Generating SEO leads is challenging to say the least, but can you actually produce more leads through content marketing?
The short answer to this question is yes, but it’s going to take a while, and the process is not as straightforward as we had previously thought. Here are some of the aspects of content marketing that we have to take into consideration if we want our efforts to be truly effective.
1. Laser Focus on User Intent
Before, it was enough to focus on the general topic and just produce content however way we liked it. With Google’s renewed focus on user intent however, this may no longer be sufficient as a general approach to content. You need to start creating content for the right people, for their exact spot in the marketing funnel.
Because technically speaking, people who visit your website are at different points of readiness to buy. A person who has just found your website will be more or less ‘cold’ and someone who has purchased a product or service before will be more trusting and more interested to buy something.
The effort all boils down to how you find your keywords. Online software like the Google Keyword Planner tool can help, but ultimately, it is your discernment of the market situation that will help identify the truly profitable keywords.
We’re saying this because someone who is looking for general SEO may not be looking specifically to hire an SEO company. It is essential to also create content that converts well, instead of relying on less reliable keywords with lower conversion rates.
What’s the priority?
The priority with content will always be the intent, or what people want to do when they set out with their queries on Google. You can attract the right audience with highly specific keywords that have some volume, but aren’t necessarily highly competitive.
As we all know, highly competitive keywords are not easy to rank for, and if you want gains in the short term, it’s best to stick to the less competitive keywords instead.
As the now-defunct Klout meter used to say, as the difficulty for ranking approaches 100, the effort needed to ‘get there’ multiplies, and sometimes it’s just not practical if you have a limited budget (or time).
Statistics show that 90% of digital marketers who approach content this way end up with high quality B2B content that converts well. And instead of randomly thinking of topics, go back to the community itself and start scoping out usable questions to answer.
Websites like AnswerThePublic are good places to start. Just look at the questions that gain a lot of attention, and you can be sure that people are truly interested in them. Your content would have traction even before you’ve begun because the questions you’ll be using have been asked and have gained attention already, elsewhere.
2. Release Case Studies
While typically tough to create and publish, case studies are definitely one of the best types of content especially for more fickle and data-dependent clients like big enterprises.
The head honchos like evidence of effectiveness, and a well-prepare case study (or two) will definitely help you gain more SEO leads than companies who never bothered to collect data (ironic, I know) or even check if their strategies are working. Since SEO is already about data collection and crunching numbers, it makes complete sense to create on-going case btudies, ultimately to benefit your business, right?
Are there other advantages?
Definitely. Case studies are sought after by business websites and professional blogs, and well-written case studies with the statistics all backed up and written down well are natural magnets for authoritative backlinks and lots of media attention.
In Google’s world where backlinks determine authoritativeness of a website, this is definitely a boon – one that you can’t possibly ignore if you want to get ahead of the pack.
3. Downloadable Resources
Downloadable reports (this includes case studies), tips, checklists, and eBooks have long been used to build lists ethically. We emphasize ethically here because you wouldn’t want to collect emails by promising something you can’t deliver, right?
With this approach, they give their emails, and you provide them a service. It’s a legitimate and ethical transaction, which builds trust immediately between the business and the potential lead.
If you are not interested in putting more words out there, you can provide webinars and other free resources to help leads along. Of course, the point of all this is you are essentially selling the best points of your SEO business, and the free resources are simply there to highlight the fact that genuine SEO is challenging, and you are there to help.
When they are done consuming the material, you will be there to receive their queries about having SEO done on their websites. Even free resources should be made with a clear intention in mind.
4. Collaborate with Others
This approach has worked incredibly well with other niches, and it’s working for the SEO industry now. Networks of content creators are collaborating with each other to amplify their reach and to help each other out. The way to do it is to reach out to members of the industry who already have a following and ask them if they’re willing to accept content from you with a backlink.
You can also tell them that you are interested in promoting their brand to your audience, no matter how small your following may be. Every little bit goes a long way in the world of digital marketing, which is why networking like this just works. You never know when a newcomer suddenly becomes a star out of sheer effort, so influencers are often open to helping beginners out.
5. Participate in Podcasts
Specialists who host podcasts often look for like-minded people to converse with during their episodes. Why not reach out to them so you can be part of one or two podcasts? Or better yet, why not create your own podcast and publish it on your website?
