When it comes to professional development it’s key to explore the various aspects of marketing, outside of your daily duties. SEO, for example, can play a significant role in your social media strategy. Having baseline knowledge of this field can come in handy for you and your professional growth.
In this week’s #SproutChat, Dominique Jackson, Sprout Social’s SEO Strategist, joined us to discuss some common misconceptions about SEO and how to improve your inbound marketing strategies using SEO tactics.
Change Doesn’t Happen Overnight
It’s common for folks to expect immediate change when implementing adjustments to strategy. However, this isn’t the reality. Find out some SEO myths that participants shared with the community.
A1: One big misconception is that SEO is all about stuffing your pages with as many keywords as possible. Google’s algorithm is a lot smarter than it was in 2012. #SproutChat
— Dominique Jackson (@djthewriter) January 17, 2018
A1: Marketers need to focus on creating content that solves the problems of their audience/customers. Some of the most successful content creators out there don’t know anything about SEO and keywords, but they know their audience. #SproutChat
— Dominique Jackson (@djthewriter) January 17, 2018
A1: One of the biggest misconceptions about SEO is that it can happen overnight. It takes time. #SproutChat pic.twitter.com/XWJ3ZEUD7l
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) January 17, 2018
A1 that keywords are more important than content #sproutchat
— Toby Metcalf (@Toby_Metcalf) January 17, 2018
A1: A lot of people seem to think SEO is set it, and forget it.
It's a constant processes of measurements, trial/error, and tweaking.#SproutChat— Jeff Higgins Loves The Smell Of Bath & Body Works (@ItsJeffHiggins) January 17, 2018
A1: in my experience with clients, they tend to think SEO will give them immediate results. I always have to make the point that SEO is a gradual and slow build that will pay off in due time. #SproutChat https://t.co/liGYT5Xhs2
— the unburnt (@alaw312) January 17, 2018
A1: that just knowing SEO is going to solve all your problems. Or making minor SEO tweaks without rationale/goals implemented. #SproutChat pic.twitter.com/pdvwMBHroe
— Julie Lichtenberg (@jalichtenberg) January 17, 2018
A1
Misconceptions about SEO:
❌That it's a thing you do, once, and forget about it
❌That anyone, at any skill level, can do it *well*
❌That there's only one "right" way to do it
❌That it's only relevant when you're building a site or writing a post#SproutChat— comfortwriter 📱🤓📝 (@ComfortWriter) January 17, 2018
A Little Research Goes a Long Way
When brainstorming new content ideas, take the time to do keyword research and see what keywords resonate with your audience or the audience you’re trying to target. Knowing this information can help you in the long run as these small moves tend to have big impact overtime, particularly with higher rankings in searches.
A2: Spending a little time doing keyword research is super helpful for content creation. Learning how your target audience searches can give you endless content ideas that your audience actually wants to read. @semrush is a great tool for keyword research. #SproutChat
— Dominique Jackson (@djthewriter) January 17, 2018
Q2: It helps you keep your focused – keep your eye on the prize providing what's most relevant for the reader, avoiding what might just be cutsey. #sproutchat
— heinrich (@heinrichmktg) January 17, 2018
A2: When we brainstorm content, we think of a topic and then ask, "What keyword do we want to target with this?" Then we research the keyword and determine if it's feasible to rank for it. If not, we ask, what other angle can we take on this? #SproutChat
— Olive & Company (@oliveandco) January 17, 2018
A2: By optimizing your content for search, you can ensure that more people will find it and engage with your brand. #sproutchat
— Val Vesa | Social Media & Travel Photography (@adspedia) January 17, 2018
A2 Study trends and let it guide your strategy…
What's already working and why?
Which keywords, links, content is driving action?
How can you extend all of this?#sproutchat— Carolina (@YoursTrulyCaro) January 17, 2018
A2: Focus on creating quality content instead of a lot of content. Then make sure you are distributing it on the social channels most suitable to your target audience. #SproutChat https://t.co/mKPhb5sq6M
— Simply Measured (@simplymeasured) January 17, 2018
Build Relationships
Getting inbound links back to your site is likely part of your current overall marketing strategy, but one thing to consider shifting focus toward is building relationships. Befriend other content creators and ask them to include links back to your site, when applicable, and reciprocate as much as possible.
A3. Two biggest things are (1) Create resourceful content that people actually want to link to. (2) Build relationships with other content creators that can potentially link to you. #SproutChat
— Dominique Jackson (@djthewriter) January 17, 2018
A3. Also, when you’re building relationships, start by bringing value to the other person. If the first time they hear from you is when you beg them for a link, it looks a lot like SPAM. #SproutChat
— Dominique Jackson (@djthewriter) January 17, 2018
A3: Grinding hard on link building & pitching. Make sure you have something to offer in the form of reach & conversions. #SproutChat https://t.co/fCm1HShIVs
— the unburnt (@alaw312) January 17, 2018
A3 #SproutChat : Making sure content is linking to the appropriate landing page, not always just your general homepage.
— Jenny S. West (@jennyswest) January 17, 2018
A3 Like always: high quality content, guest blogging, check for broken links.. #SproutChat
— meks (@meksHQ) January 17, 2018
A3: This is tricky. One-to-one relationship building works best here. Starting with the inner circle (i.e. customers, partners) and then moving toward building relationships with thought leaders and influencers that target similar keywords #sproutchat
— LookBookHQ (@lookbookhq) January 17, 2018
Keep Social Content Consistent
Providing the most up to date information on your social pages and posting consistently will keep your feed fresh, as well as ensure that your content will be included in searches.
A4 (1): The two major social networks you should try to index content from are Pinterest and YouTube (Medium too if you’re counting that). For Pinterest, it’s important to optimize your boards. @neilpatel has a great guide here: https://t.co/94zoYIAYQD #SproutChat
— Dominique Jackson (@djthewriter) January 17, 2018
A4 (2): For YouTube, educational/how-to videos tend to perform really well in Google. Think of the questions and problems your audience/target customer has and create videos that address them. #SproutChat
— Dominique Jackson (@djthewriter) January 17, 2018
A4 Yep. Search engines index social media posts. So while you won't have the same focus on keywords or ranking, you can post on consistent topics e.g. tech/science, & optimise your profile. Stimulate discussion – replies will probably contain relevant keywords, too. #SproutChat
— comfortwriter 📱🤓📝 (@ComfortWriter) January 17, 2018
A4: Yes search engines index pages and posts. Be sure to keep your content fresh and populated on your social media platforms. Don't be on a platform that you can't contribute to regularly. #SproutChat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) January 17, 2018
A4 Sure do! Twitter, Google+ are a go/to sm channels to use in that matter #SproutChat
— meks (@meksHQ) January 17, 2018
A4: Yes! There are many ways to do this. One way is to put a HTML tag on your social content (like a description for articles or alt-text for images/pictures) that tells search engines exactly what your content is about. #SproutChat https://t.co/ME3nZJmSeS
— Simply Measured (@simplymeasured) January 17, 2018
Put Those Skills to Work
If you’re focusing on personal branding and trying to get the word out about your expertise, start writing content and pushing it live on platforms like WordPress or Medium. Remain consistent in your work and remember that change doesn’t happen overnight but the more you produce and engage, the more relationships you’ll build and the more improvements you’ll see.
A6 (1): Make a site with WordPress or use Medium, to create content showcasing your expertise in your field. As it starts to rank in search engines, you’ll build traffic and grow your personal brand. #SproutChat
— Dominique Jackson (@djthewriter) January 17, 2018
A6 (2): My personal blog helped me get clients as a freelancer, and even land my job here at Sprout! I’ve received plenty of emails from people wanting to work with me that start with “I found your article about XYZ, and….” #SproutChat
— Dominique Jackson (@djthewriter) January 17, 2018
A6 competition research, see their soft spots, upgrade yours, compete with better content and know how’s. Use the results to optimize yourself better #SproutChat
— meks (@meksHQ) January 17, 2018
A6: Potentially unpopular answer here, but I hardly even think about it. My personal brand exists for reasons far different than my clients' brands; on my own site/blog, I just talk about what I want to talk about/am interested in/am good at, and the viewership comes! (1/2)
— Olive & Company (@oliveandco) January 17, 2018
A6: SEO is perhaps the most valuable channel in your personal branding because it is earned. Mold & optimize your personal brand to the career & positions you line up with perfectly. #SproutChat https://t.co/Gwk8q1fN3u
— the unburnt (@alaw312) January 17, 2018
A6 If you're trying to branch out into starting your own business or freelance full-time, this is just one more way people can find you. #SproutChat
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) January 17, 2018
#SproutChat will be on break next Wednesday, Jan. 24, as we’ll be tuning in to Sprout Sessions and continuing the conversation on social. In the meantime, be sure to join our Facebook community so you can connect with other folks in the industry.
This post #SproutChat Recap: The Basics of SEO originally appeared on Sprout Social.
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