If you’re new to SEO (search engine optimization), you might be wondering what exactly it is that you’re doing to drive organic traffic to your website. There are a lot of strategies and tactics you can use, but essentially the work involves ensuring that your content easily ranks in the search results when someone types in relevant keywords.
One of the most important things to consider is your target audience and what they want and need. Who are you writing for? What are they searching for? What is the buyer persona?
The answers to these questions will help you determine what content you should be creating and optimizing for.
The Basics Of SEO
The acronym SEO stands for search engine optimization. When someone performs a search on a search engine (e.g., Google), the search engine looks for websites that match what the user is searching for. SEO is a form of marketing and advertising that involves shaping your content (e.g., web pages) so that they appear to be relevant and trustworthy when a person performs a search.
“SEO is a form of marketing that combines traditional advertising with content marketing to achieve business goals. The main objective of SEO is to increase the number of organic (non-paid) website visitors to a web page or blog,” explains Michael G. Shepherd, PhD, ABSP, CPC, SSCP, CSSC, Director of Marketing at HubSpot.
Organic search traffic is often considered to be one of the most valuable and relevant sources of traffic because these are the readers and audiences you’re directly communicating with. Essentially, these are the people who are already interested in your products or services and are therefore more likely to be interested in what you have to say.
Why B2B Marketing?
If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering what makes B2B marketing different from regular marketing. Generally, marketers target consumers who are likely to become buyers, while B2B marketers target businesses that can become buyers.
Since B2B buyers are usually more sophisticated and knowledgeable than average consumers, they require more effort to attract, engage, and retain. Further, since companies typically conduct business negotiations and transactions via email or over the phone, digital marketing plays a crucial role in brand marketing and sales.
What Is B2B SEO Copywriting?
SEO copywriting is a form of marketing that specializes in crafting digital content (e.g., blog posts, web pages, and emails) so that they perform well in digital searches. Although SEO is a broad term that covers many tactics, techniques, and strategies, copywriting is a narrower term that refers to the process of crafting material for digital distribution.
Why should you consider pursuing a career in SEO copywriting? First, the role requires specific skills that you can build on in your career (e.g., attention to detail, research, and writing). Second, the job outlook is favorable, with many remote marketing jobs available and a continued need for SEO writers due to the rising number of internet users and the increasing number of consumers performing searches online.
How Does SEO Fit With Content Marketing?
SEO is often considered to be a form of content marketing, although it can and often does overlap with other marketing and advertising tactics. Essentially, when a business performs SEO on their website, they’re shaping their content (e.g., blog posts, product descriptions, and social media posts) so that they appear to be relevant and authoritative when a person performs a search on a search engine.
The lines between SEO and content marketing can be blurry, because while creating content for SEO purposes, businesses can also attract and retain customers through compelling material that is not directly tied to a specific product or service.
The Difference Between SEO And Digital Marketing
In general, marketers target consumers who are interested in their products or services, while SEO focuses on building websites that rank well in the search results for relevant keywords. As a result, SEO and digital marketing can and often do overlap.
However, SEO is considered to be a subset of digital marketing, because SEO is specifically geared toward growing a business’ online presence. Essentially, SEO is all about making sure that a person who performs a search on a search engine lands on your website, rather than someone else’s.
What Is A Backlink?
Note: Having a high number of backlinks doesn’t necessarily mean that your site will rank well for certain keywords. You must have relevant and authoritative content for SEO to work effectively.
The Three Main Types Of Backlinks
Just about any type of link can be considered a backlink, but there are three main types that search engines look for:
In-Page Links
An in-page link is a link that appears on the same web page as the material that the link points to. For example, if a blog post mentions that you’ve worked with a law firm and provides a link to their website, the law firm may consider this type of link to be relevant and authoritative.
In-page links can be extremely beneficial, because not only do they provide a brief overview of the material a person is reading, but they also act as a mini-navigation bar for the reader. Basically, the more in-page links you have, the easier it will be for a person to navigate your content.
Out-Of-Page Links
An out-of-page link is a link that points to a page on a different website. Out-of-page links vary in relevance and authority, just like in-page links, so they can and often are used together. Out-of-page links can be extremely beneficial, because a person reading through a long article may want to jump to another page to learn more. If the linked page exists, it provides a sense of credibility and trust to the reader.
Out-of-page links are often considered to be the most beneficial type of link to have, because they provide information that the linked page is probably more authoritative than the page that the link is connecting to. Further, having out-of-page links can also help improve your search engine rankings. If Google or another search engine sees that you have out-of-page links, they may consider your content to be more authoritative and therefore rank you higher in the search results.
Internal Links
An internal link is a link that points to a page on your website. Just like with out-of-page links, internal links can vary in relevance and authority. However, internal links are considered a bit more trustworthy than out-of-page links, because they’re usually more closely tailored to the specific content a person is reading or searching for. Essentially, the more you have of these links, the more credible and authoritative the content you’re providing.
How Can I Get Started With SEO?
If you’re new to SEO, it’s a good idea to check out these tutorials from Google, which will teach you the basics of SEO and put you on the right track.