Let’s start at the beginning:Why do people search?

1) They Want to Do Something!

2) They Want to Know Something!

3) They Want to Go Somewhere!

Keep it simple - give them what they want!

DO – KNOW – GO

Do = Transactional Content

Use informational content to assist your transactional content’s rankings – not replace it

Don’t lose the conversion!

Know = Informational ContentFind common questions & answer them

Then setup alerts to answer these questions on blogs/forums/Q&A sites = easy links!

Go = Navigational / Branded SearchThese are your top-converting keywords – prioritise them!

SEO Case study - 121% improvement for branded product ID queries:

Keyword research tools lack the creativity you need for great content

What content does your audience really want to see?

What does content success/failure look like?

http://uk.blueglass.com/blog/content-auditing/

How engaged is your audience?

Comments are an under-rated KPI

Wrong!

1. You need an audience

2. You need a reason why people will share/link

If you don’t have a large audience – leverage someone else’s while you build one!

1) It’s interesting/insightful

2) It’s from a brand they love

3) Social validation – it makes them look knowledgeable

4) It’s funny/entertaining

5) There’s an incentive

Source: New York Times Insights & Linkdex• http://nytmarketing.whsites.net/mediakit/pos/ • http://www.linkdex.com/blog/the-psychology-of-online-sharing/

1) Altruist – charitable/helpful

2) Careerists – build a reputation

3) Hipsters – being first to share

4) Boomerangs – feel connected

5) Connectors – stay in touch

6) Selectives – expect a reaction

Summary

1. Solve your audiences problems by matching their search intent with great content

2. Leverage audiences for wider coverage & outreach

3. Think about why someone would share/link to your content