2024-12-06 22:47:31
A marketing funnel is a way to think about your customer journey. It starts when they discover your brand and tracks through as they become a loyal customer.
This framework helps you map ideal interactions. It identifies drop-off points and guides customers to purchase.
The better your marketing funnel, the more sales you can capture.
A well-designed funnel turns casual browsers into loyal customers while reducing your acquisition costs.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
Let’s start with the basics.
How many stages a marketing funnel has and what you call them varies. But stages commonly include:
It’s natural for people to drop off at each of these stages. Even when you’re successfully attracting a targeted audience. Your goal is to guide the most qualified prospects toward conversion.
Let’s use a practical example to illustrate this.
Imagine you run an online store. Here’s what your marketing funnel might look like:
A wide top shows people who become aware of your product or service.
A narrow bottom represents the people who purchase your product.
For software as a service (SaaS) products, the marketing funnel might look like this:
These examples use the same basic framework. See how it can be customized for different scenarios?
There are a lot of different marketing funnel models you can use.
To help you get started, we’ll explore two of the most common and effective marketing funnels.
We’ll also look at a real-world example of a marketing funnel driving impressive results: The Gazillion Dollar Sales Funnel Experiment.
In this experiment, Matt Giovanisci plans to double his revenue. But he’s not going to launch any new products. He is simply optimizing his existing marketing funnel.
His business, Swim University, sells courses on pool and hot tub maintenance. He generates most of his website’s traffic with SEO and YouTube content.
Let’s see how this example grafts onto the different funnel stages below.
ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu are each stages of the customer journey:
This framework can help you understand which stage your potential customer is in. That way, you can tailor your content marketing efforts to fit their needs and interests.
Let’s dive deeper into the funnel. And explore the best types of content to create for each stage.
The ToFu stage is the entry point to your marketing funnel.
Here, your target audience realizes they have a need or a challenge. But they might not know about your solution yet.
Create content that will grab people’s attention and make them aware of your product or service.
Be informative and helpful. Spark prospects’ interest and get them moving down the funnel to learn more.
Examples of ToFu content that raises awareness:
The best ToFu content strategy will depend on your specific industry and audience.
Ultimately, the key is to inspire curiosity and make people remember your brand. That way, they come to you when they’re ready to move further down the funnel.
Let’s take a look at our example.
As a ToFu strategy, Matt attracts prospects with blog posts and YouTube videos about pool maintenance.
The ToFu strategy works well. His website gets about 400,000 monthly visitors from Google.
Visitors to his site are offered a free cheat sheet on pool care. But they have to provide their email address and opt into his email list to get it. He aims for 1% of his web traffic to subscribe.
In the ToFu stage, your target audience realizes they have a problem. Now, in the MoFu stage, they’re considering different solutions, including yours!
At the MoFu stage, you want to convince them that your brand is the best choice. Do this by creating content that:
Here are some examples of MoFu content that drives interest.
For a MoFu strategy, Matt Giovanisci relies heavily on email marketing.
Remember the 1% of ToFu website visitors who opted in to email so they could download the free cheat sheet?
Matt sends them an introduction to Swim University. Along with it, they get a one-time offer (OTO) of 50% off the flagship pool maintenance course.
If subscribers don’t purchase immediately after seeing the OTO, they start getting the company newsletter. This newsletter delivers MoFu content regularly. That includes blogs about solving common pool problems and case studies with deeper data.
These emails include pitches for Swim University to remind leads of the value it offers.
Ultimately, the key is to nurture prospects by providing valuable information and insights. MoFu content helps them evaluate their options and move closer to a purchase decision.
The BoFu stage is the narrowest part of the online marketing funnel. It’s where you convert prospects into clients.
All that marketing effort you put in earlier (raising awareness and building interest) comes down to this point.
Here, you need to address any last-minute hesitations. Showcase the value proposition that will nudge your audience toward the final decision. Like a purchase or signup.
Here are some examples of BoFu content that drives sales:
Matt’s BoFu strategy is that OTO page with the 50% discount on his flagship pool maintenance course.
The offer creates a sense of urgency. It also reduces friction for interested prospects who haven’t yet purchased.
Here’s how his Tofu, MoFu, BoFu funnel performed:
The BoFu stage didn’t stop there. Matt also included an upsell (a higher-value product offered after the initial purchase). It converted at 25%, so he got 25 additional sales.
Overall, Matt’s BoFu content generated over $12,000 in monthly revenue.
As you can see, the ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu marketing funnel is an effective framework for nurturing leads and guiding them toward conversion.
When you create targeted content at each stage, you build awareness, educate potential customers, and drive sales.
However, there’s another model called the Pirate Funnel that might be a better fit for your business, depending on your specific needs.
The Pirate Funnel is a framework that can help your business see where you might be losing potential customers.
The name of the framework stemmed from the acronym, AAARRR, which represents the six key metrics it tracks.
The metrics are:
Start by listing out each of the AAARRR metrics and defining how many users you have at each stage. Then, take a look at your funnel and see where you have the largest drop-offs.
Maybe you’re great at letting people know about your product (awareness), but your potential customers drop during the signup process (acquisition).
Go find out why.
Is your signup form too complicated? Do you need to communicate the value proposition more effectively?
By patching these leaks in the funnel, you can increase the number of users who convert into active, paying customers.
In our example below, the largest percentage of users—30%—drop off after the activation stage.
If you address this activation/retention issue, you’ll increase the number of users who continue to engage with your product, boost overall retention, and ultimately drive more revenue and referrals.
Further reading: The Definitive Guide to Conversion Rate Optimization
Ben Goodey wrote a great case study about Preply, an online tutoring platform that has seen explosive growth over the last few years.
The company’s traffic soared from 0.5M to 3.8M monthly visitors between 2021 and 2024
This is an excellent example of a company implementing the Pirate Funnel to diagnose and fix weak points in their marketing strategy. And, as a result, see rapid growth in user acquisition, activation, and revenue.
Here’s how Preply optimized the customer experience to support each stage in their AAARRR funnel.
Preply grew its awareness using a scaled content marketing and SEO strategy.
Their blog, which now gets 1.9M monthly visitors, focuses on top-of-funnel content such as “Basic Japanese words” and “How is the Present Simple formed in English?”
These topics help capture a broad audience of language learners and build brand awareness.
They also leverage user-generated content (UGC) through their forums, where tutors answer common language-related questions. It contributes another 850K monthly visitors.
Acquiring users starts with driving the right kind of traffic to the website. Preply’s focus on keywords with commercial intent, such as “online English teacher” and “Japanese tutor,” contributed to 1M monthly visitors landing on programmatic service pages.
These keywords target users actively looking for a tutor, making it easier to convert these visitors into users.
This strategic approach to keyword targeting demonstrates how the acquisition was optimized by aligning content with user intent.
Preply’s 60,000 pages already attracted a high volume of traffic. The challenge was ensuring users signed up for tutoring services.
Their activation efforts focused on seamlessly guiding users from content consumption to conversion.
How did they do this?
They made their calls to action (CTAs) dynamic. They changed based on the topic of the post.
With highly relevant CTAs, the transition from browsing to booking a tutor was easy.
Once customers start using your service, retention becomes crucial.
In Preply’s forum, learners could ask questions and get answers from tutors. This helps keep users engaged with the platform.
Preply created a community of learners and tutors. This increased the likelihood that users would return to the site regularly.
The community-driven forum content also builds a sense of belonging. This is key to retaining users over time.
With 55,000 tutors and millions of learners, Preply’s revenue growth has been impressive.
They capitalized on their increased traffic by creating thousands of bottom-of-funnel service pages. They target specific subjects, like “Maths teacher” or “Online Spanish classes.”
This programmatic SEO strategy ensured they had a page for every tutoring need. The pages capture high-conversion traffic and boost overall revenue.
In just three years, Preply scaled its organic search traffic while increasing its pool of paying customers.
Referral is a critical metric in the Pirate Funnel, and Preply’s platform encourages this through its focus on tutor branding.
Tutors are incentivized to answer forum questions and build a personal brand within the platform.
This engages existing customers and also drives new users through word-of-mouth recommendations. Tutors’ names and backgrounds are highlighted, creating a trusted and reliable source for learners.
This referral mechanism helps expand their user base without direct marketing costs.
The concept of a marketing funnel with different stages may seem pretty simple.
Using it to create complimentary marketing campaigns that guide potential customers toward a purchase is more complex.
You have to know your target audience well, what interests them, and how much “warm-up” time is required before they’re ready to make a purchase.
Here are some tips to help you create an effective marketing funnel.
A customer journey map typically covers the entire lifecycle from the moment a user learns about your product (awareness) to the ultimate purchase decision (action).
You list every point of interaction they have along the way.
A well-recorded customer journey map helps you better understand your prospects’ needs and wants. So you can leverage marketing at all funnel levels to maximize conversions.
Before crafting a thoughtful customer journey map, answer the following questions:
| Questions | Why Ask This? |
|---|---|
| On average, how many touchpoints do customers engage with before they make a purchase? | To size your content strategy.
Expensive products that cost thousands of dollars might need more touchpoints to warm up your target audience and convince them to purchase. More affordable products and services probably need fewer. |
| Which touchpoints (blog posts, newsletters, landing page visits, etc.) seem to have the highest rates of conversion further down the funnel? | When you understand the efficacy of various touchpoints, you can tailor your marketing funnel to address users’ needs and nudge them gently toward conversion more effectively. |
| Taking things like transaction value, customer retention rate, and likelihood to purchase again into consideration, which actions are most lucrative for your company? | If you know what specific action you want to drive at the bottom of the funnel, you can develop marketing campaigns that directly lead your prospect to take that action. |
By answering these questions, you better understand your customer’s decision-making process. You can make the right kind of content that will guide them seamlessly through each stage of the funnel.
Here’s an example of a customer journey map that you can use for your business. Adjust it to suit your business needs.
Here’s how to translate your customer journey map into a marketing funnel.
Identify the critical stages of your customer journey and map them to the marketing funnel stages.
Let’s say you want to use the ToFu, MoFu, BoFu marketing funnel.
Prospects who are Googling problems your product or service solves are in the ToFu stage. They’re realizing they have a problem they want fixed.
Prospects who are exploring your website, reading your blog, or otherwise interacting with your content are learning about possible solutions. They’re in the MoFu stage.
Prospects who are reading reviews of your business and your competitors are ready to make a purchase decision. They’re in the BoFu stage.
Once you’ve mapped your funnel stages, you should set specific goals for each.
These goals should be SMART:
At the ToFu stage, set goals that focus on brand awareness and attracting a broad audience.
For example, you could aim to:
At the MoFu, set goals to nurture leads and build interest. Depending on your marketing efforts, you could aim to:
BoFu is where prospects turn into customers. To measure your success here, set conversion-focused goals like:
Remember, these are just examples. Tailor your goals to your specific business objectives and target audience
You’ve identified your desired outcomes for each stage of the marketing funnel. Now, outline the specific marketing strategies and content needed to achieve those goals.
For example, if your ToFu goal is to increase your email subscriber list by 3,000 people, you might want to focus on these strategies:
Ultimately, decide which marketing content to create to achieve your goals at the ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu stages.
To ignite your funnel, craft content that sparks awareness. This is your chance to build trust with potential customers.
Here are some tactics to try:
As an example, Backlinko generates more than 270K traffic monthly with informational keywords only.
This helps generate awareness and attract a wide range of users, from beginner to advanced skill levels.
The goal isn’t to immediately sell something. The goal is to familiarize readers with a brand and move them down the funnel.
Here’s how you can find informational keywords for your website using Semrush:
Open the Keyword Magic Tool. Type in seed keyword. Then, hit “Search.”
Note: “Seed keyword” is a term that acts as the starting point for your keyword research.
Use the “Intent” drop-down to select “Informational.” This will filter the list of keywords for that search intent.
Use the “KD” drop-down to filter for keyword difficulty “Easy.” This will help you find low-competition, informational keywords for your website.
Review the list of keywords. Pick the ones you believe will help you spread the word about your brand.
Our comprehensive keyword analysis guide will show you how to do this step-by-step.
Once you know which keywords to focus on, create high-quality content around them.
Not sure how?
This definitive guide for writing blog posts will help you write content that’s likely to hit Google’s front page.
SEO is just one of many strategies for increasing brand awareness. There are multiple channels you can use.
For example, the team at Beehiiv, a newsletter growth platform, uses multiple social media platforms to promote their brand.
According to Tyler Denk, Beehiiv’s co-founder and CEO, building in public helped them achieve the following:
We raised our $12.5M Series A in just 6 days.
Our team has deep personal relationships with hundreds of our users online. We receive tons of qualified candidates for each new role we promote. I receive a dozen emails every day from funds who want to invest in Beehiiv. I can seamlessly broadcast updates to thousands of current and potential users for free. Our team routinely receives and addresses invaluable real-time feedback.
None of those things would be possible if I chose to build Beehiiv in stealth.
Worried about the time and effort it takes to create that much content for different marketing channels?
That’s why many brands repurpose content.
It’s about taking content you’ve already created and presenting it in different formats to reach a wider audience.
Example: Imagine you write a blog post. Repurposing could mean turning it into a video script, an infographic, a social media series, or a podcast episode.
This way, you can save time and resources while reaching a wider audience.
At this point, the most engaged part of your target ToFu audience becomes more interested in learning about your brand. They’re ready to move to MoFu content.
But how do you build relationships with someone who has just heard about your business?
Through persuasive content.
Here are some tactics to try:
If you need ideas for where to start, check out your competitors’ MoFu content.
Open Semrush’s Organic Research tool and enter your competitor’s domain name. Select your location with the drop-down. Then click “Search.”
Now, navigate to the “Pages” tab and choose the “Commercial” search intent with the drop-down filter.
This will help you see competitors’ commercial intent keywords. And the content they use to nurture leads further down the sales funnel.
For example, this vinyl record store in New York has a page featuring different used CDs.
If you had a similar store in New York, you could create a better collection page with more details about used CDs. If searchers like your page better, the traffic is yours.
Let’s look at Backlinko again. We leverage email marketing to build relationships with our target audience.
Our welcome email introduces new subscribers to the brand and explains what kind of content they can expect. It also features some of our best blog posts.
It’s also a good idea to list your company on review aggregator websites such as Capterra, G2, and Trustpilot.
Why? Studies show businesses with listings on review websites see a significant 36% revenue increase!
Positive testimonials from past clients act as powerful social proof. They build trust and influence buying decisions.
Take Capterra, for example. Before they can post, reviewers have to share their name, position, industry, their company size, and how long they’ve used the product. This increases the likelihood that the reviews are honest and will be trusted by people.
The bottom of the funnel, your target audience has already done their research. They’re ready to make a purchase decision.
Your BoFu content should convince them to buy from you, not someone else. And preferably right now.
Here are some tactics to achieve it:
Let’s review some of these strategies in detail.
Transactional keywords are search terms that indicate a searcher’s intent to complete a transaction or make a purchase.
An easy way to find them is by looking at your competitors’ transactional keywords and content. You can easily find them using Semrush’s Organic Research tool.
Another option is to insert your seed keyword into Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool. Then filter the list of suggested keywords by “Transactional” keyword type.
Let’s look at an example.
For the one seed keyword “Paleo diet,” the Keyword Magic Tool generated 19 keyword ideas. They all had transactional and mixed (transactional and informational) search intent.
If you run a website about the paleo diet with a webshop, consider targeting the “Paleo diet snacks to buy” keyword. Users search for this keyword specifically to make a purchase. If your website shows up in search results, you can get clicks and sales.
Aquaplus is an example of a business that did this well. The skincare brand revamped its SEO strategy to align its content with user intent.
Specifically, they included comprehensive product descriptions, highlighted discounted items, featured customer testimonials, compared their offerings to competitors, and incorporated CTAs.
The impact?
A 45% increase in sales from organic search traffic within six months of rolling out the revamped SEO strategy.
If a potential customer visited your website but hasn’t converted yet for some reason, try to convince them again with retargeting.
It’s like a gentle nudge to remind your prospects about your products and services that they’ve seen before. Hopefully, they’ll come back to your site to make a purchase.
Why is it an effective strategy to follow?
Because people who view retargeting ads are 70% more likely to convert.
Here’s an example of a retargeting ad from Max, a TV network, on Instagram.
They also show their retargeting ads across the Google Display Network.
Finally, highlight the limited-time aspect with phrases like “Don’t miss out! This deal ends today!” or “Act now and save!”
This makes the urgency more explicit and compels users to take advantage of a deal before it’s gone.
The Amazon daily deals example is a great illustration of this concept. The limited-time offers create a sense of urgency that can motivate people to buy before the deal disappears.
In prior steps, you set the goals for each marketing funnel stage and identified the content to create for your campaigns.
Now make sure you can measure your progress toward them.
Here are some metrics you can measure at every stage.
| Funnel Stages | Metric |
|---|---|
| Top of funnel: Awareness | ToFu keyword rankings Total organic website traffic Branded search traffic Number of social media followers Total social media reach Number of email subscribers Email click-through rate (CTR) |
| Middle of funnel: Interest and Desire | MoFu keyword rankings Dwell time Bounce rate Content downloads Testimonials rating Webinar attendance Product demo requests Free trial signups |
| Bottom of funnel: Action | BoFu keyword rankings Conversion rates Sales volume Return on investment (ROI) Customer lifetime value (CLTV) |
You can track most on-site metrics with Semrush, Google Search Console, and Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
Even a perfectly crafted marketing funnel may not deliver the results you expect. At least not right at first.
Luckily, there are ways to identify leaks in your funnel.
Here are a few strategies:
With Google Analytics 4, you can track goals at each marketing funnel stage. This lets you visualize the funnel and pinpoint where your target audience drops off.
For instance, let’s look at the demo account for the Google Merchandise Store in GA 4. Only 69.1% of users who entered the funnel actually made a purchase.
To improve conversions, consider sales funnel optimization strategies. That could mean testing new CTAs, refining ad copy, or creating more engaging content.
But how do you know what changes will lead to the desired results?
A/B testing eliminates the guesswork. And lets you see what resonates more with your target audience.
For example, Semrush conducted an A/B test to assess the impact of adding search intent-specific keywords to page titles. They found that including phrases like “for sale” in titles led to a 6.8% increase in click-through rate.
Conduct usability testing to get real user feedback about your product pages, email subject lines, or CTAs.
One way to do this? Recruit a small group of individuals that represents your target audience. Ask them to complete specific tasks on your website or app.
Observe their behavior as they complete the task. Listen to their thoughts aloud. Record any challenges they encounter.
TruckersReport did this well. The company increased its landing page conversions by 79.3% after collecting insights from six usability tests and implementing changes on the website.
Every refinement, no matter how small, has the potential to lead to a significant increase in conversions at the bottom of the funnel.
Now that you’re equipped with the knowledge to build a high-performing marketing funnel, it’s time to take action.
Remember, the key is to understand your audience. Provide valuable content appropriate for each part of their journey. And be sure to eliminate any issues that might prevent conversions.
Streamline your marketing efforts and sell more products or services with our Sales Funnel Template.
The post What Is a Marketing Funnel? Complete Beginner’s Guide appeared first on Backlinko.
2024-12-06 07:06:47
Local search marketing is the process of optimizing a local business’ online presence. It uses paid and unpaid tactics, like search advertising and local SEO, to help the business appear more prominently in local searches.
In other words, local search engine marketing aims to increase the chances of your business showing up in search results when customers look for specific products or services in a particular location.
For example, the search results for “pet shop near me” include the following elements:
Local search marketing is especially important for location-based businesses. Like salons, restaurants, and coffee shops. But it’s also vital for service-area businesses, like plumbers and electricians.
Local search marketing helps businesses connect with nearby customers who are actively searching for their products or services.
It drives foot traffic, builds brand trust through reviews, improves search rankings, and increases conversions by targeting high-intent local consumers. (Customers that are close to making a purchase.)
For example, when you search for a nearby store or service on Google, a local pack shows up. Like on this results page for “pet shop near me”:
The top-ranking organic listing is “Pet Supermarket.”
But how did it get there?
Probably through local search marketing.
First, the business has an optimized Google Business Profile. With tons of good reviews.
Next, it ranks for 528 keywords with local packs, according to Semrush’s Organic Research tool.
And it attracts nearly 33K organic traffic solely by ranking for keywords with local packs in search results.
Getting similar traffic through paid search ads can cost $24K a month.
Lastly, they also use paid ads to appear even more prominently in search results.
They rank for 43 paid keywords, spending around $6.9K per month, according to Advertising Research.
You can use local business search engine marketing to improve your own online visibility.
Follow these tips to effectively implement a local search marketing strategy and improve your site’s local search visibility.
Google Business Profile (GBP, formerly Google My Business) is a free tool that lets you manage how your business appears across Google platforms like Search and Maps.
It displays the following important details about your business:
Google uses GBP data (among other things) to rank your business in Search and Map results.
Your GBP also lets searchers learn more about your business. And easily contact or find your business directly within search results.
This is why you need to claim and optimize your Business Profile.
Here’s how to do that:
First, create a new profile or claim an existing one by signing up on the GBP homepage.
Then, optimize your GBP by doing the following:
Easily manage and optimize your GBP with Semrush’s GBP Optimization tool.
Enter your business’s name or website and select the correct listing from the drop-down menu that appears.
The tool will scan your Google Business Profile and show you an overview with details like:
Click the “Try it now” button to get access to your dashboard.
Then click “Edit business info” to manage your business information.
You can also go to the “Posts” tab to create posts about your products. Or share news about your business (like new promos or seasonal offerings).
Local keywords are terms people use when searching for products or services in a specific location.
They typically combine a service or product with a city, neighborhood, or the “near me” phrase.
For example, “pizza delivery in raleigh” or “dentist near me” are local keywords.
Using such keywords on your website signals to search engines that your business is relevant to a specific location. And this can help your site rank better for relevant local queries.
Use the Keyword Magic Tool to find relevant local keywords for your business.
Enter a broad term relevant to your business and location and click “Search.”
You’ll see a list of queries people use when searching for a business like yours. Along with metrics like search volume (the average number of searches per month) and keyword difficulty (how hard it is to rank in the top 10 for the keyword).
You can also use filters to find keywords with results that contain local packs.
Click “Advanced filters” > “SERP Features” > “Local pack” > “Apply.”
Now, you have a list of relevant keywords.
Generally, you want to select high-volume, low-competition keywords that align with your business and your local audience’s needs.
Next, optimize your website using your chosen local keywords.
Here’s how:
This can make it more likely that your business will show up for relevant local search queries.
Further reading: Local Keyword Research: 4 Easy Steps to Attract More Customers
Google reviews can influence your rankings in local search results. But they can also influence how likely searchers are to choose your business over one of your competitors.
In fact, there’s a correlation between the number of Google reviews and rankings in Maps listings, according to Semrush’s study on local search rankings.
Here are some ways to encourage your customers to leave Google reviews:
Also, make sure to respond to both positive AND negative reviews.
Thank those who gave positive feedback. And address concerns of those who leave negative reviews.
You can use Semrush’s Review Management tool to easily monitor and manage all your reviews across multiple platforms in a single place.
You can even set the tool up to automatically respond to positive reviews.
Localized content is content that’s tailored to a specific geographic audience by adapting language, cultural references, and regional preferences.
It helps you increase engagement and conversions from local searchers. Because local content is tailored to their unique needs and interests.
Besides, localized content can signal to Google that your content is highly relevant to that location. And it helps you demonstrate local expertise and authority.
Follow these tips to tailor your content to your local audience:
This way, you can build a stronger connection with your community.
Further reading: Quality SEO Content: The QRIES Approach for Better Rankings
NAP citations are mentions of your business’s Name, Address, and Phone number on online platforms. Like your website, GBP, business directories, social platforms, and other online listings.
Here’s an example of a local citation in Yellow Pages, an online directory:
It’s important to keep your NAP details consistent.
Why?
Because Google verifies your Business Profile information by looking at various online sources before showing it to searchers.
So, consistent information across platforms signals to Google that your data is accurate and reliable.
Use the Listing Management tool to find all your existing citations and check their accuracy.
Open the tool and type your business name or website in the search bar.
The tool will auto-suggest business listings matching that name. Check the details and select the correct one.
You’ll see an overview of your business’s key local search metrics. Including the number of listings you need to fix.
Scroll down to see details of citation errors for each directory you’re listed on.
Note the errors and correct them by updating your NAP details on each platform.
If you have a paid Semrush Local subscription, you can update multiple listings in one go.
Google Ads lets you target searchers in specific geographic locations so you can narrow your advertising focus on locations you serve and attract the right customers.
This helps you maximize your return on ad spend (ROAS).
You can run two main types of local search ad campaigns:
These are regular pay-per-click (PPC) ads that appear in search results. But you set them to trigger only when users within specific locations search for your target keyword.
Or when they search for [your target keyword] + [your target location].
Like how these ads show up for the query “tax lawyer new orleans.”
Learn how to set this up with Google’s guide to location targeting.
Google Local Services Ads are specifically relevant for service-based businesses. Such as plumbing, accounting, legal services, and more.
It helps you connect with customers searching for your services in or around your location. And it lets you get leads (calls and messages from potential customers) directly from your ads.
Local Services Ads appear as an ad unit at the top of the search engine results page (SERP). Like this:
Backlinks are links on other websites that point to your site. Google generally views backlinks as a positive signal about the site being linked to. Because they signal to Google that the linking website trusts your site.
Getting high-quality backlinks can therefore impact your site’s search rankings.
But not all backlinks are the same. You want backlinks from relevant (related to your industry) and authoritative (well-established and credible) sites.
Some great local link building strategies include:
You can use Semrush’s Backlinks Analytics tool to analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles and identify link opportunities worth pursuing.
Local search marketing is a cost-effective way to reach (and convert) potential customers who are searching for products or services like yours.
A critical aspect of local search marketing is search engine optimization, or SEO.
This involves tasks like keyword research, competitor analysis, and on-page optimization. Learn how to master this to improve your business’s rankings with our guide to local SEO.
The post What Is Local Search Marketing <br>& How to Do It Right appeared first on Backlinko.
2024-12-06 07:05:38
The real secret to continuously ranking well in search engines lies in consistent, strategic maintenance.
In this guide, we’re going to show you exactly how to maintain your SEO the right way.
Let’s kick things off with some basics.
SEO maintenance is the ongoing process of monitoring, updating, and optimizing your website to maintain and improve its search engine rankings.
The initial efforts you make to optimize your website are usually not enough to produce long-term results. Google algorithms change, your content becomes outdated, and technical issues arise.
So, your website needs consistent care and attention to weather these changes.
Without regular maintenance, even the most perfectly optimized website can gradually lose its rankings.
Perform SEO maintenance so it doesn’t happen to you.
The level of SEO maintenance you need depends on your website’s size and the competitive landscape of your industry.
It’s extremely difficult to give a one-size-fits-all answer.
Small websites may only need a few hours of maintenance each month, focusing on essential updates and minor optimizations.
But larger websites in competitive niches will require more frequent and detailed maintenance to stay ahead.
We’ll cover specific maintenance tasks and how often to perform them later in this guide. But first, let’s clear something up.
“Set it and forget it” doesn’t work when it comes to SEO.
You need to continuously check on and maintain your website’s SEO performance because:
While there are a lot of aspects to keep on top of, maintaining your SEO doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
Here’s how you can focus your efforts on the SEO maintenance tasks likely to yield the best results.
Performance metrics are key indicators that show how well your website performs in search results.
By monitoring these key indicators regularly, you can spot potential problems before they start to seriously impact your rankings.
Here are two metrics you need to track:
We suggest you review these metrics biweekly. This gives you enough time to spot problems while ensuring you don’t miss out on anything that requires immediate attention.
For monitoring keyword rankings, use Semrush’s Position Tracking tool.
Add your keywords to the tool and complete the setup process.
Then, go to the “Overview” tab and scroll down to the “Rankings overview” report.
You’ll see how well you’re ranking for your target keywords. Over time, you’ll also see ranking improvements or declines.
For monitoring organic traffic, use Google Analytics (GA).
Open the tool and go to “Reports” > “Acquisition” > “Traffic Acquisition.”
You’ll see all your traffic sources.
Uncheck all channels except “Organic Search” to focus solely on organic traffic from search engines. And then click “Plot rows” to see a graph of your traffic over time.
Further reading: Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Ultimate Guide and Tutorial
Updating your content helps maintain its rankings and keeps the information relevant to your visitors.
Outdated information can hurt your credibility and cause users to leave your site, which could signal to Google that your content isn’t meeting user needs.
So, we recommend you review your content every six months. (Depending on your industry, you may need to review content more or less often.)
Here’s a simple process to follow:
First, use Google Search Console to identify your most important pages.
Go to “Performance” > “Search results.” Then, switch to the “Pages” tab to see which pages are receiving the most clicks and impressions.
Then, check each page for outdated information and update the content.
Here’s what to look for when updating content:
Technical SEO issues are problems that can prevent search engines from properly crawling (finding), indexing (storing), or ranking your website.
Even small technical issues can impact your SEO performance, so it’s important to monitor and fix them regularly.
We suggest you perform technical SEO checks at least once every month.
Start by examining the “Pages” report in Google Search Console.
This report highlights technical SEO issues Google detects that may be affecting your site’s visibility in search results.
Focus on the “Why pages aren’t indexed” section.
It’s crucial that all your important pages are indexed. Otherwise, they won’t appear in search results and have no chance of ranking.
For a detailed analysis of your site’s technical health, use Semrush’s Site Audit tool.
Set up a project in the tool and run a full crawl of your website. Once the report is ready, you’ll get a detailed account of technical SEO issues like:
The tool also provides advice on how to fix each issue.
If you’re a local business owner trying to attract nearby customers, maintaining your local SEO will help keep your business visible and relevant in local search results.
There are two things you need to do regularly:
Use Semrush’s Listing Management tool to update your business information across lots of directories—all in one place.
With one click, you can update over 150 directories, ensuring your information stays consistent everywhere your customers might find you. Without spending time logging into each one individually to make changes.
For review management, use Semrush’s Review Management tool. It brings all your reviews into one place. So you can respond to them easily and maintain a strong online reputation–again while saving A LOT of time.
And the tool can respond automatically to positive reviews using AI.
That way, you can quickly and easily stay on top of your reviews and show customers you care.
Keeping up with the industry changes helps you adapt your strategy and maintain SEO results.
There’s always something new happening in the world of SEO:
You can stay informed about recent developments by:
Make it a habit to dedicate some time each week to catch up on the latest news.
By keeping yourself informed, you’ll be better equipped to adapt your strategy quickly and maintain your visibility in search.
Clearly, there’s a lot to learn and monitor when it comes to SEO maintenance. While tools like Semrush can make it much easier, there’s no substitute for understanding the fundamentals.
Here are a few helpful resources to give you the knowledge to stay on top of your site’s SEO:
The post SEO Maintenance: Here’s What to Do & How Often appeared first on Backlinko.
2024-11-29 22:13:37
SEO analytics involves digging into your site’s data to see how it’s doing.
You track metrics like traffic, rankings, and user behavior to figure out what’s working. And what’s not.
Why do it?
It helps you stop wasting time on activities that don’t work. And double down on what does.
At Backlinko, SEO analytics is central to what we do.
It’s a major reason we were able to grow the site to 645K organic sessions per month.
This guide will show you how to use SEO analytics to make data-driven decisions. Just like we do at Backlinko.
I’ll cover key metrics and the tools the pros use. Plus, I’ll show you how to create reports that prove the value of your SEO efforts to clients and stakeholders.
Every successful SEO analytics strategy connects two pieces:
The key? Set SMART goals from day one.
When your goals are specific and measurable, you’ll know exactly which metrics actually matter.
Now here’s what makes this tricky.
Different stakeholders care about different metrics.
You won’t catch a C-suite executive losing sleep over bounce rates. But an SEO strategist needs to dig into those details to understand which content to update or optimize.
That’s why it’s important to match your metrics to the needs of each role.
Here’s a breakdown of the metrics that different stakeholders care about:
The C-suite wants to know how SEO is contributing to the business’s goals.
Their priorities include:
For them, key metrics include things like revenue from organic search, customer acquisition cost (CAC), and market share growth. And they’re particularly concerned with the ROI of your SEO efforts.
Marketing directors sit between high-level strategy and day-to-day execution.
They care about metrics that show how SEO integrates with broader marketing efforts. And how it’s guiding people through the sales funnel.
They ask questions like:
Metrics that matter to them include organic traffic growth, content performance, conversions, and top traffic sources.
SEOs and content teams need granular metrics to execute, analyze, and improve the overall strategy.
They’re focused on questions like:
Metrics they track include page-level traffic, user engagement, crawl errors, and backlinks.
Note: No matter your audience, these metrics should always reflect your SEO and business goals.
The importance of each SEO metric will depend on who you’re reporting them to. But here’s a rundown of the most important ones to track as part of your broader strategy:
Increasing organic traffic is arguably the most common goal of any SEO strategy, so it’s one of the most important metrics to track.
It shows how many people find your site through search engines (without clicking paid ads).
Tracking organic search traffic shows you the top-performing pages on your site.
It also helps you understand what content aligns with what your visitors want. This way, you can create more of what they love.
Tools like Google Analytics can show you which landing pages bring in the most traffic.
And it’ll show you how long visitors stay on each page (more on these tools in the next section).
Pages with high engagement likely meet search intent. In other words: you’re giving users what they want.
This means visitors are more likely to convert or return.
Note: You’ll also want to track metrics like click-through rate (CTR). So you can understand where you’re getting organic impressions but not clicks.
Your keyword rankings show how well your SEO efforts are working. Because the better you optimize your content, the higher it is able to rank (provided it’s relevant and high-quality, of course).
Some important keyword metrics to track include:
Tracking keyword rankings helps you discover potential areas that you can improve or double down on to get more visitors.
Tools like Semrush’s Position Tracking let you monitor your rankings for various search queries.
This gives you a comprehensive view of your SEO health. Including ranking distributions, average positions, and more.
Your business goals define what counts as a conversion for your organization. This could be sales, email newsletter signups, or anything else that drives value for your business.
Tracking conversion metrics helps you connect search visibility with its impact on your business. This is the kind of insight that makes stakeholders happy.
For marketers and SEOs, it helps them figure out what to tweak in their campaigns to improve results.
In other words: conversion metrics are important no matter who you’re reporting to.
You can use a tool like Google Analytics to track your conversions.
User experience has always been important. But in recent years, Google has seemingly put more of a focus on it through various algorithm updates.
How good an experience your users have depends on a lot of different factors.
Important UX metrics to watch include:
Tracking these metrics helps you identify where users are getting frustrated. You can then fix those issues before they hurt your rankings.
What’s more, a better user experience also keeps visitors around longer. And they are far more likely to convert.
You can use free tools like PageSpeed Insights to check your site’s Core Web Vitals, and to uncover UX issues like:
This shows you what’s leading to a poor user experience and what´s potentially dragging down your rankings.
Further reading: 10 Important SEO Metrics to Track
You don’t need many SEO analytics tools to track the most important metrics.
With just a few essential tools, you’ll be able to track all of the metrics above—and more.
Here’s a breakdown of the top tools for tracking your SEO analytics:
Google Search Console is your direct connection to how Google sees your website.
You can also use it to identify technical issues that might prevent your pages from ranking highly (or at all).
With GSC, you can:
One of GSC’s most valuable features is the Performance Report.
This shows how often your site appears in search results, your average position, and click-through rates.
In short, it gives you an overview of your site’s performance in Google search.
Plus, GSC shows you which of your pages are indexed, and which aren’t.
If a page isn’t indexed, it has zero chance of ranking. Meaning the rest of your SEO metrics for that page won’t matter unless you fix that issue.
So, we recommend using GSC for some of the most fundamental aspects of your SEO analytics.
Further reading: Google Search Console: The Definitive Guide
Google Analytics shows you what users do while they’re on your site. From the moment they land to the second they leave.
You’ll see:
Feeling overwhelmed by all the data?
Start with the big picture and focus on overall trends.
Here’s what you can do:
Go to “Reports” > “Acquisition” > “Traffic Acquisition.”
Here, you’ll see how many individual users visited your site and how many sessions they started.
You can also track where the traffic came from. Whether it’s organic search, direct, social, or referral traffic.
Look for trends by comparing data over different time periods.
For example, compare the past 30 days with the previous 30.
This will help you see any sudden traffic spikes or drops.
Beyond traffic numbers, Google Analytics also tracks engagement metrics like session duration and scroll depth.
These metrics give you an idea of how users interact with your content.
Go to “Reports” > “Engagement” > “Overview” for overall engagement.
Or drill down into specific pages by navigating to “Pages and screens.”
This will show you metrics like views and average engagement time for each page.
Use these insights to identify which pages you may need to optimize to improve their performance.
Want to get really fancy? Try using the Funnel Exploration feature.
Go to “Explore” > “Funnel exploration.”
Here, you can track customer journeys through specific steps on your site.
You can see which pages they visited and the actions they took before converting.
That’s valuable user behavior data that can help you optimize the user experience on your site. And drive more conversions in the process.
Further reading: Google Analytics 4: Ultimate Guide & Tutorial
Semrush has a wider range of SEO-specific tools compared to GSC and GA, especially in areas like:
Semrush’s Project Dashboard is your control center. It’s where you get a high-level view of your site’s performance, including:
Domain analytics to track organic traffic trends:
Top ranking keywords:
And site health:
Plus, if you’re looking to make analysis quicker, you’ll love Semrush Copilot.
It helps you automatically identify trends or patterns such as:
Traffic dips:
Competitor ranking changes:
Technical issues:
Visibility drops:
With this tool, analyzing your data becomes fast and easy.
Even if you’re not an SEO expert, Copilot speeds up the process and gives you actionable insights in a fraction of the time.
You can find Copilot in the top navigation bar of your project dashboard.
Note: Use this link to access a 14-day trial on a Semrush Pro subscription.
While Semrush, Google Search Console, and Google Analytics are an essential trio for SEO analytics tracking, here are a few more tools worth exploring:
A great report shows how your SEO campaigns are impacting areas such as:
Why do these reports matter?
They give you (and your clients/stakeholders) a clear picture of what to do next by showing:
In short: SEO reports help you turn numbers into actionable steps.
Note: Want to know what reports to create? Check out our free monthly SEO report template for ideas.
How you share SEO data can make a big difference in how people understand it AND what they do with it.
Follow these tips to create actionable reports:
Raw numbers tell only part of the story.
Without understanding the context, it’s easy to misread changes or miss important trends.
So, how do you add that context?
Start by comparing your data over different time periods, like month-over-month or year-over-year.
This helps you see if the changes are part of a seasonal pattern or a long-term trend.
For example, a 25% traffic drop might seem alarming. But if you find that there was a similar dip last year due to seasonal slowdowns, it’s less concerning.
Also, consider external factors like holidays or Google updates, as these can impact traffic and rankings.
Was that sudden spike due to a holiday sale? Or was there a Google update?
Understanding the context helps you focus on what truly needs attention. This makes it easier to prioritize adjustments and avoid (over)reacting to temporary spikes or dips.
According to a study by Thomas Graeber, a professor at Harvard Business School, people remember information for longer when it’s wrapped in a story, compared with statistics alone.
So when you’re putting together SEO reports, tell the story behind the numbers.
If there’s a spike in traffic, explain why:
Also tailor your stories to each stakeholder:
Make your reports easy to understand with visualizations.
For example, line charts are perfect for showing trends. Like traffic growth or keyword ranking improvements.
While bar charts help you compare metrics.
Such as mobile vs. desktop traffic and organic vs. paid channels. Or keyword position distribution in the search results.
And you can use donut or pie charts to visualize simple data distributions.
Such as traffic sources, device breakdown, or keywords by country.
Reports should spark action. Based on your findings, outline clear actionable steps for moving forward.
Posts ranking outside the top 10 for important keywords?
Suggest content updates or a link-building campaign.
Technical issues like slow page load times or poor mobile usability?
Outline a plan for improving user experience.
Here are some tips for creating actionable steps:
Turning reports into PDFs makes it easier for stakeholders to access and review SEO analytics data.
Use tools like Looker Studio or Semrush to integrate data from various analytics platforms. This allows you to quickly compare and consolidate data from different sources.
Expert tip: When making reports, highlight website-level insights AND page-specific metrics to give a full picture of what’s really happening.
For your SEO strategy to work, you need to regularly check your performance. Then, you need to adjust your strategy based on what the data tells you.
Do that by following these steps:
With SEO analytics, you never have to guess what’s working.
You’ve got data to back every move you make.
Plus, SEO analytics help you stay ahead of market shifts and algorithm changes. When you identify these early, you’ll be able to adapt quickly.
But analyzing data is just the start.
The real game-changer is knowing how to measure and act on those insights.
Want to learn how? Check out our complete guide on measuring SEO performance for more actionable steps to boost your SEO efforts.
The post SEO Analytics: The “I Can’t Believe It’s This Easy” Guide appeared first on Backlinko.
2024-11-29 22:10:59
Every day, over 7.5 million blog posts get published.
But how many of them actually get read?
With the average attention span of adults hovering at just over 8 seconds, it’s no surprise that many people don’t make it to the end of an article.
But when you write an article, you’re looking to accomplish more than just catching attention.
You want to create content that leads to real results.
When done right, your articles can become powerful tools to drive traffic, build trust, and generate revenue.
In July 2024, we wrote an article about how to create a website. It has since received 27,193 pageviews.
We’ve seen firsthand how the right approach to content can lead to higher engagement, more shares, and increased visibility.
In this blog, we’ll show you exactly how to write an article that does just that—in seven steps.
One of the first hurdles in writing an article is deciding on a topic.
You might find yourself asking, “What should I write about?”
Start by thinking about the questions your audience is asking and the problems they’re trying to solve.
For instance, if you run a gardening business, these are some ideas that might be of interest to your clients:
By addressing these needs, you can create content that’s genuinely helpful.
Once you have a few ideas, ensure your topic has real demand by doing a bit of research.
You can use a tool like Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to discover what people are actively searching for.
Open the tool, type your seed keyword, and hit “Search.”
Semrush will quickly generate a list of related topics.
There, you can find content ideas for your business.
Select keywords that will help your website rank in search engines.
Here’s how:
Now, you’ll have a refined list of keywords that are relevant to your business.
These are the ideal topics to incorporate into your SEO strategy.
Longer phrases get 1.76 times more clicks in search results compared to shorter keywords.
So, including long-tail keywords in your articles could be beneficial.
An outline is not just a trivial step—it’s essential for a successful article.
It serves as a guide to keep you on track, organized, and ensures you cover all important points.
Without one, you may lose focus, repeat ideas, or overlook key details. Taking the time to plan ahead leads to a clearer and more effective article.
To build a comprehensive outline, start by identifying relevant subtopics.
For example, let’s say you’re writing an in-depth article about content marketing.
Review the search engine results pages (SERPs) for your main keyword. This will help you spot common questions and topics to guide your article structure.
The following keywords have substantial search volumes. They’re excellent H2 and H3 subtopics for your article:
In your outline, organize all points in a logical sequence.
This builds a cohesive foundation for the broader point you’re aiming to make in your article. And it creates a smooth transition between paragraphs for your readers.
This is exactly what we did when structuring our content marketing guide.
We’ve also shared proven blog post templates we use to structure our articles.
Feel free to use these templates and customize them for your needs.
Your headline is one of the most important factors in whether your article gets read.
Even if you have the best content, a weak headline means no one will click.
So, make it count—it can make or break the success of your piece.
Here’s how to create a compelling headline without being clickbait:
First, add numbers.
Instead of a generic title like “Best SEO Techniques,” try using a numbered title. For example, “19 NEW SEO Techniques [2024 Update].”
It’s more informative and attention-grabbing in search results.
Next, include your target keyword in the headline.
This helps Google understand what your article is about.
You can also make your headlines more appealing and relatable by using power words.
These are words that evoke strong emotions.
These emotions can be anything: happiness, excitement, curiosity, or even a little fear.
The point is, they grab readers’ attention and make them interested in what you’re saying.
Backlinko’s analysis found that emotional title tags can help improve organic CTR.
Here’s an example of a headline with a power word:
There’s one more way to create a headline that stands out from competitors—pick a unique angle.
You can do it by:
For instance, this Backlinko headline sparks curiosity:
Why?
Because it combines a promising outcome with a specific method.
So, readers naturally want to learn more.
Anyone who knows how to write an article understands the importance of a compelling introduction.
It sets the tone for your entire piece.
Four to nine sentences are enough to grab the readers’ attention and set the stage for what’s to come.
If you’re not sure where to start, try the following framework:
Don’t waste readers’ time with a slow build-up. Hook them right away with the MIP.
Think of it as an inverted pyramid—the answer to the reader’s search query should be right at the top.
Once you’ve captured their attention, back up your words with results.
Use your own data or surprising statistics to prove the importance of your topic. A picture (like a chart or screenshot) can effectively help illustrate your point.
Wrap up your intro by telling readers what they’ll learn in the rest of the piece.
For example, Brian Dean wrote the following introduction:
Let’s break down why it’s such an attention-grabber:
Another way to craft clear and concise introductions is with the BLUF method.
It stands for “bottom line up front.”
This approach requires you to share the key information first.
Here’s how to use BLUF to grab your readers’ attention right away:
Now that you have an outline, expand each section with valuable, well-researched content.
This begs the question—how long should your article be?
Knowing how to write an article that ranks well means understanding the importance of content length.
In most cases, long-form content outperforms short-form content in organic search results.
The average word count of a Google top 10 result is 1,447 words.
Keep this in mind if you want your content to rank in organic search results.
The following writing tips will help you keep readers engaged from start to finish.
After you write your first draft, look it over closely and improve your content.
Edit for typos, clarity, and sentence structure. Rearrange paragraphs for better flow.
The key to effective editing is taking a break from your work for some time before you start. This allows you to clear your head and come back to your article with fresh eyes.
Once you’re ready to dive back in, use the following techniques to edit your article:
Throughout the editing process, keep the core idea of your article at the forefront. This will help you ensure every paragraph contributes to the overall goal.
Keep revising, incorporating feedback, and polishing your work. Do this until you’re confident it’s the best it can be.
Once you know how to write an article that engages readers, it’s time to guide them to the next step.
Invite them to take further action on your website using a call to action (CTA).
You likely have several options. Consider using a CTA to:
For example, you could encourage readers to check out a related article, like this:
You can also ask them to leave a comment:
Or, you can ask them to download a free template or a checklist:
If you want more people to discover and read your article, optimize it to rank well in search.
We’ve already discussed how to find suitable keywords earlier in this article.
Now, use these on-page SEO strategies to put your target keyword to work:
Short on time? AI tools can help you create and optimize content faster.
For instance, Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant evaluates your writing. Then gives suggestions to improve the performance of your content.
Knowing how to write an article that resonates with readers is just the beginning.
The real impact comes from optimizing it for maximum reach.
To expand your article’s visibility, take it a step further with SEO optimization.
You’ve got the foundation from this guide, but there’s always more to learn.
For a deeper look, check out our definitive guide to on-page SEO. It walks you through a more advanced optimization process.
The post How to Write an Article People Want to Read (in 7 Steps) appeared first on Backlinko.
2024-11-18 21:45:36
Making great content isn’t easy, but a solid content brief can make all the difference.
A good brief helps everyone—writers, editors, and strategists—stay on the same page.
This ensures every post is useful, clear, and built to perform.
At Backlinko, we’ve seen how strong content briefs drive results.
They’ve helped us attract over 635,000 organic visitors every month.
In this guide, you’ll learn what to include in a content brief, see three examples, and get step-by-step instructions to create your own.
A content brief is a blueprint for high-quality, engaging, and SEO-friendly content.
It includes elements to help writers create content that connects with the audience.
Content briefs help teams work together by reducing revisions and speeding up the writing process.
Strategists set the goals. Writers follow the plan. Editors make sure the content meets the brief’s requirements.
When everyone is aligned, things run smoothly, and communication improves.
The result? High-performing content.
Here’s what team collaboration looks like at Backlinko:
Outside of keywords, it’s debatable what you should include in your brief. But after publishing hundreds of articles, we’ve found these elements work best:
Primary keyword: The main term or phrase your content must focus on.
Secondary keyword: Related words or phrases that support the primary keyword. They aren’t popular enough to deserve their own page but still add value.
Estimated word count: Suggested length for the content. It gives writers a clear idea of how detailed the content should be.
Competing URLs: Links to top-ranking posts for the primary keyword. Includes the strategist’s notes on what helps these posts rank well.
Notes about the search engine results page (SERP): Observations about the search results for the primary keyword. This includes notes on the types of content that are ranking, such as blog posts or landing pages.
Internal link suggestions: Links to other relevant pages on your website. Writers can include these to distribute page authority and improve user experience.
Reader profile: Describes the ideal reader. Includes details about their experience, knowledge level, challenges, and content preferences. This helps tailor content to the reader’s needs and interests.
Notes for writer: Provides specific guidance to help them meet the objectives
After you master the above, you can improve your content briefs with these additions:
Creating an effective content brief requires balancing structure with flexibility. These steps will help you build briefs that set your content up for success from day one.
The first step is to research keywords that match your product, service, or business.
Focus on terms that fit your goals.
If a keyword is too competitive, start with lower-competition ones that are easier to rank for.
Use a tool like Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to find the most promising keywords.
This tool gives you access to over 25.5 billion keywords—updated in real time.
Launch the tool and enter a seed keyword related to your business. (E.g., “marketing tools” for marketing software).
Then, select your country from the dropdown menu.
Next, click “Search.”
Pro tip: Enter your website URL to see your “Personalized Keyword Difficulty” (PKD%). This shows how challenging it would be for your site to rank for each keyword.
You’ll see a list of related terms along with metrics like search intent, volume, and keyword difficulty (KD%).
Use filters to find the best keywords for your business.
For example, the “KD%” filter lets you find “Easy” or “Very Easy” keywords.
You can also use the “Volume” filter to identify highly searched keywords.
Use a combination of filters to find the most promising and relevant keywords.
For example, set the volume filter to “101 – 1,000” and the KD% to “Easy.” This can help you find keywords that are both easy to rank for and have decent search traffic potential.
Add secondary keywords to help your blog post rank for more than just the primary keyword.
But how do you find them?
A keyword research tool can be useful for discovering these terms.
But there are also free, easy ways to get them directly from search engines.
For example, search “marketing tools” on Google. The People Also Ask (PAA) section shows related questions people search for.
These questions can give you ideas for topics and other keywords to include in your content.
You can also use Google Keyword Planner to find additional related terms.
Enter your primary keyword to see suggestions, search volume, and competition level.
Start with an SEO competitor analysis and review the top-ranking URLs for your primary keyword.
This process offers valuable insights into why those pages perform well. It also reveals opportunities to create even better content.
Begin by examining the content’s length, structure, and depth.
Check the articles thoroughly. Do they cover the topic, use clear headings, and provide actionable information?
This helps you understand what content structure Google may reward.
Next, look for any gaps in their content.
Are they leaving important questions unanswered, or is the information incomplete?
Identifying these gaps helps you create valuable content that addresses what competitors missed.
Also, pay attention to the use of visuals like images, infographics, or videos. Visuals break up text, increase engagement, and improve user interaction.
For instance, a comparison table can show key features and differences between options.
Add all these observations, along with the top competing URLs, to your SEO content brief.
This will give writers a clear context on what the competition is doing. And how to outperform them.
Every content brief should include an estimated word count.
This helps writers understand how detailed the content should be and keeps them on track. It’s also important for budgeting—especially if you’re paying per word.
So, how do you calculate the estimated word count?
Analyze top-ranking articles for your primary keyword.
Do longer posts rank better, or are concise ones performing well?
Use tools like WordCounter, Google Docs, Grammarly, or the Hemingway App to check word count.
These insights will help you set a realistic goal that aligns with what search engines reward.
Be cautious when using SEO optimization tools to check word counts. They tend to count all text on the page—including navigation menus, comments, footers, and sidebar content. This can inflate the word count by hundreds or even thousands of words.
Including a reader profile in your content brief gives writers a clear understanding of who they’re writing for.
Without it, it can be harder to connect with the audience, and the content might not hit the mark.
For example, if your audience is made up of beginners, but the content is filled with industry jargon, the message won’t land.
A good reader profile includes key details like age, challenges, and content preferences.
These insights ensure your content resonates with the right audience.
Sometimes you’ll need to speak to multiple reader personas. For example, a post about local SEO tools targets SEO consultants and local business owners. These audiences have VERY different knowledge levels, challenges, and content preferences.
To make your content stand out, include original research.
This could be data from your own surveys or case studies that highlight customer success.
These unique insights give readers something they can’t find anywhere else.
Surveys: Gather feedback from your target audience through surveys or polls.
Case studies: Use real examples to show how your product or service solves problems.
Industry reports: Analyze trends or data in your industry.
Your in-house team members are some of your best resources. They have deep knowledge of your product or service that outside sources can’t match.
Interview them to get valuable insights that will make your content stand out.
However, in-house experts are often busy, so set up a process to interview them.
Start by scheduling time in advance to fit into their busy schedules.
Prepare a list of questions beforehand to keep the interview focused and efficient.
You could also create a dedicated Slack channel so team members can respond when they have time.
Another option is asking experts to record a Loom video. This provides the information without needing to coordinate a call.
Make sure to include these expert insights in your content brief. This helps writers understand how to use the information in the final piece.
A clear outline helps writers understand the scope and expectations. But there’s more than one way to approach structure in your brief.
The SEO-Led Approach
Sometimes, our SEO team provides detailed guidance. For example:
This approach works well when:
The Writer-Led Approach
Other times, we provide high-level topic areas and let writers develop their own structure. Like this:
Which approach should you choose? Consider your:
The key is maintaining flexibility.
We expect and encourage evolution from brief to outline to final draft.
Think of your suggested structure as a starting point for discussion rather than a rigid template.
Best practices are helpful, but seeing real briefs in action is even better. Here are three distinct approaches that consistently deliver results at scale.
We’ve refined our content brief through collaboration with strategists, writers, and editors.
The result?
A template that helps us maintain consistent quality across hundreds of published articles.
Our content brief is more than a guide—it’s a plan to create content that gets noticed and brings real value.
Relato is a project management platform designed for content marketing teams.
Just like Backlinko, Relato holds its blog content to the highest standards.
That’s why their B2B Content Brief Template is such a standout.
This template is made specifically for B2B SaaS marketers. It provides a clear framework to help content marketing teams create content that speaks to B2B buyers and decision-makers.
Beam is a B2B content marketing agency that values transparency and collaboration.
They’ve openly shared their content brief template for anyone to use.
Once your brief is ready, hand it over to your writers.
Encourage them to add unique insights, data, and examples to make the content even more valuable and interesting.
For more tips, check out our guide on how to write a blog post.
It’s full of actionable steps your writers can follow to create great blog posts that rank well and motivate readers to take action.
The post How to Create a Content Brief: <br>A Step-by-Step Guide (+ Templates) appeared first on Backlinko.
