How should you get your clients to start creating content with SEO in mind? Nerdwallet's Jacob Clarke joins the SEO Rant Podcast to share his outlook:
How to build content creation and optimization momentum with quick wins
The power of a good content brief
Proper reporting for content-focused SEO clients
SEO Content Strategy for Clients
Content creation, content strategy, and SEO are all individually tricky. Combine them, and that's one tall order for your clients. How do you get started here?
The difficulty of content strategy in the SEO context is why Jacob Clarke recommends starting with some quick wins. Not only does that build momentum but it builds trust. That might mean starting with a few quick technical updates or some easy content refreshes just to get the client comfortable with the process. Even updating a piece of content that needs a bit more structure or would benefit from internal linking is a good place to start.
The Power of a Strong Content Brief
Writing, as mentioned, is hard. It can often feel like an uphill battle for a client. That's why Jacob recommends using a very thorough content brief. This can include pages to link to and even the actual H2s or H3s you think should be implemented.
Don't feel like it's too much for the client. Jacob's experience has been that, as a rule, the more detail you provide the better. The client is often looking for direction and would appreciate the in-depth nature of your brief. Being as specific as possible might mean it takes them longer to run through the brief but it will save them time when actually creating the content.
Reporting to Content Focused SEO Clients
The last step in the content creation process is reporting. Clients, obviously, need to understand what is and what isn't working and what the impact of their efforts have been. Here, unlike content briefs, Jacob recommends going with the age-old adage "less is more."
Fundamentally, you want to create a report the client will understand and connect with. Very often, although it depends on the client, that means focusing their attention in a clean and neat way toward the metrics that actually matter.
To that, show visuals. Using graphs and charts that display trends (or even showing screenshots from the SERP) are tangible ways to understand performance. Make it easy for your reports to have an impact and to build trust around the work you are doing for them.
Resources
For more of the SEO Rant Podcast check out our previous episode on: Is chatGPT good for SEO?