Using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to target and rank high in search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo for relevant keywords is one of the most effective ways of marketing your business online. A strategy known as ‘Cornerstoning’ can help you create content on your website that is useful to your target audience while also including the SEO keywords that will help rank you higher within search engine results pages. Here’s how it works.
Content is King
There’s a reason content has been touted as king since…forever. In a day and age where everyone has immediate access to so much information, businesses that put out targeted, helpful content are going to rank higher than those that don’t. Remember, search engines exist to help users find valuable, relevant information, not for you to promote your business. But just any old content won’t do, engaging, informative content properly deployed will support your brand personality, underlining your message and ensuring consistency.
SEO Cornerstone Content
Making sure your content is as relevant as possible should be at the heart of any good SEO strategy. People won’t keep coming back to your site if it isn’t full of relevant, engaging information. While you might be tempted just to crank out a lot of posts and hope they go viral (and let’s face it, if that worked, everyone would do it), that probably isn’t going to happen. It is better to focus on providing quality content and making sure it’s very clear what each piece is about so readers can quickly figure out whether or not they want to read more about a certain topic.
Improve SEO with your Content Marketing Strategy
Content marketing is becoming more and more popular with small business owners because it allows you to build a strong online presence and market your products and services without spending money on traditional advertising. You can cornerstone your content marketing strategy by creating an original, informative piece of content, then giving it away in a way that encourages readers to engage with you and stay connected—without actually asking them for their contact information.
Become an Authoritative, Trusted Voice
When you create and publish high-quality content on your website, you become an authoritative voice within your sector. When other websites link back to you, Google takes notice and gives you credit. And if more people visit your site because of that credit? Then your website ranks higher in Google’s search results (which is kind of like being popular). The more links point to a given piece of content, or domain, or section within a website (backlinks), the more authoritative it becomes.
Ensure a Consistent Tone of Voice
When it comes to your company’s content, there’s no one right way or wrong way. But when it comes to distributing your content, a lot of people tend to focus on distribution channels that aren’t necessarily optimized for reaching and engaging with their ideal audience—and that can cause you some serious challenges. If you want your content marketing strategy to be successful, you have to think about distribution. More specifically, ask yourself: Which distribution channels will best help me reach my target audience and what types of content will they find valuable? Remember: each channel is unique, so each requires a unique approach.
Distribute your Content via the Right Channels
Content marketing is a vital part of any business’s online presence. There are many different types of content that businesses can use, including videos, images, and white papers. Each one has its own unique strengths and weaknesses when it comes to gaining attention. To make sure your content reaches as many potential customers as possible, you need to know where they’re likely to be most active and distribute your content accordingly. This allows you maximum exposure on social media sites like LinkedIn or Twitter or video sharing platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. While these channels have different rules of engagement and competing uses, using all of them together will give you access to a wider audience than if you used just one or two at a time.
SEO is a Continuous Process
Aristotle observed “nature abhors a vacuum”, in the same sense, Google abhors an unchanging website. SEO is a continuous process of refreshing content, adding content and checking the relevance of content against your customers’ expectations. Organisations may think about SEO when they are having a new website built, however, the initial surge of enthusiasm can quickly run out. Look at some of the websites on page 5 of Google and you’ll see their latest article was posted three or four years ago. That’s why they are on page 5 of Google.
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