Content Marketing Tips To Improve Your SEO

Content marketing is the number-one way to improve your organic search rankings. That doesn’t mean just blogging anything. Fortunately, there are heaps of research that tell you how to do content marketing right. 

High-quality, relevant content targeted at specific keywords will see your search rankings grow fast, and the more you make, the better. To get your content to the head of the line, you need to employ the best search engine optimization (SEO) practices. Here are some impactful tips to help you out. 

1. Create More Long-Form Content 

Content over 1,000 words consistently performs better on Google. Research by Backlinko found that Google’s first-page results are around 1,890 words on average. Most consumers seldom skip past the first page, so you’ll want to cater your content to this tendency. 

Longer content performs well for various reasons. It keeps people on your page longer and often provides more valuable information. However, to make your content easy to read and follow, it helps to break it up with subheadings and shorter paragraphs. 

You don’t need to go all-in on long-form content. High-quality 500-word blogs will still make an impact; just aim to get the best of both worlds. 

2. Focus On Long-Tail Keywords 

Length doesn’t just matter in your content. It can also be important for the keywords you’re trying to target. Statistics from WordStream showed that 50% of searches are four words or longer. 

Although it’s a 50/50 split, shorter keywords often have more competition. What’s more, popular short search terms are often included in longer queries. Focus on longer keywords, such as questions, for best results. 

Tools like Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends can help with finding the best keywords to use. You can also make use of free keyword planning tools like LSIKeywords.com. 

3. Include Internal Links In Your Content 

Links have a huge impact on your Google ranking. The more you have for a specific keyword, the better. That’s why a lot of blogs will include internal links in their blog posts. 

Internal links can help keep customers on your page for longer. They might find one of your blogs through Google, then see more relevant content linked within. Call-to-action links are especially helpful. If you’re looking to make sales, include a link to a product or service page in all of your content.  

The link-building effect is also helpful. Many content marketers create guest posts on other websites, as inbound links from external sites will improve your ranking even further. 

4. Use Visuals In Your Blog Posts 

Visuals are huge when it comes to content marketing. Research by BuzzSumo discovered that articles get twice as many shares when they include an image once around every 75-100 words. Visual content is much more likely to get shared on social media, so make your posts look good. 

Infographics are particularly popular. These provide valuable information in the form of a colorful image post. Not only will they liven up your blog, but they’re also likely to get shares on sites like Instagram and Twitter. It’s also easy to make eye-catching infographics with sites like Venngage. 

Video content is also becoming increasingly popular. If you want to boost your content marketing bigtime, then consider creating entertaining and informative YouTube videos. Not only can these get hits on their own, but they can also be embedded in your text posts. 

5. Try To Attract Local Customers 

Searches for local businesses are becoming increasingly popular on Google, especially with the rise of smartphones, which often use location features to find local results.  

Google revealed that 50% of local searches from mobiles led to users visiting stores within a day. Take advantage of this by tweaking your content strategy to attract local users. 

This can often be done with the keywords you use. For example, a gym in Boston might have more success by targeting terms like “gyms in Boston” or “affordable gym Boston.” After all, only locals will be able to use their service. 

It’s also crucial to list your business on Google. You can show up on Google Maps and lead potential customers directly to you. If you haven’t already, submit a free listing on Google My Business. 

6. Increase Engagement With Email Marketing 

Email marketing has been hailed as one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business. It can be done extremely cheaply and offer a great return on your investment. It can also supplement your content marketing. 

Businesses often offer special promotions to readers who sign up to their mailing list. Blogs often offer things like free eBooks and personalized advice to their subscribers. Once you build up a mailing list, you can send out links to your content to boost readers and encourage them to share it. 

Email subscribers are much more likely to read your content and stay on your page for longer, therefore improving your SEO. Statistics from HubSpot found that 11 a.m. is the best time to send emails for a higher click-through rate. Conversely, 66% of unsubscribes happen between 5 and 10 p.m. Keep this in mind when sending content through email. 

7. Make The Most Of Social Media 

Social media and content marketing go hand-in-hand. Your content can help build your social media following, and your social media channels can help you attract more eyes to your content. 

Whenever you create a blog, post it on networks like Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter with relevant tags. Over time, more people will start to see it and share it. Visual content like infographics and videos are especially impactful for getting shares and likes on social media. 

WordPress makes it easy to add social media widgets to your webpage, so use them and be sure to ask for shares and likes on your posts. 

Conclusion 

Whether you’re a blogger building your following or a business trying to get customers, it’s important to know how to do content marketing right. These effective strategies will help you get more hits, keep your audience engaged, and start to climb up the Google rankings. Make use of them and watch your site take off.