Sonia Simone says, “Apparently, “March Madness” on Copyblogger is less about college basketball and more about finding things to say about SEO. One could say we painted ourselves into a corner by saying, “Technical SEO isn’t nearly as important for most sites as actually producing content worth consuming” … and then deciding to write about search optimization all month. One might even call us foolhardy. One may have a point. Nevertheless, we persisted … and it turns out, good things happen when you persist. On Monday, Jerod talked a bit about some of the easy-to-forget steps... [...]

Sonia Simone says, “We’ve been telling you there’s no great secret to search optimization, but that’s kind of a lie, isn’t it? There is one not-so-secret ingredient that makes SEO work. It also makes social sharing work. Referrals, too. I won’t be mysterious about it — it’s links. Links make the web go around. They’re why it’s called a web in the first place. When good websites link to you, those links are votes of confidence. Get enough votes and you win. The hard part? Getting enough of the right links, from the right people. To do that, you need two things: Great stuff... [...]

Britney Muller says, “I understand why content marketers may avoid SEO: it seems complicated and time-consuming. But I’ve got good news. Today, you’ll learn why content marketers like you are well-positioned to use SEO tactics — possibly even more so than *cough* an SEO like me. Keyword research doesn’t have to be a marathon. A brisk, 30-minute walk can provide incredibly useful insights. Even though keyword research benefits may not be obvious, the work you perform will help connect you to a wider audience on a deeper level. Discovering how many people (a month) search for something,... [...]

Jerod Morris says, “That was my initial reaction when we all agreed that March would be SEO month here at Copyblogger. At which point, of course, I knew I’d have to write about it. “Look, I just create useful content for people. Do that, get it read, get it shared, get links, have good hosting and fast page-load times … and productive search engine results will follow, right? I mean, what else is there to say?” Turns out, plenty. Keyword research is more fundamental to your content marketing strategy than you may think. Also, you may already be making fatal optimization mistakes.... [...]

Sonia Simone says, “Google reminds me that we’ve covered the intersection of Zen and business a few times at Copyblogger … which doesn’t surprise me a bit. At the heart of Zen is the concept (which is not a concept) of nonduality. In the words of Shunryu Suzuki: “To speak of waves apart from water or water apart from waves is a delusion. Water and waves are one.” I’m sure Brian Clark had been rereading his Suzuki Roshi when he advised us on Monday to “forget SEO” — because the wisest practice of SEO is to get out of dualistic thinking about SEO. It’s not separate or distinct... [...]

Stefanie Flaxman says, “By now you know that — technical details aside — SEO is not separate from content marketing; it’s an integrated aspect of content marketing. Optimizing your content for search engines is part of your craft and a skill you can strengthen with practice. But even when you rank well for search terms your audience uses, the real test is what happens when someone clicks through to your website. As Brian wrote on Monday: “There’s nothing worse than a quick bounce.” To avoid a quick bounce, you need to focus on content optimization. Since you don’t want to miss... [...]

Brian Clark says, “Imagine. Imagine a world without search engines … It’s easy if you try. No more surprise Google updates. No more worrying about XML sitemaps, robots.txt, and content analysis and optimization. And perhaps most importantly, no more keyword research. That last one means you’re going to have to go old-school to figure out the language of your audience to reflect it back to them. It’s going to take a lot more work. You didn’t think you were going to get out of that one, did you? “. Forget SEO Copyblogger  [...]

Sonia Simone says, “This year on Copyblogger, each month has a theme — and in March, it’s search engine optimization. That’s great news for some of you, and terrible news for others. If you’d rather eat a bug than think about SEO, you and I have much in common. On Monday, I wrote about some solid SEO advice that won’t have you contemplating a heaping bowlful of breakfast crickets. I also gave you some simple, “you-can-totally-do-this” suggestions on Copyblogger FM. And on The Digital Entrepreneur, Sean Jackson and Jessica Frick talked with SEO wizard Eric Enge about how search... [...]

Sonia Simone says, “Hey there, content geniuses — it’s March, and that means we have new prompts for our Content Excellence Challenge. This is a yearlong community exercise in getting better at what we do … and more productive, so we can do more of it. (Or even accomplish something crazy like having a life.) So, let’s do this. The March Creativity Prompt This month, we’re going to focus on actually doing our keyword research”. 2017 Content Excellence Challenge: The March Prompts Copyblogger  [...]

Beth Hayden says, “Keyword research is always a hot topic in content marketing circles. It’s one of those subjects that never goes out of style — because wise content marketers know that using the right words in their content will give them a big edge over their competition. Wondering how to find the “right” words to optimize your business’s content? Here are three quick tips for solid keyword research. 1. Discover the language your prospects use when they talk about your topic My friend Shawn, whose company Clear Harmonies creates custom a cappella arrangements for vocal groups,... [...]