SEO 101 Part 5: Content Creation

Note: This is Part 4 of our ongoing SEO 101 series. Previous: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Content is king. It’s a saying that gets thrown around a lot, but what makes it true? For my money, content is king because it benefits SEO, inbound marketing, brand reputation, and educates potential customers. Because the focus of this post is on the SEO benefits of content creation I’ll skip over many of the benefits of content creation, but know that content isn’t only an SEO tool – it is just smart business.

Why Focus on Content?
Content creation optimizes all the key SEO metrics we’ve already looked at the SEO 101 series:

• Keywords – Industry-specific content is naturally keyword rich – making it one of the most effective ways to rank for your targeted keywords. Not only is content naturally keyword rich, but it will also successfully target long-tail keywords and question based search queries.
• Time on Page – Having engaging content on your page will drive up the time users spend on your page. As a key metric that the search engines look at when determining rank, time on page is an important SEO aspect – and impossible without quality content
• Link Building – Building a quality link profile will boost your domain authority and improve SEO results. Good content is the easiest way to naturally build a backlink profile and boost your authority in the industry.
• Fresh Content – Search engines like to provide fresh content to searches. It is more relevant and up-to-date, and so sticking to a consistent content creation schedule will send signals to Google and the other search engines that your website is up-to-date and fresh.

What Content?
If content is such a vital part of a successful SEO strategy, then just what qualifies as content? It is not just written blog posts and articles, but includes any original output from your business. The following six content types tend to lead to the best SEO results:

1. Blog Posts – A solid base for content creation, blog posts are short articles that tackle time-based topics such as industry news or seek to inform about industry topics. A blog is a great content creation foundation.
2. Articles – A longer format that the simple blog posts, articles are generally more evergreen oriented (not time specific) and tackle bigger topics. Long form articles are an effective way to build industry reputation.
3. Photo Galleries – While not a keyword oriented as blogs or articles, photo collections and galleries are popular among users – which drives up your click through rate and time on page.
4. How-to Guides – Establishing your business as an industry expert is no easy task, but showing off your knowledge through how-to guides are a great place to start. They are popular with both search engine algorithms and users, which is always good for SEO.
5. Video – The latest and greatest thing in content is video. Like photos, video lacks the keyword angle – but makes up for it with it popularity among users. While video shouldn’t be your only content type, it is a great supplement to a blog or article strategy.
6. Infographics – Popular with users and great for social media, infographics combine the benefits of written content with the popularity of photos. If you’re making infographics just consider including the information as plain text as well so that is crawlable by the search engine bots.

Content Strategy
Content may be king, but it’s also hard! Sticking to a consistent content creation schedule requires hard work, planning, and the patience to play the long game. You won’t see overnight success from a content-based SEO strategy, but if you’re willing to stick with it the results are hard to beat.

The first step in content creation is to educate yourself – this means keeping up with industry news and blogs. By regularly reading other content you not only stay on top of the latest happenings, but also discover gaps and opportunities to provide unique content.

Next, become a part of the conversation. When your up-to-date with the latest industry trends you can offer your unique voice as a part of that on-going conversation. By tackling the latest in news and trends you will have fresh content ideas as well as establish yourself as an industry authority.

Finally, create relentlessly. Set a content goal and work hard at meeting it – content creation is a muscle and it needs to be exercised. Even when you’re not feeling inspired, work on creating more content – often those initial rough drafts will provide inspiration for later.

Ready to Create?
Creating top-quality content is the key to a strong SEO strategy. Without it, it is nearly impossible to target keywords, build a link profile, boost time on page, and send fresh relevancy signals to the search engines.

But content creation can feel like a full-time job, so if you’re struggling with maintaining a consistent content creation schedule consider turning to a professional SEO firm to help you capitalize on this essential SEO tool. Fusion Group USA can help set up a blog, develop a content strategy, and even provide professional writing services. Contact us today to see how we can help build your online authority through content creation.