SEO, or search engine optimization, is following set processes that help boost a website’s visibility in search engines, like Google, or social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok.
SEO is all about organic traffic, which means it’s an unpaid form of marketing to drive people to your website. It’s related to SEM, or search engine marketing, which involves promoting your website, typically through paid advertising. The main difference between SEO and SEM is organic vs. inorganic traffic.
SEO typically involves:
Think of how often you search something on your phone during the day. Nowadays, we are constantly using Google to answer questions or generate ideas. An Internet Live stat found that Google processes over 8.5 billion searches every day. That’s billions of people looking for products and services each day.
So naturally, this means it’s a great way to target your audience. If you’re a real estate company, and someone is searching “local real estate companies,” you want to be at the top of that search result.
Both SEO and SEM can have a significant impact on increasing traffic and brand awareness, and as a result, revenue. According to HubSpot, 60% of marketers say that inbound (SEO, blog content, etc.) is their highest quality of leads.
While social media platforms don’t technically qualify as search engines, many people use the search bar as a type of search engine. This is especially true for the younger generations. For example, someone might search “SEO content writing services near me” or “best creative agencies in Boise” on Instagram rather than Google. Incorporating keywords into social media posts and profiles can help you trend to the top and get clicks.
Overall, SEO is an important tool for any marketer trying to increase awareness or revenue.
A major part of SEO is keywords. Using SEO tools like Semrush or Ahrefs, you can gauge what keywords will bring people to your site, how to rank on the first page of Google results, and more.
Because of this, there was a time when people wrote blog posts without actual valuable content and just keyword stuffed. But Google is smart and adaptive; they are constantly updating how Google ranks content.
When keyword stuffing became a thing, Google altered their algorithm to penalize people using an excessive amount of keywords. So, writing with SEO is a careful balance. Too much of a good thing can backfire hard.
While SEO is essential to get people to your site, storytelling is essential to get people to stay. Have you ever landed on a site and quickly realized it didn’t have any actual helpful information? I’ve done that countless times.
In this situation, it doesn’t matter if you’re ranking first because of all the keyword stuffing and other SEO techniques. If the user doesn’t stay to digest the content and look further at your website, then it does nothing for you and your brand.
That’s why you might be getting clicks with no conversions…. you need both SEO and storytelling.
First off, storytelling means people will actually read and digest your content instead of clicking in and out. This is important for getting sales and monetary metrics outside clicks. A longer time on page and lower bounce rate will also tell Google your content is valuable, which boosts ranking.
Another added benefit of incorporating storytelling elements to blog posts is it encourages people to interact with and share your article. This could include sharing on social media, or using your content as a backlink in their own blog article.
The more the blog post is shared, the more traffic, which triggers more shares, and so on. Google then takes notice and will be more likely to rank your page higher. After all, Google cares if the content will engage users and provide value. If the people like it, Google likes it.
Storytelling is often overlooked by marketers but Google does in fact take it into account. Google looks at your story and whether or not you’re providing value. When you write content, you’ll want to keep in mind the ways Google measures if you are telling a story.
You may look at some of these aspects, like rich media and layout, and wonder what that has to do with storytelling. But how you tell a story is just as important as the story itself. Brand storytelling is creating a full experience for your audience.
SEO is big, but you gotta do it right. More often than not, marketers do one or the other: SEO with no real depth to the content, or a great story without keywords and optimization. When you combine the two, that’s when you’ll see serious results that can bring clicks and conversions.