The formula is simple.
Discover keywords that people are searching for.
Build content to satisfy search intent.
Build a network of content to support broader keywords.
The issue is that to actually satisfy search intent means building specific content. Very specific, helpful, and engaging content. It doesn’t mean stuffing 5 or 10 keywords onto a page with a generic video, or writing a paragraph or two giving a surface treatment to the topic.
So why do we spend so much time trying to do better keyword research, scanning the website for technical improvements, and talking about HTML tags?
So often marketing teams focus on these things because these are the things that are within their control, even though most know deep down that these improvements will likely not move the needle in any big way.
The trouble is that even though they know that they need to make content to specifically target all the keywords in their strategy, they don’t feel empowered to make it.
Without a reliable system for creating derivative content to suit the strategy the content required to drive a successful SEO strategy is too costly, both in terms of dollars and in terms of the effort required by thought leaders.
So we end up with marketing teams optimizing the things they can control and metrics that don’t move the way we need them to.
We endlessly chase SEO magic to fix the problem.
Your keyword research is good enough.
Your website is likely search friendly enough.
Instead of focusing on tweaking out every tiny opportunity for improvement in these areas, it’s time we begin focusing on the enormous gains you could get from making content that is strategically created to deliver on the intent of all those searches we intend to capture.
