It is almost impossible to talk about digital marketing and/or content marketing without mentioning the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
So in this article I will cover this topic bringing data and insights from the State of Marketing Report 2023. Published by HubSpot, Litmus, Rock Content, and Wistia, the report aims to help marketers prioritize their strategies and outperform their goals.
One of the main study findings is that 88% of marketers who already do SEO work plan to increase or maintain their investment this year.
We can say that SEO is what helps people find what they are really looking for, while helping brands get their solution exposed to the right audience at the right place. In the end, SEO is responsible for helping people solve their problems while playing an important role in businesses’ digital marketing and sales results.
SEO can not be considered a single tactic or action. It is complex and requires planning and time, especially when we talk about organic results.
So, if you’re in the learning stage about this topic, keep in mind that the results from ranking on search engines will probably require months or even years of effort.
Before getting into the data and insights that the report brings to us, let’s take a refresher on some important points when it comes to the subject.
The 5 pillars of SEO
Keyword Research
If you want to be on top of search engine results, you should know what your potential audience is looking for and what your competitors are delivering.
Use keyword research tools to make an analysis of these intentions. You could gain a better understanding about search volume, competition, and user intent for example. After that, find the best way to incorporate these keywords strategically into your website’s content.
If you want to find an easier way to do it and get suggestions on how to optimize for the content keywords you are targeting, you should try this AI Content Wizard.
High-Quality Content
Create high-quality, rich content that answers the questions that your audience is searching for. Provide valuable and clear information in a well-structured and easy to read content piece that naturally presents the keywords you are targeting. Don’t forget to make updates to the content, so the search engines know that your content can be a good option for the audience.
On-Page Optimization
Make sure that the elements on your pages are clear not only to the audience who will read it, but also to the search engines when ranking. Title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, URLs, and image alt tags play an important role in rankings, just like page load speed and mobile-friendliness.
Link Building
Get traffic from different sources by creating a strategy that backlinks your pages into other channels and websites. You can do it with guest blogging, influencer partnerships, and content collaborations with authoritative websites in your industry. This helps search engines assess your website’s credibility and authority.
Technical SEO
Keep your technical SEO aspects up to date. Optimizing URLs, fixing broken links, using the right keywords and tags, and making sure your crawlability and indexability are working properly will provide you with a good reputation on search engines.
With all that fresh up in our minds, let’s dig into the recent trends.
What’s trending?
According to the State of Marketing Report 2023, 52% of professionals don’t expect to have a higher marketing budget this year. It is easily understandable, when we look at the current market scenarios, right?
The report mentions that in-person events, print and physical ads are expected to face some cuts this year. Meanwhile, SEO content might be useful to marketers with a leaner budget plan, since it is able to deliver good results.
SEO is ranked 4th on a list that considers marketing trends with the highest ROI. 6% of the respondents elected this as the source with the best return on investment. At the same time, 10% of them stated that Short-form video content (TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts, etc.) have the best ROI, and here we have another good opportunity for SEO strategies.
Explore new SEO possibilities
The report points out these channels and brings some insights, but does not dive deeper into the possibilities of ranking videos. Short-form videos are a trend, but they can deliver even better results when combined with SEO strategies.
Video platforms such as YouTube and TikTok have become a huge source of information and also a search engine. According to Google, nearly 40% of Gen Z prefer to search on TikTok and Instagram over Google Search and Maps. People use these platforms to find answers to their questions, and the algorithms are getting specialized to deliver the content a user is looking for.
With that being said, why not take advantage of two result generating channels to perform even better? If you want to learn more about these tactics, I recommend these two articles:
- What is YouTube SEO and 16 Tips To Rank Higher
- TikTok SEO in 5 Steps: How To Make Sure Your Videos Show Up in Search
As mentioned in the State of Marketing Report, the majority of marketers who already use SEO as a digital marketing tactic intend to maintain or increase their investments in this channel this year. This means that the competition for the highest position on search engines will get tougher, so you better work this out!
SEO has one of the best ROI since it requires low investments when compared to paid ads or events, but don’t forget that it takes time to take off. Get a plan together and start acting in advance to increase the chances of getting your brand on the first pages.
Standing out from the crowd
Differentiating your content is key to stand out among the competition. With lower investments into paid initiatives, the organic tactics must pay off. So, here you go: two suggestions to set your content apart from the plethora that user will find on the internet:
Be an expert writer
If you want to be on top of searches, your content should be the best available online. Authority is crucial when it comes to SEO, so you really need to build it by delivering high-quality content.
If your team does not have expert writers or if you don’t have the time or workforce required to drive expert articles at scale, you can outsource the creation with industry experts. Meet WriterAccess! Find expert writers from various industries to leverage your content creation.
Unlock 14-day trial and place an order!
Create engaging experiences
Long ebooks can be quite boring and distract readers from consuming the content. The same happens with infographics, since static images can make it harder to digest and are not very SEO friendly.
Interactive experiences can be optimized to rank on search engines and engage with users while collecting first-party data. This leads to increased conversions, thus driving better results when compared to static experiences.
Want to see how to apply this to your brand? Get a free demo!
We can see that SEO is key to businesses that are looking to conquer their spot in the digital environment. As mentioned above, it delivers great ROI and good results for the low financial investments needed. It requires research, planning and it takes time, but the results are worth it.
If you want to find more expert insights from world leading companies, download the State of Marketing Report 2023 and get the latest trends in content marketing!
