Engaging Content Beyond Keywords

If you were to begin to explain SEO to someone, how soon would “keywords” be introduced into the explanation? It probably wouldn’t be very long, considering that nearly every article or online discussion about SEO seems legally obligated to spend a paragraph on this particular topic. But this is an industry that is relatively young and constantly evolving. We no longer raise the importance of keywords up as the holy grail of SEO. In fact, keywords have become more of the jumping off point of a strong SEO strategy. There’s just so much more and the capability of going even deeper seems endless. Blame the evolution of the algorithm or the complexity of the topic, either way you look at it, there’s much more to SEO than a list of important words and phrases. More now than ever, we need to be providing engaging content beyond keywords.

The fall of keywords

If keywords really did make up the end all be all of SEO, then we’d have programs churning out content comprised of keywords like some sort of Mad Libs factory. That just isn’t successful or it’d be utilized for great search engine ranking. Because we know that it doesn’t work, we can be confident in saying that ranking really does rely on something more.

Okay, but don’t throw out keywords

That doesn’t mean we should nix keywords altogether. We absolutely shouldn’t. But instead, view them as a jumping off point into deeper exploration. If you don’t already have a list of favorable keywords, develop one. From there, begin to investigate what your keywords are doing for you. They might be generating the right kind of surface level attention, but dig a little deeper. Are they translating successfully into conversions? What we mean by that is, are the people visiting your page doing what you want them to? Are they reading through your entire post? If the posts are engaging, are people sharing them? Examine what happens after your audience finds your page. Successful SEO isn’t just about having folks flock to your page. Intelligent SEO means that customers are finding your page and engaging your services.

Keep your content calendar

Providing engaging content doesn’t only mean that your content is one and done engaging. It doesn’t have to be wildly entertaining. Engaging content can mean strategic and coordinated. Is the content you’re providing speaking to an informational need? Does it keep a consistent pace and tone? These are all meters that can be met with a content calendar.

You might have a wonderful idea for a post, passionately spit it out, and post it immediately. Great work! That’s a triumph and maintains freshness on your page. But it can also be tiring. That sort of inspiration doesn’t hit all the time and making this sort of posting behavior into a habit can be exhausting. Instead, with a content calendar, you might be able to savor the inspiration and turn that passionate essay into a four-part series that keeps your audience engaged over the course of more posts, plus it allows you to dig deeper into the topic, perhaps providing greater depth. Greater depth and post longevity are crucial to engaging content, almost by definition.

Be brand loyal (to yourself)

Maintain a commitment to your own brand. It might seem like a no brainer, but it’s easy to head off down meandering paths when you’re trying to simultaneously be a consistent content machine. Those diversions are tempting and it can mean more ease in production of content, but staying true to your brand and message are ultimately much more valuable.

What we all ultimately want, in life and in our trusted internet sources, is consistency without surprises. Delivering a quality product time and time again is part of what leads to brand loyalty from others. Web crawlers notice this too, it’s perhaps the part of SEO that requires the greatest amount of patience and persistence — that authentic integrity built slowly and over time.

Think differently about how to produce content

Content that is consistent doesn’t have to be synonymous with boring. In fact, it’s in your best interest to not be boring. When we talk about constantly delivering a quality product, part of that means delivering something of use and of interest. For that reason, use fresh tactics to present content. Ditch your commitment to the long form essay and introduce colorful images, graphics and video to liven up your content. Sharing an infographic from an industry leader might seem lazy. It’s new content that requires the least amount of effort. But the benefits are manifold. You put yourself on a list with that industry leader just by sharing (like equals like), the infographic is a very shareable item and it spices up your site with fresh content making you more appealing to search engines.

Leave it to AuDSEO

Here at AuDSEO, we’re constantly keeping every aspect of SEO in mind so that you don’t have to. Let us take care of all your SEO marketing needs while you attend to the important work of providing the best hearing health care.