A Marketing Plan that supports your SEO
I like to think about the marketing plan as an ecosystem of different platforms all working in tandem to get your leads and clients.
There are certain things you can do to make sure that your marketing plan actually supports your SEO in a way that makes sense and doesn’t take up your precious time.
If you are looking to dig into this topic more, I recommend you check out these other podcast episodes:
Make sure to listen to the podcast version of this blog post here:
Some of you might be wondering if the title should be the other way around - SEO for your marketing. But I really see SEO as one cog in the wheel of your marketing and making sure everything is working in unison is important.
Here are three tips to take into consideration when it comes to planning out your marketing and how to make the most of your SEO efforts.
1) Get specific about how SEO plays a role in the user journey
Taking a moment to really think about where Organic Search comes into the scene as your ideal client is experiencing your brand and business. Is it at the beginning when they are searching for the initial problem? In the middle when they are researching options and details? Or at the end, right before they are ready to buy? Maybe SEO also plays a role post-purchase, as a loyal customer who keeps coming back to your site for additional information.
It’s important to do market research and understand how your ideal client is using search. Is it to get a point blank answer? Research additional information? Or to buy? What is the intention of each search?
Having this context will help you prioritize and think about what other marketing platforms go hand in hand with your SEO. For example, sharing your blog posts on social media helps you look like an authority, as well as driving traffic directly to your site.
Another way to approach this is to think about your own search behavior: how do you use search in your own business? If you were to imagine being your ideal client, how would you search what you offer? What problems are you looking to solve? What stage am I in experiencing that problem when I turn to Google?
Starting to ask all these questions will help you really think about how SEO fits into your overall marketing ecosystem.
2) Balance specific keywords vs. your original content ideas
When it comes to SEO, more isn’t necessarily better. Targeting keywords in every single blog post might not be a good vibe for you because you end up feeling robotic and boring.
For most of my clients, they want to have the freedom to post what they feel called to write about AND focus on specific keywords that we know will get them traction.
I recommend deciding on a keywords to original content ratio that you feel good with. For example:
For every 3 of your own content ideas, you post one that is keywords specific
or
Once a month you publish a keyword friendly post
Not only does this make it more manageable for you but you are also excited to keep writing. I’m concerned more about the consistency of your content, rather than perfectly using keywords all the time.
Decide on a content routine that includes keywords in a way that feels doable for you and your team.
3) Integrate your SEO tasks into an existing work flow
I talked about this in episode 151 too: instead of trying to set aside a bunch of new time to do your SEO, try adding on 15 minutes to an existing content creation task. I’ll even take 5 minutes!
Doing this will help you to start to get momentum with your SEO tasks, instead of do it one week and forget about it the next.
Start with 15 minutes, and then work your way to 30 min, then 1 hour. This is a great way to build confidence and focus on consistency, vs. perfection.
Conclusion
You will get the best results from your SEO by making sure your marketing plan is actually in-sync with what you are doing. Either wise, your efforts will be partly wasted.
Where are you at with your current marketing plan and SEO? Tell me in the comments below?
And if you want to take your SEO plan to the next level, check out my SEO Strategy Intensives here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/seo-strategy-intensive. They are currently on sale and I have one spot left for September 2020.