May 22, 2020 •DJ Team
Whether you’re just getting started with SEO content, looking for an SEO strategy template, needing an SEO strategy example pdf, or you’re hoping to boost the results of your hard work, it can be tricky to know how to move forward. One thing is for sure, though: SEO matters, and there are SEO strategies and SEO strategy examples you can use to reach a wider audience organically
Consider this—when you’re thinking about trying a new product or service, where do you go to research before buying? One recent survey asked over 1,000 respondents to answer this question and the results speak for themselves. The number one research method used by customers was browsing e-commerce websites, followed closely by search engine research. These responses show the importance of optimizing your website so your audience can easily browse and find what they’re looking for. With the right strategy, your site can also appear higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). An SEO Pillar strategy is one of the best ways to make sure your site is likely to rank higher on search engines like Google. But we’ll get there in a moment!
Equipped with this knowledge, where do we go from here? If you want to achieve success in digital marketing, staying up-to-date with SEO strategies is the best way to get there. So, let’s talk about SEO content strategy and how to make SEO work best for your needs.
What Is An SEO Strategy?
An SEO strategy is the way you plan, create, and organize your website’s content to rank higher on search engines. If done correctly, you can get more leads from organic search results (aka the results that appear after any paid ads). For example, on Google, you can determine whether a search engine result is paid or organic by looking for the small “Ad” text in front of the result.
Have you ever gone to a website that didn’t answer your question? Was it full of fluff or did it skirt around the answer? The beauty of a good SEO strategy is that it ensures you are writing content your audience actually wants to read. Search engines are designed to make their searchers happy—not the people writing the content. So by optimizing your website to suit your audience’s needs, search engine algorithms will point people in your direction by ranking you higher on search engine results.
This SEO strategy approach also means you should avoid AI-generated content that doesn’t sufficiently answer the question and almost certainly doesn’t pass Google’s requirements for helpful content. While these tools can be tempting to use because of how quickly they generate answers to questions, they don’t get the results that content composed by human writers does.
How do you start strategizing for SEO, or improving your current SEO? We have three methods that are key to any SEO strategy.
#1 Website Optimization Strategy
Let’s start off with what you probably already have: your website. Strategizing for SEO involves optimizing your site to include SEO keywords and research. That might mean some slight tweaks to the website organization or a complete overhaul to ensure that it’s making the best of what you’ve got. If you’re not sure where to get started, we recommend the Pillar-Based Marketing (PBM) approach, which helps you structure your content in a way that makes sense to search engines.
The methodology of Pillar-Based Marketing is meant to be an entirely new philosophy of marketing that emphasizes that user search behavior is not a simple funnel. DemandJump's podcast, Page One or Bust!, often discusses pillar-based marketing best practices. This clip below covers the importance of PBM. To listen to the full episode, visit this link.
PBM is all about developing your website to truly meet your audience’s needs on a particular topic. By doing so, search engines will recognize you as an authority on that topic and rank your website higher on search engine results. Being an authority means you know what you’re talking about and you’re the best provider of information on any given topic. Imagine being on a site with poor structure, that’s hard to navigate or doesn’t make sense, and that doesn’t even answer the question you’re looking for. Are you likely to stay on or return to the site? Search engines can help searchers avoid this by boosting helpful, well structured content. That’s where PBM really shines. With PBM, you can get more conversions and engagement with your content.
The essential components of PBM include long-form web pages (aka “Pillar Pages”) that are well-researched and keyword-focused. These cover broad topics in depth and are at least 3,000 words long and use around 20 high-value keywords and phrases. This Pillar should be the “ultimate guide” to the topic you want to rank for. When it comes to optimizing your website, Pillars should be at the top—typically this means giving them their own landing page outside of the blog
PBM also allows room for more specific Sub-Pillars and hyper-specific Supporting Blog posts about related areas, all of which can link back to the pillar page. Creating this kind of connected content on your own site optimizes the use of your SEO keywords; rather than posting occasional blogs with keywords stuffed into the body, this establishes a more holistic approach to site optimization.
How Does PBM Structure Work?
PBM is structured with the Pillars at the top, Sub-Pillars in the middle, and Supporting Blogs on the bottom. But what does that mean? Let’s dive into PBM:- Pillars: Pillars are the largest piece of content in a PBM strategy. This 3,000-word guide gives your audience the answers to the largest questions about a certain topic. They’re meant to be a general article that the other content falls under and connects to. With such a long piece, it’s important to add enough unique keywords to help it rank higher when people search online. In this case, Pillars need about 20 keywords and phrases. Imagine you’re looking at a large city from a distance. You can see the entire city, but you can clearly point out certain buildings and main roads.
- Sub-Pillars: Sub-Pillars are the second largest pieces of content at 2,000 words with around 15 keywords. Their purpose is to focus on a topic less general than the Pillar by answering more specific, pointed questions. Sub-Pillars link directly to the Pillar. In our city analogy, this would be like using a pair of binoculars to see certain areas of the city more closely.
- Supporting Blogs: Blogs are the shortest pieces of content at 750 words with 7-8 keywords. They answer very specific questions about a topic. Blogs link to Sub-Pillars and Pillars. Now it’s time to break out the telescope and examine the city up close. You can see very specific areas of buildings and shops to see how the city works.
So what does a PBM strategy look like with a real topic? We’ll use an example of our SEO Strategy Pillar:
- Pillar: SEO Strategy
- Sub-Pillar: SEO Strategy in Digital Marketing
- Blogs: What are the types of SEO? What are different SEO strategies? How to do SEO in digital marketing?
If you’re having trouble coming up with a PBM strategy, you’re in luck! DemandJump’s PBM platform helps you build your content pillar from the ground up. You’ll find insight reports that give you the highest-ranking keywords and questions so you can take your Pillar topic and develop the rest of your plan.
#2 Regular Content Posting SEO Strategy
SEO traffic is also influenced by the consistency in which you post your blogs. We often hear from clients “How often should I post a blog on my website?” The truth is that while there is no magic number or exact target for these post counts, it’s a good idea to aim for 1 to 4 posts per week. Not only will regular publishing keep your SEO content fresh, but it also can attract a greater readership and audience. If folks know your site regularly publishes relevant content, the chance of someone bookmarking your site and returning to it for updates is far higher. PBM approaches it differently, but this strategy can be effective if done correctly.
In order to accomplish regular content posting, though, it’s important to establish an editorial and posting calendar. An editorial calendar includes blog titles, blog descriptions, social media posts, and the dates for all relevant content to be released and promoted. Rather than just posting blogs as they’re completed, creating a posting calendar allows you and your team to prioritize and organize your content.
Along those lines, with the PBM strategy, we recommend posting all of your Pillar content—that means the Pillar, Sub-Pillars, and Supporting Blogs—all at one time. This boosts your “SEO juice” so search engine web crawlers connect all of your content together as if it is one piece of content. That is where you find the authority we mentioned before.
Ultimately it breaks down to: Posting regularly is essential to use SEO to your advantage.
#3 Link Building SEO Strategy
The third most important SEO strategy is what’s known as link building. After publishing written pieces, a common practice is contacting those publishing similar content and asking for them to link to your pages. This can be done in a variety of ways, either by having an in-house team crawl the web for relevant content, finding contact information, and then sending proposals, or by hiring an outside digital marketing team to do the work for you. Though these practices can be time-consuming or expensive, having your site linked to by other pages boosts your search ranking and generally increases traffic, not to mention your sense of authority on a given subject.
However, there is a slight wrinkle when it comes to the practice of link building. Following the latest Google SEO algorithm updates, which constantly change, an overfocus on link building seems to be causing some websites to get dinged—a testament to the ever-shifting nature of SEO. That being said, another more long-term tactic for organic link building is to simply write great content. When you’re taking the time to develop compelling writing, it’s more likely that other sites will see your work and be compelled to link without you having to ask.
And don’t forget: It’s also important to link internally. From Supporting Blogs to Sub-Pillars and Pillars, interlinking content on your own website shows search engines that you know a lot about your topic. This is why a PBM strategy is essential to building your content from individual blogs to a cluster of information.
What Is an SEO Strategy Platform That Works? Try DemandJump
Even with the most relevant or current SEO parameters, companies may still need a hand in creating content that engages and inspires audiences. That’s where DemandJump comes in! We provide you with a variety of SEO tools and keywords that will own the first page of search engine results. Plus, our Insight Reports and analytics let you know what’s working and what’s not, so you can always find ways to improve. If you’re ready to leap to page one, try our platform for free today!
