Through my previous work, I have had the chance to work on all steps of the content creation process, including keyword research, editorial planning, and content optimization.
Keyword Research:
Before even beginning content creation it’s important to focus on the underlying goal of the content. What are you hoping to convey? What type of consumer are you hoping to connect with? How would a consumer find your piece?
Some of this can be answered by focusing on search as a foundation. Consider what queries a potential consumer would use to find your content or similar content. Does your content reflect those keywords? By doing upfront research before you begin writing or creating a page or site you can ensure that you are setting yourself up for success and connecting with consumers.
As someone in the search space, research is the foundation of all I do. By figuring out what consumers are searching for I am more accurately able to provide recommendations to clients as to what consumers want to read more about, as well as how they would better find current content on site.
Editorial Planning:
Beyond the individual piece however, it’s important to view the content you create as part of a greater ecosystem. If you are consistently churning out blog posts or articles that’s great. But is a reader only stopping at one? Or is the goal to encourage them to read other posts or information on site? If it’s more than just the one interaction, then it’s important to plan on a greater scale.
One way to do this is through editorial planning. By breaking out a category, categorizing the types of content you post, and making sure you have intention behind when and what type of content you post, you can make sure you are engaging readers while also helping yourself stay organized.
With clients that post regular blog posts and/or new informative articles, it’s important that I make sure everything is planned in advance. I prefer a traditional calendar approach with designations for content categories to better be able to see the value we are providing consumers.
Content Optimization:
Just because content on site has already been published doesn’t mean there isn’t also opportunity around it as well. See how it is performing on your analytics tools. Is it ranking for the keywords you were hoping for? Is it alternatively ranking for things you weren’t expecting that you could learn farther into? In addition to just the overall benefits of refreshing stale content, you can also lean into whatever changes your data shows.
Ways to do this are numerous, but some in addition to rewriting content, you can update meta data, headers and titles on page, or adding Schema and other backend code to help search engines more readily find your information. You can also engage internal linking strategies should you content that relates to one another, more firmly building a digital ecosystem and building stronger associations between content on your site.
With clients I consistently engage in content optimization. With reporting being a key aspect of any deliverable, I am able to see what is resonating with consumers and where there are opportunities for improvement.