SEO Content Strategy : Dissecting the Process

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In last week's Score class I got a a question about adding content to keywords after you wrote a page. In essence, what is an SEO content strategy.  I answered the question no that I do not do that, but upon further reflection it got me thinking about the process I do use when I create a page and why I usually get it right, with very little tweaking needed. As I thought about it I realized that my process really was a great topic to the Internet Marketing Clinic. 

What I have noticed though the years is that business owners struggle with the concept of content. The constant pushback is I don't know what to write about. And although I can say check your email and use that the reality is there is a way larger process involved. The problem is that if you're interested in   having a ranking website, this has to be handled.

In this class we go though that process and thought process of having a successful SEO content strategy.
Know What Your Business Does
For starters, I challenge each of your to do an elevator speech. Many do it and people have no idea what they do. Practice that because at the end of the day the perfect elevator speech can give you great guidance on meeting your SEO goals. For Vertical Web my elevator speech says we cover SEO (duh) Web Design and Web Hosting. Everything I do revolves around one of those three components. So I just know that is what I need to do with each and ever piece of content I create. Just the simple inclusion of this sentence gave me three top teir keywords that I was able to link to a relevant page. 
Know Who Your Target Audience Is
Once we know what we do…and you would be surprised how many people cannot articulate what they do, the next step is to identify who you are writing for. In other words, who is your clients. Are you reaching out to them properly. Do you understand who they are. The more in touch with your client you are, the more relevant your search placement will be. If done properly it does create a stream of leads for your business.  So make sure you know who your customer is and how to develop content for them. Don't overshoot your target, but also don't undersell your self either.
Know Who Your Competitors Are
Knowing who your competitors are is essential for success. What I often see small business owners not accurately identifying small business. Once I understand who my competitor is, I can utilize them to help me define the key terms I need to rank on. It's a very cost effective way of getting some market research for free or relatively low cost. 
Identify Keywords that Embrace Services You Offer with Your SEO Content Strategy
Once you understand the keywords, its is imperative to understand how to formulate content that embraces those terms yet addresses what your client needs. So we used a few examples in this class. You have learn to put yourself on the other side of the screen and use the terms your clients will use. You also need to learn to understand the question your clients ask that may lead to a warm lead.  This is often very difficult for business owners to step outside of themselves and see how end users see the. Once you master this, it helps you build a long term sustainable sales funnel. Understand the problems you solve for your clients. Meet people where they are. 
Know the Keywords Your End Users Use
One major mistake small business owners often do is not knowing the right words the end user uses. Tools like Keyword Everywhere is a simple and inexpensive way to translate what you think versus the words the masses use. Doing a simple search on the services you offer, and then coupling it with the keyword research from your competition, you start to have the right perspective to create a piece of content that will check the boxes.
Then what? 
Once you have all this information and a path forward, you can start into writing you page. From PPP Loans to SEO Web Hosting  you can start to build a page of content that discusses your topic and…