My SEO content marketing strategy is so simple you can start using it under 5 minutes.
Well, 5 minutes may be a bit of an overstatement … and there are more than 3 steps … but my strategy is still super simple.
That doesn’t mean it’s “amateur” or ineffective, though.
In fact, it’s very efficient … straightforward … SEO-friendly … and simple.
It’s based on my 6+ years of experience in content marketing and copywriting, working for some of the most advanced advertising and tech companies in the world.
It’s the same type of strategy taught and used by leading direct response digital marketing companies, such as DigitalMarketer.com.
Whether you’re a small business owner, an entrepreneur, or a marketing professional, you can probably glean a few insights from it.
So without further ado, let’s look at…
Nathan T Warne’s Super Simple SEO Content Marketing Strategy
My approach is designed to help you develop a keyword-focused content strategy. This will help you create a website that search engines can understand and categorize. With a bit more research and effort, you can compete and rank for your target keywords.
Here’s the process in a nutshell:
Do your keyword research.
If you don’t know how to do keyword research, I write about it in detail elsewhere on this site and in my daily email newsletter.
Here’s a trimmed down version:
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Brainstorm a list of keyword ideas that you’d like to target
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Throw those into a keyword suggestion tool, like Ubersuggest
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Take all of your keywords and put them into a keyword clustering tool
Once you’ve got a keyword list, move on to the next step.
Put those keywords into a spreadsheet.
This list will go in your first column.
Create your keyword hierarchy.
Core keywords, like “las vegas hotels,” would be the focus of core website pages. These are usually Services pages.
(For instance, check out Ubersuggest’s results for this term.)
Or, continuing with this example, it would probably be a search and booking page.
Your core keywords sit at the top of your content hierarchy, just like your core web pages sit at the top of your website hierarchy.
Using the list you got from your keyword clustering tool, list out long-tail (supporting) keywords for each core keyword.
I paste keyword groups — a.k.a., keyword clusters — directly into my content plan spreadsheet.
Having them always at my fingertips continually prods my brain with new ideas for articles, arcs, and marketing pieces.
Supporting web pages will target this list.
For instance, blog posts would target long-tail keywords, such as:
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Best las vegas hotels
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Cheap las vegas hotels
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Las vegas hotels near the strip
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Las vegas hotels with spas
And so on.
With this list, you can create sub-pages and blog posts that then link back to your core pages. Using these long-tail keywords, we could come up with blog articles like:
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“The Best Las Vegas Hotels in 2018”
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“On a Budget? Check Out These 5 Cheap Las Vegas Hotels”
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“5 Affordable Las Vegas Hotels Near the Strip”
I just pulled those out of thin air, but you get the idea.
Add titles, publication dates, and other info to your spreadsheet.
At a minimum, be sure to include the keyword, title, and the core page that the article is linking to.
You may also want to include other relevant info, like the author, post type, SEO meta data, and so on.
Write, publish.
Rinse and repeat.
That’s about it for my 5-minute content marketing strategy.
Of course, not all content strategies take 5 minutes, especially if you need to meet with other team members, develop cornerstone pieces, design content arcs, and so on.
And real, in-depth keyword research can take much more time.
However, this approach is simple, straightforward, and it’s an easy way for SMBs to get their feet wet with SEO.
Food for Final Thoughts: Write for People First, Machines Second
SEO and content marketing are byproducts of the internet.
They’re both new and shiny … and a good SEO content marketing strategy can help you collect a great deal of traffic … but traffic won’t do you much good if you forget the human element.
Strike a balance that leans in favor of people, because they are your real customers.
