SEO content needs to be optimized and evaluated ever so often in order to keep it relevant as well as effective. Thus, SEO content strategies should also be devised in accordance to a plethora of requirements of each organization. To keep the content strategy functional, it is also imperative that with the changes occurring in the industry, one remains updated with what still works and what doesn't. Here's how we can achieve the same.

Know your objective

Your first step should be to define your goals as a business or a website. Do you plan to drive sales through your website? Do you use ads to monetize your site and therefore want to boost traffic simultaneously returning readership? Your goals will tell you what types of content you would need to pay attention to.

If you want to push sales ahead, your primary focus should be informative and visually appealing product pages that are optimized for both search and conversions. Secondly, focus on creating helpful blog content that illustrates tips to use your products and further link it to relevant pages (make sure that the blog does not have a self-promotional tone). In case your site runs on an advertising model and the objective is to attract more readers through search, then it is pertinent to focus on rich content (such as video resources, long-form articles that are both informative and interesting). 

Identify your target audience

Know your audience by utilizing analytics software and surveys as these tools can help you get a better picture of your typical visitor or client. Developing personas of target groups can help you define and categorize your ideal site visitors and customers. Then, think about the content that a particular type of audience group would search for and read.

For instance, if your target audience comprises teenagers, your content should have less text and more visuals in the form of images and videos. Similarly, a B2B site that targets C-level executives should have high-level white papers which can be downloaded and saved to be read later. And yes, do optimize your website for mobile usage. 

Have a content schedule in place

Plan your content creation and its subsequent delivery way ahead of the actual date of publishing. Stick to a monthly schedule so that all the teams are aware of when new content has to be delivered and what type of content it will be. Here are a few quick tips on creating a monthly content schedule.

• Share the editorial calendar with your content team and SEO team. Set up reminders for writers so they receive a notification when a deadline is coming up.
• Content types such as videos and infographics often need several rounds of edits and can be more complex when it comes to search optimization. Hence, have plenty of lead time in hand while developing these.
• Since SEO is a dynamic field, it is not advisable to plan too far out in advance. Content requirements might change due to various reasons, so do not plan for the next 6 months altogether. At the most, SEO companies in India and abroad make SEO content strategies only for the coming three months but rarely beyond that.

Analyze, assess, repeat Adding relevant content types on your website isn't the end of the story. You need to stay on top of your analytics to know what's generating the desired results and what isn't. Comments on blog posts or articles, page views, links, social shares (Facebook likes, tweets, etc.), and conversion rates are amongst the reliable measures of success and engagement.

Do take notice of the pattern of shares and likes. For example, if infographics are attracting more traffic as compared to blogs, then change your strategy and include more infographics accordingly. Reshuffle your editorial schedule going forward so you can invest more effort and time in the content types that are really being read, liked and shared. In case another variation of keyword draws more traffic, it is advisable to re-optimize your content according to the new keyword. You might be able to increase traffic to a great extent by putting that keyword in the title.

SEO strategies keep changing all throughout. It is quite possible that the SEO services provided by an agency or an organization last yea would possibly become obsolete by this year. Keeping in mind that it is such a dynamic industry, one should work to figure out a viable plan that will allow space for the organization to grow. Follow these 4 steps to a successful content strategy.