Resuscitating your site with SEO

The Boardroom

PRODUCTION MANAGER MARK BROCKLEHURST, DESIGNER MINA SWEENEY, AND MANAGING PARTNER ADAM BURRAGE AT TRIDENT

How to improve your content writing with this SEO guide to breathe life back into your website and search rankings WORDS BY KERRY SMITH

You’ve probably put in a lot of hard work and invested a lot of time in writing blogs, social media posts, event information, and other web copy, haven’t you? Well, you might as well write up some text for their gravestones while you’re at it if you didn’t consider SEO in the making.

Without search engine optimisation, the digital content you’ve created might never be seen by another living soul if it ends up on page 20, or even page two of a Google search.

The word ‘content’ is splashed around a lot when talking about marketing, growth, target audience, etc. That’s because it’s so important in all those aspects of business, and many of you have, in one way or another, rightly resonated with this and set about creating content. But when it comes to talking SEO, content specialists at creative agency Trident often find people shut down, go to sleep, log out, and all other computer-related phrases suggesting their disengagement.

For graphic design, web design, and digital marketing, Trident is award-winning, so they know a thing or two about creating content that survives Google’s algorithms.

We asked Trident’s managing partner Adam Burrage about applying SEO to content creation. Here’s his handy guide.

What is SEO content?

SEO content is content that is designed specifically with the aim of getting more traffic to your website. This can be product or landing pages, blog posts, how-to guides, videos, slide shows, and infographics.

What are your goals?

Firstly, think about your goals for SEO. Do you want more sales via your online shop, are you looking to get leads via a contact form or phone call, or are you looking for signups to grow your database?

Know your topics

Plan out your calendar for the content you’re going to write. Once you know the topics you’re going to cover, plan to write this over the coming months and make sure that it happens.

Know your audience

Before you start writing, think about who you are writing for and what your target audience might be looking for. Make sure that any content you’re writing is tailored to their needs.

Finalist

Without SEO optimisation, the digital content you’ve created might never be seen by another living soul if it ends up on page 20, or even page two of a Google search

Think human, not search engine

Make sure you are always writing for a human. The search engines are going to help a human find your page, so if it’s not written for a person, the user won’t engage with your company, product, or service. Besides, search engines are too clever now and recognise poorly written content that’s written with a computer in mind.

Do your research

Conduct keyword research and check there’s enough search volume for the terms you want to rank for.

Turn questions into customers

For blogs, use your keyword research and then try to answer questions around the types of topics you’re typically asked about, because people will be searching for those specific questions – and you can then get them to your website and turn them into customers.

Be specific

Try to be as specific as possible. This is really important. Search engines want to rank content that answers a specific query as closely as possible. If you’re selling trainers, you’re much more likely to rank for “men’s black lace-up Nike leather trainers” than just “men’s trainers”. don’t lump every service on one page. If you’re a solicitor, don’t cram all your legal services on one page, split them out across multiple pages as this will help you rank better.

Get organised

Organise the content on your site. It’s important your users can find the content, but also helps the search engines find it if it’s logically organised on your website. By having logical organisation, it can also mean you’re not competing with yourself for the same keyword – this is a common mistake we come across on sites we pick up with new clients. The good news is it can be fixed – and when it is, the ranking improves!

Be consistent

You’ll get more predictable results by consistently adding content rather than writing lots of content for one month and then nothing for five months. Plan your content calendar with what you can manage each month and stick to it. Involve your team too. Everyone is an expert, so get them writing content for your website on their area of expertise.

Measure the results

Keep checking that the content you’re writing is turning into increased traffic to your website and increased rankings for your key products and services.

Find more guidance at wearetrident.co.uk/blog.