Why good SEO advice may not work

Let's face it. There is a lot of boring, generic content on the Internet. For many years, copycat content was the top strategy taught in the SEO space. Does this sound familiar?

“Copy what works.” 

You may have been told to replicate length, headlines, tone of voice, and CTAs. I once watched a webinar where the guru scraped every result, deposited it all in a content spinner and blended the whole thing into mush. 

Why copycat content won't break through

However, if you just copy what the page one sites are doing, how could you possibly break through? SEO does not just take into consideration keywords, but also your reputation, who is pointing to your site, the age of your site, the searcher’s intent, location and even your tech. That’s why your strategy needs to be personalized to you.

SEO also encompasses what happens off your website. Who is linking to you and what is the context? This is why outreach should be an important part of your strategy. 

Other SEO companies talk about backlinks as something you buy, rather than something you earn. I’ve seen companies go this route only to suddenly lose rankings alongside the publisher after the next Google update.

SEO starts in the search results

SEO starts before anyone clicks through to your site. Now more than ever it’s important to optimize how you and your business appear in the search results. 

Having an optimized headline and title can make the difference between someone clicking through to your website or your competitor’s. While a title can be different from a headline, search engines will sometimes display your headline if it matches the search query. To optimize your headline and title, ensure that you are using your main keyword early. Keep it short but include an active verb. Studies have shown that numbers can be helpful as well. 

Finally, improve your click throughs and conversions by making sure that your headline is relevant to the intent of your searcher. If a user is comparing products, don’t rush them to a purchase page. 

Choose keywords that convert

Next think about what keywords you are using. While it’s important to find keywords you can rank for, avoid ranking for ones that aren’t relevant just because everyone else has a post on the topic. This can confuse Google about your product or service and send low-quality traffic to your site. 

Start by looking at your business with a human lens and determining what your customer needs. Generate seed keywords before you open any search tool. It’s OK to use low volume keywords, if they match what your target audience needs. Not every business needs a ton of traffic to convert. They just need the right traffic. 

Common SEO roadblocks

Let’s say you’ve done all of these things, but you are still not making sales or your traffic remains low. There are many factors to consider, which is where SEO becomes personalized to you and your unique business or website. Some of the problems might stem from:

• Tech issues
• Competitive industry
• Lack of authority
• Site age

The good news is most of these problems are fixable, but you need a plan that’s personalized to you.

From old SEO to relevant SEO

One of the biggest problems with the old SEO is that users got frustrated when search engines served them results that may have contained some of their search terms, but didn’t answer there questions. In other words, the context was off. 

The new SEO requires us to be much more specific in how we answer the user’s queries taking into consideration things like intent, buyer journey and relevance. Search engines have gotten much better at understanding semantics, so our content needs to get more specific, as well. 

Imagine a barber located in Vancouver who tries to rank for every keyword related to men’s hair. People might find the content interesting without ever realizing that they can get their hair cut there. This is what many businesses are doing when they try too hard at SEO. 

Define your unique value

To stand out online it is essential to define your unique value rather than simply parroting what others are doing. Think about how your business is differentiated from the competition. Instead of trying to copy the sites that appear on page one, think about what you do differently.

• Do you have a proprietary process?
• Do you offer a benefit that is missing from your competitor’s offers?
• Is there a problem in your industry that you are solving that others are not?

Listen to your customers’ feedback for ideas. 

Building trust online

Once you have decided how you’re different, consider how you can demonstrate your expertise in different ways. It’s not always just about your bio, FAQ and how-to articles. 

Consider adding things like: 

• Original research reports
• Media features
• Opinion pieces
• Case studies and testimonials

Blogging for business

A blog is another way that entrepreneurs can demonstrate their expertise and authority. But avoid the heavily keyword optimized templates of the past. Instead, keep your main keyword in mind, but write naturally. Search engines like Google are able to recognize semantic variations of your main keyword. There’s no longer a need to try to cram your keyword if it doesn’t make sense, is grammatically incorrect, contains spelling mistakes or has incorrect word order. All of these things diminish your credibility rather than adding to your authority.

• Make sure your blog has a clear value proposition. What will people learn by reading it?
• Include the five Ws (who, what where, when and why) for clarity
• Add original research, anecdotes, insights and opinions
• Give clear next steps to help the reader transition from visitor to subscriber, client or customer

From content to conversions

The next step is an essential step in your content marketing journey. Many entrepreneurs relied on keywords alone to bring organic traffic to their site in the hopes that enough people would raise their hand and say yes to their offer. This strategy no longer works. Your content needs to work harder. 

That’s what I teach in my mini-course, Simple Sales With SEO course. You won’t just learn the basics; instead, you’ll learn to convert the traffic that your content brings. Learn more and sign up here. 

Inside Simple Sales With SEO

What's Included?

Turn Traffic Into Sales