Ever-Changing SEO and Content Strategy

Everyone always wants to know about SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Does it work? Can you do it to our website? How much will it help? Etc., etc. Without question, optimizing a website improves its results and frequency in browser searches. But in today’s SEO, there is no one golden formula, and simply optimizing a website alone isn’t as nearly as effective as it used to be. The problem with SEO is that Google changes their search formulas and algorithms every quarter or more. The hidden truth is that Google is trying to eliminate SEO, they don’t want it to rule the search portion of the internet anymore. Gone are the days of using a ton of keywords on every page, and replicating the same meta data behind as many pages as possible. Like most things these days, SEO is much more complex and quick-changing than it used to be. So what’s the answer? How do we keep websites front and center on search results in the midst of Google’s constant changes?

The answer can be summed up in two words – Content Strategy. A full online content strategy is what triggers search robots in today’s market. It’s the marketing tool that complements and now encompasses SEO – using as many interactive tools as possible to promote your company. It’s all about web presence. Utilizing social pages like FaceBook, LinkedIn and Google Plus, writing ongoing Blogs, uploading videos to YouTube, and posting as much to the website and internet that makes sense – press releases, white papers, newsletters, etc. In today’s SEO, search robots find and calculate keywords and company messaging across ANY and ALL platforms. And just having multiple sources/pages about your company doesn’t do the trick; it takes consistent updating with fresh content.

This is where the strategy part comes into play. Like anything else in marketing, you need a solid plan of how and when to update the content across all your platforms. If you are launching a new product next quarter, flood the web with information about it so your site will be easily found for that topic, therefore presenting you as the expert. Submit literature and teasers on all the social pages, create a new page on your website optimized to the specific keywords and messages, blog about the technology and product benefits multiple times, etc. Or if your company just recently won an award or recognition, don’t just post a blurb on FaceBook and LinkedIn. Make it the subject of all content for the following month or two – post the press release to the website, optimize your website News and Home pages, post the ceremony or local TV news clip to YouTube and the website, repeatedly post photos and comments on all social pages, etc.

As you can see, planning and executing a content strategy is a very holistic process. That’s what SEO has become. There are naturally different marketing tactics and tools/platforms we recommend depending on the company and industry. But here are three pointers that will get any company off to a good start:
1.  The content must support the overall business strategy. Don’t write blogs or edit the website with information that’s not going to help with branding and sales to customers.
2.  Tracking is a huge benefit of content strategy. Not only is the entire process geared towards Google’s analytics, information such as type and quantity of customer responses, video hits, etc. can be identified for future internal sales and marketing.
3.  Visual aids help! Keep content as eye-catching as possible. The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text.

As I mentioned in the beginning, there is no one golden formula, but this is what SEO has become and how we help companies stay optimized and relevant on the web.