Social Media Marketing

 

How To Optimize Your Content For SEO And Social Media Marketing

Jessica is the Founder & CEO of Valux Digital, a nationally recognized full-service marketing and PR firm. 

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With more businesses opening up again after the trials and tribulations of the pandemic, content optimization has arguably never been more important. Online platforms are a crucial stop on the path to supercharging online engagement. Content is key.

In order to compete online, businesses should focus on content optimization. As brands, we should ensure that our content is written in such a way that it engages our target personas. Of course, to engage them, our content has to reach them in the first place.

That’s where SEO and social media marketing come into play. By adorning our content with the right keywords, tags, titles, links and images, we can pave a clear path that can help lead our target customers directly to us. Think of it like a road network with clear signs. With the right signage in place, it’s so much easier to find your final destination.

Effectively distributed and optimized content helps create a direct line to our “hand-raisers” — the customers who are actively searching for our products, services and content already.

In this article, I’ll be laying down the groundwork for successful SEO and content optimization. Follow these tips and techniques and you could be well on your way to a post-pandemic business renaissance to be proud of. So, without further ado, let’s talk SEO.

SEO Content Optimization Best Practices

Google continues to dominate the search market and held 87.76% of the desktop market share in June 2021. That sends us a very clear message indeed. We should be optimizing our content for Google’s ranking algorithms if we want our target audiences to find us. Learning how to optimize your content for SEO (search engine optimization) is critical for conversions. Benefits of good SEO can include increased traffic and conversions, lower bounce rates, higher search rankings and heightened discoverability.

So, how can you go about optimizing your content for better SEO?

1. Drive Your Strategy With Data

Collect as much data about your web traffic as you can. Look out for patterns. When do people visit your site? Are people clicking on your CTAs? How can you optimize your web copy for maximum engagement? Generating user behavior reports is a great way to shed some light on what’s currently working on your website — and what’s not.

2. Do Keyword Research

When we think of SEO, keyword research is often the first thing that springs to mind. Keywords are the foundation of SEO. Learning how to conduct thorough keyword research will stand you in good stead. You can use a keyword tool to help you find the best keywords related to your demographic. I recommend creating your very own bespoke keyword lists that you or your copywriters can refer to when you’re writing company content.

3. Create Value-Filled Content

Content isn’t just there to fill space. Your content needs to be full of value. Meaningful content is what drives engagement and can help capture the “hand-raisers” I’ve written about before. If your brand manages to gain a reputation for providing unique, quality content, then you’ll be in a prime position to accrue loyal followers. Try to optimize everything from the keywords in your content to the length of each blog post, web page or article. In general, I’ve found that blog posts should contain a minimum of 300 words in order to rank well in search engines, and HubSpot estimates that the ideal length for SEO is between 2,100 and 2,400 words.

4. Use And Earn Quality Backlinks

Links can make a big difference to your search rankings and SEO. Include links to reputable, high-authority websites and publications. If you can get other high-quality web platforms to link to your site, all the better. Strong backlinks can not only increase credibility but can also help you climb the search engine leaderboards.

Social Media Content Optimization Best Practices

Social media optimization is all about making everything we post on our social platforms as engaging and fruitful as possible. After all, we typically want our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn posts to end in one thing — conversions. Social media is a bit like the classic “duck paddling beneath the water” image. It should look fun and effortless — but what’s happening beneath the surface plays a very important role in keeping our businesses afloat.

So, how can you go about optimizing your social platforms for better results?

1. Optimize Your Accounts

Make sure that every social account aligns with your business message, ethos and goals. Ensure that you’re posting a consistent brand image across all platforms by conducting regular content audits. You should be using consistent visuals, logos, tones of voice and marketing messaging.

2. Prioritize Searchability

Search is a major feature of social media. Not only do prospects search on the social platforms themselves, but they also find social pages on search engines like Google. Embed appropriate search-friendly keywords and hashtags in your published content (but no keyword stuffing, please).

3. Streamline Your Strategy

Last but not least, streamline your strategy. Establish a regular and consistent posting schedule. How often and when you post is more important than you might think. Once you’ve found a posting schedule that drives engagement, stick with it so those “hand-raisers” keep coming back for more.

Conclusion

So, there we have it. You’re ready to get back out there with a post-pandemic SEO and social optimization strategy. Follow these top tips and you should be able to start enjoying the fruits of your efforts in no time. 

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