Content Creation and Optimization

When it comes to Content marketing, Content Optimization plays an integral part in the strategy. Content marketing is successful once you get the optimization steps right. Be it for brand awareness or performance marketing KPI’s, there are various ways to optimize your content. The most important is optimization through Search Engines, also known as SEO.

The Search Engine optimization tool of Content optimization is a powerful way people can find your content, without you directly sending it to them through social media or ads. When you optimize your content through this channel, potential customers automatically find you.

Content optimization in simple words, is a process that ensures content is written, technically built and published in such a way that it reaches as large an audience as possible.

What is the need to Optimize Content-

The need to optimize content is to

1.       Rank on search engine result pages

2.       Earn links

3.       Educate audience

4.       Drive social engagement

5.       Increase lead generation

Difference between Content Creation and Content Optimization-

 

We need to understand that there is a difference between Content Creation and Optimization. Content is for readers and Content Optimization is for machines. While creating content your audience should be on top of your mind. While presenting that information, one should keep in mind it should be appealing to the algorithms that surface content to its audience. The search algorithms will rank content that’s highly optimized, higher than content that’s not optimized much, in comparison.

 

How Content Optimization works-

 

Content Optimization works on the basis of your content’s copy, structure, Metadata so that Search Engines receive stronger signals through them. For example separating an article into different sections, making the section titles in bold, tagging them as Headers (h1,h2,h3,h4), provides stronger signals to Search Engines and moves your content to higher ranks. Each of these small tweaks finally makes an impact on your content visibility.

 

How do I Optimize Content-

 

In order to Optimize Content, one needs to be clear about what is their goal and research what it takes to reach that goal. For example a Nutritional food company knows that ‘Healthy Food’ according to Google keyword planner gets 10k to 100k searches on a monthly average.

There are three basic questions that give a foundational outline to Content Creation based on which one can start production, optimize content.

What is the search intent for your Keyword- research, check out competing articles, find out what others have found relevant.

Can you improve on the content that is already ranking for the term- Is there better information, unique perspective, unseen data.

What are the types of content out there- Videos, Info-graphics, Text based articles, which one should you try creating.

Once you are clear on these points, you can then move to the next steps.

 

·         Optimize your text by writing great Content-

To get to high Search Engine rankings is not easy. The Content has to be good. This can be illustrated with an example how not to do it.

An electronic store selling mobiles might be looking to rank with the keyword “Best mobiles”. To do so they publish an article “Best mobiles of 2020” that states- The Best mobiles of 2020 are listed here. We have selected the Best mobiles to make your selection process easier. The Best mobiles are selected here by professionals who know the Best mobile features inside out ranked by price and functionality to ensure you get the Best mobiles as per your needs.

In the above three sentences the keyword is used 5 times. A bad practice, also called as Keyword Stuffing, to be avoided. The article that actually ranks with this Keyword, introduces the product with new research, clearly lays out a list of top choices and is transparent about selling themselves.

·         Keep new Content coming- An important key to Search Engine Optimization. The more you publish new content, the more likely your site will get better search rankings. Search Engines love new content coming in. Also update older content so that it stays fresh and relevant on your web-page.

·         Optimize your Title tags- A Title tag tells Search Engines the title of your web-page. It should ideally be 50-60 characters long. Primary keyword| Secondary keyword| Brand name.

·         Optimize Meta Description- It’s the short snippet of text that appears in Search Engines under the title tag. It should be of 150-160 characters, descriptive of the web-page.

·         Optimize your Images- Once selected, you need to tag Images well to ensure they are noticed by Search Engines. The Alt tags used describes your Image’s appearance, lets the Search Engine know what your Image is all about.

·         Target keywords in your first paragraph- It should all appear in a relevant and natural way.

·         Use Search Engine friendly URL’s- It should be straight forward, meaningful and include appropriate keywords

So there it is- OptimizingContent is as important as creating good Content. And it’s all worth the effort when your target audience finds you.