You might think setting some new SEO goals will help you get a few more leads this quarter. I’m not going to say that you’re wrong, because every business is different and I’m a huge fan of search engine optimization – SEO. What I do want to show you is how you can market your business in another way. This strategy can sometimes be more successful than following the traditional SEO path.
If you are creating content and blogging regularly, it’s not imperative that you align everything to specific keywords despite what most marketers tell you.
This strategy is something that virtually any business, of any size and shape, can create loads of success without any SEO goals.
Ads
If you’re a fan of ads, you know that SEO goals are not needed if you simply create ads that inspire a sale. Many bloggers promote their content with social media ads all the time. They leverage their ability to write copy that gets potential customers to click.
If you’re new to running ads, you should hire someone to do it for you if you have the budget. If not, there are plenty of resources within the ad platform to learn almost everything you need to know. Facebook has a variety of tools that support to help you create the perfect ad and then budget your spending while you “figure it out.”
Many marketers in the e-commerce space create multiple ads then run them against each other with different audiences, copy, images, and videos. Then after a few days, they compare the results and keep what works and modify what doesn’t work. This is a great strategy to find out whether or not you’re on the right track.
For information on running successful ad campaigns, check out this article we wrote about a month ago.
Social Media
SEO goals are also not necessary for social media campaigns. Here you can simply create content that you know sparks your customer’s interest simply by watching what people are doing and talking about.
For businesses, it makes sense to spend some time researching your market before you start posting whatever you want. Not all customers are into pictures of your food, right?
Here is what you should do on Facebook and LinkedIn…
- Research your industry via Facebook Audience Insights and Google Searches
- Join relevant groups and participate in them. Become an influencer and be social.
- Based on the rules of the group, start creating useful content for free. Trust me. The more useful it is, the more people will visit your website and buy your products.
- Place a link to your business in your profile. Do not post the link in the group unless given permission for the moderators.
Social media does have a similar function, #hashtags. To find out which #hashtags you should use, use this the free tool, hastagify.me. This tool will show you all the surrounding hashtags in your industry. When you make a post include only the relevant ones to help people find your content.
Blogging to Go Viral
Going viral is difficult to include in a set of SEO goals, however, it is certainly in the realm of possibilities if you’re using the right techniques. Let me give you a crash course in the art of creating viral content.
Going viral is defined as …
You need to know is if you’re in an industry that has the potential to go viral. Going viral might not be something you should even think about if you’re not in an industry that has the potential.
One of my favorite tools is Google Trends to test where you’re at in viral potential.
Let’s say you are still selling fidget spinners. This might not be the best idea these days, but it’s a perfect example of the power of virality.
Take a look at their five-year chart on Google Trends. If you got in the business a few months before they blew up, and created content, ran ads, and put your fidget spinners everywhere you could, then you could have done very well for yourself. It looks like the end of quarter 3 of 2016 was the time to strike.
The biggest problems with most viral topics are the massive drop-offs after they peak. As you can see, being in the fidget spinner market now, would be a waste of time and money.
Twitter Trends
Twitter is another fantastic place to find viral topics.
Twitter is such an ingenious platform for marketers. Not only can you disseminate your content and provide a link to your website, lead magnet, or store, but you can also know exactly where everyone’s attention is in real-time.
Knowing where they are looking is not just important for Twitter posts. It’s also extremely useful for creating viral content for your blog, Facebook, and LinkedIn content. LinkedIn even changed their algorithm recently to favor trending material. They also added #hashtags, so make sure you’re adding them to your LinkedIn posts, just like your Twitter and Instagram posts.
Making an Impact with Content
SEO goals mean nothing if you’re not considering the quality of your content. Basically, if you’re content is boring, unoriginal, or something people don’t care about then you might as well stick to ads and not even trying creating. That’s pretty harsh. I know, but creating content is very time-consuming and can make or break your brand identity online and offline.
All I’m saying is that it’s a risk and you should treat all the content you produce with the respect it deserves. Your customers are judging you with every piece you create, so make sure it’s consistent with your brand.
Making an impact on your customers should be more important than any SEO goals you’re trying to achieve. Even more than how many followers you’re trying to get.
With all types of marketing, you’re, essentially, trying to create a community. SEO goals are one way to do it, but they are not the only way.
The Ultimate Content Creation Mindset
The best way to make an impact is to consistently create the best content you can. By using the tools listed above to go viral, you can do something more important than writing a viral piece. You can create content that people love to share by changing their lives.
Every great business has one thing in common. They make an impact on their customers for the better. The degree to which you accomplish that one thing is what determines the amount of money and traffic you get. This one thing should supersede all your SEO goals.
Don’t make the mistake that a lot of marketers do, which is creating fluff content to get on the first page of Google. Think about what you would like to read if you’re a beginner, intermediate, and advanced researcher of what you sell. If you write on those three levels, you can create the tribe you want and continuously attract more and more people to your website. SEO goals are not necessary when you think like this.
Leveraging Gated Content with Email
If you make downloadable content a part of your SEO goals, you should make collecting your customer’s information part of your marketing strategy. Don’t make the mistake of creating a great piece of content and giving it away for free.
I’m not saying charge money for it. You might not sell one. I think your goal should be to collect email addresses and then use those emails to create more traffic and sell your latest products.
One of the best marketing strategies in the world is creating blogs, ads, downloadable content, and selling with email. It’s really that simple, and the best part is that your budget is completely up-to-you.
The key is to make your downloadables have an attractive headline, quality content, and the call-to-action (to visit your website) persuasive. If you do this, you’ll attract clients to your email list with ease. Many marketers use this tactic to create a buzz about products that don’t even exist yet. This is an advanced technique, but it works if your content is on point.
When SEO Goals Are Very Important
SEO Goals are very important if you’re in a boring or outdated industry. They are also very important when you don’t have a budget to spend on ads.
Getting organic traffic is free, and it’s 8 times for impactful than paid ads. I’m a huge supporter of it, but it’s not for everyone.
If you’re trying to blow your business up in one quarter, it’s probably not the best strategy.
Your SEO goals should be made with a long-term mindset. This means that you focus on creating consistent and quality content on a schedule that works for you, your customers, and Google.
If you can’t meet your SEO goals and know it’s the right path for your business, you can use ads to help you hit your traffic numbers. You can also use the tips on creating viral content to push your brand over any proverbial “humps” you face along the way.
For more information on SEO, check out this article, How to Choose a Domain Name in 2018.
