Failing to prepare is preparing to fail, so they say. Which is why, if you want to create content that converts, you’ll need an effective content plan. Strategically planning and implementing SEO content can help businesses to increase their visibility on search engine result pages (SERPs). When you create content targeted at users actively searching for your products or services, the result is more organic traffic, which should lead to more sales or active leads. So, what does content marketing planning look like, and how can you be one step ahead?
Keyword research
The foundation of any successful SEO content strategy is thorough keyword research. Take time to identify the keywords and phrases your target audience is using to search for your products or services. You can use a mix of short and long tail keywords and keyword clustering to increase your chances of ranking higher in search engine results. It’s also worth looking at questions that people are asking around your product or service. You could then add FAQs into your content plan that include your keywords.
Content strategy
When you’ve developed your list of keywords, you can start to use them to build out your SEO content plan. This might include creating a content calendar outlining when and where specific pieces of content will be published. It can also detail the topics you will be writing about and how these will be structured for maximum effect. Planning out SEO content in advance, ensures a consistent flow of high-quality, user-focused content. You can also refer back to your calendar to see when content was published, which helps when tracking its impact.
Quality content creation
Helpful, high value content is the end goal when creating anything. Not only does it put your website a cut above, but it satisfies quality rater guidelines, which improves your positions in the SERPs. You want to craft content that demonstrates four main factors known as E-E-A-T:
- Experience – does your content show you have first hand experience in your industry
- Expertise – can you show you have the qualifications and know-how to be writing on this topic
- Authority – do other sites point to you as an authority in this area by linking back to your content or website
- Trust – make sure your content is accurate and trustworthy by including facts, sources and links where possible
This shows that you know what you are talking about and are a reliable source of information. Whether it’s informative blog posts, engaging videos, or helpful guides, content should be well-written, clearly structured and relevant to the keywords being targeted. This should all contribute to higher rankings, improved click through rates (CTR) and increased dwell time.
On-page optimisations
Don’t overlook simple on-page elements as these small tweaks can really improve SEO. This includes optimising title tags, meta descriptions and image alt text with relevant keywords. You should also write your content in a way that is easy for search engines to crawl and understand. This means using techniques such as listicles, bullet points and headings.
Keep your eye on the prize
An effective SEO content plan doesn’t stop once content has gone live.You need to regularly monitor your website’s performance, track keyword rankings and analyse user behaviour. This allows you to identify areas for improvement. Regularly reviewing and adjusting your SEO content strategy keeps things fresh, and useful optimisations can improve visibility and traffic.
Superior Content planning from Dark Horse
A successful SEO content plan is an indispensable first stage in creating the kind of content that gets you to position 1 in the SERPs. Investing time and effort into content marketing planning lays the groundwork for you to build helpful, valuable, user-focused content that achieves your goals and KPIs .
If you’d rather trust digital marketing experts to come up with content plans with clout then talk to Dark Horse. We can upscale your content and leverage a host of SEO services that will put a rocket up your results.