Content Optimization Master Class - Matt Raven
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The document outlines a master class on content optimization for organic traffic growth, led by Matt Raven from Dig & Dig, taking place in Boston on June 10-11, 2024. It emphasizes the importance of SEO and content optimization strategies in driving quality traffic and discusses practical steps for keyword research and content strategy development. The training aims to demystify SEO processes and provide actionable insights for effective content marketing.
Content Optimization Master Class - Matt Raven
- 1. MASTER CLASS BOSTON, MA ~ JUNE 10 - 11, 2024 DIGIMARCONNEWENGLAND.COM | #DigiMarConNewEngland Matt Raven EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT DIG & DIG Content Optimization Master Class
- 2. Optimizing Content to Fuel Organic Traffic Growth June 10, 2024
- 3. • 17 years experience in content strategy & SEO • Built and executed ROI-positive strategies for a wide variety of B2C and B2B brands across most verticals • Resides in greater Boston; born in Syracuse, NY • Cautiously optimistic for a Celtics championship Matt Raven Executive Vice President @ Dig & Dig
- 4. Your growth is our commitment. It’s that simple. What makes us different? Strategic thinkers. Supportive partners. Relentless doers. Unified, partner- first vision. 1 ROI-positive digital strategies developed. 238 Years of combined experience. 31
- 6. Raise your hand if… You want to drive long-term quality traffic growth to your website You don’t want to spend ad dollars to get your content to its intended audience at the time they’re most engaged You want to maximize the impact of the content you’re currently producing and have already published
- 8. Why does this optimization stuff matter? Marketing objectives are unique to organizations, but always involve quality traffic growth 93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine We want the content we develop to be seen by its intended audience
- 9. Challenges in achieving Consistently producing quality, high-value content is hard to do Even when production is high, over 90% of content published online receives zero organic traffic due to under optimization Google is constantly evolving (pizza glue or 4- legged snakes anyone?)
- 10. Session learning objectives Demystify SEO - It’s less complicated than it seems to get started Learn the unique impact various forms of content provide to an SEO strategy Understand the basics of content optimization - from keyword research to technical elements
- 12. 70% are influenced by content marketing & PR programs
- 13. Placement 1 But does it really work? Placement 2
- 14. Ranking Keywords Estimated Mo. Traffic Value Referring Domains Placement 1 148 $4,500 26 Placement 2 5 $0 6 Placement 1 Placement 2 Yes. Placement 1 ranks competitively for the “AI trading” topic cluster, including 10 valuable long-tail phrases with a cumulative monthly search volume of over 7K. • “AI & Trading” (1) • “Artificial intelligence and stock trading” (1) • “AI trading algorithms” (1)
- 15. The Process
- 16. ● What: Identifying the words & phrases searchers use to find content, brands and their products/solutions ● Why: To align content to the unique needs and intent of the desired audience Step 1: Complete keyword research ● How: ○ Start by defining key topical themes directly related to your product / service ○ Identify related long-tail keyword variations with mid/high volume and low/mid competition ○ Select keywords that fill the marketing funnel for each topic ■ Information/education: “when is the deadline to file taxes” ■ Consideration: “benefits of e-filing” ■ Conversion: “tax software” ○ Analyze the competitive landscape to see where they’re ranking for ideation (gaps) ● Supporting Tools: SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz
- 17. • Begin with a primary list of 15 - 20 head terms you identified from the input process • Run each keyword through exploration tool of choice (e.g. SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz) • Identify relevant long-tail variation phrases for each core keyword category & fill the funnel Where to begin Breaking down the starting points for Expand • Any existing keyword research • Where you’re already ranking well and driving qualified traffic • Where competitors are ranking and you’re not (gaps) • Industry terms that directly map to your brand, products and services Start w/ key inputs effective keyword research
- 18. ❏ Is highly brand relevant A great keyword checklist ❏ Has meaningful monthly search volume (typically 30+ but depends on category) ❏ Low to medium difficulty score (ideally between 0 - 50) ❏ Returns similar brand(s)/website(s) in the SERP ❏ Maps to existing content onsite that can be retroactively optimized OR to a net new piece of content you’re planning to create ❏ Is driving qualified traffic (measured after 3-5 months via KPIs of choice)
- 19. Step 2: Apply findings to your content strategy Map findings from the keyword research to your integrated strategy: ● Owned content optimization ● Evergreen website content ● Resource-based content (blogs, whitepapers, case studies, etc.) ● PR/contributed content approach ● Inform target outlets & topics ● Overall optimization strategy
- 20. Step 3: Optimize your content “AI in Financial Services” Primary Keyword “AI trading” “AI trading programs” “AI-driven investment strategy” “AI and trading” Secondary Keywords ● Title tag ● H1 ● Body copy ● Meta description ● Subheads (h2 - h4) ● Meta description ● Body copy ● Alt text forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2024/03/01/ai-in- financial-services-transforming-stock-trading/
- 21. Owned content example “Legal Collaboration Software” Primary Keyword “Legal collaboration” “Matter management” “End-of-matter processing” “Secure video conferencing” Secondary Keywords H1 H2
- 22. ● How: ● Input your domain within the organic research field of your SEO tool of choice ● Filter out branded keywords ● Filter by keywords ranking in positions 5-20 ● Isolate 1-3 keywords ranking in these positions ● Include links to those ranking pages in any relevant new content you’re creating Step 4: Use interlinks to power other content ● What: Identifying high-potential, existing content to link to within new content ● Why: To improve the SEO performance of related content across your website
- 23. ● What: Process of digging into analytics and SEO performance metrics to understand content impact and identify trends for go-forward content planning ● Why: To improve the performance of our content marketing programs Step 5: Analyze & plan ● How: ● Add URLs of all developed content assets into SEO tool to gather performance data for each (ranking KWs, backlinks) ● Supplement with GA data (traffic, engagement, conversion) ● Identify trends in top performing materials (topics, type, length, keywords) ● Feed findings into future planning to improve program results ● Tools: Google Analytics, Moz, SEMrush
- 24. Case Study
- 25. Optimized content fuels traffic growth 102% QoQ increase in organic sessions. 221% increase in organic blog pageviews. 106% QoQ increase in total ranking keywords, including high value keywords like “EMR API” (#41 to #8), “Provider collaboration” (#39 to #9) & “EMR” (to #38). 37 URLs optimized against refreshed keyword research.
- 26. How it happened Keyword research & messaging alignment ● Began with brand-guided topical themes ● Leveraged competitive research to identify keyword white spaces ● Tested keyword relevance against target audience ● Created topical clusters & mapped to quarterly content creation
- 27. How it happened Quality content production & optimization ● Mapped keyword opportunities to content calendar ● Assigned 1-2 primary KWs & 2-3 secondary long tail KWs for each asset ● Leveraged primary KWs in priority one elements such as title tag, H1, H2s and body copy ● Leveraged secondary KWs in priority two elements such as meta descriptions, H2s, H3s and body copy ● Interlinked to 1-2 product/service pillar pages, 1-2 related blog posts/resources & 1-2 credible outbound sources
- 28. ● Analyzed quarter over quarter results ● Identified trends and patterns in the KW clusters that drove high-quality traffic ● Created plan to expand content footprint in high-impact categories to improve topical authority How it happened Measurement & refinement
- 29. Key takeaways ● Quality content continues to surpass all other criteria in SEO performance. Write for your target audience first and simply use the science of SEO data to improve your content’s visibility. ● Relevance and audience alignment are key. Never write just for SEO. ● SEO is important throughout the lifecycle of content strategy. Include search data in strategy development, content creation, and quality control. ● Don’t overcomplicate it. Start with keyword research basics & identify 15-20 long tail keywords to focus on in the next quarter. Remember to treat keywords as topics & include a number of variations within each bucket. ● Repurpose what you’ve recently developed and top performing historical content by optimizing title tags and subheaders (H1 - H3) against the keywords you prioritize. ● Commit to the process. Quality SEO strategies take time to succeed but will deliver sustainable traffic growth. Leverage GSC and SEO tools in your reporting to track progress and validate the approach.