SEO Best Practices for Writers and Editors

Why Incorporate SEO Into Content?

• Measurability = Showing Success

• We Think < We Know

• Real Understanding of Customers (Helps Guide Clients)

Imagination Rankings Growth

September 2013 February 2015

Content marketing agency Not in top 50 2

Marketing agencies Chicago

Not in top 50 5

Content marketing firm Not in top 50 8

Chicago content marketing agencies

Not in top 50 1

Content marketing Chicago Not in top 50 1

Finding Topics

• Understanding Business Goals

• Where to find topics

• Has this been written about?– Using BuzzSumo

Understanding Business Goals

• What is their primary business goal for this content?

• What audience does the client need to reach?

• Is it a local or national business?

• What kinds of topics would reach this audience and achieve these goals?

Where to Find Good Topics

• Answer sites– Yahoo Answers, Quora

• Google Analytics

• Listening

Has This Been Written About?

• Using BuzzSumo

• Site:website “topic”

Finding Keywords

• Thinking like a human

• Knowing domain authority

• Using Keyword Planner

Thinking Like a Human

Domain Authority– A website’s trust ranking

– Maximum of 100

– Sites with higher authority win keyword battles

– Good search rankings = free web traffic

– Links to your site + unique content + reader engagement = domain authority

– Exploit your domain authority by creating content around competitive keywords.

Example

We’ll look at an example using Lowe’s for Pros, which has a domain authority of 51.

Using Keyword Planner

• Combining keyword planner with Google search.

• Be more specific and long tail– “Black leather dog leash” vs. “dog leash”

How You Can Find Domain Authority

Finding Subject Matter Experts

• Helps Distribute Content

• Use BuzzSumo

Writing Headlines That Work

• Don’t get cute

• Headlines that get clicked and shared

Don’t Get Cute

• Demonstrate value: “What’s in it for me?”

• Competing with the whole universe of web content. – Good Headline: Making Donuts at Home: Three

Easy Steps to a Delicious Treat– Bad Headline: Go Nuts for Donuts

• Extend to subheads

Headlines That Get Clicked and Shared

• Emotions that get shared: anxiety, anger and awe. Sadness does not get shared.

• Try running your headline through the Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer to see what emotions it evokes.

• Use numbers in your headline.– Numbers in the headline help set reader expectation about length of article. – Odd numbers get 20% more clicks.

• Headlines with colons and hyphens get more clicks. – Use colons or hyphens to string two headlines together. – Example: “How to write a headline the won’t get ignored: 10 tips to getting

clicked”. – This headline is optimized for search rank (search term at beginning of

headline), but also has two shots at getting clicked.

Formatting Content for Readability

• One idea per page or article

• Internal linking• Paragraph length• Word choices• Meta content• Images

Applying Keyword to Content

• Meta title• Meta description• Headline • Deck • Alt text

Imagination SEO process• SEO strategist may suggest keywords for quarter. Otherwise,

focus keywords are determined by managing editors.• IP strategists and editors outline story pitches by finding

unique storylines that also have a good chance of succeeding in search.

• After determining headline, keyword and influencer recommendations, strategists send story concepts and keywords to writers.

• Afterreceiving story, editors confirm that keywords have been used correctly.

• Stories are uploaded to CMS by Imagination editor using SEO checklist.

Content Distribution

• All interview subjects should be notified when article goes live and provided a link (editor or designate).

• Ensure that content has internal links to and from it (editor or designate).

• For every piece you create, think about some places where you could distribute it.

Next Steps for You

• Download the MOZ plugin into your Chrome browser.

• Learn to use BuzzSumo and Keyword Planner

• Learn the domain authority for your clients and their top three competitors.

• Start using the SEO checklist.