How to Create an SEO Content Strategy in 2023: Steps, Templates, and Examples From an SEO Content Strategist

Steal the exact SEO content strategy that’s helped my clients jump to page 1 of Google, increase traffic by 13,536%, and significantly increase their revenue.

Are you ready to get clients knocking on your virtual doorstep? If you want to create an SEO content strategy that generates leads, traffic, and revenue – you’re in the right place.

When done right, search-engine-optimized content has the power to…

• Attract your ideal clients by targeting niche-focused keywords
• Save you time by helping leads find you organically
• Increase your authority through quality, thought-leadership content

But in order to experience all these incredible benefits, you need an expert SEO content strategy with a strategic keyword and content plan to reach your goals. That’s exactly what I’m going to show you how to do in this article.

I’m Allegra – an SEO content strategist, copywriter, and consultant. I create growth-focused SEO strategies and long-form content that drives brand, authority, and revenue growth.

The strategies I’m about to share have helped my clients rank on the #1 spot in search, increase traffic by 13,536%, and become household names in their industries.

SEO is a powerful tool to add to your content marketing toolbox – and I can’t wait to help you do so! Let’s dive in.

Want to skip the how-to and get an expert SEO content strategy created for you? Apply for an SEO Content Strategy to get an expert strategy in 5 business days.

What Is an SEO Content Strategy?

Search engine optimization (or SEO) refers to how you optimize your content to rank organically for keywords and phrases in search engines like Google. Your goal is for your ideal audience to find your content in search when they’re looking for a solution like yours.

Incorporating SEO into your content makes your efforts considerably more effective. SEO is how you get your content in front of relevant audiences and use your blog to generate leads.

But creating an SEO content strategy is more than just identifying a few keywords or phrases.

To make the most impact, you need to consider what your ideal audience is looking for and how to target keywords that drive the most growth in the unique sectors of your brand.

An SEO content strategy is critical because it’s a roadmap for where you want your content to take you – and how you’re going to utilize SEO to get there.

Here are three main areas to include in your SEO content strategy:

• Business Goals: Consider the most important goals to your business in the next 1-5 years. Do you want your SEO content to drive leads in your business? Or do you simply want to make sure you have a healthy online presence?
  
  Defining your specific goals will inform your strategy and content frequency. A brand that wants to become the most well-known content marketing platform will need a more robust SEO strategy than one that simply wants to create a couple of articles each month.
  
  
• Competitor Analysis: Learning about your competitors helps you 1) see what’s working/performing well in your industry and 2) discover how to differentiate and set yourself apart from others.
  
  Succeeding in SEO relies on creating high-quality content that delivers new and engaging information. It’s important not to simply regurgitate what’s already out there – so studying your competitors helps you identify information gaps to fill.
  
  
• Keyword Strategy: Planning your SEO is not just about targeting any SEO keywords. You want to identify the phrases that’ll drive business growth in the key areas of YOUR unique, specific business.
  
  Consider the different products, services, and packages you offer. Identify the SEO keyword strategy and content plan to drive growth in each of these areas. (Don’t worry, the next section is going to show you exactly how to do this!).
  

Considering these three areas is the difference between creating a simple keyword plan and a robust, growth-focused SEO content strategy that drives big revenue growth. Take the time to define the areas that will grow your business and stand out to your ideal client.

How to Create an SEO Strategy

Are you wondering where to get started? Whether you’re developing a keyword strategy for your own business or for your clients – there are three steps to take first.

Step One: Define Your Content Pillars

A content pillar is a long-form piece of content that covers a topic category relevant to the business. 

The content clusters are the blogs related to the topic category and link back to the content pillar page.

The content pillar usually captures the most relevant and most competitive keyword in the content category. The goal is to create content that links back to the content pillar to increase your organic ranking for the most relevant, competitive keyword.

A general recommendation is to define your content pillars based on the different products, services, and offers in your business. Let’s take one of my clients, for example.

This client runs a multiple seven-figure training and education platform that teaches other entrepreneurs how to grow their revenue with sales skills. Their signature offer is an 8-week course, but they also have different areas of their business.

They sell a daily planner.

They have a low-ticket course focused on productivity.

They even recently came out with a book.

These different areas of their business are rooted in one larger mission. But each facet has a distinct end goal and a slightly different audience. 

To have the most impact on their overall brand, we want to target keywords and create content pillars that drive growth in each category.

For example, we would create a content pillar that targets the term “daily planner” (a highly competitive but extremely relevant keyword). Then, we’d create content clusters related to daily planning that link back to the content pillar.

This strategy has a few benefits…

1. You drive traffic to the site with the content cluster articles in the short-term.
2. Your efforts are growing your ranking for the primary keyword in the long-term.
   

Another benefit of defining your SEO content pillars and clusters is that it gives your content creation direction each month. You have a roadmap of what topics to write about instead of scrambling to create content ideas (sound familiar?).

Identify Keyword Opportunities

Now that you have a general idea of your content categories, let’s identify the keywords to target in those categories to drive the most growth. This is when it’s beneficial to use a keyword planning tool.

As an SEO content strategist, I use Ahrefs for keyword planning. But Ahrefs is more expensive than other tools – so when you’re first starting out, you can use a free tool like MozBar.

Here are two main areas to analyze when finding keywords to target:

• Volume. How many searches does this keyword get per month? This shows you the potential amount of traffic the keyword could drive. You want to pick the most relevant keywords with the most traffic potential.
  
  Volume is key because it shows whether a keyword is actually going to drive traffic. I’ve seen people get really excited because they rank on the first page for their keyword – only to find out that specific keyword is actually driving traffic.
  
  
• Keyword Difficulty. Keyword difficulty shows how competitive or hard it’ll be to rank for a specific keyword. Discover how difficult your keyword is to set realistic expectations for yourself or your clients.
  
  Popular keywords might have a higher keyword difficulty, meaning it would be harder to rank for that keyword. But I still always recommend targeting the most relevant keywords to your niche and audience – even if they are competitive.
  

When looking for potential keywords, be sure to consider your ideal client. Are these the terms your audience would be searching for and interested in?

I recommend working toward the most relevant keywords because those are the terms that would drive the most growth. Ranking high for non-relevant terms is only beneficial if it’s helping you bring in ideal clients. 

It may take longer to rank for competitive terms, but your end goal is to increase your qualified leads. You just need to be strategic about how you create content that outranks the results for competitive terms.

And high search volume doesn’t always mean high competition. Sometimes, you’re able to find what I like to call “keyword gold mines.” These are relevant terms that have a high search volume and low competition.

Narrow Down to 6-12 Months’ Worth of Content

At this point in your keyword research, you probably have a list of hundreds of potential keywords to target within your niche. Now, it’s time to narrow down your list.

You’ll save time and have a roadmap when you organize these keywords by content category and decide what long-form content articles to create.

Here is how I like to organize my SEO content plans:

Content Category	Content Category	Content Category
Content Pillar #1 (Topic + Keyword)	Content Pillar #1 (Topic + Keyword)	Content Pillar #1 (Topic + Keyword)
Content Cluster #1 (Topic + Keyword)	Content Cluster #1 (Topic + Keyword)	Content Cluster #1 (Topic + Keyword)
Content Cluster #2 (Topic + Keyword)	Content Cluster #2 (Topic + Keyword)	Content Cluster #2 (Topic + Keyword)
Content Cluster #3 (Topic + Keyword)	Content Cluster #3 (Topic + Keyword)	Content Cluster #3 (Topic + Keyword)

You may want to create more than one content category in each category if you have multiple competitive keywords to target. Once you identify a primary keyword for each piece of content, you’re going to research related keywords to target in that article.

This list may seem simple, but it’s actually enough content to last you for 6 months if you’re posting two long-form articles each month.

Creating a strategic SEO content strategy is critical, but it’s only the first step. To have success on search engines, you need to create quality content that ranks for your target keywords. So, let’s talk about how to write content that performs with SEO.

How to Write Long-Form SEO Content (4 Steps)

Like any other channel, search engines are a competitive place. But you still have what it takes to compete! Today, the content that ranks on the first page of Google is long-form, high-quality SEO content.

The content that ranks on page 1 of search engines is long-form content with at least 2,500 to 3,000 words.

But long-form content is not simply about writing more words on the page. Search engines favor high-quality content that solves the problem for your audience and fills information gaps.

You want to have a solid research and outline process in place so that you know exactly what to write about. Plus you won’t be staring at a blank page.

Step One: Analyze Front Page Results for Target Keyword

If you want your content to rank number 1 on search, you’ll need to analyze what is already ranking on page 1. Your goal is to figure out what these pieces are doing well and what information you can add to set your content apart.

Analyze the following in the first five results of search:

• Word Count. Jot down how long the top resulting pieces are. Writing a longer piece won’t guarantee you’ll outrank the results. But if you fill your piece with more high-quality information and, therefore, more words, it gives you an edge.
  
  
• Type of Content. Study the types of content that rank in the first five results. Are they guidebooks, lists, or something else? You can do something other than what’s already ranking. If you think there’s a piece of content that would be more relevant, take the initiative to create that piece of content.
  
  
• Domain Rank/Authority (DR): This is the overall authority the website has. The higher this number is, the more competitive it is to outrank this piece of content.

Analyzing front-page results is essential because it shows you how to stand out. Write down what each piece does well and what they’re missing. Your goal is to figure out how to make an even more robust, helpful resource.

Step Two: Writing Your Long-Form Content

Now it’s time to get started writing your long-form content. Blog writing is a different skill set from SEO content strategy. But I wanted to include the basics, so you know what’s essential when writing long-form content. 

An SEO content strategy is only as effective as the content you write for it. And content is only as effective as the SEO strategy you’re following. So, it’s important to consider both areas.

Here’s how to get started writing your long-form content:

• Outline. As you research other articles, jot down what you could include in your piece to differentiate. Then, create a more robust outline of how you’ll structure your piece and include it in each section.
  
  You can use keyword phrases in each section, which helps guide your piece and decide what to write about. Outlining is one of the most critical phases because it prevents you from staring at a blank page, wondering what to write about.
  
  
• Draft. As an SEO copywriter, my number one writing tip is to write an ugly first draft. The first thing you want to do is get all of your ideas down on the page. You can come back and edit, reform, and revise it all later.
  
  Cut out your distractions, and set a timer for how long you’re going to write. The key is to get into a writing flow state where you’re letting words flow onto the page. You can leave gaps and add more sources and information later on.
  
  
• Edit. Step away from the piece after you write your draft. It’s good to get some space from what you wrote so you can come back with an objective perspective.
  
  The final stage is when you edit the piece to make sure it reads smoothly, has plentiful high-quality sources, and includes a compelling call to action.

The SEO you use in your article aims to get people on the page. But once they’re on the page, you have an opportunity to continue that relationship with them.

So, your goal should be to compel that reader to take action with your business. Make sure to include a call to action that clarifies what to do next. Whether that’s booking a consultation, enrolling in your email list, or purchasing a product.

Want to boost your impact with SEO but don’t have time to write long-form content? Book a consultation to learn how to get high-quality SEO content and SEO tracking delivered to you monthly.

Step Three: Promote

Sharing your long-form articles with your audience has two major benefits:

1. Keeps you relevant in their mind. It shows your audience that you are committed to providing helpful information for them.
   
   
2. Boosts your SEO. It drives traffic to your article and website, boosting your SEO for your website authority and the article ranking.

The more people that read your article and the longer they stay, the higher your content will rank in search. A simple way to promote your article is by sharing a post that incentivizes the audience to read across your channels like email, social, and/or LinkedIn.

Step Four: Track, Update, Optimize

Hitting “publish” on your article is only the first step. The key to ranking on search is to keep track of your article’s performance and make updates based on its progress.

If you publish a new article, wait three to six months to make changes. If your article is not increasing and ranking within six months, consider looking at how to optimize it.

Search engines favor fresh and engaging, and relevant content. So, updating old articles to keep them relevant and updated based on the latest information is always beneficial.

Other Elements of Effective SEO to Consider

Aside from your SEO content strategy and long-form content, other elements affect your success with SEO.

These areas are more technical and don’t specifically affect your SEO content strategy. But I wanted to talk about them since they’re essential in ultimately making your efforts the most effective.

• Backlinks. Backlinks are the number of other websites that link to your content. Having a backlink shows Google that your content is informative enough for someone else to source it – which boosts your website’s authority and credibility.
  
  Backlinks are a bit of a long game. Ultimately your goal is to create highly engaging content that people want to read and share, which results in organic backlinks. You could also consider working with a backlink specialist.
  
  
• Meta Descriptions. The meta descriptions on your page tell Google and other search engines what your content is about. Remember to include your target keywords within your meta descriptions and page titles.
  
  Meta descriptions also show up as a preview on the search result, so make sure this speaks to your ideal client and incentives them to read your content.
  
  
• Internal Linking. Linking to other articles within your blogs shows Google how your content relates to each other. It also drives traffic to those other articles and shows your reader that you offer comprehensive resources.
  
  Include at least five links to other blog articles and each of your articles. I recommend setting your links to open in a new page so they don’t take the reader away from the piece they’re reading.
  

Search engines genuinely prioritize high-quality content that solves a problem for your reader.

Using keywords in your backend doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to rank for that piece of content. But it’s important to include these so that your high-quality content has a higher chance of Google knowing what it’s about. 

Why SEO Content Strategy Is Still Relevant in 2023

In my opinion, as an SEO content strategist, SEO is more relevant than ever. 

I’ve worked with many clients who feel burnt out using social media and wonder if this is the only way. SEO can be such a powerful tool because it can produce long-term, reliable results without taking up so much of the business owner’s time.

Here are a few relevant benefits of incorporating SEO in your marketing strategy:

• Outsourcing. You can hand off your SEO to an SEO content strategist and copywriter. Unlike a YouTube channel, a podcast, or social media, long-form articles don’t require you to show your face, which is why they can be outsourced.
  
  
• Content Ideas. You might find yourself running out of content ideas at times. SEO research shows you exactly what your audience is interested in learning about, which tells you exactly what to create content about.
  
  
• Positive Online Presence. No matter your primary source of lead generation, your audience will most likely head to Google to learn about you. They’ll want to know if you have positive reviews and if you are an authority they can trust.
  

Let’s say your audience finds you through an Instagram ad or an organic reel. After they discover you, they’ll still likely Google your name. So, even if you don’t see SEO as the primary source of lead generation, it’s still a really important channel to think about.

Creating an effective SEO content strategy is a way to get many more results out of content you’re already creating. If you’re sharing ideas on social media, YouTube, podcasts, or any other channel – these topics can be used to drive organic growth on your website. 

Final Notes From an SEO Content Strategist

Results from SEO might take time to happen. It’s not the same as getting an instant like or engagement on a social post. But if you have the patience to wait a few months – SEO starts to drive incredible growth for your business.

This is an ultimate time-saver because you invest your time in writing an article upfront. Then, that article could generate thousands of visitors to your site over years to come.

But driving growth through SEO truly comes back to having an effective SEO content strategy. You need to define the keywords that will not just bring in traffic but actually meet your business’s key goals and attract qualified leads.

Do you want to work with an SEO content strategist to make sure you’re getting the most impact out of your SEO efforts? My SEO content strategy package delivers an expert, growth-focused strategy in 5 business days.

Book a complimentary discovery call today to find out if the SEO content strategy package is right for you. Plus, learn how we can work together on the quality, long-form content articles.

I can’t wait to help you grow your brand through intentional SEO and content marketing.