How important is SEO? For small businesses and entrepreneurs, we know the importance of SEO and making your website outshine others on the crowded Web. It’s been my belief from the inception of my business, that content itself is by far the single most important part of the website design… and let us not downplay SEO. Search Engine Optimization is the art of being found. It blends the elements of what the search engines are seeking, and the answers consumers are searching for.
The Power of Optimized Content
Those two puzzle pieces are what come together with your expertise and understanding of exactly what customers are looking for. When a business owner understands their clients, addresses their challenges, respond to the questions they ask, that creates the foundation for optimizing your content for search engines (SEO). A solid content strategy opens doors to getting found, builds connections and engages your online visitors.
Don’t underestimate the power of truly optimized website content. Focus on the metrics of what works and what can be improved upon. Those answers can be found in the many tools that can help you
- Identify the content that is consumed the most. Do you know the blog articles that get the most hits from on your website? Do you know the videos most often watched? Measuring the effectiveness of your content over time tells you what consumers – and your customers – are most seeking.
- Measure how your site stacks up against your competitors. Can you find opportunities in how your competitors are structuring their content?
- Gain insights into how your website is currently ranking. Are the keywords ones that you want your business to be known for? Or is there room for improvement to expanding how your business is found?
Reviewing the metrics above guides an effective content strategy.
Is Your Content the Right Media?
Consumers expect options. A video shows us “how to”, audio allows us to listen while we happily multi-task. Written allows us to dig through information. Recent trends are pulling in the direction of video and audio. There will always be reasons to provide options to our consumers. Whether it is what they are looking for, to how they are used to consuming information, keep in mind the many ways we choose to engage. Re-purpose the information you choose to deliver through various mediums.
In a Nutshell
Look at how you present your expertise. Try to utilize all the varying mediums here: written content, video, audio, visual (infographic). Determine what mediums make the most sense for your audience.
To gain even deeper insights, review your analytics to see which medium is most consumed. That can ensure your strategy is working.
Worth Thinking About
Utilize all forms of content in your digital content strategy. Evaluate how you deliver your content, and find the medium that your audience is expecting. Don’t make assumptions that a particular age group prefers one way over another. With today’s tech-savvy consumer, it is so much more about where they are and what they are doing that affects how they prefer their information to be delivered.
How does your business stack up?
Donna Galassi is the founder, CEO, and Marketing Director of Blue Zenith Design + Strategy, a full-service marketing and SEO firm she established in February 2009. Her journey to entrepreneurship was forged by a major life shift and the economic upheaval of the Great Recession. After more than 15 years as a software engineer, the loss of her job in 2007 spurred her to create her own path.
Blue Zenith was founded on the promise of giving voice to the entrepreneur. The company specializes in guiding small businesses through the dynamic landscape of marketing and SEO, helping them achieve high findability and brand recognition. Her goal is simple: to help businesses get found, get noticed, and stand out from the competition.