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#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing SEO

by | Dec 15, 2017 | ContentWritingChat

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing SEO

This week, we had our monthly community chat for #ContentWritingChat!

There was a lot of great information shared during the busy hour over on Twitter. And we’re recapping it all for you!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing SEO

We conducted a poll a while back to see which topics our participants were interested in. One of the topics that came out on top was Content Marketing SEO, so we made it the choice for this week.

Q1: How do content marketing and SEO work together? And why is it important to utilize both?

To kick off the chat, we asked everyone to share how content marketing and SEO go hand-in-hand and why both are important for content creators. Here are a few responses:

Jason knows that if you spend more time on one or the other, your content is going to suffer. It’s important to implement both content marketing and SEO if you want to see major results online.

As Sarah said, they work together to improve each other.

Good content isn’t worth much if it isn’t optimized for your audience to find it. Keep that in mind!

Julia said you can’t have high-ROI without a firm strategy and knowledge on how to use both.

You need great content and you need people to actually discover it. That’s why content marketing SEO is so crucial these days.

Q2: What are some tips to help you create content that truly resonates with your audience?

No matter what, it’s so important that your audience enjoys your content. To create content they’ll want to read and share, here’s what you need to know:

As Lexie said, it’s important to get to know your audience first. They will guide you when it comes to creating content they enjoy.

Once you know who your audience is, you can create with them in mind. Write about the topics they’re discussing to attract attention.

Cheval knows that listening to your audience is so important if you want to create amazing content.

Amanda also said listening is crucial. You can see what your audience responds to, what they comment on, what they talk about, and so much more. That can help guide the direction of your content.

When you pay attention to your audience, the answers will follow. Don’t be afraid to tweak your strategy to best suit them and their needs.

Debi knows it’s important to share content that showcases your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.

Sarah suggests looking at your analytics. You can see what is grabbing their attention and earning conversions. Do more of what’s working to maximize your results.

If you’re feeling stuck for ideas, ask them! Danielle suggested surveying your audience to see what appeals to them. After all, they’re the best source to ask.

Make sure you’re answering questions people are asking. You want to deliver on an actual need that’s related to your business.

What is your target audience already talking about? Andrea suggests using tools like Quora or BuzzSumo to see what their conversations are centered around. This will give you a great starting point for your next piece of content.

Don’t forget to also check out industry trends. It can be very beneficial to talk about the hot topics of the moment.

Jason made a great point about putting yourself in your audience’s shoes. Figure out their pain points and what kind of information they’d like to have. Then, all you have to do is create it!

Q3: Does consistency matter to SEO when it comes to how often you post on your blog? If so, how often do you write new content?

Does it really matter how often you blog? Is there a magic number of posts you should be publishing each week? Check out this advice:

Julia knows that consistency is huge. You don’t want to drastically cut back on the amount of content you’re producing because your rankings can suffer as a result. However, you also shouldn’t publish somethings that’s rushed or low quality. You need both quality and consistency in order to succeed.

Sarah also knows how important quality is. No one wants to read fluff content. They want something that’s truly going to provide value.

Publishing regularly is great, but it’s only worthwhile if you’re publishing something that’s high-quality.

As Amanda pointed out, no one really wants to follow a blogger who isn’t consistent. Create a schedule that’s actually manageable for you and stick with it. That way, your audience will always know when to expect a new post.

Q4: What is one SEO tip more people should know and implement in their content creation?

Is there an SEO tip you wish more people would use? Our chat participants shared some great advice! Check it out:

More people need to learn how to effective conduct keyword research for their content.

Lexie’s advice is to tastefully use keywords within your content. You don’t want to fill your posts with keywords in a way that’s unnatural. It’ll turn off your readers.

Once you have your chosen keyword, you need to sprinkle it in a few key places throughout your blog post. Use it in the URL, image alt tags, the post title, meta description, etc.

A great headline makes all the difference! Include your focus keyword and make sure it’s something that intrigues people enough to click.

Sarah said you need to link to your new content somewhere else on your site. Internal linking is a big deal for SEO!

Don’t forget to give your images a description by adding alt text. It helps to make your images searchable.

You can also use an SEO plugin to help. Yoast is a great one for this if you’re on WordPress.

Q5: How has SEO changed over the years? Is there a tactic you used to use, but have ditched in recent times?

There are a number of old SEO tactics that are no longer acceptable to use. You’ll want to make sure you stay clear of them! Here are a few our chat participants have ditched:

Ranking blank pages and keyword stuffing are things of the past in the world of content marketing SEO.

Julia said the focus should be on your reader and the quality of your content.

Keyword stuffing, doorway pages, and cloaking… These won’t fly anymore.

Lexie said link building has changed in recent times. It’s important to get quality backlinks from reputable sites, as opposed to getting them from any old site.

It will surely be interesting how things change as the world of video and voice search continues to expand.

Make sure you’re always staying updated with the changes Google makes to their algorithm.

Q6: How do you know if your content is performing well? Are there certain metrics you like to track?

Once you’ve published a piece of content, it’s important to track how it’s performing. Metrics you’ll want to keep an eye on include:

What’s your end goal for your content? As Amanda knows, that’s what really matters because it’ll help you choose the right metrics to focus on. You might be looking for sales, comments, email subscribers, or something else.

Is your audience responding to the content? You want to know that what you’ve created is actually resonating with them.

Are you attracting attention from the right audience? It’s not doing you any good if you’re attracting all the wrong people.

Average time on site, click-through rates, and heat maps are just a few things you may want to watch.

You might even want to check out behavior flow charts to see how visitors move through your site.

Website traffic and email responses are just a couple metrics Devin likes to track.

Bounce rate, shares, comments, and more! These are all things any content creator may be on the lookout for.

Julia suggests tracking things like time on site, chats started for those running live chats, sales inquiries, and conversions.

Q7: Do you have any tools you rely on to create amazing, search engine-optimize content?

There are plenty of tools you can use to help with content marketing SEO. Which ones are the favorites among our chat participants? Check out these suggestions:

Lexie has a few essential tools in her arsenal, which includes Answer the Public.

You can’t go wrong with Google’s Keyword Planner, Google Analytics, and your brain power.

Yoast is a must-have for anyone on WordPress!

Yoast, Google Analytics, SEMrush, and Google Trends are tools Sabjan relies on.

Aisha is also a fan of Yoast, but she also likes to use Grammar Girl.

Debi knows that Google’s tools are essential for any content creator.

Anne also uses Yoast, Google Keyword Planner, and Google Analytics.

Quora, BuzzSumo, and Ahrefs, are also great tools to try out.

To make a splash with your headlines, use CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer. Danielle also like Hemingway app.

Q8: Which resources do you turn to in order to learn more about content marketing and SEO?

To expand your knowledge on the latest with content marketing and SEO, check out these resources:

Lexie has a few resources she loves, which includes Neil Patel, Search Engine Journal, and even us!

Cheval turns to SEMrush, Search Engine Journal, and Rebekah Radice for all the latest in content marketing SEO.

Moz is another go-to resource.

Danielle loves to read content from HubSpot.

A few of Carla’s favorites include Content Marketing Institute and Medium.

Don’t forget to use social media to see what others are talking about online.

And in case you need another reason to join our next chat, Devin said one of his top resources is our very own #ContentWritingChat.

Twitter chats, blogs, and Google searches are all great, but sometimes it helps to just have a conversation with people in your industry.

Join us for the next #ContentWritingChat! The fun happens every Tuesday at 10 AM Central Time over on Twitter! You can follow @ExpWriters and @writingchat for all the latest.

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Tags: content marketing | SEO