seo

  • Business, SEO

    Creative SEO: Why Basic Keywords Don’t Work Anymore

    • 0 comments
    • by

    Time are changing. Basic SEO practices aren’t enough anymore—and companies that want to stay top of mind online need to make some changes.

    In this article, I’ll walk you through how SEO is shifting and a few basic ways to incorporate creative SEO into your company content strategy.

    How SEO has changed in recent years

    It’s common knowledge that SEO has shifted dramatically since the early dot-com era. In its earliest days, SEO simply meant shoving a keyword as many times as possible into your blog post and calling it a day.

    Then things changed.

    Competition got tougher. And Google’s algorithms got smarter. Soon, keyword stuffing was a firm no-go, and smart companies started going after long-tail keywords that were easier to rank for, making sure to use the exact keyword a certain amount of times in their copy.

    And that’s where we were for quite some time.

    But things are starting to change again.

    SEO has been getting more and more complex in recent years. (Google’s made 36 algorithm changes in the last five years alone!) There have always been multiple factors to great SEO, like site mapping, backlinks, mobile optimization, site speed, and more. But now, the complexity is more pronounced.

    Google is getting better at understanding what people are actually looking for when they type a few words into the search bar. This means when you type something into Google, your top results may not actually use your exact words—but chances are, it’s the most helpful content.

    In short: Great SEO focuses on user experience and expert-driven, useful content more than ever before.

    (In fact, you may have noticed that a lot of companies are now shying away from the term “blog post” and using “article” more.)

    Simply searching for keywords (yes, even long-tail keywords) isn’t enough anymore. Enter: creative SEO.

    What is creative SEO?

    Creative SEO is a term I use to describe the new way to write incredible content that makes Google happy.

    It shifts the spotlight away from SEO keywords alone and toward prioritizing creativity, expertise, and data to create the kind of content your customers actually want to consume.

    In other words:

    Creative SEO uses your product positioning and your customer persona to come up with article topics—then strategically incorporates the right keywords throughout each piece.

    When you focus on your ideal customers first, the traffic will follow (and you earn more business).

    How to use creative SEO for your company website

    Creative SEO requires a little more elbow grease than bygone SEO tactics, but the benefits far outweigh the extra effort.

    Here’s a basic rundown of how it works:

    1. Do a deep dive into your product positioning and customer personas

    Stop relying solely on keyword tools and Answer the Public to come up with blog post ideas. There, I said it.

    Instead of asking Google what you should write about, start by looking inward—at your own product and customers.

    I recommend taking time to analyze your company’s product positioning (where you fit in the market) and your ideal customers. You need to get really clear on your brand and voice, why people want to buy from you, and what questions they need answered before they will buy from you.

    Reflect on these questions to get started:

    • How does your product or service fit into the market? What makes you unique?
    • Who exactly do you serve? Why is your product/service the best choice for them?
    • What things tend to keep your ideal customer from buying from you?
    • How can you help answer those objections in a way that educates or entertains them?
    • What other questions do customers have related to your product offering? What do they actually want to know?
    • How can customers use your product or service to make their lives better?
    • What relevant industry trends or news can your company provide expert commentary on?

    2. Create expert-driven, high-quality content

    Companies that have the best on-page SEO adopt a magazine mentality and have high editorial standards. They focus on offering helpful information, expertise, and quality writing.

    My recommendation? Make that your goal, too.

    Hire excellent writers. Lean on recent research. Use trusted sources and cite them. Structure your articles in a way that helps readers learn best. 

    3. Strategically use relevant keywords in your articles

    Yes, keywords still matter! And I even recommend writing some articles based on keywords that are truly relevant to your readers. But keep them in their proper place.

    It still makes sense to put exact keywords in the headline of your article (as close to the beginning as possible), use them a few times in your body heads, and sprinkle them throughout your copy.

    But don’t force it. Use them organically and add a few different but related keywords as well. 

    The result? An article worth reading—and not even Google can deny it.

    Need a creative SEO writer or strategist for your company blog?

    Excellent content takes time, it’s true. And your time is probably better spent doing what you do best (growing your business, making sales, or overseeing your marketing team).

    If you need content strategy or article content, you’ve come to the right place! With over a decade of writing and journalism experience, I regularly write SEO articles for businesses, including fast-growing startups and established Fortune 500 companies.

    Want to work with me? Email me at hello@jennyrosespaudo.com to discuss your writing needs.

    Read More

  • Blogging

    How Long Should My Blog Post Be?

    how long should my blog post be?
    How long should my blog post be?

    “So … how long should my blog post be?”

    That was my primary question when I sat down to write my first blog for my new content marketing business.

    In my time as an online editor and news director, I’ve written articles as short as 150 words and as long as 5,000. But what is the ideal length for a blog post?

    Well, the answer is multifaceted depending on what your goal is. But with all the factors combined, I would say the length of your average blog post should be about 700 to 1,000 words long.

    Why do I say that? Let’s dive in.

    1. Shorter is usually better.

    The trend is clear: People’s attention spans, especially online, are getting shorter. 

    We simply don’t have the patience to scroll through an endless sea of words on the screen. Even those who love their lengthy books will find they don’t have the same giddiness reading a blog post that has thousands and thousands of words.

    I’ve seen this time and again in my job as a news director. People often don’t reach the end of articles before forming their opinions and moving on—gracious, they sometimes only read the headline before sharing it on their social media.

    Because of this, when receiving submissions as a news director, I always encourage writers to try to keep their articles to 1,000 words or less. 

    Doing so increases the likelihood of readers actually consuming the bulk of the article.

    2. Blogs should be at least 300 words long for SEO.

    If you want your blog to be easy to find online, SEO is crucial to keep in mind when writing blog posts. Yoast recommends blogs being at least 300 words in order to rank better on search engines.

    One of the first things I did when I started my blog was install the Yoast SEO plugin for my website. The basic plugin is free, although they do have a premium version you could purchase if you feel you need to. The free plugin allows you to optimize pages and blog posts for a single keyword and for readability. It also alerts you when there’s a major SEO error on your site.

    Hint: Don’t forget to fill out your meta description at the bottom of the blog post. I’m not even going to say how long it took me to figure that one out. Embarrassing.

    3. Have a few extra-long posts on your site to help with your organic traffic.

    So… remember how I just told you that people’s attention spans won’t tolerate articles longer than 1,000 words? 

    Well, forget I said that. At least sometimes.

    Although I’ve seen people overall have a shorter attention span when it comes to online articles, I’ve been shocked every once in a while when an extra-long article does fantastic numbers-wise.

    I remember one instance in particular when a cultural commentator submitted an article for publication that was at least 4,000 words long. It was a bear to edit. The content was a good fit for our audience, but I thought the length would keep the article from really going anywhere.

    I was dead wrong. It got tens of thousands of page views.

    Did every one of those viewers read until the very end? Probably not. But I’ve seen this happen enough to form my own theory: Long posts build credibility with readers.

    Someone may not read every single word of your super long blog post, but they will be able to tell if it’s packed with meaty insights and quality research.

    On top of that, longer posts tend to rank better for SEO. By “long,” I mean about 2,000 words or more.

    As long as they’re easy to read and broken up with enough white space and clear headings, long blog posts can provide a lot of rich content to make the search engine bots happy. 

    If you’re still not convinced, check out this Forbes article to learn how long posts can dramatically affect your blog’s SEO and validity online.

    Do What Works for YOU

    Every blog is different. Maybe your topic or audience lends itself to short and sweet blog posts. They want the info, they digest it easily and quickly, and they’re out. 

    Perfect. Do it.

    Or maybe your niche requires a lot more explanation and research. Maybe people come to you because they want deep, meaty content they won’t find elsewhere.

    Again, perfect. Go for it.

    The real answer to “How long should my blog post be?” is simply to allow your blog—and its length—to be as unique as your business is. 

    And, for the record, this blog post is 810 words long. 😉

    Hey real quick before you leave … have we connected on Facebook yet? If not, take just two seconds to like and follow my Facebook page!

    Read More