The Foundation of Search: Good Content
When performing a general search for – um… well, “search” – you will find a cavalcade of methods, strategies and suggestions of the best ways to improve your SEO. But many of these sources fail to realize what’s at the root of increasing a company’s visibility: content.
Regarding SEO, I’ve heard over and over that “Content is King,” but what does that really mean?
It means that through quality communication materials like websites, blogs, videos, audio podcasts and now social media, you have the power to actively engage readers and increase traffic to your website.
Engage Readers
Providing a healthy balance of keyword research with quality web content can be an artform. Keyword research certainly lays the building blocks, but a superior website – or any method of communication for that matter – must allure its readers. Otherwise, what are they even doing on that website?
While maintaining a delicate balance, the ultimate goal is to entertain, inform, and entice the reader to come back. As Derek Mabie said about SEO during the Get Digital Seminar in June, “Write for your audience and the rest will take care of itself.”
Increase Search Engine Traffic & Become a Thought Leader
This is where PR and communication professionals can help improve a website’s visibility. Quality links to a website are one of the most influential factors in determining search engine rank. If Google perceives a website that links to yours as a legitimate source, your website’s ranking, in turn, will improve.
Fresh content not only contributes to the optimization of a site, it also provides opportunities for exposure to –potentially – millions of readers.
Because of this, companies that produce high-quality content in articles, blogs, and press releases for distribution should begin to see an increase in traffic. Having other notable websites produce your content on their pages can also make you a thought leader, giving your brand more validity in the all knowing, ever-watching eye that is, as Mabie says, “the Goog.”
While keyword research and linking help in search, I challenge you to this. Instead of trying to pull your brand upward, let your content push brand recognition to the top with useful, relevant and engaging copy.
Authored by Paul Suess
Paul Suess is a member of the public relations team at Osborn & Barr, a marketing and communications firm located in downtown St. Louis. With experience in account service, public relations, SEO implementation, social media outreach and event coordination –as well as an extensive client list including both local and national companies – he prides himself on being a “Renaissance Man” of sorts in the communications field. Outside of work, you can find Paul at Busch Stadium with an ice-cold frosty Budweiser in hand (in Harry Caray’s voice), or on the golf course spending more time in the sand than David Hasselhoff.
