How Do I Write Content That Engages Users and Wins Search Visibility?

• Overview
• What I Think
• Deep Dive: Winning Audiences and Influencing the Search Results
• 12-Step Action Plan for Content Visibility and Engagement
• Quick Solutions
• About Us

Overview

Creating content that connects with your target audience but also boosts visibility in the search results is one of the primary tasks of SEO.  

But to do this well, you’ll need to follow a handful of critical steps: Understand your audience, understand user intent and then craft high-quality content, making sure it’s also aligned with SEO best practices. 

Focusing on these elements together can help brands better resonate with their audience while at the same time improving visibility in the search rankings.

What I Think

Brands want to create quality content and the first step is knowing what your target audience needs during their online journey. 

What questions are they asking? How are they searching? What words or phrases do they use? 

Knowing the answers to these questions provides a foundation for solid content strategies, 

Secondly, but just as important, is knowing what the search engines want. Luckily, providing helpful, quality content to your audience is a prerequisite for ranking in the search results. 

Unique content that adds something new to the conversation, or gives expert insights or first-hand experience they might not find elsewhere is important to distinguish your brand.  

But it’s not just that simple. Of course, we’d love to be able to take an “if-you-build-it-they-will-come” approach (nod to the 80s movie “Field of Dreams”), but you need strategic optimization to help it stand out. 

And to close the loop, use analytics to find out what content resonates most with your target audience so you can continuously refine your approach. 

Deep Dive: Winning Audiences and Influencing the Search Results

The task: Creating quality content that speaks to your audience while also boosting visibility in search. The path: A highly intentional strategy. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Know the Target Audience

Understanding your target audience takes effort. Research their interests, pain points and frequently asked questions, so you can tailor content directly to their needs. 

Tools like audience surveys, analytics data and keyword research are all valuable to the process. When you can align the content strategy to the data, you ensure relevance. 

Engage Internal Experts

Who are the subject matter experts at your organization? Collaborating with them during the content strategy and creation process can enhance your content strategy. 

Getting different perspectives and first-hand insights from people who are experts on the topic elevates the quality of your content. 

Optimize the Content

You can pour your heart and soul into great content, but that’s not always enough to compete in the search engines. 

You want to do everything possible to optimize it for search. This includes everything from how the content is formatted to how it’s coded. 

At the end of the day, anything that helps the search engines better understand what the content is about is important. 

And good content optimization also means making the content easier to scan and read.  

Things like headers, bullet points and short paragraphs all help with readability (for both people and search engines).  

Additionally, other optimization tactics like schema markup can enhance how the content appears in search results, which can make it more appealing to users to click through.

Make Regular Content Updates

Content can get stale — and fast. So regularly updating the content on your site keeps it relevant to both people and search engines. 

Setting an update schedule here can help you maintain consistency. We like the 50/50 ratio: 50% of the time spent writing new content and 50% of the time spent updating older content.

Use Analytics

Use analytics tools to evaluate the performance of your content so you know what’s working — and what’s not. 

Taking the time for periodic analysis helps your content creators adapt their approach as needed.

Distribute the Content Wisely

You want to rank in the search results, but there are other channels that can boost engagement. 

For more visibility, share your content through social media, email campaigns and other channels to amplify reach. 

12-Step Action Plan for Content Visibility and Engagement

Here are 12 steps to creating more visibility and engagement through optimized content:

1. Conduct audience research to identify target demographics and interests, and as a part of this, use keyword research tools to find relevant search terms.
2. Develop a list of topics that align with user intent, frequently asked questions and interests and create detailed content outlines.
3. Write high-quality content that addresses target audience needs, and be sure to optimize content with keywords. 
4. Collaborate with internal experts for deeper insights into the topics you are writing about.
5. For readability, include engaging headings and subheadings, use bullet points and lists and incorporate multimedia to break up text.
6. Use optimization strategies like schema markup, mobile compatibility and internal linking.
7. Review and edit content for accuracy and flow.
8. Publish content consistently according to a set schedule.
9. To promote, use social media platforms and share through email. Be sure to respond to audience feedback and comments.
10. Monitor content performance using analytics and adjust content strategies based on data and competitor strategies. 
11. Update existing content to maintain relevance.
12. Invest in SEO content training for your team.

Create content that engages your audience and enhances your online visibility: 

Contact Us Today to Learn How We Can Help!

Quick Solutions

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About Us

Bruce Clay, Inc. has been a leader in search engine optimization for 30 years. We specialize in tried and true SEO content strategies that enhance visibility and engagement. Learn more About Us.

Bruce Clay is founder and president of Bruce Clay Inc., a global digital marketing firm providing search engine optimization, pay-per-click, social media marketing, SEO-friendly web architecture, and SEO tools and education. Connect with him on LinkedIn or through the BruceClay.com website.

See Bruce's author page for links to connect on social media.