SEO can sometimes feel like a distant second cousin at the family reunion, you know they exist, but you’re not quite sure how to get along.
SEO isn’t a lone wolf. It needs to play nice with your overall marketing strategy if you want to see real results.
So, how do you get SEO and your broader marketing efforts working hand-in-hand? Let’s have a look…
What is SEO and Why Should You Care About It?
SEO means search engine optimisation, which basically means how to make sure you turn up when people search for your topic.
So if you sell exotic birds, and someone types in google ‘exotic birds for sale’ you want to be right at the top of that results page, and SEO is how you do that.
Why SEO and Marketing Should Be Best Friends
Think of SEO as the foundation of your digital presence, it helps people find you. But your marketing strategy is the whole party, from the messaging and branding to the ads, emails, and social media presence.
When SEO and marketing work together, your brand doesn’t just get discovered. It should live rent-free in your audience’s mind.
But How Can You Marry SEO and Marketing Together?
Easy peasy, lemon squeezey. Follow these steps, and they’ll get on like a house on fire.
1. Align Your Goals
Before you try to run, make sure you can walk first.
Know what you want before you start sprinkling keywords everywhere. Are you aiming for:
- More website traffic?
- Higher conversions?
- Stronger brand awareness?
Once your goals match, you can craft a strategy that knocks your competitors down the SERP (Search Engine Results Page), and your messaging, content themes, and all the other lovely stuff will fall into place.
2. Use Keyword Research to Guide Content Strategy
There are tons of awesome tools to find the keywords your target customers are searching for.
Sit down and ask yourself:
- What do they call your product or service?
- What questions do they have?
- What problems are they trying to solve?
Then craft blog posts, videos, emails, and social media content that answers the questions they’re searching for, and speaks their lingo.
3. Create Content That Works Double Duty
Why create a blog post that only serves SEO or just fits your social media calendar?
Make content that ticks both boxes.
For example:
- Optimised blog posts that can be turned into visual carousels
- Video content that boosts YouTube SEO and gets cut for short Instagram reels
- Landing pages that support both paid ads and organic traffic
Every piece of content should work overtime for you.
4. Cross-Pollinate Your Data
Marketing campaigns generate tons of valuable data, from email open rates to ad click-throughs. SEO tools give you insights into search traffic and keywords.
Use this data together! If a particular keyword drives tons of organic traffic, incorporate it into your paid ads and email campaigns. If a marketing message resonates on social, optimise your website content around it to boost SEO.
5. Build Backlinks Through Partnerships and PR
SEO loves backlinks (aka links from other websites to yours) because they’re like votes of confidence in Google’s eyes.
Use your broader marketing strategy to build these:
- Partner with industry blogs for guest posts
- Leverage PR campaigns to get media mentions with backlinks
- Create share-worthy content that naturally other websites will want to link to
- Collaborating on case studies with partners
Backlinks boost your SEO and your brand awareness, that’s a double win in our books.
Make SEO a Team Player With CreativeFolks
Sometimes there’s just too much going on with all the other moving parts of your business, and SEO ends up shoved in a cupboard to collect dust.
But it can be way easier to weave it into your overall strategy when you’ve got a super cool, good-looking, and talented agency looking after that side of things for you.
But where can you find a super cool, good-looking, and talented agency?
