Understanding the challenges, preferences, motivations and behaviors of a target audience is the key to a successful SEO campaign.

In this article, we’ll discuss how businesses can tailor an SEO strategy to their audience and optimize their return on investment.

• Audience research is key
• Keyword optimization with audience intent
• Content creation aligned with audience needs
• User experience and technical SEO 
• FAQ: How does keyword optimization contribute to audience-focused SEO?

Audience Research is Key

The first step in understanding your audience is to create detailed customer personas that encompass demographics, preferences, pain points and online behavior.

Gather valuable information through keyword research, social media insights and by using tools like Google Analytics. Armed with this knowledge, you can begin to tailor your messaging, keywords and content directly towards them.

A recent study looking at consumer purchasing habits by CX Network found that 63% of consumers think they are being sold things they don’t need. So why does this matter to you?

Businesses have an opportunity to increase their conversion rate when they do audience research, but most businesses skip this vital step or perform it once every five years.

If you keep up-to-date information on your audience and create clear customer avatars, you can make sure that your marketing content addresses your customer’s pain points clearly. Consumer confidence in your brand will go up — and so will your sales.

Keyword Optimization with Audience Intent

Once you have a grasp of your audience’s preferences, it’s time to focus on keyword optimization.

Instead of solely relying on high-volume keywords, prioritize those that align with your audience’s search intent. Understand the ‘why’ behind their searches. Are they seeking information, looking to make a purchase, or trying to solve a problem?

Develop content around these keywords that addresses the underlying intent to provide real value to your audience.

During this process, it’s also wise to look at your competitors. When do they show up in search queries? What types of searches do customers use when they end up on your competitor’s site?

Understanding when they appear in search results and the specific search queries that lead customers to their websites can provide valuable insights for enhancing your own SEO strategy.

Leverage this competitor data to make informed decisions that will optimize your online visibility and capture a larger share of your target audience.

Content Creation Aligned with Audience Needs

Producing content that aligns with your audience’s needs fosters trust and strengthens your brand connection between them. When your audience finds you helpful, they are more likely to engage with your brand in the form of likes, shares and comments.

Generate articles, blog posts, videos, or infographics that answer their questions and concerns. Regularly monitor, update and refresh your content to keep it current and engaging. This will position your business as an authority in your niche, earning trust and loyalty from your audience.

Search engines will reward you with better rankings, too.

User Experience and Technical SEO

A technically sound website that provides a seamless experience improves SEO rankings and ensures your audience will come back.

Optimize your website so that it is mobile-responsive, loads quickly and is easy for users to find what they are looking for.

Invest in technical SEO to optimize site structure, meta tags and image tags. A fast, user-friendly website will make your audience — and search engines — happy.

A successful SEO strategy starts by understanding your audience’s preferences, behaviors and intent. Following the tips we just outlined will drive organic traffic and convert your visitors into loyal customers.

We can help you figure out how to structure a successful SEO strategy. Reach out to us for a free consultation.

FAQ: How does keyword optimization contribute to audience-focused SEO?

The significance of keyword optimization cannot be overstated. The core essence lies in understanding the nuances of audience behavior and preferences in the online landscape.

Keyword optimization acts as the gateway to seamlessly connect user intent with content relevance, ensuring a harmonious synergy between what the audience seeks and what businesses offer.

Audience research helps businesses gain profound insights into the language and queries used by their target demographic. These insights form the backbone of keyword selection, allowing for the incorporation of highly relevant and resonant terms into content.

This deliberate choice of keywords positions content to organically attract the intended audience, steering traffic towards websites and platforms catering directly to their needs.

Keyword optimization evolves beyond mere word matching — it involves comprehending the context and intent behind the audience’s search queries.

This strategic approach crafts content that not only aligns with specific keywords but also addresses the underlying motives behind the audience’s searches.

It’s about providing solutions, answers and valuable information that precisely cater to their queries, thereby fostering a stronger connection and trust between the audience and the brand.

An insightful tip for effective keyword optimization in audience-focused SEO is the continual refinement of keyword strategies.

Regularly monitoring keyword performance, trends and shifts in audience behavior helps in staying adaptive and responsive.

Adapting keywords to reflect changes in audience preferences ensures that content remains relevant and impactful amidst the dynamic digital landscape.

An effective audience-focused SEO strategy unfolds by transitioning seamlessly between audience research, keyword selection and content creation. Each component works together to form an engaging framework that not only resonates with but also retains your target audience, propelling your businesses toward long-term digital growth and success.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Understand Audience Behavior: Conduct thorough audience research to comprehend their preferences, pain points and online behavior.
2. Identify Relevant Keywords: Use insights from research to identify keywords aligned with audience queries and interests.
3. Keyword Analysis: Analyze keyword performance, trends and competition to select optimal keywords.
4. Create Targeted Content: Develop content that seamlessly incorporates chosen keywords while addressing audience needs.
5. Monitor and Refine: Continuously monitor keyword performance and audience behavior, adapting strategies accordingly to maintain relevance and resonance.

The post How Can Businesses Develop an Effective SEO Strategy Based on Their Target Audience? appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

SEO is a fast-moving industry that is always evolving. One Google announcement, a current event or a change in the competitive landscape can alter how you go about your SEO strategy in an instant.

But, we do have best practices that stand the test of time. The way we go about doing those best practices might evolve, but they are still rooted in the fundamentals of good SEO. And, when following these best practices, you can better weather any storms that may come your way.

Here are seven SEO best practices you can’t ignore if you want to compete in the organic search results.

1. Create the Right Type of Content
2. Meet or Beat the Top-Ranked Content
3. Create a Good User Experience
4. Optimize Your Images
5. Silo Your Website
6. Focus on Link Earning Not Link Building
7. Manage Duplicate Content

FAQ: How does duplicate content impact search rankings and what types of duplicate content should be managed? 

1. Create the Right Type of Content

Every search query/keyword has a different intent behind it — what the search engine user is trying to do. Google knows this and serves up different types of content to meet those needs.

There will always be the blue links, which lead to webpages. But often, there are other types of content as well, like video, images and much more. This is what we call engagement objects – SERP features that engage and ultimately make money for Google.

An engagement object is a SERP feature shown on a search engine results page (SERP) that falls outside of the traditional organic search results (i.e., the blue links).

Searchmetrics keeps track of the most common SERP features that show up throughout the year with its SERP Features Monitor.

So, how do you create and optimize the right type of content to match the search query? Through what we call a whole-SERP SEO strategy.

A whole-SERP SEO strategy analyzes the features that show up most in the search results for target keywords and then optimizes for them.

The first step is to take the keywords you want to rank for, then analyze the content in the search results that is showing up for them. Is it mostly blue links? Are there videos? Images? What else?

This will help you set the content strategy for the type of content you are going to create. A whole-SERP SEO strategy gives you a roadmap for the type of content you need in your SEO program.

This strategy can also help combat the phenomenon of “zero clicks.” A zero-click search result happens when Google is able to answer a search query or facilitate an action right within the search results page.

2. Meet or Beat the Top-Ranked Content

Knowing what type of content to create is the first step. How you create and optimize the content for search engines and users is the next step.

SEO is a game of being the least imperfect. I say least imperfect because no one is going to optimize a piece of content precisely to Google’s algorithms. So, all content in the search results is imperfect when it comes to optimizing.

That said, the goal is to be least imperfect compared to your competition. All SEO programs should work to beat the competition, not the algorithm.

Here, you want to understand what makes the top-ranked content for your keyword tick. Start analyzing the top results for each keyword. Of course, you could do this manually, but SEO tools are going to save you a lot of time and effort here.

For example, you could use an SEO tool like our Multi-Page Information tool (free version) and see the on-page SEO factors of multiple competitors.

Or, if you are using a WordPress site, you can use our WordPress SEO plugin to get real-time data on the top-ranked pages for your keywords.

That means customized SEO data for your content versus following best practices that are typically generic.

It also means knowing how many words to include in your meta tags and your body content, plus the readability score — all based on the top-ranked content.

These types of tools will help you understand how to optimize the content you are creating. But you should also look closer at the nature of the top-ranked content as well before you start writing.

Google values experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) as outlined in its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines. A component of E-E-A-T is to have shared attributes in the information you are sharing with the top-ranked or highest-quality webpages on the topic.

In other words, Google says in its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines:

Very high quality MC should be highly satisfying for people visiting the page. Very high quality MC shows evidence of a high level of effort, originality, talent, or skill. For informational pages, very high quality MC must be accurate, clearly communicated, and consistent with well-established expert consensus when it exists. Very high quality MC represents some of the most outstanding content on a topic or type that’s available online. The standards for Highest quality MC may be very different depending on the purpose, topic, and type of website.

I discussed what this means practically in The Complete Guide to the Basics of Google’s E-E-A-T.

For instance, say you have content that states that blueberries can cure cancer. Even if you feel you have the authority to make this claim, when competing against YMYL content, you will not be considered an expert for a query about cancer because the claim is not supported elsewhere.

And don’t forget: Once you have created a great piece of content, don’t skimp on the headline. A good headline can get you more clicks and drive more traffic than a lackluster one.

Much of the advice and tools I’ve discussed so far apply to getting data for and optimizing standard web pages (the blue links). If you are up against videos, for example, you will also need to examine them closely and think about your YouTube SEO efforts.

3. Create a Good User Experience

Once a person reaches your website from the organic search results, will they have a good experience?

You should care about user experience because you want to make sure you get the most out of the traffic that you send to your website. If all those efforts lead to a bad webpage and the user quickly leaves, then you have wasted your time and money.

Google wants to make sure websites are providing a good user experience, too. So Google has developed ranking signals to ensure only the websites that provide the best experience will compete on Page 1 of the search results.

One thing that Google may look at is when a large percentage of users from the search results go to your webpage and then immediately click back to the search results. This could be an indication of a poor user experience and may impact your future rankings.

Then you have the page experience algorithm update, which hit in 2021 and combines pre-existing ranking signals such as:

• Mobile-friendliness
• HTTPS (secure websites)
• Non-intrusive interstitials

… with new rankings signals that include what Google calls “core web vitals.” Core web vitals look at things like:

• Page load performance
• Responsiveness
• Visual stability

There is much to do in this area to optimize a website for user experience. You can download our e-book: Google’s Page Experience Update: A Complete Guide, to learn more about how to get your website up to speed.

4. Optimize Your Images

You need to optimize all your content assets so that they have the opportunity to rank. That includes images.

Visual search and Google Images have been a focal point for Google for some time. More and more images are showing up in response to search queries. seoClarity reports that in 2021, more than 55% of keywords result in image results.

Google wants to rank great images, but it also wants to ensure those images are within the context of great content, too. I wrote about this in an earlier article on how to improve image search ranking:

We’ve all had the experience of finding an image and clicking through to a not-so-great webpage. To prevent this, the Google Images algorithm now considers not only the image but also the website where it’s embedded.

Images attached to great content can now do better in Google Images. Specifically, the image-ranking algorithm weighs these factors (besides the image itself):

Authority: The authority of the webpage itself is now a signal for ranking an image.

Context: The ranking algorithm takes into account the context of the search. Google uses the example of an image search for “DIY shelving.” Results should return images within sites related to DIY projects … so the searcher can find other helpful information beyond just a picture.

Freshness: Google prioritizes fresher content. So ranking images will likely come from a site (a site in general, but we believe the actual webpage in question) that’s been updated recently. This is probably a minor signal.

Position on page: Top-ranked images will likely be central to the webpage they’re part of. For example, a product page for a particular shoe should rank above a category page for shoes.

Of course, there are all sorts of optimization techniques you can do to improve image ranking. Read more here for 17 important ways you can optimize your images for search, which includes:

1. Tracking image traffic
2. Creating high-quality, original content
3. Using relevant images
4. Having a proper file format
5. Optimizing your images
6. Always creating Alt text
7. Making use of the image title
8. Creating an image caption
9. Using a descriptive file name
10. Implementing structured data
11. Considering image placement on the page
12. Analyzing the content around the image
13. Being careful with embedded text
14. Creating page metadata
15. Ensuring fast load time
16. Making sure images are accessible
17. Creating an image sitemap

5. Silo Your Website

Creating and optimizing quality content is really important. But just as important is how you organize all the content on your website.

Google has indicated more than once that it not only looks at the quality of a webpage but also the site as a whole when ranking content.

In its Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, Google says:

Although Google’s search results are provided at a page level, Google also likes to have a sense of what role a page plays in the bigger picture of the site.

In its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines, Google says it looks at the website as a whole to determine if the website is an authority on topics.

So what does this mean? When someone searches for something on Google, one of the ways that the search engine can determine the most relevant webpage for a search is to analyze not only the webpage but also the overall website.

Google may be looking to see if a website has enough supporting content for the keywords/search terms on the website overall. Enough, clearly organized, information-rich content helps create relevance for a search.

We call this SEO siloing. SEO siloing is a way to organize your website content based on the way people search for your site’s topics. Its goal is to make a site relevant for a search query so that it has a better chance of ranking.

The goal of SEO siloing is to build a library of content around primary and long-tail keywords on your website and then connect them via your internal linking structure.

Google advocates for what SEO siloing does. In its Search Engine Starter Guide, Google says:

Make it as easy as possible for users to go from general content to the more specific content they want on your site. Add navigation pages when it makes sense and effectively work these into your internal link structure. Make sure all of the pages on your site are reachable through links, and that they don’t require an internal “search” functionality to be found. Link to related pages, where appropriate, to allow users to discover similar content.

There is a lot that goes into SEO siloing, and I recommend reading these articles:

• 5 Times When SEO Siloing Can Make or Break Your Search Engine Rankings
• A Jam-Packed Guide on Internal Linking for SEO

6. Focus on Link Earning Not Link Building

Link building is not a numbers game anymore. Search engines want to see that a website has quality, relevant links.

Google’s John Mueller confirmed this in a video, stating that:

“We try to understand what is relevant for a website, how much should we weigh these individual links, and the total number of links doesn’t matter at all. Because you could go off and create millions of links across millions of websites if you wanted to, and we could just ignore them all.”

You can view that video clip here:

We have seen client websites with fewer but more quality inbound links outperform their competition. So, what does “link earning” look like?

• Avoiding all those known spammy link-building tactics, mass email requests for links, purchasing links, participating in link farms, etc.
• Understanding the “gray areas” of what could be considered link spam, such as paid guest posting.
• Creating quality content that earns relevant links.
• Getting creative with how you earn links and being diligent about how you maintain them.

You can learn more about how to create a good link-earning SEO program in our e-book, “The New Link Building Manifesto: How To Earn Links That Count.” In it, you’ll find a roadmap for earning quality, relevant links, including 50 ways to earn links safely and effectively.

7. Manage Duplicate Content

Duplicate content can impact your rankings. And, depending on what type of duplicate content you have on your website, it can even trigger a manual action by Google if it’s considered spam.

There are two types of duplicate content:

1. Duplicate content involving webpages on your site only
2. Duplicate content involving webpages on your site and other sites

When you have duplicate content involving your website and other sites, Google may flag this as spam (for example, if your site is scraping or copying content from another).

The good news is that most websites are only dealing with non-spammy duplicate content on their own websites. This is when you have content (two or more webpages) that is the same or similar.

This can impact your rankings. When Google is presented with two of your webpages that appear to be too similar, the search engine will choose the page it believes is the most relevant and filter the other page or pages out of the results.

Google’s Mueller explains in a video:

“With that kind of duplicate content it’s not so much that there’s a negative score associated with it. It’s more that, if we find exactly the same information on multiple pages on the web, and someone searches specifically for that piece of information, then we’ll try to find the best matching page.

So if you have the same content on multiple pages then we won’t show all of these pages. We’ll try to pick one of them and show that. So it’s not that there’s any negative signal associated with that. In a lot of cases that’s kind of normal that you have some amount of shared content across some of the pages.”

You can watch that video clip here:

So, what to do? We’ve found that the most common types of duplicate content are the following:

• Two site versions
• Separate mobile site
• Trailing slashes on URLs
• CMS problems
• Meta information duplication
• Similar content
• Boilerplate content
• Parameterized pages
• Product descriptions
• Content syndication

And of those common types, we tend to see duplicate meta information as a top culprit. So, it’s important to always create unique meta tags.

If you’re on a WordPress site, you can use our WordPress SEO plugin to help monitor and detect duplicate content issues in your meta tags.

For more on how to address the common types of duplicate content on your website, see Understanding Duplicate Content and How to Avoid It.

Closing Thoughts

These SEO best practices are not the end of your SEO work, but they are the beginning of creating a winning SEO strategy that will respond to any curve ball that comes your way.

Schedule a free 1:1 consultation to learn more about how you can boost your SEO profile and maximize your visibility online. 

FAQ: How does duplicate content impact search rankings, and what types of duplicate content should be managed?

Duplicate content has long been a cause for website owners and digital marketing professionals who worry that duplicated material could negatively affect search rankings. Search engines struggle to provide users with relevant and original information that meets user search queries if duplicates appear within results pages.

When search engines encounter duplicate content, they face a dilemma. Search engines must determine which version is more relevant and worthy of being given priority in ranking. They may punish pages that contain duplicate content by downranking them or penalizing their rankings accordingly. This can adversely affect website visibility and organic traffic, making it crucial for webmasters to address duplicate content issues.

Website owners should be aware of and manage several types of duplicate content. The first type is identical content found on multiple pages within the same website. This can occur when a website generates multiple URLs for the same content, leading to duplicate versions. Search engines might struggle to decide which URL to prioritize, potentially diluting the page’s ranking potential.

Another type of duplicate content is syndicated or copied content from other websites. While syndication can be a legitimate practice, ensuring that the content is properly attributed and adds value to the website is essential. Otherwise, search engines may consider it duplicate and penalize the website for duplicate content.

Product descriptions and e-commerce websites often face challenges with duplicate content. Similar products may have identical or nearly identical descriptions, leading to duplicate content issues. It is advisable to provide unique, compelling descriptions for each product to avoid these problems and improve search rankings.

Finally, duplicate content can also arise from printer-friendly versions, mobile versions, or session IDs appended to URLs. These variations in URLs can confuse search engines and result in duplicated content. Implementing canonical tags and managing URL parameters can help resolve these issues and ensure search engines understand the preferred version of the content.

To manage duplicate content effectively, website owners should take proactive steps. Conducting regular content audits to identify and address duplicate content is essential. Utilizing tools such as site crawlers and duplicate content checkers can aid in this process by scanning the website for duplicate instances and providing recommendations for improvement.

Once identified, duplicate content issues can be resolved through various means. One approach is consolidating duplicate pages by redirecting or consolidating the content under a single URL. Implementing 301 redirects or rel=canonical tags can help guide search engines to the preferred version of the content and consolidate ranking signals.

For e-commerce websites, ensuring unique product descriptions and optimizing metadata can go a long way in avoiding duplicate content penalties. Additionally, monitoring syndicated content and implementing proper attribution can help maintain a healthy balance between original and duplicate content.

Regularly monitoring website performance, traffic patterns and search engine rankings is crucial for detecting any potential duplicate content issues. Prompt action and continuous improvement will help maintain strong search rankings and enhance the overall user experience.

Duplicate content can significantly impact search rankings by confusing search engines and diluting ranking potential. Various types of duplicate content, such as identical pages within a website, syndicated content and product descriptions, should be managed effectively.

Step-by-Step Procedure:

1. Conduct a comprehensive content audit to identify instances of duplicate content on your website.
2. Use site crawlers or duplicate content checkers to scan the website and identify duplicate content.
3. Prioritize resolving duplicate content issues on the website’s pages before addressing external sources.
4. For identical content found on multiple pages within the same website, determine the primary URL and implement 301 redirects from the secondary URLs.
5. Ensure that all syndicated or copied content from other websites is properly attributed and adds value to your website.
6. Review product descriptions on e-commerce websites and make them unique and compelling for each product.
7. Regularly monitor the website for printer-friendly versions, mobile versions, or session IDs appended to URLs, and implement canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of the content.
8. Manage URL parameters to eliminate duplicate content issues caused by session IDs or tracking parameters.
9. Utilize tools such as site crawlers and duplicate content checkers to scan the website for new instances of duplicate content periodically.
10. Review the recommendations provided by the tools and implement necessary changes to address duplicate content.
11. Consolidate duplicate pages by redirecting or consolidating the content under a single URL.
12. Implement 301 redirects from duplicate pages to the preferred version to guide search engines and consolidate ranking signals.
13. Ensure that each product on e-commerce websites has a unique description and optimized metadata.
14. Monitor syndicated content and verify that proper attribution is in place to differentiate it from duplicate content.
15. Continuously monitor website performance, traffic patterns and search engine rankings to identify any new duplicate content issues.
16. Take prompt action to resolve duplicate content problems as they arise.
17. Regularly review and update your content strategy to avoid unintentional creation of duplicate content.
18. Provide a seamless user experience by eliminating duplicate content, which can confuse and frustrate visitors.
19. Stay updated with search engine guidelines and best practices to address duplicate content effectively.
20. Continuously improve your website’s content and ensure it remains unique, relevant and valuable to users.

The post 7 SEO Best Practices You Can’t Ignore if You Want to Rank in the Organic Search Results appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

The bucket list is all the things you want to do before you die. I argue that every website needs a bucket list, too. This list prioritizes all the things that need to happen before the site becomes so irrelevant it “dies” in the search results.

There is a lot I could say here. To keep it short and sweet, though, I have categorized the SEO “bucket list” into three main buckets:

1. Get a strong foundation 
2. Create an SEO-friendly architecture
3. Write quality content 
4. FAQ: How can SEO Siloing improve my website’s subject and website authority?

1. Get a Strong Foundation

Search engines want to rank websites that provide a good user experience. That means: Get the technical stuff right.

This includes:

• An SEO-friendly content management system
• SEO-friendly web design (HTML Living Standard code and W3C compliance, for instance)
• A mobile-friendly website
• A fast website
• A modern design
• User-friendly webpages
• Technical SEO best practices

This list may seem small, but getting everything right in each of those bullet points is a huge undertaking. When you do get it right, though, your site can better compete in the search results.

2. Create an SEO-Friendly Architecture

How you organize the content on a website matters to both search engines and website visitors. This includes the navigation and internal linking of webpages.

SEO-friendly site architecture is created through SEO siloing. Siloing creates content categories/directories on a site based on the keywords you’ve selected through keyword research.

This SEO strategy helps to build subject and website authority and clearly tells the search engines what the content is about. In other words: It can make your website more relevant for a search.

For more on this, read:

• SEO Siloing: What, Why, How
• 5 Times When SEO Siloing Can Make or Break Your Rankings

3. Write Quality Content

If you haven’t seen Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, then it’s time to do some reading on how important it is that you get the “quality content” piece right.

Of course, those guidelines are not the end all be all, but they are useful to understand how Google thinks about quality. Ultimately, you have to decide what is quality content for your website, and Google agrees.

Giving your website visitors useful information written by experts on the matter is the goal. How you go about doing that is up to you.

In general, though, you will need things like:

• A webpage with a clear purpose that delivers on that purpose.
• Content that is created with a good amount of expertise on the subject matter.
• Information that is well-written and useful.
• An optimized webpage in keeping with SEO best practices.

Content is one of the most important ranking factors, and quality content can often trump other ranking signals all else equal.

For more on this, read:

• What Makes a Webpage Quality?
• The Complete Guide to the Basics of Google’s E-E-A-T
• What Are Meta Tags?
• The Always-Up-to-Date SEO Checklist

This SEO bucket list helps ensure that your website is relevant for search queries and useful to your target audience. Don’t wait until your website dies before you prioritize doing all the important things that will keep your business alive online.

FAQ: How can SEO siloing improve my website’s subject and website authority?

SEO siloing is a powerful website structuring technique that significantly influences how search engines perceive and rank your website. By organizing your content into distinct categories or “silos” based on relevant keywords, you can create a logical and hierarchical structure that enhances your website’s subject relevance and authority.

When implementing SEO siloing, start by conducting comprehensive keyword research to identify primary topics related to your website’s niche. Group these keywords into relevant clusters, each representing a specific content category. For example, if you own a gardening website, you might have silos for “Vegetable Gardening,” “Flower Gardening,” and “Gardening Tools.”

Within each silo, create in-depth and valuable content that covers various aspects of the topic. Ensure that the content is interlinked through contextual internal links, guiding visitors and search engine crawlers to related articles within the same silo. This internal linking strategy reinforces the subject relevance and authority of each silo.

It is vital to keep each silo focused on its primary topic without mixing unrelated content. By doing so, you enhance the clarity and expertise of your website, establishing yourself as a trustworthy resource within your niche. Search engines recognize the organization and topical focus which can lead to improved rankings for your targeted keywords.

Another benefit of siloing is that it allows you to demonstrate expertise on specific subjects. When your content consistently delves deep into a particular topic, it signals to search engines that your website is a valuable and authoritative source on that subject. This can lead to higher rankings for related search queries and increased organic traffic.

Siloing enhances user experience by making it easier for visitors to navigate your website. The logical organization and clear interlinking guide users to relevant information, reducing bounce rates and increasing engagement. This positive user experience signals search engines that your website provides valuable content, contributing to improved rankings.

To make the most of siloing, regularly update and expand the content within each silo. As your website’s authority on specific subjects grows, you can explore broader or more specialized topics, further solidifying your website’s position as a go-to resource in your industry.

SEO Bucket List: How To Effectively SEO Silo Your Site

1. Perform comprehensive keyword research to identify primary topics and keywords related to your website’s niche.
2. Group similar keywords into content categories or silos, each representing a specific subject area.
3. Create high-quality and valuable content within each silo, covering various aspects of the topic.
4. Ensure contextual internal linking between articles within the same silo to reinforce subject relevance and authority.
5. Keep each silo focused on its primary topic and avoid mixing unrelated content to maintain clarity and expertise.
6. Regularly update and expand the content within each silo to demonstrate ongoing expertise and relevance.
7. Implement SEO best practices, including proper URL structures, meta tags and optimized headings within each silo.
8. Monitor and analyze the performance of each silo using web analytics tools to identify areas for improvement.
9. Engage in off-page SEO activities such as building quality backlinks and guest posting to further boost website authority.
10. Conduct competitor analysis to identify gaps and opportunities within your niche and adjust your siloing strategy accordingly.
11. Optimize website speed and performance to enhance user experience and reduce bounce rates.
12. Use responsive web design to ensure an optimal user experience across devices.
13. Audit your website regularly for broken links, duplicate content and any technical issues that could impede its SEO performance.
14. Monitor search engine algorithm updates and adjust your siloing strategy accordingly to stay competitive.
15. Pay attention to topics relevant to your audience and modify your content strategy using data-driven insights.
16. Utilize user-generated content like testimonials and reviews to establish trust among your target market.
17. Foster a community around your website by engaging with your audience through comments and discussions.
18. Stay up-to-date with the latest SEO trends and industry developments to maintain a competitive edge in your niche.

The post The SEO Bucket List: 3 Things To Do Before Your Site Dies appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

In this article, I’ll explain why defining your target audience is important and how to figure out who they are and what they want.

• Why understanding your target audience is important to SEO 
• Who is my audience and what do they want?
• Next, create your personas
• Your target audience and their journey matters to SEO 
• FAQ: How can demographic data enhance audience targeting strategies?

Why Understanding Your Target Audience Is Important to SEO

Of late, there has been talk that persona identification is a waste of time. I think that persona identification has been in marketing for decades, long before digital. It is an integral part of marketing, even if it is not properly labeled.

Let’s use an example: fishing. If you want to catch fish, you need two things: you need the bait your fish are eating, and you need to fish where the fish are. A proper persona identification gives you both. You may think it is unimportant, but then you are not having fish for dinner.

When your target audience searches for what you offer using a search engine, you want your website to show up in the search results. You need the right bait and to put it where your fish can see it. To me, this is obvious.

You have less chance of doing so without knowing what your target audience is searching for. And, when they get to your website, if you don’t have the right content that resonates with them, it can negatively impact your conversions.

Who Is My Audience and What Do They Want?

Here are three steps you can take to get to the heart of the question: Who is my audience, and what do they want?

1. Demographics

Build a profile of your target audience (and you may have more than one) by exploring the following data points and more.

If you’re targeting a consumer:

• Gender can impact buying patterns.
• Age can impact buying decisions.
• Location of where they are informs your marketing strategy.
• Marital status can impact your audience’s priorities.
• Education level can help you communicate better with them.
• Occupation information helps you with more targeted marketing.
• Income helps you understand what level of investment they may be willing to make.
• Beliefs help you better understand what matters to them.
• Lifestyle is another way to understand and target your audience with relevant messaging.

If you’re targeting a business:

• Industry
• Products or services
• Annual revenue
• Company age
• Location
• Number of employees
• Key decision-makers within the company (roles)

Even when a business is your target audience, there are certain roles within that company you will be targeting (like a consumer). So getting to the heart of what those decision-makers want will be important. (More on that later.)

There are several ways you can gather market research like this. There are companies out there that exist that only do this type of thing.

There is also your Google Analytics account, which can give you key data about the audience that is already coming to your website.

If you’re using the Universal Analytics version of Google Analytics, the audience reports can show you everything from demographics and interests to location, devices used, and more.

2. Keywords

Search engines are usually the starting point for people to discover products, brands, or services and for the consideration phase as well. According to Forrester Consulting research:

• Seventy-one percent use search engines as the starting point for discovery.
• Seventy-four percent use search engines for consideration/purchase.

Keywords are the search queries that your target audience uses in search engines to find what they are looking for.

You need to know what those search queries are so that you can create content for your website around them. This helps the search engines determine that your website is a relevant match for what your target audience is looking for.

Without this critical step in knowing what your audience wants, your website may never have a chance to be found.

For more information, check out:

• What Are Keywords?
• How to Do Keyword Research for SEO

3. Interviews

One of the best ways to get to know your target audience is to take a sample of it and interview them. This could be by web survey or phone.

Make sure to get a sample that represents all your target customers, so it may vary by product or service. Then, craft the questions that can help you get into their minds.

The Buyer Persona Institute recommends asking questions like:

• Why do they decide to buy or sign up for your product, service, or other solution?
• How do they evaluate their options before buying or signing up?
• What prevents them from buying or signing up?
• What results do they expect from buying or signing up for your product, service, or other solution?

You can also glean insights by better understanding their behavior online, such as:

• Which publications do they read?
• What websites do they frequent?
• Who do they follow on social media?
• What are their active social media profiles like?

Another qualitative research you might want to consider: use a sample of your target audience to give feedback on your website experience. There are companies out there that can help you conduct this type of research.

For example, you could find out if:

• Your website is easily navigable (Can people easily find what they need?)
• The information is helpful on your website
• The site is easy to use from any device
• They are pleased with the customer service options

Next, Create Your Personas

Once you have gathered the necessary data on your target audience using some or all the research steps outlined in this article, it’s time to create the persona profiles. You will have one of these for each of the types of people you are targeting.

A persona is an archetype of your target audience. You will reference it again and again as you create content and other SEO campaigns to ensure that what you are doing is relevant to that archetype.

There are a variety of different ways to create the actual persona profile, but it is usually a document that can be one page (or more) and sums up the data you discovered in the research.

Google “persona profile examples” and you’ll get a bunch of ideas on how to put one together visually.

For more, see: Web Personas: Creating Jane

Your Target Audience and Their Journey Matters in SEO

SEO is very much a part of the customer journey.

A customer journey, also known as a buyer journey or consumer decision journey, is the steps a person takes to make a decision to buy a product, sign up for service, or convert in some other way.

Of course, behavioral intent can shift as people go through the customer journey. Most people start out with an informational intent, then move through their research and investigation phases before reaching the point when they’re ready to buy (the transactional intent phase).

Behavioral intent categories should supplement, not replace, understanding your personas. Knowing your audience is the first step in making sure your SEO efforts are on target so that you can bring in the right organic search traffic and convert your visitors.

If you’d like to discuss your particular marketing challenges and how the team at Bruce Clay can help you, contact us for a free quote and start the conversation today.

FAQ: How can demographic data enhance audience targeting strategies?

Crafting campaigns that genuinely connect with your audience demands a deep understanding of their needs and preferences. Demographic data can be an invaluable asset to marketers. Demographic characteristics like age, gender, and location give marketers invaluable insights.

Demographic data serves as the foundation of audience targeting. Marketers gain a comprehensive picture of their potential customers by analyzing this data. Take age, for instance. A younger audience might respond better to social media campaigns, while an older demographic could engage more with traditional advertising channels. Armed with such insights, marketers can tailor their messaging to each group’s preferences, increasing the likelihood of capturing their attention.

Location is another critical demographic factor. Regional nuances often impact consumer behavior and preferences. A product that sells well in one area might not resonate in another due to varying cultural norms or economic conditions. Marketers can develop region-specific campaigns that foster a stronger connection and drive conversions by segmenting audiences based on location.

Gender plays a significant role in crafting targeted marketing. Consider skincare products. Men and women might have distinct preferences, leading to tailored messaging for each gender. These nuances extend to language and imagery choices, which can profoundly impact how a message is received. By aligning campaigns with gender preferences, marketers showcase their understanding and connect on a more personal level.

Educational background is a valuable demographic dimension. A highly educated audience might appreciate in-depth content and technical details, while a less-educated group may prefer simpler language and visuals. By gauging educational levels, marketers can adjust the complexity of their content to ensure it resonates with the audience’s intellectual level, enhancing engagement and comprehension.

Demographic data empowers marketers to go beyond assumptions and create campaigns founded on real insights. Demographic data forms a powerful toolkit for crafting highly personalized strategies when combined with other factors like psychographics and purchase behavior. By recognizing the unique characteristics of their audience, marketers can establish trust, deliver value, and drive results.

Step-by-Step Procedure: Enhancing Audience Targeting Strategies with Demographic Data

1. Define Your Target Audience: Clearly identify the audience you want to reach and understand their potential demographic characteristics.
2. Gather Data: Collect relevant demographic data through surveys, forms, and analytics tools.
3. Analyze Age and Gender: Examine age and gender distributions to tailor content and messaging appropriately.
4. Consider Location: Analyze geographical data to create location-specific campaigns and promotions.
5. Assess Educational Levels: Understand the educational background of your audience to adapt content complexity.
6. Segment Audience: Divide your audience into subgroups based on demographic traits.
7. Develop Persona Profiles: Create detailed personas representing different demographic segments.
8. Craft Targeted Messages: Create messages that resonate with each persona’s preferences and needs.
9. Choose Communication Channels: Select communication channels favored by different demographic groups.
10. Language and Tone: Use language and tone that align with your audience’s preferences.
11. Personalize Content: Tailor content to reflect the unique characteristics of each demographic segment.
12. Test and Optimize: Run A/B tests to refine your strategies and optimize engagement.
13. Iterate and Learn: Continuously analyze results and iterate based on performance.
14. Combine Data: Combine demographic data with psychographics and purchase behavior for a comprehensive view.
15. Leverage Technology: Use data analytics tools to gain deeper insights into audience preferences.
16. Update Regularly: Keep demographic data up-to-date to reflect evolving audience characteristics.
17. Adapt to Trends: Stay attuned to shifting demographic trends to adjust strategies accordingly.
18. Monitor Engagement: Track engagement metrics to measure the success of your targeted campaigns.
19. Refine Over Time: Refine strategies based on ongoing analysis and feedback from the audience.
20. Build Trust: Consistently deliver relevant, personalized content to build trust and loyalty.

By leveraging demographic data in audience targeting, marketers unlock the potential to create impactful campaigns that resonate on a personal level. Understanding the unique characteristics of your audience empowers you to deliver the right message through the right channels, fostering deeper connections and driving meaningful results.

The post 3 Steps to Define Your Target Audience for Your SEO Program appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Speed: We improve or add to your website content faster. Content is what convinces your website visitors to buy, and it’s a significant factor that search engines like Google use to rank your website. With our SEO writers on your team, you’ll add content to your website faster than if you were writing it on your own. Publishing faster means you’re on the way to results faster.

Quality: We write content that engages and ranks. Content that works hard for your business attracts visitors and is also written in a way that search engines understand and use to evaluate and rank your pages compared to all the others on the web. Our content specialists are experts at creating content that achieves both of these goals.

Flexibility: ​We tailor your content project to your budget and priorities. We can create entirely new sections of a website, write a selection of critical pages, or provide keyword guidance and page optimization/editing for clients with in-house copywriting staff.

Integrated with SEO: Content is driven by the SEO team and client requirements. SEO content projects are part of larger SEO projects and as such, are directed toward specific strategies and goals. Our writers work closely with clients and the SEO team throughout the writing process. We ensure the content meets ​all needs and standards. We produce web page copy that is unique, high-quality, and rank-worthy that will contribute to a business’s search and marketing goals.

If you need content optimization, creation, or editing, we deliver content that assists your ​SEO goals. Here, we overview our SEO-minded content services.

• SEO content writing: content development and editing
• Do-it-yourself content resources
• FAQ: How can professional content creation enhance my website’s performance?

SEO Content ​Writing: Content Development and Editing

Did you know your website content can serve multiple goals? Website content can:

• Inform and educate visitors
• Persuade and sell products and services
• Cause your website to rank well in search results

The SEO content services we offer include writing, editing, and optimizing text. Our content services are tailored to your business’s needs.

We solve these common SEO content problems:

• Duplicate content: When duplicate content is holding back a site’s rankings, we write unique, optimized content. Replacing manufacturer descriptions on ecommerce sites is a common example scenario where Bruce Clay, Inc. copywriters will be called on to replace duplicate content.
• Thin content: Google ​defines thin content as content that adds no value. Google penalizes sites with thin content ​by demoting search engine rankings. You might commonly see thin content on affiliate ​websites or autogenerated by a content management system. We enrich thin content with unique, relevant, and appropriately optimized content.
• Unoptimized content: Content that isn’t thoughtful, strategic, and purposeful can water down website relevance and drag down rankings with it. Bruce Clay, Inc.’s SEO content services lift the dead weight of unoptimized content by reviewing content to ensure it’s optimized according to best practices.
• Unclear content or content that needs an editor: Content should be free of typos, errors, and unclear wording, and content should motivate a reader to take action. Google scores content quality by looking for these qualities. Content can’t just “get a point across” — it needs to match the tone and professionalism of the organization it represents. We can match your website content quality with your business’s exceptional quality.
• Needed content: At times, our clients’ websites are found to be missing content in critical places, like the home page or landing pages. We write unique content that is optimized to match prime keywords that your customers are using to find your business in a search engine. The content fits the audience and the brand and creates a deeper connection with future customers. We can also be at hand to write specialty marketing content, including announcements and press releases — content that sets the business apart, establishes authority and expertise, and is optimized for search traffic and online branding.

Our content team works closely with you at all stages of the process to ensure it meets your needs, voice, brand, and SEO objectives. Request more info if you’re interested in working with a professional SEO content development team to elevate your website quality.

Do-It-Yourself Content Resources

Don’t have the budget for professional content services? If you’re writing, editing or intend to assess your own content, take advantage of these resources.

1. Content Marketing Strategies for Professionals – Learn how to create and effectively share compelling content that attracts clicks, conversions, and links. With insights from more than a dozen expert contributors, this book by Bruce Clay and PR pro-Murray Newlands is a comprehensive guide to content development and strategy. Advice is organized by content type; blogging, curated content, video, images, live events, and social media are each covered in-depth, along with recommendations for using various content types together for amplified reach and results.
2. The Bruce Clay, Inc. Blog – Looking for in-depth articles on the best practices of SEO-minded content? Then, you’ll want to check out the Bruce Clay, Inc. Blog. Read the blog, updated several times a week, to stay abreast of the latest SEO and content development news. The blog features articles on SEO, social media marketing, paid search marketing, and more.

Learn More about Our Content Services

Want to learn more about content services tailored to meet the needs of your unique business? Call us today at (866) 517-1900 or request a quote online and discover the personalized solutions we can offer to ​make your content work harder for you.

FAQ: How can professional content creation enhance my website’s performance?

Professionally crafted articles, blog posts, and multimedia offerings provide valuable insights, solutions, and entertainment, fostering a connection that keeps visitors returning. Regular updates, infused with a unique voice and style, build anticipation and trust, turning casual browsers into loyal patrons.

Search engines are the modern-day gatekeepers to the internet. By optimizing your website’s content with relevant keywords, authoritative backlinks, and proper formatting, you create a compelling case for search engines to rank your pages higher. Professional content creation ensures a seamless fusion of valuable information and search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, propelling your website to the forefront of search results.

Credibility is the cornerstone of online success. Your brand will succeed more if you create accurate, insightful, and researched content. If your visitors perceive your website as a trustworthy information source, they are likelier to engage, share, and recommend your content. Producing consistent and high-quality material will establish your brand as an authority while building a loyal following base.

Beyond written content, visual elements such as images, infographics, and videos add a dynamic dimension to your website. Professional content creation extends to these mediums, enhancing user experience and comprehension. Engaging visuals complement written information, catering to diverse learning styles and ensuring your message resonates deeply with a wider audience.

Incorporating professional content creation into your website strategy requires meticulous planning and execution. It involves identifying your target audience, conducting thorough research, devising a content calendar, and enlisting skilled writers or creators. Regular analysis of user engagement and SEO metrics guides ongoing improvements, ensuring your content remains aligned with evolving audience preferences and search engine algorithms.

Step-by-Step Procedure: Enhancing Website Performance through Professional Content Creation

1. Identify your target audience and their preferences.
2. Conduct comprehensive research on trending topics, keywords, and industry developments.
3. Develop a content calendar outlining the frequency and types of content to be created.
4. Enlist professional writers, designers, and creators who align with your brand’s voice and vision.
5. Prioritize accuracy, credibility, and value in every content.
6. Incorporate SEO techniques, including relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and internal/external linking.
7. Create diverse content formats like articles, blog posts, videos, infographics, and podcasts.
8. Maintaining a consistent posting schedule keeps your audience engaged and informed.
9. Encourage social sharing and engagement to amplify your content’s reach.
10. Monitor website analytics to track user engagement, traffic sources, and bounce rates.
11. Adapt your content strategy based on analytics insights and audience feedback.
12. Continuously optimize content for mobile devices to cater to on-the-go users.
13. Foster collaborations with influencers and other brands to expand your content’s reach.
14. Leverage email marketing to distribute your content directly to interested subscribers.
15. Implement a user-friendly website design that complements your content’s visual elements.
16. Engage with your audience through comments, forums, and interactive content.
17. Regularly update and repurpose evergreen content to ensure its relevance.
18. Stay updated on industry trends and technological advancements to remain ahead.
19. Adapt your content strategy based on emerging platforms and consumption habits.
20. Evolve your content creation process by incorporating lessons learned and experimenting with new formats.

Professional content creation is the catalyst that propels your website’s performance to new heights. By fostering engagement, optimizing for search engines, and establishing brand credibility, your website becomes a compelling hub of valuable information and a trusted resource within your industry.

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