In this article, we\u2019re going to cover what constitutes a true SEO marketing strategy, how content marketing supports it<\/a>, the most important components, and ways you can begin building yours right away!<\/p>\n Quick Takeaways:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n An SEO marketing strategy is a brand\u2019s overarching approach to improving search engine rankings to drive more organic traffic. When most people think of SEO<\/a>, they think of things like keywords and backlinks, and these things are components of a good SEO strategy.<\/p>\n But they aren\u2019t going to be as effective as they could be unless there is a detailed plan behind the way they are implemented.<\/p>\n A true SEO marketing strategy goes beyond individual tactics to think holistically about the way your brand is represented online. It puts you in control of what kinds of searches your brand is represented in, which content is shown to users at different stages of the customer journey, and how your value proposition and overall brand stacks up to your competition on SERPs.<\/p>\n Keywords are important, but your topic clusters are the foundation of your keyword strategy. When you decide on the high-level topics your brand should have authority and presence for, you can be more intentional about the keywords you target.<\/p>\n When you use topic clusters<\/a> to build your SEO marketing strategy, you can cover a wide range of keywords that fall under one cluster, creating pillar content (more on that later) covering the main topic and linking out to more of your content that covers subtopics within that cluster.<\/p>\n Keywords are words and phrases commonly searched for on Google. They\u2019re one of the main determining factors in your SERP rankings because, when used correctly, they tell search engine crawlers what your content is about.<\/p>\n Keyword targeting<\/a> requires more strategy than it did in the past. Google penalizes brands who simply stuff keywords into content with little meaning, and they use sophisticated AI tools to determine which content under a certain keyword is the most relevant and valuable for users.<\/p>\n The best way to ensure your keyword targeting is on the mark is to perform thorough keyword research. Tools like SEMRush and Ahref\u2019s make this easier than ever.<\/p>\n Metadata like your title and meta description are the first things a user sees when your brand appears in their search result.<\/p>\n Similar to subject lines of emails, your metadata helps users decide if they want to click on your content. As such, metadata should never be approached as an afterthought. Use it to make a compelling case for your content. When done consistently over time, great metadata will boost your SEO marketing strategy by driving more engagement and traffic to your site.<\/p>\n Internal linking is an important component of on-page SEO, which is the process of optimizing individual web pages to earn the most relevant content possible. Mainly, you want to use high-authority, high-ranking pages to drive more traffic to other pages that need more of both.<\/p>\n Backlinks occur when other (preferably high-authority) sites link back to your content, driving more organic traffic. There are a lot of methods you can find out there for intentionally building backlinks, but really, it\u2019s just a long game. The best way to earn backlinks is to create consistently great content over a long period of time.<\/p>\n Technical SEO is the nuts-and-bolts part of your overall SEO marketing strategy. Defined briefly, it\u2019s the process of keeping your website\u2019s structure and content aligned with technical search engine requirements.<\/p>\n Strong technical SEO allows search engines to easily find, crawl, and index the pages on your site \u2014 a key part of earning SERP rankings. There\u2019s a lot to know when it comes to technical SEO. (Let us know if we can help \u2013 we can include an SEO audit in any client engagement!)<\/p>\n Creating an SEO strategy that works for you isn\u2019t as hard as it seems, but there are a few tips that will greatly help you!<\/p>\n Google ranking algorithms are smarter than ever. There are no shortcuts or easy ways to cheat the system and earn rankings faster. The best way to build a solid SEO marketing strategy and earn higher rankings is to focus on the real humans who make up your customer base and the kind of content that will add value for them. Google will recognize authentic, valuable content and rank it accordingly.<\/p>\n Pillar content aligns with your topic clusters. These pieces serve as your anchors to the topics you most want to rank for. They are typically evergreen pieces and the main sources of internal links to other content.<\/p>\n Image Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n To be as informed as possible as you build your SEO marketing strategy, you should get to know what the SERPs<\/a> look like for your target keywords.<\/p>\n What brands are already ranking? What kinds of content are at the top of the list?<\/p>\n You can use this information to conduct deeper competitive analyses and create skyscraper content that adds even more value for your customers than what already exists.<\/p>\n Aligning your content with user search intent<\/a> increases the likelihood that they\u2019ll engage and ultimately find value from it. Intent is an important part of making sure the right content gets to the right customer at the right time.<\/p>\n Ask yourself: what are people looking for when they search for a specific keyword or phrase?<\/p>\n Look at the existing SERP to see what\u2019s already ranking high. These processes will tell you, for example, whether to create an in-depth guide or quick punchy list for a target keyword. Even more importantly, can help you understand where your potential customer is in the buying process when they interact with your content.<\/p>\n There are many reasons old content may drop in rankings or lose traffic over time. Google ranking factors change, content becomes outdated, competitors create new content, and Google prefers fresh content overall.<\/p>\n But none of these make your old content unusable \u2014 in fact, keeping your existing content updated is a smart way to boost new traffic and create compounding ROI on your content over time. It also ensures your SEO marketing strategy isn\u2019t dragged down by content that\u2019s no longer performing.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s real data tracked by HubSpot on the performance of several blog posts pre- and post-update:<\/p>\n Image Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n We look back at our own articles and regularly refresh content that used to rank or get lots of traffic. Competing articles are pruned and re-directed<\/a> to the updated refresh.<\/p>\n Last but not least, keep your SEO marketing strategy metrics-focused. When you measure your performance regularly, you\u2019re able to know if your strategy is working and when you need to make adjustments. We recommend starting with these five key content marketing metrics<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n
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What is an SEO Marketing Strategy? Why is it Important?<\/h2>\n
Topic clusters<\/h3>\n
Keyword targeting<\/h3>\n
Metadata<\/h3>\n
Internal linking<\/h3>\n
Backlinks<\/h3>\n
What to Know About Technical SEO<\/h2>\n
Developing a Strong SEO Strategy<\/h2>\n
Write for Humans First<\/h3>\n
Create Pillar Content<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nKnow Your Competitors<\/h3>\n
Pay Attention to Search Intent<\/h3>\n
Refresh Old Content<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nBe Metrics-Driven<\/h3>\n
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