Unless you like to keep a journal that’s for your eyes only, what’s the point of writing content that people never see? It’s no mystery that the web is oversaturated with redundant content—the question is, if everyone is writing about the same things, how can you ensure your work is being seen, and more importantly, read?
This is where keyword research and content planning come into play. Almost every project we start hangs on the balance of copy. Who creates it? Will it be new or a reworking of current messaging? Do you care to participate? If you want to make moves on-the-line with organic SEO, you better strap in for the ride along. After all, no one should know your brand better than yourself.
Understanding the Content Process
Content strategy is not merely sitting down and putting fingers to the keys and orchestrating a slew of sexy sentences that might attract your potential audience. There are vital components that make up the grand theme of content strategy, and it starts with research.
Content Research and the Client
First, we must know who you are and what you are trying to achieve. Are we selling products? Are we looking to boost services in a specific area or for a particular demographic? All of these questions help inform where we start digging, and one of the first things we look for after beginning the process is establishing a goal/outcome for each page or call-to-action. Once we can extract the minutia, we have a better sense of direction.
Audience and Competitive Research
Understanding your market is extremely important. Just because you have something to day doesn’t mean the entire world is listening. Who is your target audience? Are they really who you think they are? Do they buy the way you sell? Who do you consider competitors? You might be surprised to find that sometimes your thoughts and your truths are not always aligned. It’s not uncommon for us to uncover data that shows where you dominate and where you fall short. Having this in your back pocket is an asset as it will help inform where you are winning and where you need to improve.
With data, we make decisions. Are they always what you want them to be? Nope. But, it gives us a good sense of where you might be able to capitalize and allocate resources to improve your exposure. We might push back, and we might compromise, but our end goal is to make sure you are taking the right steps.
Keyword Research and Content Generation
Keyword research is a common buzz-phrase we throw around a lot. It’s relatively self-explanatory, however, there are layers to this simple concept. There are various tools available, such as Google Trends, Ubersuggest, and Google Keyword Planner. These tools help create keyword ideas to elevate your copy, giving it the opportunity to rank on search engine results pages. These tools provide insight on where you might rank, how much volume you and the industry might see in a given month, and potential cost-per-click if you wanted to dive into pay-per-click advertising.
However, using the same tools and tactics will only get you as far as your competitors. When we pull data on your competitors, we look into what keywords they are competing for, and we find holes that can be filled with various keywords that push your message forward. Some might only go broad while others go ultra-specific. Using a mix of keywords that are related to the topic help inform more substantial copy. What we try to avoid is a website that repeats the same keyword over and over. We get it. You are a website design company based in X city. *Cough*Spam Copy*Cough *
Finding Unique Content Opportunities
There is a unique content opportunity that is taking shape on-the-line. You might notice that Google is now pushing fragments of larger text to the top of the page to answer questions keyed in by users. This blog post, for example, could, but likely won’t be afforded that opportunity because I’m speaking to a broader concept and not a direct problem. Answering your audience’s questions is a great way to establish yourself as an expert. This is where keyword use is natural and flows, and we are not necessarily forcing variants in an attempt to check off YoastSEO’s “best practice” list.
(Hint: YoastSEO plugin does not help your SEO, it enables you to build better pages when writing content)
We enable this tactic through Google Ads. Rather than forcing a product or service on you, we push to answer questions and use UX to lead you to the best options for a solution. Curology does a great job of this. If I key in, “how do I control my oily skin?” (this is an example, my skin is darn near perfect), you landing on a quiz that engages their user.
Talk about proper experience. Curology isn’t leading with their product. They are leading with “let’s help you figure it out” and providing you solutions. All this is to say, when it comes to keyword research, you want to look for unique ways to approach the topic.
What’s Trending Today
In 2015, veganism was a blip on the radar on Google Search benchmarking at 25 in terms of popularity. By July 2017, it reached 100/100 in popularity of search. Who cares? The general public, that’s who. Despite the naysayers and climate change deniers who loathe the very thought of sharing coffee with a vegan, there are a lot of variants that go along with veganism. Be it diet, dishes, clothing, news, movies; they are all preceded with or followed by vegan as an identifier in countless searches.
Finding trending keywords can provide you insight on rising topics and search queries from users around the globe. We mentioned Google Trends early on in this post. If you are a business owner or in-house marketer looking for new topics to write about for your company blog, I implore you to check it out. You might be amazed at what Google finds related to your search term or topic.
The Wrap-up
When it comes down to it, there is value in content writing. It just takes time and attention. Some companies see it as a challenge and rise to the occasion, and others might feel beat down. We’ve been there, and we’ve felt it before. This why organizations like Kicks Digital exist. Think of us as an extension of your business. You’re the Captain of the S.S. (Enter Business Name), and we’re your crew. Eh, maybe a better analogy is that you’re the car, and we’re the gas, or electricity if you want to be a Tesla. You know what, let’s just keep it simple. We’re here when you need us. How can we help?