User-Centered SEO: Creating Long-Term Value
CMOs understand that by its very nature, SEO rarely stays the same for long. The shift to putting end customers and users front and centeris quite different from SEO practices of yesteryear.
While this new SEO direction may seem daunting, it also opens up a huge realm of opportunity for those that are willing to adapt.
There are two basic goals associated with user-focused SEO. The first is to earn high-value traffic through the use of valuable and targeted experiences on the site. The second is to create an environment that allows a user to directly connect with content that is highly relevant to them. This leads to a higher user satisfaction and, ultimately, conversion.
Otherbenefits that can be reaped by focusing on the user include (but are not limited to):
Once you are sold on the concept of user-focused SEO (which shouldnt be too hard), it is time to get tactical with personas, keywords, and metrics.
Developing personas is key to user-centric marketing, as this processrequires you to think critically aboutwho your users are and what they need. Personas each have different goals and different conversion paths that will inform your keyword placement throughout a website.Developing personas in the planning stageshelpsget you and your clients on the same page from the get-go and prevents you from going down the wrong path.
A thorough keyword review and analysis should be conducted with special emphasis on identifying and compiling a massive list of high-value keywords. These are not necessarily the ones with the greatest search volume, but those words and phrases with the greatest ability to appeal to target personas, drive traffic, build brands andmost important convert. Later on, you will want to integrate these with your content, and let the page content determine the appropriate keywords for each page.
This should include determining what metricsare to be tracked, the method of capture, and the frequency of reporting. This is done for two primary reasons. The first is to ensure a closed-loop process for your clients utilizing ongoing data to continually refine SEO activities. The second is to provide an integrated way for you as a marketer to show your value and identify successes.
Setting these three elements securely in place gives you the springboard from which to work. Every aspect of your SEO efforts will be driven by and reflected in these areas.
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User-Centered SEO: Creating Long-Term Value