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The Power Duo: Unlocking the Potential of SEO and Content Marketing

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Today’s guest blog post was created by Michael Bellush, founder of HighMark SEO Digital…

 

Introduction

In the magical realm of digital marketing, think of SEO and content marketing as the Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore of the online world. One, much like young Harry, brings fresh, innovative tactics and a touch of technical sorcery. The other, akin to the wise and powerful Dumbledore, offers a wealth of knowledge and captivating content that keeps audiences spellbound. Together, they navigate the labyrinth of Google’s Hogwarts, aiming for the top spots in the search engine results pages (SERPs). In this article, we’ll explore how combining the daring of Harry with the wisdom of Dumbledore in your SEO and content marketing strategies can work wonders for your digital presence.

 

Understanding the Basics

 

What is SEO and Why It Matters

Imagine SEO as a masterful potion brewer in the dungeons of Hogwarts, meticulously mixing ingredients to conjure potions that elevate websites in Google’s grand library of search results. Just as a well-crafted potion can grant visibility or invisibility at Hogwarts, effective SEO can determine whether your website, keywords, and content get found online. Why does this matter? Because if you’re not on page one, you might as well be on page none.

Now, before you start envisioning SEO as some kind of mystical dark art performed by cloak-wearing wizards in dimly lit rooms, let’s demystify it. Sure, an SEO wizard might jokingly mutter “Accio” while optimizing your website, hoping for a magical boost in rankings. But in reality, great SEO is less about enchantments and more about smart strategies:

  • Understanding Google’s algorithms
  • Mastering keyword research
  • Creating high-quality content with a keyword focus
  • Performing website SEO optimization
  • Building domain authority through backlinking

The real magic lies in blending these elements to light up your website’s visibility, much like the “Lumos” spell lights up a dark corridor in a wizard’s castle. So, while there’s no actual wand-waving, the transformation your website undergoes with effective SEO techniques is nothing short of spellbinding.

The Synergy of SEO and Content Marketing

Complementary Strategies

SEO and content marketing can form a powerful combination.

  • SEO: Boosts visibility through strategic keyword placement, website optimization, and backlinking.
  • Content Marketing: Enriches visibility by engaging and retaining the audience with high-quality, relevant content.

This synergy not only drives traffic but also enhances user engagement, a key factor in SEO success.

Keyword Synchronization

 

Keywords in content marketing are akin to the carefully selected ingredients in a potion from the Hogwarts Apothecary. It’s not about haphazardly throwing in every magical herb and creature part you can find, but rather about artfully blending them into your content, much like a Hogwarts Potion Master crafting a perfect Polyjuice Potion. The right mix of keywords can charm Google’s algorithms, ensuring that your content casts a spell over the desired audience.

Technical SEO and Content Strategy

Technical SEO Foundations

Technical SEO optimizes your website’s backend elements to improve search engine rankings. This includes:

  • Crafting clear, descriptive URL names
  • Engaging and optimized page titles
  • Optimized meta descriptions that succinctly summarize page content
  • Using image-alt tags for improved SEO
  • Structuring content with logical headings that include keyword variations
  • Strategically incorporating keywords throughout the content

These components work together to enhance both the user experience and a website’s visibility to search engines.

Link Building and Content Authority

Link building is like a high school popularity contest, but in the digital world. The more reputable sites that backlink to your content, the cooler you are in the eyes of search engines. Relevant and authoritative backlinks are what build up authority and they are crucial for SEO success.


Realizing the Full Potential


Measuring Success

To see if your digital potion is working, you need to dive into the cauldron of analytics. Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console are essential for understanding whether your SEO and content spells are enchanting the audience or if they need a bit more magic.


Real World Example

Consider a local roofing company that wants to create brand awareness, increase sales, and service a larger area. They started creating detailed blog posts about common roofing issues, maintenance tips, and the advantages of timely repairs. By implementing focused SEO strategies, such as keyword mapping, technical website SEO optimization, and authority building through backlinking they significantly increased their online visibility. This strategic approach not only boosted their ranking in search engine results but also attracted a broader range of homeowners in need of roofing services. The increase in inquiries and customer engagement demonstrated the impactful combination of targeted SEO and informative content for a service-based business.

Conclusion

So, there you have it – SEO and content marketing, the Harry Potter and Dumbledore of the digital world, ready to take your online presence from muggle to magician. Remember, in the world of digital marketing it’s better to take off the invisibility cloak. It’s time to step into the spotlight!

 

                             

 

 For further information, Michael Bellush may be reached at Michael@highmarkseo.com.

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Can They “Hear” the Titles of Your Blog Posts?

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When readers scan the title of your blog post, their decision to click may well depend on what they “hear” as much as what they see.  That’s because similar consonants or similar vowel sounds presented in sequence tend to encourage our brains to engage with printed content.

When, back in 1813, London author John Harris published his book, Peter Piper’s Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation, he was aiming to teach young pupils proper speech habits. Modern-day marketers have a different motive in mind, having caught on to the fact that “Alliteration and assonance support the soundtrack for our words,” as Margie Lawson so well describes the effect in the Writers in the Storm blog.

When you blog, I like to say, you’re verbalizing the positive aspects of your business or practice in a way that people can understand and hopefully, remember. Educational research verified that “phenomic awareness” represents a sophisticated stage in the development of reading skills. In the same manner, as content writers, at Say It For You, we are always on the prowl for novel ways to present information to online readers, often relying on “memory hooks”, which I like to call “sticky words”.

Apparently, the authors and advertisers trying to appeal to “high-end”, sophisticated audiences understand the power of “sticky words” as well. Just this week, skimming through recent issues of three finance-related magazines, I discovered dozens of examples of both alliteration and assonance:

Forbes:

Alliteration:

  • Soy Sauce Scientist (Peggy Chang, co-founder of Panda Express)
  • Bond Ballers (Marc Lasry and sister Sonia Gadnder, co-founders of Avenue Capital Group’s heavy investment in bonds)
  • From Shoveling to Swinging (story about the Dominican Republic)
  • Prosperity in Peril (editorial) 

Assonance:

  • Zuck Grows Up (cover story about Mark Zuckerberg)
  • Collaboration for Transformation (story about the Democratic Republic of Congo)
  • Dr. Irving’s Climate Ambition (story about co-founder and director of Carbon Projects)

Kiplinger:

Alliteration:

  • Tipping Tactics
  • Make These Money Moves Now
  • Rough Seas for Small Stocks

Assonance:

  • Thumbs Up (on annuities)
  • Miles of Smiles (saving money on gas)

Investopedia Retirement Guide:

 Alliteration:

  • How to Hire an Advisor
  • For Their Future
  • Retirement Risks You Should Know

 

Now you…

Content writers, as you encounter different forms of written content – ads, magazine articles, flyers, newspapers . whatever….take notice of the way similar consonants or similar vowel sounds presented in a sequence, catch your attention, so that you’re both seeing and, in a real sense, “hearing” that content.

Can readers “hear” the titles of your blog posts?

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Crafting the Bottom Line of a Blog Post

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Earlier this month in our Say It For You blog, we noted how the editors of Harvard Business Review’s Special Issue use “Idea in Brief” inserts or “callouts” to summarize the main concepts discussed in each feature length article…..A similar technique (I noticed in a later issue of the magazine) is “The Bottom Line”, in which an insert at the bottom of a long article summarizes the primary concept emphasized in the text.

Why might you want to summarize any article in the first place? Virginia Kearney of owlcation.com poses that question and then offers several answers:

  • to show how the author’s ideas support your own argument
  • to argue against the author’s ideas
  • to condense a lot of information into a small space
  • to increase your own understanding of the article

Back in 2008, I explained in a Say It For You post that blogs, unlike client newsletters or online magazine articles, tend to be shorter and more concise, adopting a more conversational tone than other forms of printed and online communication. In that sense (as I found myself explaining fifteen years later), each blog post might be considered an “Idea in Brief”.

Still, within each blog post itself, the closing line assumes the function of an “Idea in Brief” or a “The Bottom Line”. While it’s extremely important in blogging for business to have great titles and strong openers, each post needs a catchy, memorable ending line to sum up and emphasize the importance of the content “takeaway”.

All of Virginia Kearney’s “reasons” for summarizing an article apply here, with the closing: statement serving to reinforce your stance (either pro or con an argument), and to enhance readers’ understanding of the material.

Over the years, I’ve often referred to the opening line in blog content writing as “the conductor’s downbeat”. Using that analogy of a musical performance, while the blog post itself may take the function of a a “Bottom Line” or “Idea in Brief” insert, the closing line of each blog post itself represents the final “Ta-dah!” notes of your “symphony”.

To achieve maximum impact, carefully craft the bottom line of each blog post.

 

 

 

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Proving Your Concept – to Blog Readers or Banks

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At a recent Westfield Chamber of Commerce meeting, I heard Spencer Russell of the American Bank of Freedom talk about his work with applicants for SBA loans. All too often, Russell lamented, individuals asking the bank for Small Business Administration-backed loans fail to qualify for help simply because they fail to prove their concept and communicate their “Why”.  Since “proof of concept” is precisely what we help our Say It For You clients achieve through content marketing, it seems natural to review the salient points of Russell’s presentation….

 

 

“Many buyers of a business applying for SBA financing simply don’t know how to tell their story, addressing things bankers need to know,” Spencer Russell laments. Too often, he points out, a handsomely bound, pages-long printed submission leaves bankers wondering why the most key questions have gone unanswered:

  1. Exactly why is your new franchise or business formation going to work?
  2. What in your past work history demonstrates experience relatable to – and transferable to – this new industry or enterprise?
  3. Just why might you be a good risk for the lender?
  4. What training have you had or plan to have by way of preparing yourself to handle this new venture?
  5. Are your projections based on historicals?

As content writers, we are telling the story of a business or a practice to consumers, framing that story in a way that addresses precisely those things online readers need to know.

In order to “prove the case”, a business owner can use:

  • factual proof – statistics about the problem this product or service helps solve
  • reverse proof – comparing one’s product or service with others on the market
  • credentializing proof – years of experience, honors or awards, degrees earned
  • evidential proof – clinical trial or field test results, testimonials from users

Just as it’s important for loan applicants to prove their concept and explain their “why?” to the bank, business and practice owners can use content marketing to prove to online searchers that they’ve come to the right place to find the precisely the products and services they need.

*For more information about American Bank of Freedom and SBA loans, contact srussell@myamericanbank.com or call 636 384 0182.

 

 

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Blog Posts are Ideas-in-Brief

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“To help busy readers quickly absorb and apply the concepts, the feature-length articles in these collections also include short ‘Idea in Brief’ summaries,” the editors of Harvard Business Review’s Special Issue explain, referring to the “text box” found in each long article..

What are text boxes?
As the Style Manual teaches. in technical or long-form content, text boxes, which sit on the page close to the text they support, are short articles that support the main body of the text. The content in the text box might contain a summary of the topic, examples, or an expansion of ideas in the main text. People tend to scan text boxes before they read the body of the text.

Blog posts as text boxes:

A blog post can summarize the topic:
Lawyerist.com teaches lawyers how to create powerful introductions when arguing a case in court, advising that an opening line must put the motion in the larger context, besides giving the judge a reason to keep reading.

A blog post can give examples illustrating the main message of a business or practice:
The “mapping method” of taking notes on paper can be adapted for blog series, where the content writer explores different aspects of the same topic in a group of three to four individual posts.

A blog post can expand on the ideas within the topic:
Blog content lets you go deeper than your website permits, creating a big, expanding brochure of practical, persona-optimized web content targeted to your market niche. Milie Oscar explains.

Text boxes and “callouts” are not just gimmicks – the main message in an article and the information in the text box must be directly related to one another. In the same way, whichever content an online searcher might encounter first, whether it happens to be the business website itself or an individual blog post, the core two purposes is the same – imparting understanding and forging connections.. “Before you include a text box or callout in your content, consider how it will help people understand or use the information,” Style Manual cautions.

Blog posts are nothing more than “Ideas-in-Brief”.

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