7 Tips to Build a Scalable Enterprise SEO Content Juggernaut that Yields Lasting Results

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |enterprise SEO|7 Tips to Build a Scalable Enterprise SEO Content Juggernaut that Yields Lasting ResultsWhether you are B2B, eCommerce, manufacturing, SaaS, a university, or any other large enterprise, one of the main benefits of SEO is its ability to build a self-sustaining flywheel of traffic by using more and more evergreen content.

Once you reach the point where more of your content ranks on page 1 of Google, you can start celebrating, especially since it will be easier to rank future pages. But that doesn’t mean that you can just coast – your competitors are always nipping at your heels.

Enterprise SEO efforts need to be consistently applied in order to exponentially grow traffic, leads, and sales.

That’s why I’ve put together 7 tips for creating enterprise SEO rockstar content that educates, converts, and scales.

1. SEO Quick Wins (Striking Distance Keywords)

It’s no secret that SEO takes some time to gain traction. It’s common to break even on your investment around 12 months. While it takes time, it’s worth sticking with it due to all the long-term benefits it provides.

SEO will yield results for you well into the future, and you’ll depend less on paid ads. It will also boost your other marketing channels by generating more email subscriptions.

The good news is that you don’t have to wait an entire year to start seeing some results.

That’s where SEO ‘Quick Wins’ come into play. These are some quick tweaks you do to your existing content for speedy boosts in traffic.

My favorite quick win is to identify ‘striking distance’ keywords.

The chances are high that you have a lot of your content ranking on pages 2 and 3 of Google. That’s quite common for my new clients, and they often see little to no traffic from those pages.

I view these pages as within striking distance of SEO traffic.

You’ll need to identify the 1 keyword that each page can use to gain more traction to rise to page 1 (or higher on page 1). Use a keyword research tool to find these striking distance keywords. Next, you’ll need to hit your content with what I call the SEO ‘one-two punch’:

1. First, inject the exact top keyword into five content fields:

  • Meta title
  • Meta description
  • H1 tag
  • The copy below your H1
  • The URL slug

2. Next, boost your page’s authority by linking high-authority internal pages to it

NOTE: Don’t forget to 301 redirect the old url to the new one (since you changed it).

Implementing this one-two punch can provide a quick boost to your rankings on Google. Within a couple of months, you’ll start generating higher ranking and additional traffic from content that was hiding from searchers.

2. Competitor Research (Direct + Indirect)

Next, you’ll need to look at what your competitors are doing with their SEO. If you never pay attention to the competition, you won’t know how you compare to them.

Also, analyzing competitors can give you valuable insights to incorporate into your strategy. For example, you may find that competitors are doing certain things that you aren’t. Here are a few things to pay attention to when looking at your competitors:

  • Their UI & UX since this is becoming more of an SEO focus
  1. Url folder/directory structure
  2. Main and footer menu links
  • From what sites are they getting quality links (where you aren’t)
  1. Highlights relevant sites you could reach out to get a quality link
  2. Highlights relevant sites you could build industry relationships with
  • From what keywords they are successfully getting SEO traffic (where you aren’t)
  1. Informs new content article creation
  2. Informs different keyword targets for existing pages

A lot of clients make the mistake of only analyzing their direct competitors. If you want to cover all your bases, you should look at your indirect competitors, too.

A direct competitor sells a product similar to yours. An indirect competitor doesn’t sell what you do, but they’re in the same industry. Many indirect competitors are media sites and publications. It’s essential to pay attention to them because they may rank for similar keywords.

3. Site Organization Recommendations

You’ll want to make sure that Google has visibility of all your web pages – or it’s all for naught. That’s why you’ll need to organize your site in a way that makes sense to Google. Otherwise, you’ll confuse the algorithm and won’t show up in search results.

That’s the last thing that you want, so here’s how to organize your website:

  • Sitemap.XML File. Your sitemap lets search engines know about all the pages on your website. It lets Google know the order of importance of your pages, recent updates, and more. To ensure Google has visibility of you, upload your sitemap to Google Search Console. Bonus points for creating an HTML version as well.
  • URL Directories/Folders. You’ll need to have your URL structure immaculate so that Google can crawl your site with ease. Order everything hierarchically to keep everything in place. Also, use crucial SEO keywords in your URL folders. Also, it’s best not to split your site into subdomains – as that can spread your authority too thin (rather than aggregating it on one site: better for SEO).
  • Site Navigation. It should be effortless to navigate your site for users but also for Google. Ensure that your main navigation bar has a nice layout with About and Contact pages. Also, use linked breadcrumbs to improve navigation. Breadcrumbs keep track of each page a user visits. It looks like this: Home > About Us > Our Mission.
  • Internal Linking. You’ll want to find areas where you can link to your other blog articles. That creates a spider web of interrelated content on your website. That’s great for SEO and encourages readers to click on related articles.

If you have all your ducks in a row here, you won’t run into issues with confusing search engine algorithms.

4. “Local” Landing Page Keyword Strategy

If you have multiple physical locations, you’ll want to use some “local SEO” techniques in your strategy for quality traffic. Local SEO refers to targeting local search queries in your area.

For enterprise-level companies, you’ll want to separately target each of your locations. That will increase your chances of being locally relevant and gaining more traffic. For local SEO keywords, you’ll want to include the location. An example would be, “car rental Green Bay WI.”

In that query, it’s evident that the user needs to rent a car in the Green Bay area. What’s great about local SEO is keywords often have more purchase intent than others. The fact that they include the location in their search shows that they are likely lower in the sales funnel.

5. Technical SEO Site Audit

Next on the list is a thorough technical SEO audit of your website. It’s where you take a look at key technical aspects that affect your search engine visibility.

Here are some of the factors that you need to audit:

  • Fixing broken links, images, and JavaScript. “Broken anything” means bad news for your SEO. Broken links and lines of code confuse the algorithm, so you need to fix them ASAP. If you find any broken links, know that broken internal links hurt more than external ones. Strive to fix your internal links first for this reason.
  • Images that are missing alt tags. Every image needs an ‘alt tag’ describing the image’s content. Google can’t see pictures, so it needs a description of what you’re trying to show.
  • Page speed issues. Your page needs to load quicker than it takes you to blink. Not only will slow websites frustrate customers, but Google ignores them. If you don’t pass the Core Web Vitals test, you’ll get overlooked.
  • 404 Pages and 302 redirects. Every time you see a 404 Not Found or 302 (temporary) redirect, use a 301 (permanent) redirect. Google prefers 301 redirects because they pass the domain/page authority test.
    Among others…

Fixing crucial technical errors can provide a quick boost to your SEO.

6. Article Keyword Research + Editorial Calendar

Playing the SEO game is all about releasing stellar content. You also need to remain consistent with your release schedule. That’s why you’ll need to develop an editorial calendar to keep you on track.

Regularly releasing blogs is a great way to see continuous boosts in traffic. Just make sure that you base these articles on solid keyword research (popular, relevant keywords that aren’t too hard to rank for).

Use your competitor keyword research, and supplement with others you think of along the way. Also, don’t neglect your content from the past; updating old articles (that are already getting some SEO traffic) can give you a new boost.

7. Backlink Outreach Strategy

Lastly, you’ll want to include link-building as a core part of your strategy. In addition to finding spots for internal links, you’ll need external links (other sites linking to you), too.

Adding links from high authority sites is a great way to give your content a power boost. If your content is linked from pages that Google views as trustworthy, it will boost your authority too.

For me, the first place to start link-building is with email outreach. I use the ‘skyscraper’ technique for email outreach. That’s where you find high-ranking pages in your niche with desirable backlinks.

Your goal is to acquire these backlinks for yourself. How do you do that?

To outdo their content, provide more value. Dive into more detail, offer new insights, and include images and videos. Once it’s evident that your content is superior, it’s time to email the owner of the website you want to link. Politely let them know that your content adds more value and that you’d like to link to their page.

Enterprise SEO That Scales

Those are the 7 core components of a successful enterprise SEO strategy. Remember, it’s about quality over quantity. A few solid backlinks will do more good for you than 1,000 poor ones.

The same is valid with your content. Focus on releasing SEO optimized articles that aim to educate and convert above all else. You want to be intentional and consistent with your SEO tactics to achieve the best results.

Bio/byline: Miles Anthony Smith, a tech keynote speaker and SEO consultant, delights in delivering invaluable content to people hungry for answers to their most vexing questions or challenges.

What Is Social Listening, and Should You Use It?

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Social Listening|What Is Social Listening, and Should You Use It?Customers always have something to say. As a business owner, you better start listening!

Half of the marketers all around the world have leveraged social listening to understand customer preferences. If you’re not part of that half, you’re likely not reaching your brand’s full potential.

By now, social media marketing is no new strategy. With most businesses having an online presence, customer-to-brand engagement has never been easier. Of course, all this traffic generates significant online footprints.
These footprints range from posts and casual mentions to written or video reviews. To a competent business owner, all of this adds up to valuable marketing information. Information you can use to grow your audience and improve your products and services.

Want to reap these benefits? Then, keep reading to start your social listening strategy!

What is Social Listening?

Social listening is the tracking and analyzing of online conversations relevant to your brand. This lets you know what people say about your brand. It also lets you follow topics that are important in understanding your customers’ demands.

This is being done by monitoring:

  • Direct mentions of your brand
  • Chosen keywords and topics
  • Your competitors
  • Your industry

All the information gathered from these sources gets completely analyzed. They are then turned to action in your brand’s creative process.

Why Is It Important?

Listening is part of creating any meaningful relationship. So, naturally, you want to cultivate an environment that inspires trust and loyalty.

By listening to your customers, you also get both negative and positive insights. Responding to these helps guide your day-to-day actions.

1. Boosting Public Engagement

Following the conversations around your brand also helps you participate in them. You can answer questions, give clarifications, appreciate positive reviews, and even join trends.
They not only make customers more comfortable trusting your brand but also increases your visibility. Social listening doesn’t just allow you to grow your audience. It also makes sure that your audience stays with you.

2. Improving Brand Popularity

There’s one thing high school might’ve taught you that’s applicable in the “real world.” It’s that popularity pays off.

On every platform, you can have stellar content, but you won’t get far without visibility. Social media listening helps you stay on top of trends and has-beens. This lets you know what appeals to your target audience and what to avoid.

3. Enhancing Content Development

In internet culture, there’s no singular code of conduct you can refer to. Learning ever-changing dos and don’ts online comes from experience. The experience you get from social listening is very valuable when creating content.

You become more aware of marketing strategies that work for your target audience. You can also participate in trends that just might make your brand go viral.

4. Increasing Audience

The added online engagement also helps you connect with more people. If done right, you can create a positive feedback loop by increasing your following. This makes your brand more trustworthy, therefore continuously increasing your audience.

Check out this link if you want to see more ways to boost your following!

5. Monitoring Competition

Social listening is your virtual way of eavesdropping on your competitors. Monitoring your competitors’ activities helps you stay ahead of the game. By knowing the content they produce, you can create content that sets you apart.

It’s also helpful in cases where your competition might come under fire. Instances like these leave customers needing products and services elsewhere. After all, there’s nothing wrong with helping out disappointed customers.

How Should You Use It?

The whole process sounds daunting and technical, especially when it involves monitoring keywords and data. No worries, here are tips to guide you through the process!

1. Find Relevant Topics and Keywords

Make sure the topics you follow lead you to your target audience. If you already have an online presence, focus on your established niche.
When tracking your information, follow the name of your product or service. Also, check out related handles and hashtags. And, of course, pay attention to news about your industry in general.
When choosing keywords, always focus on your customers’ search intent. It’s best to find keywords highly searched by the audience. This is where marketing services like Google Keyword Planner become useful social listening tools.

2. Monitor Mentions of Your Brand

Social monitoring is an important part of social listening. Social monitoring is more concerned with collecting data and metrics. This entails monitoring direct mentions of your brand across the web.
It’s important when gauging your brand’s popularity between platforms.

3. Focus on Popular Social Listening Platforms

Content and conversations are being churned out everywhere online. Surely, you’ve set up your brand’s socials. So, you’re already aware of social listening platforms to leverage.
These could be Twitter threads, Instagram and Facebook posts, or YouTube and TikTok reviews. So, make sure you have an established presence on all these platforms.

4. Look for Key Influencers

A brand needs ambassadors. Social listening guides you towards relevant influencers with the right audience.
Find influencers with significant followings that overlap with your target customers. If their content works with yours, consider reaching out.

5. Limit Your Scope

Don’t bite off more than you can chew. When choosing relevant keywords and topics to follow, it’s easy to want to aim high. However, when your scope is too general, you risk overwhelming your capacity.
Specificity focuses your attention on topics that actually lead to customers. It also makes it easier for you to find direct mentions of your brand.

Should You Use Social Listening?

If you got this far, you know the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Social Listening isn’t just some marketing tool invented by business owners. It’s a natural—albeit strategical—course of action. As a producer, if your consumers talk, you listen.

Start Listening!

Social media makes it easier than ever for customers to talk. Their opinions are important ingredients in your brand’s success. Without it, you risk messing up the flavor of your brand or ruining the recipe altogether.
By using effective social listening, you can show your customers that you care. You connect with the audience you already have and reach those you don’t.
Need more help with growing your brand? Check out our other guides!

Podcasts vs. YouTube Channels: Which Content Form Is for You?

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |podcasts vs YouTube |Podcasts vs. YouTube Channels: Which Content Form Is for You?Did you know nearly 60% of Americans listen to podcasts, and around the same number use YouTube?

Growing a business is much easier when you leverage valuable tools like these to push your content and grow your audience. The challenging part is choosing which avenue to pursue.

Keep reading to compare podcasts vs. YouTube and see which option is the right fit for your business.

Podcasts

Podcasts have grown tremendously in popularity over the past few years. As a result, more and more businesses harness the power podcasts bring to reach a unique and diverse audience.

Pros

Podcasts are audio-only, which is often easier for camera-shy people.

While they still have many moving parts involved, not worrying about video makes creating a podcast more simple than a YouTube video.

People also have more opportunities to listen to podcasts than to watch Youtube videos. For example, a podcast can be listened to on someone’s way to work or on a long road trip, whereas YouTube videos require the person to look at a screen with their full attention.

Cons

The effort it takes to host a podcast shouldn’t be underestimated. Thankfully, working with a podcasting production agency can make the entire process feel seamless.

Standing out among the crowd can also be tough with podcasting. People typically search for specific podcasts rather than stumble across them. So more effort is needed at first to push your content to people and get them hooked.

YouTube

YouTube has been around for a long time. Over time its popularity has ebbed and flowed, but people are now gravitating back toward it, making it extremely popular again.

Pros

When you create content for YouTube, it’s easy to reuse in other places. For example, taking snippets for TikTok or posting on other social media channels is straightforward.

The YouTube search algorithm makes it possible for your videos to pop up even if you aren’t well established on the platform.

Cons

YouTube content marketing is much more complex than creating a podcast. Combining audio and visual requires the expertise of many different people, and the costs can add up quickly.

Copyright infringement and other strict rules are common issues YouTube users face. Something as simple as a snippet of sound in the background from a song you don’t have rights to can get a video removed. Podcasts are often more flexible.

Which Is Best?

While both podcasts and YouTube have pros and cons, podcasts are a more beginner-friendly option. Plus, having a podcast allows you to reach people more frequently for less effort.

Trying out both at some point might be wise, but starting with a podcast is likely best for your business!

Podcasts vs. YouTube — A Clear Winner

As a business owner, deciding between podcasts vs. YouTube can be a stressful decision. So throughout this brief article, we highlighted the pros and cons of each.

At this point, it’s easy to see a podcast is often the better option. So get started with one as soon as possible to see the benefits hosting one brings your business!

If you’d like to read more information to help you grow your business with ease, please take a look around to see what else our site offers!

5 Tips on Building Content Marketing Campaigns for Small Businesses

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |content marketing campaigns |5 Tips on Building Content Marketing Campaigns for Small BusinessesWhat’s the key to success for your small business? Marketing. A strong marketing campaign bolsters your brand, draws in new customers, and puts more eyes on your product.

There are dozens of different ways to approach marketing, but in the age of the internet and social media, content marketing campaigns are among the most effective.

Building a great content marketing campaign might seem daunting, but there are a few tricks that can make it easier. Read this article to learn five ways you can become an expert at marketing with content.

1. Choose a Core Message

Your content marketing campaign needs a strong foundation. The first step in any campaign should be to determine the core message: the idea that you want to impart to your audience.

“You should buy our product” is not a strong core message. You need to go deeper–why should someone buy your product? What sets it apart from the competition?

Identify your product’s strengths and build a campaign around that. If you sell towels, for instance, your core message might be, “Our towels are the softest, most luxurious towels on the market–and you deserve that luxury.”

2. Understand Your Audience

Understanding your audience goes hand-in-hand with selecting your core message. You need to determine what your audience is looking for and what types of content they’re likely to respond to.

Think about your target customer’s goals. Are they looking at your content because they want to relax and have fun, or because they want to learn something new? What other interests might they have?

3. Decide on a Format

There are two questions you need to answer when deciding on your content’s format: what is the most effective way to get your message across, and what is your audience interested in viewing?

Video is an increasingly popular format for content because it’s engaging and eye-catching; however, making regular blog posts is a great way to keep your audience engaged over a long period.

Keep abreast of trends–for instance, podcasts are an increasingly popular medium.

4. Spread the Word

It doesn’t matter how good your content is if no one sees it. That’s why it’s smart to create content for social media–social media makes it easy for people to find and learn about your brand.

Content syndication platforms can also help your content get seen. Click here to read more about content syndication.

5. Analyze and Learn

Publishing your content isn’t the end of the process. Once it’s out in the world, you need to observe and analyze how people react to it. Did your target audience find it engaging?

Figure out what people like and dislike about your content. Then, use that information to improve your next content marketing campaign.

Upgrade Your Content Marketing Campaigns

Content marketing campaigns help you connect with your customers on a deeper level. Videos and blog posts provide consumers with entertainment and education while also building your company’s brand.
Entrepreneurs understand the importance (and the difficulties) of marketing businesses online. For more guidance on this crucial topic, visit our entrepreneurs page, where you can find more insights to help grow your business!

The Best Headless Ecommerce Platform to Use in 2022

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Headless Ecommerce|The Best Headless Ecommerce Platform to Use in 2022Over the past few years, many transactions have been made online, and because of this, ecommerce has undergone a massive overhaul. The final result of this is the rise of headless ecommerce. Headless ecommerce simply refers to an advanced method of online trade that allows businesses to focus on customers and products while the solution provider handles the back-end operation of the platform. It provides sites that are faster, more personalized to the client, and more customizable.

Moreover, the integration of essential tools and systems is simple due to the API-first implementation. A headless ecommerce platform is very secure and has ample servers.

Are you planning to start trading through a headless ecommerce platform? If so, we have provided you with the top headless ecommerce platforms to choose from this year.

Headless Ecommerce Platform: Virto Commerce

Would you like to broaden your business’s ecommerce operation by having unlimited channels and the best client experience with every channel you use and for every customer? Well, the only way you can try these out is by using the top headless ecommerce platform in 2022, which is Virto Commerce. This platform ensures that every business can achieve its goals by increasing the chances of attracting more customers and making more sales.
It has different channels that the business can use to conduct business. Moreover, the platform is very flexible, meaning that the business can add or even make a change to channels if they need to. This process has no risks.

Shopify Plus

If you have been in the ecommerce world for some time, you might have heard of this popular headless ecommerce platform. Many stores across the world are using this platform because of the various advantages it comes with.
Shopify Plus is mainly built to be used by enterprise companies. It helps users by separating front-end and back-end operations. This, in turn, gives users the best experience. With this headless ecommerce platform, a traditional store is turned into a modern one by being provided with various integrations and the like.

Headless Ecommerce Platform: BigCommerce

As the name suggests, this is a very popular headless ecommerce platform around the world. With customization features, excellent performance, and easy-to-use steps, the platform is ideal for any business in 2022. If your company requires more tools, for example, solutions for processing payments, this platform readily provides them.

All businesses are formed to grow and make more money. With BigCommerce as your trading platform, you will achieve all your business goals.

CommerceLayer

Are you looking forward to building modernized ecommerce stores for your business? CommerceLayer is just the headless ecommerce platform you need. This platform is easy to use and very secure. Any business can create a new website and integrate various popular features such as inventory management and more.

OroCommerce

Are you a B2B trader looking for the best headless ecommerce platform to use this year? Have you considered trying OroCommerce? This platform is mainly built to be used by B2B traders like manufacturers, wholesalers, and more. It provides them with an online business platform, different payment methods, and more.

Conclusion

With any of the above headless ecommerce platforms, your business has a bright future. Your customers will have a great experience, while your company makes huge profits. You will also reach a wider market within a short time. Your business should enjoy the advantages of using one of these this year.