess up or complicate your lead funnel. Simple, clear, direct and logical is always best. Keeping these things in mind will help you to create strategic content.

Your Visitors are Potential Customers and Clients – Don’t Frustrate Them With Poor Content

Think of visitors as potential customers or clients. When writing content makes sure that you are not using filler words or writing content that doesn’t actually say anything. There is no point ranking for keywords if your visitors don’t like your content. Write content that matters. It should have substance and value. Would you want to frustrate your visitors by providing content that doesn’t actually help them? Content like that can lead to a bounce. This is something you definitely don’t want.

What is a Bounce? Check Your Bounce Rate in Analytics

A bounce happens when people land on a page and exit your site without looking at any other pages. You can check your bounce rate in Google Analytics. This can be a sign of low quality to search engines. In turn, this will make it harder for you to rank for keywords. The first step in creating strategic content is to write about what people are searching for.

Write About things Based on What People Are Searching For – Creating Strategic Content

When you write about the things that your visitors are searching for they will find your content (if it has been optimized). It will also be relevant since it is about something they want to know. Far too many businesses write about things they care about, rather than what matters to their target audience. When you start writing optimized content about what people are searching for all of a sudden you see traffic growth.

Use Headings to Break Up Your Content

Another thing to keep in mind is to break up each piece of content into manageable chunks. This makes your content easier to read. Headings are a great way to do that. Different types of content formatting also add interest and emphasis. Text formatting like bold, italics, inbound links (outbound and inbound too) as well as headings are also ranking factors. Search engines base ranking factors on making websites easier to use, access, understand and favour quality.

An Example of How a Couple Search Engine Algorithms Apply to Content

There are many different search signals. The whole point of them is to make for better visitor experience. The easier your content is to read, the longer your visitors will stay. How your content is formatted really matters to visitors and so, to search engines. Time onsite is also another search engine ranking factor 🙂

Build Trust with Search Engines to Boost Rankings – Create Strategic Content

The more search signal requirements you meet, the more trust you build with search engines. The more trust you build, the easier it will be to rank for keywords. In order to keep site quality up regarding content, it is important to do some solid research. This is an important part of creating strategic content.

Content Research – Competitor, Industry, Trends and Your Own Knowledge

When writing content, it is important to make sure that you do content research. You will also want to include information from competitor websites, your industry, trends and your own personal knowledge. When these things are combined with keyword research you cover the most important areas. This helps you to stand out and build up authority on any given topic about your products and services.

Build Credibility With Your Audience – Offer Educational Content

When you add in your own industry knowledge on top of information that people are searching for, they may learn something new. When you add in industry knowledge, it all of a sudden builds a lot of credibilities. Building credibility will also allow you to get a visitor to complete an action you want them to take. If this article is informative to you and you need help writing strategic content then get in touch with us. 😀

Content Purpose – What is the Main Call to Action of Your Article?

Another thing to think about when you are writing content is the purpose of your content. Each content purpose will have a different outcome. All outcomes should be strategic and lead the visitor to complete an action that you want them to take. This is called a CTA.

Each CTA (call to action) will also have a different effect to search engines and how they rank your website for keywords. Keywords are matched to each lead funnel stage. (More on this below). Some CTAs may trigger web search, some may trigger a social search or another search type. This can be a difficult part of creating strategic content, but we are here to help 🙂 Contact us today.

Major CTAs, Lead Funnel Stage, Keyword Targeting and Growth – Creating Strategic Content

Depending on the CTA, some will turn your visitor into a lead, a customer or client or have them show support for you online. Here are some of the most common CTAs or content purposes for visitors. They can:

• Contact you
• Buy something
• Sign up for your newsletter or blog
• Link to you
• Share your article on social media or another site
• Like your social profiles or become fans

You will also need to keep in mind which keywords you are targeting in your growth strategy, for every page. Are they general searches, comparing one thing or company to another, specific or local? Each of these keyword types will fit into a different lead funnel stage.

Lead Funnel Stage – Which Keywords are You Targeting in Your Growth Strategy?

You will want to make sure that your content matches the right stage in the visitor buying cycle. Once your lead funnels are in place, you are ready to optimize your content. We know that lead funnels can be confusing and we are here to help. Send us an email if you’d like us to create a lead funnel strategy for you. If you liked what we said in this article and want to learn a bit more about growth strategies you can also contact us for help.

Contact Us Today for Help to Create Strategic Content and a Growth Strategy

If you need a growth strategy or create strategic content we’re here to assist. Contact us by phone at 604-799-8438, email or chat with us online right now. We will put a plan together to help you make the most of your content and convert your visitors to clients or customers. Next up in this series to help you if your SEO flatlined is: On-Page SEO, Optimize Content – Part 5