Why is SEO still important to content marketing and content creation professionals? Because search engines are getting better at optimizing for humans!

1. The Relationship
BetweenSEO &Content
Jennifer Lind, Content Marketing Strategist
March 16, 2016

2. First,
a test!

3. The Raspberry Pi:
 A low cost, credit-card sized
computer that plugs into a computer
monitor orTV, and uses a standard
keyboard and mouse.
 It is a capable little device that enables
people of all ages to explore computing,
and to learn how to program in languages
like Scratch and Python.
 It’s capable of doing everything you’d
expect a desktop computer to do, from
browsing the internet and playing high-
definition video, to making spreadsheets,
word-processing, and playing games.

4. Which page
can be found
onGoogle’s
Page 1?
Search term:
raspberry pi uses
This is a Press Release
that appeared on UC
San Diego News
Center:
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/pressrelease/sds
c_uses_meteor_raspberry_pi_cluster_to_t
each_parallel_computing

5. Which page
can be found
onGoogle’s
Page 1?
Search term:
raspberry pi uses
This is a slideshow article
that appeared on Network
World:
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2290
609/computers/153240-20-cool-things-you-
can-do-with-a-Raspberry-Pi.html

6. Which page
can be found
onGoogle’s
Page 1?
Search term:
raspberry pi uses
This is an event recap that
appeared on O’Reilly
Community:
http://www.oreilly.com/pub/e/2922

7. #76#107 #7 Winner!
…but why?

8. Background
Or why I’m talking today…
Why is SEO
important to
me?

9. A little bit
about me.
Experience APPLYING SEO to Content
 BA from ISU in English Rhetoric &
Professional Communication
 TMP Directional Marketing: AM for
Local Search Agency
 Andersen Windows: Web team of 1.
Led content dev for
Andersenwindows.com,
Stormdoors.com SEO switcheroo
 Imation: Digital Content Strategist
and CMS Admin on large cross-
functional team responsible for
marketing-led sales.
https://storagetopia.imation.com

10. Primary goal=
audience
experience
You ask:
 What is my central idea?
 Who am I writing for?
 How can I get my message across?
 Does it have a call to action or describe
the benefits of following the advice
given?
Search engines ask:
 What is the primary topic?
 Does this page match the search intent?
 Did the content answer the reader’s
question?
 Will the reader want to visit the site
again?
Writing Purpose vs. SEO Purpose

11. Identifying
search intent
Writing Purpose vs. SEO Purpose
Scientific approach:
 Predictive modeling: a process to create a statistical model of future behavior.
 Semantic search: a data technique in which a search query aims to not only find
keywords, but to determine the intent and contextual meaning of the words a
person is using for search.
To Disambiguate a term is to clearly differentiate its different meanings,
that is to say, find the different contexts in which it can be used.
References:
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-101-semantic-search-care/119760/
https://www.google.com/insidesearch/howsearchworks/algorithms.html
Aspects of search:
• Autocomplete: predicts what you might be searching for and understands terms with
more than one meaning.
• Query understanding: gets to the deeper meaning of the words you type.
• Spelling: identifies and corrects possible spelling errors and provides alternatives.
• Synonyms: recognizes words with similar meanings.
• Universal search: blends content types and personal content into a single unified
search result.
• User context: provides results based on geographic region and web history.

12. Identifying
search intent
Examples

13. Identifying
search intent
Writing Purpose vs. SEO Purpose
Informational Commercial
Investigation
Transactional
• Non-transactional
• Quick answers
• Learn information on a
topic
• Discovering options for
future purchases
• Find a local business
• Make a purchase online
• Complete a task
“how to learn
programming”
“raspberry pi projects” “raspberry pi prices”
“raspberry pi kits with
screens”

14. Tie search
intent to
content
priorities
Awareness of a
Problem
Considering a
Purchase
Final Purchase
Decision
Questions How do I teach my
daughter
programming?
What projects can I
do with a raspberry
pi?
Where can I buy a
raspberry pi?
Who has the
cheapest raspberry
pi?
ContentTypes • Checklists
• Infographics
• Educational
Content
• FAQs
• Opinion/commen
tary
• Customer stories
• How tos
• Lists
• Interviews
• Q&A
• Reviews,
testimonials
• Comparisons
• Purchasing
guides
• Calculators

15. SEO Ranking Factors
<content-specific>
• https://moz.com/search-ranking-factors
• http://backlinko.com/search-engine-ranking

16. #1:Topically
relevant
UC San Diego:
8 results for raspberry pi
Network World:
317 results for raspberry pi
The site covered a topic in-depth.
Influence: 7.87/10

17. #2:Content
length, media
usage
Longer content ranks. Avg. 1st page
result = 1,890 words.The presence
of even one image improves
rankings significantly.
Influence: 6.57/10

18. #3: Page-level
social metrics
Quantity and quality of tweeted
links, Facebook shares, Pinterest
links, etc. to the page
Influence: 3.98/10

19. #4:SEO terms
found in page
structure
Keyword terms used in scannable
elements (8 second rule)
Influence: 7.87/10

20. #4:SEO terms
found in page
structure
Keyword terms used in scannable
elements (8 second rule)
Influence: 7.87/10
“8 second rule”

21. #4:SEO terms
found in page
structure
Keyword terms used in scannable
elements (8 second rule)
Influence: 7.87/10
“8 second rule”

22. Writing
forSEO
 In writing structure, the
biggest factors are
scannable elements:
 Headings
 Bulleted text
 Italics
 Images
1.You can improve SEO
optimization and readability by
adding scannable elements.
Reference:
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2016/01/improve-page-ranking-keyword/
https://moz.com/learn/seo/on-page-factors

23. Writing
forSEO
2.Think about the content gap and
moving the audience through their
journey.
“Communicate that the business has a broad view of the problem at hand
and deep insights into how to solve it”
- Terms related to the competitive landscape
- Terms with semantic relation
- Terms that indicate community membership (speak their language)Reference:
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2016/03/future-content-rankings/
Informational Commercial
Investigation
Transactional
• Non-transactional
• Quick answers
• Learn information on a
topic
• Discovering options for
future purchases
• Find a local business
• Make a purchase online
• Complete a task
“how to learn
programming”
“raspberry pi projects” “raspberry pi prices”
“raspberry pi kits with
screens”

24. SEOTools
To identify opportunities and track results.

25. Tool: Human
Brain
Interpretation of data.
Uses:
• Connecting dots
• Making sense of it all
(in-site)

26. Tool:On-
Boarding Doc
Who are you and what do you have to
say?Why would people listen?
Uses:
• Helps determine business’ unique
area of expertise (core content)
• Helps define audience’s potential
needs
DRAFT

27. Tool:Google
Keyword
Planner
Find keyword ideas and view
monthly traffic volume.
Uses:
• Prioritize keyword
opportunities
• Topic generation

28. Tool:Spyfu
Look at client’s competitive
landscape, SEO value, and
keyword rankings.
Uses:
• Analyze results
• Informs focus of keyword
research

29. Tool:Google
Analytics
Learn which pages are currently
getting organic traffic.
Uses:
• Traffic by source
• Page-level data
• Reader behavior

30. Tool: Moz
Track rankings, view crawl errors.
New tool for related topics.

31. Takeaways
Remember these things… if nothing else.

32. SEO &Content
1. Prioritize content
uniqueness
(and client’s expertise)
2. Blogs are great for
Informational searches,
which is content often
missing from clients’
sites
3. Add structure for search
engines and scanners
(8 second rule)
4. Answer the reader’s
question, but also think
about the questions
they will have next
(content gaps)
5. Keywords matter, but
people matter more

33. What about
social?
 SEO= audience is searching for an answer to their question.
 Social= audience is unintentionally finding information shared
by their network.
 Good content considers both.
Good content

34. What about
social?
Thank you!
Questions?