Chances are, you've heard SEO mentioned enough times to fill a book. Whether you're brand new to the principle, familiar with the fundamentals, or well-versed, you don't need to be a marketer or content writer to know it's a powerful asset for your business.

Simply put, Search Engine Optimisation underpins brands' digital performance. It can have a direct - and significant - impact on anything from sales, marketing, PR, outreach, and so much more. And where your content is concerned, SEO is your best friend.

Here’s why SEO is such a central pillar to your business' content efforts, and how to implement it into your content.

SEO supports quality

When we talk about 'high-quality content', we're really talking about a number of factors working together to perform in your business' best interests. Content which is meaningful to both your audience and search engines, and is:

• well-written and well-researched
• targeted at resolving common challenges and pain points
• engaging, clear and digestible
• and of course, search engine optimised

SEO involves a few different tactics (more on that below), but it ultimately builds your 'authority' with search engine platforms. It helps increase your overall ranking and how quickly prospective customers can find you, drive quality traffic to your website, and convert leads to customers.

All you have to do is demonstrate that your business is a trustworthy, valuable source and industry leader. It can sound complex on the face of it, but in reality, it's a fairly simple algorithm. And content is one of the best tools you have in your roster to make it work for your business.

4 simple ways to start driving SEO

Keyword Research (KWR)

KWR is arguably the best place to start when it comes to implementing SEO into your content. Knowing what you want your business to rank for will come from knowing your audience, their needs and challenges, and how they make decisions.

If your business sells sustainable bath products, for example, you may want to rank for that very term. Whereas a design agency may want to appear in search results such as 'animation designers', 'website designers + developers' or something similar. Smaller businesses could even benefit from localised keywords such as 'best Lebanese restaurant + Guildford'.

Including these keywords in your content is key. There are a huge number of great tools out there such as Moz or SEMrush which can help you understand how difficult or easy it will be to rank for a specific keyword (among other things).

Search Intent

Imagine you're looking for a new piece of furniture for your office - your intent will inform what information or websites you're looking for, and therefore the types of keywords you use to find it.

Typically, there are four types of search intent:

• Navigational
• Transactional
• Informational
• Commercial

The more specific the intent, the more specific the keyword. There's a big difference between searching 'green armchair' and 'green armchair under £300'. The first implies a buyer may be doing simple research (informational), whereas the second implies they could be ready to purchase (transactional).

Software like Answer The Public can help you understand your audience's search intent, and what others are searching for that may be related to your business' services and products, giving you easy inspiration to draw from for your content.

H2s, H3s & CTAs

Just as you need to understand what keywords you should aim to rank for, it's just as important to understand where to include these for the best outcomes.

Your H2s and H3s are essentially subheadings. We have them right here, as we do in every single blog, webpage, guide, you name it. If you think about how you yourself read digital content, it's likely you skim reading to reach the sections most relevant to you. Your CTAs should also include keywords - in clear, digestible, and action-oriented language.

In addition to your main headline or title, this is where you will want to include your keyword targets. Search engines will use these to help determine whether your content is a reliable, strong, trustworthy resource.

Linking

Or more specifically: internal linking.

A great piece of content usually includes statistics or other relevant information. This is information which you should hyperlink to, and more specifically, hyperlink to from across other parts of your website.

Search engines read internal linking as a great indicator of brand authority. It paints a picture that your digital presence includes a wealth of great resources, and it helps engines index and better understand the pages on your site.

Linking to different websites (known as backlinking) from your own can also support SEO efforts. But the difference there is that you're ultimately directing traffic towards other businesses. Ideally, you want to keep as much of your audience on your site as possible.

A long-term commitment

Like most marketing tactics, SEO content is an ongoing practice. It isn't enough to implement it once and hope for the best. Instead, your SEO strategy will need to evolve to reflect your audience's search and decision-making behaviours.

The good news is, you don't need to go it alone.

If you're looking to begin implementing SEO into your content, or accelerate your strategy, The Work Crowd's network of freelancers could be the perfect place to start. We help businesses just like yours every day find professionals with a range of knowledge and expertise - including SEO-led content. Why not take a look today, and see what the right support can help your business achieve.