In today’s overcrowded content marketing world, without a solid SEO content strategy, you will struggle in growing brand awareness, lead generation, and conversions.

Creating one can help you:

  • Produce content that ranks higher in search engine results.
  • Set your business apart from the competition.
  • Attract your customers’ attention.
  • Drive more conversions.
  • Skyrocket your B2B business success.

Now figure this—82% of companies are actively using content marketing.

Companies with a contrnt marketing strategy

Image via HubSpot

But are all of them successful?

Not at all.

In fact, according to Semrush’s State of Content Marketing report, only 19% of content marketers say their companies are very successful with their content marketing efforts:

Content marketers_ level of success in content marketing

Image via Semrush

This is due to a host of issues such as the lack of content strategy and the huge amount of competition, all striving to rank on the first page of Google.

Let’s face it—creating successful SEO content is easier said than done.

No wonder, 47% of B2B organizations are planning to hire or contract content producers and 25% are planning to do so for content marketers:

Roles B2B organizations are planning to hire or contract

Image via Content Marketing Institute

But along with capable content creators, you also need a solid strategy that can work to get the most out of your content. This SEO content strategy should outline everything that needs to be done, right from content creation to distribution.

In this in-depth guide, we’ll discuss how you can create the perfect SEO content strategy for your business to outrank your competitors and drive more conversions.

Let’s get started.

What is an SEO Content Strategy?

In simple terms, an SEO content strategy is a plan or roadmap that guides you to produce content that can rank high on Google.

The content not only works well for search engine robots but also for your audience. It can help move your audience from the top of the funnel toward conversion.

Creating SEO content is essential if you want to get your business to appear in more relevant searches and drive more traffic to your site.

Sure, you can create SEO content even without a strategy, but it wouldn’t work as well because you wouldn’t be working toward a particular goal without one.

How To Craft an SEO Content Strategy

Now that you know about SEO content strategy, let’s understand how you can create one for your business.

1. Understand Your Market

What’s the primary goal for creating an SEO content strategy?

You need to identify this goal.

It could be something as straightforward as wanting to rank high in the SERPs so that you can generate more organic traffic to your online business and drive conversions.

But how do you reach that goal?

For that, you need to understand your business environment and how your brand is positioned in the market.

Start by analyzing your current position using a tool like Semrush. You can also track your competitors with it to understand where you stand.

Semrush keyword research

It’s also critical to see the products and services you’re offering and compare them with those of your competitors. Find out the differentiating factors and determine why your customers should choose you over them.

Evaluating your current overall content strategy can help you uncover any flaws that can hurt overall SEO performance.

It can also help you understand what’s working and what’s not. Thus, you will get a clear picture of exactly where to begin with your SEO content strategy.

Even if you’re just starting out, it’s important to measure up to your competitors. You can check their keyword rankings, traffic, backlinks, and more.

2. Determine Your Goals for Creating Content That Converts

When looking to create a killer SEO content strategy, you need to be specific about your content creation goals.

The overall goal of every content marketing strategy is to attract potential customers and build rapport with them by constantly producing content that helps them to solve their problems. It leads to them becoming conversions.

Generally, the key content marketing goals for content marketers are:

Key content marketing goals

Image via Semrush

But the goal can’t be arbitrary.

Since you’re looking to create relevant content that targets specific audiences for your business, your goals must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.

It’s only then that you’ll be able to align all your efforts toward achieving them.

So what should they look like for your SEO content strategy? Here are a few examples:

  • Drive 1000 visits to the landing page
  • Rank 50 keywords on the first page in 3 months
  • Get 100 new customers from organic traffic

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3. Conduct Keyword Research to Figure Out Who You’re Targeting

…and uncover topics that are proven to convert.

Your SEO content strategy must be guided by what your target audience is searching for on the internet.

So, the next step in its creation would be to conduct thorough keyword research to know exactly who you would be reaching with your content. By finding a target keyword and understanding its intent, you can discover your audience for that content.

But why?

This will help you to write content targeted toward them.

Needless to say, keyword research for SEO is so important that 78% of B2B marketers use it to craft content.

Editorial Tools B2B Marketers Use While Creating SEO Content

Image via Content Marketing Institute

Conducting thorough keyword research will help you give your target audience the answers they are looking for, thus preventing them from turning to your competitors' websites.

That said, you need to determine which keywords you should be targeting. It’s important to consider long-tail keywords and also the keyword volume and difficulty level.

So, what makes a perfect keyword for your SEO content strategy?

Here are some useful components of relevant keywords:

  • Must have a high search volume.
  • The keyword must have a strong conversion value.
  • Must have low competition.
  • Must have audience appeal.

Apart from keyword research, you can try the following methods to determine your target readers when creating content:

  • Look at the people who are currently purchasing your products or using your services.
  • Analyze competitors.
  • Build reader personas.
  • Identify who you don’t want to reach with your content.
  • Use Google Analytics to find your audience.
  • Look at social media analytics.

4. Optimize Content for Search Intent

For your SEO content strategy to be successful, your content must satisfy search intent and meet customer needs.

Therefore, when learning how to publish content that converts, your top priority should be search intent.

Wondering what search intent is?

In simple terms, it’s the main reason behind a particular search.

Understanding the search intent can help you gain useful insight into your readers’ needs and desires and improve your search engine optimization strategy.

Your content also needs to be crafted such that it’s optimized for your target audience’s intent. It ensures that your content is well-targeted to them.

Before we talk about how you can optimize content, here are the main types of search intent:

  • Informational intent: This is when the searcher is looking to learn more about a particular subject or for educational content.
  • Navigational intent: Navigational intent is when the searcher wants to search for a particular location or page.
  • Commercial intent: Commercial intent is when someone is searching for products or services to learn more about them.
  • Transactional intent: Transactional intent happens when searchers have generated interest in a particular product and want to buy it.

Here are useful tips to optimize content for search intent:

  • Think about how people search for content.
  • Identify intent by analyzing the SERPs.
  • Choose the right content format based on your audience.
  • Categorize the content ideas based on specific search intent.
  • Analyze the competition.

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5. Write Titles That Attract People to Click

Your SEO content strategy must also include tactics for writing headlines that get people to click.

See, if your headline is just flat, no one will read your copy, no matter how good it is because people won’t click on your title to land on your website.

The key is to come up with a title that can grab the attention of the searchers and compel them to click.

This is especially necessary given that today’s internet user sees thousands of headlines when searching for information.

Crafting attention-grabbing headlines is thus a great way to drive traffic to your website.

Take a look at how Ahrefs crafts their headlines:

Ahrefs blog pos headlines

Image via Ahrefs

Here are simple steps for writing high-converting content headlines and examples from Attrock’s blog:

  • Use interesting words: 7 Ingenious Lead-Generation Techniques To Explode Your Sales
  • Keep your headlines useful, and unique, and add a sense of urgency.

6. Craft Content Assets Your Target Audience Wants

There are many types of content formats you can create for your SEO content strategy including:

  • Videos
  • Blog posts
  • Ebooks and white papers
  • Guides
  • Podcasts
  • Infographics
  • Case studies
  • Reviews

However, if you want to get people to convert, you’ve got to create the content they want.

According to a 2022 Wyzowl survey, 81% of marketers say video has helped them directly increase sales.

In the same survey, 88% of people say that they have been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a brand’s video:

Video helps marketers increase sales

Image via Wyzowl

So, it’s a great idea to bring videos into the mix to give a boost to your SEO efforts.

HubSpot is a good example of a brand that capitalizes on videos. Their YouTube channel is updated with fresh videos constantly. These videos are also available on their website and contribute to their SEO.

HubSpot_s YouTube channel

Image via YouTube

Similarly, reviews are extremely helpful in the middle and bottom of the funnel.

According to a 2021 PowerReviews Power of Reviews survey, 94% of respondents say ratings and reviews impact their purchase decisions.

Image via PowerReviews

Depending on your SEO content strategy goals, you will want to research more about the types of content that convert especially in your specific industry.

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7. Measure the Success of Your SEO Content Strategy

Creating a winning SEO content strategy is incomplete if you don’t track its performance.

Remember that setting up an SEO content strategy takes time, effort, and resources. Thus, it’s good to ensure you’re getting great results out of your sweat.

Tracking your SEO success also helps you understand how to improve SEO and drive better results.

But what should you be tracking?

According to a 2021 HubSpot State of Marketing survey, over 50% of the respondents say keyword rankings and organic traffic are their metrics for measuring the success of their SEO strategy.

state-of-inbound

Image via HubSpot

In the same survey, 50% of respondents say time on page is their metric for SEO success.

But here’s the thing—different people will have different KPIs for measuring SEO content strategy success.

Here are some of the important metrics you can track based on your SEO content strategy goals:

  • Organic traffic
  • Indexed pages
  • Leads generated
  • Conversions
  • ROI

What SEO tools should you use to measure the success of your SEO content marketing strategy?

According to the HubSpot survey mentioned above, Google Analytics is voted the best by 72% of respondents whereas 49% use Google Search Console:

SEO TOOLS

Image via HubSpot

FAQs

Q1. What are the 3 components of an SEO content strategy?

A. According to industry experts, there are three elements of a successful SEO content marketing strategy namely:

  • Brand focus
  • User experience
  • Content distribution

Q2. How do I craft content that converts?

A. Follow these practical steps to create an effective SEO content strategy that can help drive conversions:

  • Understand your market
  • Determine your goals for creating content that converts
  • Conduct in-depth keyword research to figure out who you’re targeting
  • Optimize content for search intent
  • Write headlines that attract people to click
  • Share content assets your target audience wants
  • Track the success of your strategy

Q3. What is the main reason to develop your SEO content strategy first?

A. It’s important to know your goals and audience before you start creating content. It’s only then that you’d be able to craft content that can help you reach the audience and your goals. That’s why it’s essential to develop your SEO content strategy.

Q4. How can I monitor my SEO content strategy performance?

A. To track the performance of your SEO strategy, you can use tracking tools like Google Analytics or Google Search Console.

Q5. What is an SEO strategy?

A. An SEO strategy is a plan that outlines the entire process of organizing your website’s content to maximize the opportunity of increasing organic traffic from search engines.

Conclusion

Creating an SEO content strategy that works doesn’t have to be difficult. At the same time, it’s a necessity for every business that wants to leverage SEO and content marketing to drive their business growth.

Start from understanding your market and audience. Then, conduct keyword research and develop the right types of content for your audience and ensure it’s attractive enough to get traffic.

Above all, remember to promote your content effectively across all your social media networks, email marketing, and other tactics. Finally, track your results and keep optimizing your strategy.

Still not sure where to begin?

Use our professional content writing and search engine optimization services.