Practicing solid inbound marketing techniques will automatically boost your SEO. Why? Because when you plan your content marketing strategy around using words or phrases people are searching to find your business, you’re already doing half the work!
Read on to see how to plan a successful inbound marketing campaign that magically incorporates and boosts your SEO.
How SEO Has Changed
If you’ve been in marketing long enough, you remember the old-school SEO tactic of stuffing keywords anywhere and everywhere you could.
Success with old-school SEO meant shooting to the top of the search engine heap based on an overload of keywords and any type of inbound links (even purchased ones that have nothing to do with your site).
When Google caught onto black hat keyword stuffing techniques, it changed the algorithm. Websites that once appeared at the top of search results now appeared lower.
Since then, the algorithm has become much more complex, relying far less on the repetition of certain keywords and more on the quality of the content you’re putting out there. Priority is given to websites that offer quality, informative content that uses keywords in natural ways (rather than forcing them into content).
Read on: SEO 101: What You Need to Know to Get Started
Today’s SEO
Every Google search is based on a unique set of data — users enter their search terms, and Google considers things like the user’s location, previous searches, recent YouTube views, Gmail inbox content, and other elements to produce highly customized search results. In other words, your search results for “dog groomer” will differ from a friend who lives 20 miles from you.
This algorithm change — especially user location data — gives companies a better chance of reaching their target audience. It also helps businesses get more online exposure.
Success in today’s SEO doesn’t mean ranking No. 1 for a specific keyword (although it helps — your goal should be the first page of Google, at the very least). Success is now measured by a steady stream of traffic, customers, and leads — things that matter most for your business’s bottom line.
And you can achieve modern SEO success by sticking with proven inbound marketing strategies like:
- Building a website that brings value to your users. Go for simple navigation, language your visitors understand, and descriptive page titles and meta tags.
- Creating captivating content. A steady flow of fabulous, informative content your visitors want, need, understand, and enjoy is a must. Your content shouldn’t be all about the sales pitch — it should guide people through the buyer’s journey, ending with how your product or service can help.
- Sharing your content. Find out where your customers and potential customers hang out, then share content from your company that provides useful information. It’s all about hitting your target audience at the right place and right time.
- Creating an online presence beyond your website. Updating your social media profiles and Google My Business page will give visitors even more helpful information about your business. When you are easier to find, you make a potential customer’s life easier too.
- Establishing relationships and community. Relationships are key to today’s marketing success, and you can build and nurture them by helping people out whenever you can — online, on the phone, or in person. Doing so will result in word-of-mouth marketing, boosting your efforts even more.
Read on: SEO and the Promise of #1 Rankings on Google
Think About Your Customer When Creating Content
One final tidbit to keep in mind while creating your inbound marketing and SEO strategy: Focus your efforts on what your customers want and need. To do this, it may be helpful to revisit your buyer personas or ideal client profiles. What is your customer searching for when they find you? Think about providing content that will serve them at every stage of their buyer journey, and the SEO will fall into place. Tools like HubSpot’s SEO Marketing Software ensure you get the basics of SEO right. It lets you optimize your content without ever leaving your CRM.
Ready to pump up your inbound efforts? We have a team of dedicated professionals ready to help you boost your content strategy and your bottom line.
