But, I’ve got news for you.

I happen to know an insider who works as a contract Content Strategist at Google. Yes, this SEO content expert has an insider view of Google’s content creation best practices and how organizations mimic them to rank higher and improve their SEO search results on Google. 

And she’s letting you steal Google’s playbook. 

Go forth and rank on Google, my friend, because she’s sharing how the Google creates content in order to, well, rank on Google (who knew they had that problem, too?). Feel free to bookmark and re-reference these 7 tips and best-in-class practices for making a high-level SEO content strategy. 

1. Use H2 headings to stand out and make it easier to rank

On Google’s own Help Centers, they always use H2 headings. Why H2s? Well because H2 headings tell SEO engines that this is an important part of the article and it has helpful keywords to direct and inform visitors.

But the benefit is two-fold – helping both Google and readers navigate your site. 

Essentially, H2 headings tell Google to pull out keywords and use them to inform visitors what a piece of content is all about and if it answers their questions or not. They are like the title chapters of a really good book. They let the reader know what the content is all about and search engines pick up on that. 

Sometimes, the H2s are what help you rank on Google, as they’ll show up as a bullet point or numbered link in the coveted quick-answer box.

Takeaway:

Format your content with H2 headings to get the algorithm to notice your content sections and rank your content at the top of Google search results pages. 

2. Explain what the visitor can or can’t do

This is a formatting trick that all Google content team members are taught. 

The goal is to not just throw information into the ether and hope someone pays attention. Use active verbs that can tell visitors what they can or can’t do after reading a particular piece of content. 

On search engines people often type in “can I…” do this or that. Formatting your content to talk visitors through what they can or can’t do with your product or service can be effective at getting them to do exactly that. 

This is just a great tip in order to rank on Google, it can serve as a customer service function for your offers.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you’re a content writer or blogger working with a technology client. You want to explain how a visitor can use one of the features of your client’s product or service to solve a problem. 

 Instead of saying…

“XYZ company has a feature that you can download onto your laptop.”

Try saying…

“You can download this feature onto your laptop for easy use.”

Or you can say…

“Note: You can’t download XYZ’s feature if you are using a Mac laptop”. 

Focusing on what the visitor can and can’t do makes the content easier for visitors to take action on. It also helps search engines know that your content is helpful. 

And that results in web traffic.

Which is what we’re all here for.

If Google identifies your content as helpful, clear, and direct, it’ll push your content higher up the search results (aka: you’ll rank on Google). Plus, saying what visitors can or can’t do helps the content feel clearer to the reader. 

Clarity is king. 

When visitors are clear on what they can do after reading your content, they are more likely to do it, share your article with others, and improve your site ratings. 

Takeaway:

Structure sentences using terms like “you can…” or “[benefit/feature] so that you can…..”. Conversely, “this isn’t meant to X” or “this [program/product] is for [audience/use].”

3. Use “how” or “what” as keywords cues

I used this trick in the meta title of this blog post: “Google Insider Shares Exactly How to Rank on Google”

Why do people feel so drawn to the word “how” or “what? 

They’re psychological words. 

When a visitor is feeling lost, confused, or wants to know more, “how” and “why” indicate that the visitor’s confusion and discomfort with not knowing how something works will be alleviated. 

What’s more, “how” and “why” are actionable terms and communicate that a certain blog post or web page has solutions to our biggest problems. 

The word “how” tells visitors that they can learn something from your content. Visitors want to know how to do something better or what they can do to fix an issue that’s been bothering them for days and weeks. 

For Google, creating actionable content is a must. Their Help Centers are all about solving people’s problems. If you don’t show a visitor how to fix a problem or what the problem is, they won’t find the content very helpful. 

And are they likely to share your content or support its climb up the ranks? 

Probably not. 

These two keywords are what people search for on Google. For example: 

1. How do I become a freelance writer?
2. What is content writing?
3. How do I work remotely?
4. What writing jobs pay well?
5. How do I rank on Google?

Takeaway:

Using the magical how and what keywords are triggers for search engines to push your content to the top of the search results. Bonus points if you make the blog post a step-by-step guide for doing something that’s relevant to solving the reader’s pain points.

4. Use active verbs like: “get,” “check,” “fix” or “learn”

We’re not leaving this idea of being actionable. 

People want to learn what their problems are and how to fix them. And once you hook them with a catchy how and why headline in H2, you can capitalize on the traffic by retaining them with powerful verbs. 

This is when you (metaphorically) hit them with the active verbs. 

Again, this blog post you’re reading is exhibit A.

This is important for UX and SEO. Step-by-step, how-to, and instructional guides with active verbs are the favorite food of search engines and humans alike. They love to show lists of clear action steps and verbs that help people right away. And they make sure these helpful blogs rank on Google.

Notice a trend with these pointers?

Every point we’ve brought up is not only something Google prioritizes, but it’s likely the very type of content you yourself consume the most.

Google thinks of content through the lens of the reader, regardless of whether it’s a product page, web page, or blog post. In internal meetings in Google, they never throw content out there without a clear understanding of how it will help visitors and what visitors can do about their problems. 

Those internal meetings look like really cool, but geeky, people getting together to ask:

• Can visitors fix an issue with Google Drive after reading this article?
• Can visitors check on their order status if they ordered a new Google Nest?
• Can visitors learn more about how taxes work if they buy something from the Google Store?
• Can visitors get help if this article doesn’t answer their questions?

You get the point. 

But in case you need more proof and inspiration, click around on any Google Help Center. You’ll see a million articles with active verbs that they’ll tell you how to “Fix payment issues” or “Learn more about Google Store taxes”. 

It’s simple: Google prioritizes content that helps people. 

Takeaway:

Use verbs that can signal to search engines and readers that your content will solve an issue. Active keywords are part of how people stumble upon your article and fall into your content. 

Here is a list of active verbs Google uses in their content that you can adapt to your own niche and client work:

1. Fix
2. Learn more
3. Find
4. Open
5. Build
6. Earn
7. Make 
8. Edit
9. Cancel
10. Use
11. Understand
12. Buy
13. Upgrade
14. Subscribe

5. Use call-to-actions within articles

Adding call-to-actions (CTAs) into articles is a big debate in the content writing community. Some writers believe articles should be for informational purposes only and shouldn’t be a place to sell. Rather, they should be a place to build trust, educate, and inspire visitors. 

On the other side of the argument, writers think there’s nothing wrong with having CTAs throughout an article to help visitors walk through the funnel and find more useful content.

Here’s the OSO take: You MUST add CTAs to your articles. 

It’s a standard in every deliverable in every content marketing service we offer (see what I did there?), and it should be for you as well. 

You’ll thank us later.

In our opinion, CTAs don’t always have to (and probably shouldn’t) lead to a product page or check-out experience. 

They don’t have to be greasy or salesy. 

On the contrary, they may be the next logical step for users after reading a very helpful article. On Google’s Help Centers, they use “contact us” CTAs on nearly every page to help visitors who still have questions connect one-on-one with support agents. 

For some visitors, following a CTA could be the only way to solve their problem and could even lead to a sale without much effort on your part! 

CTAs can also be useful for keeping visitors on your site for extended periods of time. 

They can be as subtle as a hyperlinked interlink to other SEO-rich blogs or pages on your site. Or they can be as bold as a banner promoting your email list. Either way, they’ll increase time on site, page views, page views per session, email signups, and purchases while decreasing the bounce rate, and strengthening the visitor’s perception that the content is trustworthy and in-depth. 

However, if you or your client has a product to sell like a course, physical product, or service, adding a CTA like…

• Click here to learn more about XYZ product
• Book a discovery call 
• Enroll in the course

… are all great ways to help a reader walk through the funnel. 

After all, why is content marketing important? To be your easily found, top-of-funnel information that can help a visitor learn more, make a decision, and eventually support you or your client. 

Content articles are a great first touch point for visitors to understand a brand or company, solve a problem, and build a relationship with them. 

From a Google content team perspective, the ultimate goal is not to get filthy rich. (Although the CEO of Google may feel differently)! The content team’s goal is to help visitors understand their problems and solve them. 

Takeaway:

Add interlinking and other CTAs to let visitors know what to do next, help them walk through your funnel, and let Google reward you for being helpful with higher rankings. 

6. Include more resources at the end of articles

As mentioned before, keeping people on your site is so important! 

Reducing your bounce rate, keeping people happily moving through your site, and finding your content useful are good ways to build trust, increase rankings, and educate your visitors.

Google understands that and that’s why they always include additional resources at the end or on the side of each article. They call this section “Help”. They want to answer as many visitor questions as possible, remove any barriers, and get visitors to invest in their products and services. 

Including related resources near or throughout your articles can also help increase rankings. Adding frequently asked questions to the end of a page about a particular topic is also great to help you rank on google. 

Both multiply the value and number of keywords SEO engines pick up on a given page and can help spread your content further.

Remember, keywords are a keystone of SEO (what is it?). But creating a keyword strategy and implementing it in an artful way is important, too. Keyword stuffing is NOT how to rank on Google.

Search engines are smarter than you think.

Yes, that also means they know when you’re throwing random keywords on a page, too. Google’s not biting. 

Takeaway:

Install an “other blogs you might like” widget at the bottom of your blog feed. Add frequently asked questions – and their corresponding answers – to the bottom of service pages, product pages, and more.

Finding more ways to showcase more resources will help you rank on Google and convert your readers to customers.

7. Make content easy to read 

This isn’t the time to show off your master’s degree in English Lit. 

Want to know how to rank on Google? Don’t overwhelm your readers with jargon, long words, complex sentences, or big blocks of text. 

We’re not saying don’t use keywords that help visitors find you. Yes, do that. However, if you use industry jargon that top-of-funnel visitors may not understand, you risk confusing your reader and losing them early on. 

Google makes sure all of its content is at a 7th-grade reading level. I personally tell the freelance writers I coach to aim for a 5th-grade reading level.

Why? 

Because Google is used and the content is read by millions of people all over the world. And if visitors don’t speak English well or do speak English but their vocabulary is limited, plugging in big words like…

Extrapolate 

…instead of….

Explain

Or

Interpret 

…instead of…

Understand 

Will make your content less appealing and harder to read for visitors. In turn, it makes it harder to rank on Google. It was unable to confirm whether your content is helpful and liked by visitors. 

If you’re not sure how to turn a big jargon-filled article into something your middle-school nephew could easily summarize, check out the Hemingway Editor. 

The Hemingway Editor is one of the SEO tools we love because it helps content writers simplify their writing by flagging terms that are above the average person’s reading level and suggesting words that are easier to read. 

When I put Google’s Change or reset your password article into the Hemingway Editor, it came out as a 4th-grade reading level. 

Takeaway:

Google is all about making its content accessible and easy to read. You and your clients should do the same in order to rank on Google.

Which of these tips will you use in your SEO content writing?

Hopefully all of them – but at least one.

I know we gave you a lot to think about. Many of these are from the big G itself and are practices that inform their SEO functionality. 

And they become a lot easier to use and implement over time, helping you rank on Google. In fact, if you look closely, I’ve used most of these in this very blog post.

Go back and see if you can spot them!

If you want the cheat codes, I’ve got that, too. It’s called The Scroll-Stopping SEO Blog Template, and I’m giving it to you for free.

This Google-approved, plug-and-play template will save you time and money while you set up your content for SEO success. If you’re really geeking out right now and fired up to learn how to create a strategy to rank on Google with every piece of content your write (don’t worry, team OSO ALWAYS is) check out my SEO courses. You’ll get step-by-step training from yours truly, with options for customized feedback and access to an amazing community.

I hope to see you there one day – and #1 on Google, of course.

The post Steal Google’s Playbook: An Insider Shares Exactly How to Rank on Google first appeared on Oso Content.

The post Steal Google’s Playbook: An Insider Shares Exactly How to Rank on Google appeared first on Oso Content.

Luckily, you’ve come to the right place for the answers!

Today, you’ll learn all about what SEO is, and why it is the key piece that’s missing from your marketing strategy.
You see, you can have the best product, the best service, or the best blog content of all time…

And no one will see it.

Unless you master SEO, that is. So…SEO: what is it exactly?

Let’s dive right in.

SEO: what is it?

What is SEO? SEO stands for “search engine optimization.”

But just the name alone doesn’t explain what SEO is as a concept. So let’s imagine a scenario.

You need a new product for your house, or a service for your business.

What’s the first thing you do? 

YOU GOOGLE IT.

Then, Google gives you a list of results related to your search query, and you can proceed with your research or purchase.

SEO is the process of ensuring your business shows up on that first search engine results page (here-on-out referred to as “SERPs).

Because, and this is important, more than 75% of people do not move past the first page of search results.

That means whether your website is sitting on page 2, 3, or 23, it is as good as INVISIBLE.

So again…what is SEO?

SEO is visibility for your business. It is the art of ensuring you are linked with the exact right-fit customers, and that they find you over your competitors every time.

And it should be noted that this is FREE organic traffic. SEO does not use pay-per-click ads, costly Facebook ads, or any other paid media to achieve this.

So then, how do you use SEO to get on page one of SERPs?

How does SEO work?

All search engines from Google to Bing use bots to crawl each and every page on the web. As a bot visits a page, it collects information about it and puts it in an index. You can think of this index like a massive library covering every topic under the sun.

So…how does one find a book in this library?

Well, special algorithms are used to analyze each page in the index, taking over 200 factors and signals into account to determine where (and in what order) these pages and websites should be arranged.

These ranking factors include:

• Content quality
• Readability
• Site speed
• Number of broken site links
• And much, MUCH more.

The ranking factors help catalog every page so that (still using the library analogy) when you type a term into the database search bar, you will only be given the book titles that best match your query.

SEO is the process of optimizing a website so that you rank well for all those factors – essentially allowing you to choose exactly where you want to go in that database.

And when it comes to the Google database, you want PAGE ONE.

So how do you get there?

Well, there are a bunch of methods that SEO strategists use, and these tactics fall into two main categories: white-hat and black-hat.

What is the difference between white-hat and black-hat SEO?

White-hat SEO uses honest and trusted ways to rank higher on the SERP pages. In this post, we will be covering exclusively white-hat SEO tactics.

Black-hat SEO tactics are shady ways you can trick the search engine’s algorithms into ranking you higher. Some examples of black-hat tactics include:

• Using hidden text (such as text that is the same color as your web page background) to target keywords
• Paying for inauthentic links from other websites
• Using misleading redirects
• Keyword stuffing to the point that it hurts readability
• And creating duplicate content on your website (multiple pages with very few changes between them)

While you may see good search engine rankings for a while, if you choose to use black-hat SEO, what is it going to do to your website in the long run?

It’s going to get you blacklisted.

If Google catches you using black-hat SEO tactics, you can be banned from the search engine altogether. And, since Google accounts for more than 90% of all web searches, you REALLY want to avoid that.

So ESPECIALLY if you are new to the world of SEO, and even once you’re a total pro, we strongly recommend the use of white-hat SEO tactics. These SEO best practices are tried and true methods to help you dominate the SERPs.

These SEO practices are broken down into three key components: On-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO. Let’s take a deeper look at all three.

On-page SEO: what is it?

On-page SEO techniques change the way search engines – and readers – view your content.

Of course, search engines don’t read your page the way a person would. And, when they comb through the HTML code of your page, you can use special tags, headers, and keywords to help the crawlers to better understand and rank your content.

Keywords are the bread and butter of on-page SEO. You can use SEO tools to do keyword research, which will show you exactly what terms your customers are searching for – and how many people are searching for those terms.

This is not only helpful in writing your on-page content – it can even completely inform your marketing strategy.

You can then choose unique and relevant keywords for each of your web pages, following keyword best practices. This primary keyword should also be used to construct metadata for each and every page on your site.

What is metadata? When you type a query into Google, you get a list of results on the SERPs. These results consist of blurbs about each web page, and this is the metadata. Metadata consists of two main components: a clickable blue title (known as a meta title or title tag) and a meta description.

If you’re following SEO best practices, your title tag should be 55 characters or less, and ideally contain the name of your company at the end. This title explains the content of your web page, and should contain the primary keyword for that page.

The meta description should be a catchy blurb or summary of your content that entices the reader to click into your page and learn more. This description should also contain the page’s primary keyword, and shouldn’t be longer than 155 characters – or Google will cut it off.

Of course, keywords and metadata alone aren’t enough for successful on-page seo. What is it that you need to do in addition?

Well, for one, you need to make sure your content is easy to read and understand. AND that it is genuinely helpful to your readers. To make your site easy to read for search engines, you should be including headers (H1, H2, H3) to make an index for crawlers to follow.

You also want to provide new content on a regular basis for your readers, and use a solid linking strategy.

When you work on link building, you should use both internal links and external links.

Internal links are links to other pages or articles on your own website.

External links are links to reputable websites and scientific articles.

Using links helps build up the authority of your website (so long as you aren’t linking to any of your competitors!)

All together, these on-page SEO strategies provide clear and helpful information to both search engines and readers – and help build trust in your content.

Over time, this will work wonders to boost your rankings.

Of course, on-page SEO is only one small piece in the puzzle. You also need to put in work off-page.

Off-page SEO: what is it?

As the name suggests, off-page SEO refers to things happening outside of your website that affect the way it ranks. Off-page SEO is sometimes trickier, as it relies on the cooperation of outside players.

The more people who link to, or share, your content, the more reputable you will seem to Google crawlers. And, therefore, the higher you will be ranked by the search engine algorithm.

For effective off-page SEO, you want to earn links to your site from relevant or reputable websites (called backlinks), and get your content shared across social media platforms.

The best way to earn a large number of backlinks is simply by creating high-quality, useful, and enticing content that people will want to share!

But if you are looking for some other ways to improve your link building strategy, you can reach out to other blog owners about guest-posting, or ask a company for press coverage of your business.

There are also a few things you can do to directly boost your off-page SEO, like linking any of your personal sites to your business website, and ensuring your business is accurately listed on review sites like Google Business Profile or Yelp.

And, there is one more way you can boost your rankings: technical SEO.

Technical SEO: what is it?

SEO improvements that don’t fall into on-page or off-page SEO are all lumped into “technical SEO.” These often have to do with the backend code of your website.

Technical SEO tactics include:

• Fixing any broken links
• Ensuring your site is mobile-friendly
• Optimizing images in the correct size and format
• And boosting your site speed

In short – creating a good user experience

All three types of SEO (on-page, off-page, and technical) are all crucial in creating an effective SEO strategy for your company.

But, once you master SEO, what is it going to do for you, exactly? Let’s answer the question: “What is SEO in business terms?”

SEO: what is it used for in business?

What is SEO in business? It’s EVERYTHING.

Because frankly, if your company doesn’t appear in search results, it doesn’t exist in the eyes of consumers.

Whether you have a brick-and-mortar store or an ecommerce shop, SEO will help your target customers gain awareness of your business and its offerings.

Let’s face it, no matter who your customers are – most of them are shopping online. And it’s your job to decide the best way to reach them. Which is where the marketing debate comes in – do you swing for paid advertising, or push for organic growth?

And how do you achieve organic growth for your company? 

Let’s take a look at organic vs paid advertising, and how SEO fits into the mix.

Organic vs paid advertising

Paid advertising offers visibility to many companies online. Ads can appear on social media feeds, or at the top of SERPs. Of course, when someone clicks your paid ad, you pay for it.

And, if someone clicks on a link to your website through organic search results, it’s absolutely FREE. What’s more, around 70 perfect of clicked search results are organic, not paid.

That means most users prefer to click organic links over paid ones.

That doesn’t mean paid advertising isn’t beneficial.

Paid ads are a fabulous advertising tool, and are your best bet for promoting a flash sale or seasonal offering. PPC is also a good way to gain instant visibility, which could be important for new businesses.

Because what is SEO in business when you’re first starting out? It’s a waiting game.

That’s because SEO takes time.

Many people expect immediate results when they invest in SEO, but optimizing your website and blog content won’t change your rankings overnight.

In fact, when you get started with SEO, it can take up to a few months for you to see a change in your rankings. So don’t feel discouraged that SEO doesn’t work if you haven’t put in the time.

SEO will be more beneficial and cost effective to push for organic growth in the long run, but in the meantime, PPC advertising is a wonderful tool to support your SEO strategy.

That’s the key here: support.

Because in the end, SEO is worth the wait. Which is why 75% of businesses are already investing in SEO – and you don’t want to get left behind!

Why SEO is fundamental to organic growth

How often do you click an ad when you are scrolling through social media? If you are scrolling through your feed, and being bombarded with pictures of vintage armchairs can feel like a nuisance and distraction more than anything else.

But if you are actively searching for a vintage armchair on the other hand, you will be thrilled to find the exact product you need.

Which is why organic SEO is better for your business than paid ads in the long run. Not only will you have better visibility, but you will have more trusting and happy customers who will return to buy your product or service again.

Because when you provide your customer with exactly what they are searching for, and the exact information they need about it, you can win that customer for life.

And, thanks to keyword research tools and Google Analytics, it’s easy to know precisely what terms your potential customers are looking for, and in what volume.

SEO allows you to specifically target the needs of your potential customers, and meet them exactly where they are at in the marketing funnel.

It can also help you understand your clients better, so you can use a tone of voice, images, and messaging that makes them feel understood on a deep level. If clients feel a connection with your business, they will be more likely to make a purchase or recommend you to others.

SEO is what helps you tap into the potential just waiting in the trillions of search engine queries each year.

And, once you know which search terms to target, your content will bring your customers straight to you, without having to pay for a single ad.

You’ll have to put in some hard work up front with keyword research and content creation, but then your website will start to sell itself while you go about your day, or focus on making a new product or service offering!

Of course, SEO isn’t just great for e-commerce. For example, what SEO is in business may look very different if you are a copy or content writer.

Learning how to get started with SEO as a writer can completely change your career.

Why SEO is important for digital marketers and content writers

As a writer, SEO is an invaluable skill to have in your toolset. Being versed in SEO means you can charge much higher rates for your content – rates that you can back up with measurable results.

It also helps improve your writing. Data from SEO helps you understand the target audience of your articles on an intimal level, so you can craft your copy in a truly compelling way.

You also will KNOW that your content will perform well – every time. No more writing content in the dark that no one will end up reading. You can pitch topics and strategy that are destined for page one of Google – and you can bill that content accordingly!

Having a successful SEO case study portfolio can make a huge difference in your content/copywriting career. It opens doors to big-name companies, and will make struggling to find clients online a thing of the past.

Master the world of SEO strategy

Whether you are a CEO, small business owner, marketing strategist, or blogger, understanding SEO strategy can make or break your business. If you want to learn more about SEO, what it is, and how it can boost organic growth, you’re in the right place.

I’ve been an SEO marketing consultant for years, and now I’m letting you in on my secrets. I’m giving you the SEO blog template that I used to grow my site traffic to 10K monthly visitors – for ABSOLUTELY FREE.

Anyone can learn SEO, and frankly, everyone should! And once you do, you’ll have the blueprint to business success.

The post What is it & Why is it the Secret to Organic Growth? first appeared on Oso Content.

The post What is it & Why is it the Secret to Organic Growth? appeared first on Oso Content.

And, even if you find freelance writing niches that pay well, that doesn’t mean you can write about them successfully. So what are the best niches for you? And do you even really need one?

Today I’m going to be talking about what writing niches are and why they are crucial to your success. Then, I’ll give you a helpful list of the 75 highest paying copywriting niches and content writing niches – so you can make the best decision for your freelance business.

What is a writing niche – and why is it important?

A writing niche is a topic, content type, or specific industry you focus on as a freelance writer. Freelance writing niches can be incredibly varied, and you don’t even need to stick to one of them. But you should try to narrow your content down to two or three freelance writing niches.

Why?

I believe you’re a wonderful writer. Really, I do. But what good is that if your potential clients don’t believe it, or worse, can’t even find you?

A writing niche allows you to market yourself clearly

It’s way easier to pitch your writing services if you can explain exactly what you write – and who you write it for. While you might just want to accept every project that comes your way as a new freelance writer, that’s not the best strategy long term.

Of course, it may help you find what you do and do not like writing about – and that is great experience for determining the best freelance writing niches for you.

Perhaps you want to write about sustainable beauty products for new businesses. Perfect!

Once you build a small portfolio of your work, it’s going to be really easy for your target clients to find you. It’s also going to be easier to convince potential clients that you are the PERFECT freelance writer for their brand.

Because believe it or not, companies WANT to hire freelance writers that specialize in what they offer. And, as you get more and more expertise within your freelance writing niches, you’ll be able to charge more for your services, too.

A writing niche helps you build domain authority

If you write about the same topic over and over online, you will quickly build a reputation in the field. Not only with potential customers, but also with search engines. If you post samples of your work on your own blog or website, you’re going to build authority as an expert in your niche.

If you just write generally, Google isn’t going to give you that domain authority, and people are much less likely to find you via the search bar. If you’re just learning how to get started with SEO as a writer, you might not understand what I’m talking about yet. And if you’re thinking, “SEO: what is it?” Then it might be a good time to learn some SEO skills!

(Hint: SEO writing will ALWAYS be a profitable writing niche.)

A writing niche will bring in quality referrals

Many freelancers (myself included) get the majority of their business through referrals. But no one is going to be able to recommend you if they can’t explain what you do! Choosing one to three freelance writing niches will help your past and current clients recommend to anyone in their network who may benefit from your services.

And, trust me, once you get some high-quality clients – you want their referrals! They will bring more clients of the same caliber to your freelance business.

So, now that you generally understand what a writing niche is and why it is important, what freelance writing niches should you choose? What are your options in today’s market – and which niches are actually profitable?

How to choose freelance writing niches

You probably won’t magically know what writing niche is best for you – and that’s okay! You can start with an educated guess, and make adjustments along the way as needed. That being said, there are a few things that can inform your choice of freelance writing niches.

Pick a niche you are already an expert in

In your lifetime, I’m sure you’ve picked up an abundance of knowledge in certain subjects. Whether it be from your professional experience, your education, or your personal life, there are certainly a few topics you could give a TED Talk about.

Which means you can absolutely make money writing about them!

Maybe you have five children and can write about parenting. Maybe you studied abroad and have unique insight into a foreign market. Perhaps you have curly hair and have tried every product under the sun to tame your tresses.

Guess what? You can turn those experiences into dollar signs.

Choose a topic you’re passionate about

If you are super interested in a topic, it’s going to translate on the page. And, if you love learning about said topic, you probably won’t mind researching it and gaining new insights about it. In fact, forget job burnout – the whole day will feel like your fun hobby!

Of course, not all passions make money, so examine the demand for writing in the niche of your choice. You may want to pick one niche you’re passionate about, and one niche you know will turn a profit to balance things out.

Find a gap in the market

Some markets simply haven’t been tapped into online. And if you can find one – go for it! If there is a demand and need to be filled, you’re guaranteed to succeed. Of course, you have to find the gaps in the market first.

Focus on profit

Unfortunately, there are many types of writing that don’t pay well. If you want to find the highest paying copywriting niches, you need to focus on industries that have money to spend in their marketing budget.

Some industries rely almost completely on content to get customers and drive sales – and those are the industries you want to be writing for! Your content will be critical to the company’s success, and as such, they’ll pay you more for it.

Some industries also require more research, skill, or background knowledge, and if you have that knowledge already, you can leverage it for top dollar. For example, having in depth knowledge of the medical or tech fields could be very lucrative for you.

But what other freelance writing niches can turn a profit? Let’s take a look at the highest paying copywriting niches online.

The 75 highest paying freelance writing niches in 2023

If you’re looking to make money from your writing (which I assume you are), here are some of the best niches to focus on in 2023:

1. Finance
2. Budgeting
3. Medical
4. Medical tech
5. B2B sales
6. Cannabis/CBD
7. Cryptocurrency
8. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
9. SaaS (Software as a Service)
10. Course creation
11. Business coaching
12. Fitness training
13. Addiction & recovery
14. Cyber security
15. SEO writing
16. Content marketing + strategy
17. Email marketing
18. Social media marketing
19. Alternative health
20. Entrepreneurship
21. Food & wine
22. Product roundups
23. Outdoor activities
24. Anime
25. Weight Loss
26. Bodybuilding
27. Yoga
28. Movie reviews
29. Music releases
30. Celebrity gossip
31. Fashion trends
32. Parenting
33. Video script writing
34. Education
35. Real estate
36. Stocks
37. Accounting
38. Investing
39. Travel
40. Restaurant & Hotel Reviews
41. Ultimate guides
42. Round-up posts
43. E-books
44. White papers
45. Case studies
46. Sales and landing pages
47. Ghostwriting
48. Sports reporting
49. Grant writing
50. Relationship advice
51. Makeup & beauty
52. Sustainability
53. Mental health
54. Pregnancy
55. Product descriptions
56. Recipes
57. Aging
58. Gut health
59. Cover letters and resumes
60. Annual business reports
61. Translation
62. Sleep
63. Pharmaceuticals
64. Technical manuals
65. Slogans
66. UX writing
67. Advertorials
68. Brochures
69. Crowdfunding campaigns
70. Podcast scripts
71. Retirement planning
72. Insurance
73. Manufacturing
74. Construction
75. Speciality diets (keto, paleo, etc.)

Start making money with your writing

So there you have it! Seventy-five possible niches – all proven to create profit for you as a writer.

If you still don’t know where to begin with finding your niche, I always recommend SEO writing. SEO is THE most important component for driving organic growth of businesses online, and 75% of companies are using it. (Note: 100% of them SHOULD – they just don’t know it yet.)

If you are a skilled SEO content writer, you will instantly be more marketable online, no matter what your other freelance writing niches are.

Want to learn more about how to be an SEO writer? I’d be happy to help! I’ve been an SEO content writer and marketing strategist for years now, and have created a course to help writers like you go from making $15,000 a year to $15,000 a month.

I know it’s possible, because I did it myself! Let me help you make the jump from counting paychecks to counting clients streaming in.

The post The 75 Most Profitable Freelance Writing Niches in 2023 first appeared on Oso Content.

The post The 75 Most Profitable Freelance Writing Niches in 2023 appeared first on Oso Content.

If you’re throwing money into PPC ads, social media, or email threads but haven’t invested in the content you’re still leaving money on the table. Because time after time, content marketing has proven to offer a great return on investment for YEARS.

Just think about it: an Instagram post you shared a month ago probably isn’t still generating interest in your business, and an ad only works for as long as you are feeding dollars into the machine.

A well-written SEO blog will keep working without permission, for as long as you keep it online.

But that’s not the only reason why content marketing is important for your success, no matter the size of your business. Increased brand awareness, improved customer relationships, more site traffic, and more qualified leads – these are all side effects of great content marketing.

But don’t just take my word for it. I have some data and content marketing case studies to help you truly see what a difference a little content can make.

Before we dive deep into answering the question: “Why is content marketing important?”, let’s make sure you have a clear understanding of what content marketing is, and how it differs from traditional advertising.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is a marketing approach where you create valuable, high-quality, and consistent content for your customer base.

The key word here is VALUABLE.

Especially as marketers the world over are poising themselves to mass-produce content with AI in 2023 and beyond.

Moving forward, smart, well-written content will be a prerequisite to break through.

And remember, content marketing doesn’t just mean pushing your product or service on the reader. Instead, you’re providing them with the information they actually want and the answers they are searching for online.

We need to offer a helping hand online.

But it’s not just a one-way street.

The content you create on your blog is one of the most effective ways to drive more traffic to your website. And no, blogging is not dead. Just think about how much content (in the form of blogs) you’re consuming regularly.

Say you are looking for a new blender. You might type in “best mid-range blenders” and come across a blog comparing the pros and cons of 20 different products.

That same blog might contain links to other blog posts on troubleshooting blenders, fun recipes to try in your blender, and even workouts to do with your newly blended protein shake!

If the content is helpful, fun to read, and speaks to your needs, you’re going to consider their blender – or at the very least return to their site in the future for more information.

While the blogs you read didn’t specifically promote the company’s product, you were given enough information to gain interest in their products or services and to trust them as a brand.

This is a content marketing win.

The content has not only brought you to the company’s site, but it has also given you awareness of a new brand. An initial touchpoint. It helped you see them as an authority in their field, potentially got you to sign up for their email list for more content (and more touchpoints), and maybe even inspired an “add to cart.”

But content marketing can do so much more.

You’re getting an elementary understanding of why content marketing is important? But content – especially SEO (what is it?) content – can do so much more.

17 reasons why content marketing is important

Here’s why content marketing is important, and honestly should be a no-brainer, when it comes to allocating marketing resources in your business.

1. It’s the perfect trust-building introduction to your business

In the world of modern marketing, trust is everything. And content can help you achieve that trust, which is a huge reason why content marketing is important!

You can build that trust by making sure that the content is valuable and helpful to your audience. Relevancy is key.

And you also need to make sure the people you’re creating the content for actually SEE it.

You can find the queries and exact phrases your customers are looking for by doing keyword research. Then, you must optimize your SEO content to give it the best chance of showing up #1 on google when your customers go searching.

That content should address the query and allow the reader to get to know who you are as a company (or even as a person!), so they can start to form an emotional connection with you.

You give them help, you give them advice, and maybe you even give them a few laughs. And, most importantly, you do all of this before plugging a product or service. All you want to do is be helpful and informative.

Once the potential customer sees you as an authority in your space, they will be much more receptive to seeing sales messaging in the future. And the cost of converting them from a lead into a customer might even decrease since it’s not the first time they’re hearing from you!

All because you gave them some fun and helpful blogs, videos, or infographics! That’s not so hard, right?

2. It supports every other piece of marketing

Why is content marketing important?

As mentioned, SEO content is not only a very viable inbound marketing channel in and of itself, but it also supports your other online marketing strategies. Content touches every part of a business – from ad copy and email funnel copy to product descriptions and blog posts. And without having holistic content marketing for your business, it’s all too easy for your other digital strategies to become siloed efforts that don’t convert the way they could.

Content marketing is what connects and supports every element of your digital marketing. Each piece of content is part of a closed loop, sending customers onward to another piece of content and always bringing it back to your business.

3. It provides a great Return on Investment (ROI)

Content marketing generates over three times as many leads as traditional marketing methods. And, best yet, it costs about 62% less than traditional advertising, too. That is why content marketing is important for big and small businesses alike.

In fact, I’d argue it’s even MORE valuable for small businesses because the attainable cost lets them level the playing against corporations with millions of marketing dollars backing their ad spend.

The ROI of content marketing isn’t just measured in sales, though.

It can boost the visibility of your brand, improve your public image, increase your social following, encourage email sign-ups, and pull in more website traffic.

But when you create SEO content that’s designed to address a specific need of your customer (we find this via keyword research) and aligned with the bottom-of-funnel customer journey (queries that show intent to buy), it also becomes an important part of converting customers.

4. It can boost your conversion rates (for less)

Content marketing is important because you can optimize your blogs and website copy for higher conversion rates.

The key is buyer intent. Or, finding keywords and queries with your keyword research that indicates a desire to purchase a product.

You are meeting people at the exact point they are ready to buy.\

Look at these two examples:

• collagen protein
• best places to buy collagen protein online

Which one shows buyer intent?

Thinking like a conversion-minded content marketer, which one would you put your content marketing dollars toward?

There are a few things you need to include to encourage the sale beyond just delivering a valuable piece of content, a clear call to action being one.

Another option, if you’re not confident in their readiness to buy based on a keyword search term, is to push them toward an email list that’s tagged with a pre-made nurture and sales funnel specific to the content they discovered you with.

5. It improves your SEO, putting you #1 on Google searches

With a smart content strategy, you can greatly enhance your SEO efforts. If you’re learning how to get started with SEO, then content marketing is important.

In fact, content creation is the most effective SEO strategy – but it absolutely has to be quality content.

We’re not negotiating on that in 2023, okay?

But since we’re talking about SEO: what is it, exactly?

SEO stands for “search engine optimization,” and it’s a strategy that helps you rank higher on search engine results pages.

Search engines crawl your website’s content to determine where they want to rank you on results pages, and great content will convince Google crawlers to rank you higher. This will give your company more visibility and increase your website traffic.

Websites that post new content consistently on their blogs have an average of 434% more pages indexed by search engines than those without blogs.

But you should bear in mind that search engine algorithms change on a regular basis, and you need to keep your content up-to-date. To best improve your SEO strategy, you need to do targeted refreshes of your old content on top of creating new content.

Just remember that it can take a little time to see results. I’ve seen client accounts go from flatlining to hockey-puck growth, but they did spend a few months in that plateau stage.

So before you ditch your blogging efforts and say content marketing or SEO doesn’t work, give it a bit more time.

6. It lets you own (instead of rent) your traffic and leads

In the world of digital marketing, social media, and paid ads are renting, while websites, blogging, and your email list are akin to homeownership.

Here’s what I mean:

We all know PPC is pay-to-play. No explanation is needed there. She’s honest about what she does and effective at doing it – as long as you bring the cash.

Also, the cost of acquisition or bidding on a keyword is out of your control. So what might have been $.30 an acquisition a year ago, might now be $1.50. You’ll need to constantly be raising your rates to adjust for this, or take a hit on profitability.

You are at the mercy of the TikTok and Meta gods when posting a new video on one of their platforms, never knowing if it will go viral or be thrown to a dusty corner of the internet with 2 views. Neither being your ideal audience.

What’s more, an account lockout or change on the platform’s side and your entire business could be wiped off of the internet in mere seconds.

Unless you have a website with good traffic and an email list to match.

This last one happened to me.

My Instagram account got deactivated for 10 months. I simply HAD to use other methods to bring in clients.

7. It is cost-effective and attainable for all budgets

For the past decade, content marketing has remained the most cost-effective marketing strategy available. People often say it’s free, but that’s not technically correct.

At a minimum, it costs your time to produce the content.

That’s why content marketing is so important for bloggers, affiliate markets, and if you have a business with a smaller budget. You can start scrappy and scale up as the content generates leads, and sales, and increases your marketing budget.

Many businesses and entrepreneurs opt to outsource or hire a content marketing agency.

While there are upfront costs involved with an agency, it’s often lower than video marketing and/or paid advertising.

8. It’s a full-funnel marketing solution

Why is content marketing important to your marketing funnel? I already mentioned it supports all other channels.

But it also supports every stage of the customer journey, or funnel.

Here is how it works:

At the top of the funnel (TOFU), people are likely not even problem-aware. They’re just scrolling and searching based on general information or entertainment purposes. They might also be researching symptoms in order to identify a problem.

Content at this stage should be informational. It should help customers diagnose the problem.

At the middle of the funnel (MOFU), your potential customers are now probelm-aware. They are now looking for potential solutions.

Content marketing is important here, but it should look different. It’s “Why you need an evening sleep routine” (TOFU) vs. “Waking up tired? Here are X solutions.”

At the bottom of the funnel (BOFU), your customers are solution aware. And this phase is broken down even further into a). being aware of a general solution and b). being aware of specific companies or products.

SEO content here should include those buyer intent keywords and help customers compare specific options.

“XX supplements that help you fall and stay asleep,” or “Melatonin vs. Option A: Why A is Better” or “where to buy Melatonin online.”

The conversion point is when they’ve decided they need your product and need a place to take action.

Again, content marketing is important here – but it should be in the form of a landing page, sales page, or product page, NOT a full-length piece of content.

9. It helps YOU understand your customers

Content marketing gives you the data points to make informed decisions.

Thanks to tools like Google Analytics and Semrush, it’s never been easier to understand your client base. You can get the exact demographics of your website visitors, see which topics bring them to your site, follow their path on your site, and learn precisely what terms they are searching for.

This, in turn, can inform your content, which will resonate even more strongly with your readers.

You or your content marketing agency should CONSTANTLY be analyzing which pieces of content are performing best (and giving you the most conversions), and which aren’t.

My advice? Mercilessly pivot away from anything not converting.

Content marketing is too important and valuable to waste it on dead-end efforts.

10. It helps you position yourself as an authority

When people are shopping for solutions to their problems, they want to know they are working with an expert. That’s another reason why content marketing is important – it allows you to show your vast knowledge in your field, provide proof of your product or solution working, or share the humanity behind a brand.

Every time you publish helpful information, you establish yourself as an expert in the subject. And, at the same time, you are providing knowledge that will help your potential customers get solutions to their problems.

That’s exactly what I’m doing by writing this article.

11. It sets you apart from your competitors

In the online world, it’s important to stand out. < Insert eye roll >

We know this.

But it’s SO true. There are hundreds of companies to choose from, and you want potential customers to choose you over your competitors. But you don’t need to take a radical stance or dress your social media manager up in an owl costume (I do love you though, Duo) to stand out.

Standing out can also mean showing up first.

Yes, I am talking about SEO and Google results.

Again, that’s why content marketing is important. A solid SEO content strategy gets you on page 1, and then you can show who you are as a company, letting your values, culture, and personality come across on screen.

The people that resonate will remember.

Are you professional or laid back? Quirky and funny or caring and informative? Do you cuss? Do you rely on data? Are you long-winded (*raises hand*) or succinct?

The people that resonate will remember.

12. It can be a PR play

I originally called this bullet point “the opportunity to go viral.”

But I changed it because I really, REALLY don’t want to feed into the idea of just creating content for the purpose of going viral.

At best, it’s unsustainable but garners some results.

At worst, it’s misguided, inauthentic, and a waste of resources.

However, when your content is really good – people want to share it. They’ll site it in their content (giving you the good kind of backlinks), share it on their websites, or post a link on social media.

And that, of course, increases your traffic even more.

13. It creates more repeat customers – and higher order values

I’m saying this from personal experience.

My clients see a higher order value and higher retention rate from customers acquired via SEO content than paid ads.

Honestly, that alone could have been the start, middle, and ending of the blog post here.

Many of these other bullet points are the reason for this.

The traffic is more relevant to your offering, they found you organically, you offered value, you invested in the relationship via content, and you sent them emails. In all those different interactions with your content, the customer became more loyal to you and likely learned more about your entire suite or catalog of offerings, not just the one product pushed to them via a Facebook ad.

14. It gives your customers what they want

Why is content marketing important? Your customers want it!

The majority of people spend time reading about the brands they find interesting online. More and more people are getting nearly all their information (including the news) online these days – so you want to have information for them to read!

Every time you interact with the internet – even via Siri – the interaction is being driven by content.

And I read somewhere once that the average person makes 20 Google searches a day.

What’s more, a recent study found that 80% of people prefer shopping with businesses that provide personalized content marketing and experiences.

So try telling me again that blogging is dead.

Give the people what they want!

Create custom, valuable content that connects deeply with your target audience. If you provide value, you’ll be rewarded.

15. It’s the gift that keeps on giving

When you put content out on the internet – it’s there to stay. And if that content performs well, it’s going to continue to deliver results for you in the background.

That means the more content you produce, the more leads you’ll have coming in, even if you don’t do a thing. And, your website authority will continue to climb and climb in the process.

For me, that might be the single most important reason why content marketing is so important.

My clients might pay me for a piece of content today that has the power to drive leads for years to come.

Okay, if you’ve read this far, you’re a real one.

I’ll wrap it up.

So, why is content marketing important?

It brings in qualified leads, improves conversions, has a compounding return on investment, and builds customer trust. It’s also often the most cost-effective way to market your business.

I could go on, but I won’t.

If you want to continue the conversation or learn about specific ways content could help you, send me a message, leave a comment, or share this post. We’ll be in touch.

The post Why is Content Marketing Important? first appeared on Oso Content.

The post Why is Content Marketing Important? appeared first on Oso Content.

The Client

Halleck Vineyard is a family-owned Sonoma winery that makes some of the finest wines globally. They have made their mark on the wine world with their award-winning Pinot Noirs, but offer a range of wines available both online and in their Sonoma tasting room. As a part of their offerings, they also have an exclusive Wine Club and virtual tastings.

Industry: Wine & Beverage

Location: Sonoma County, California

Services Provided: SEO strategy, on-page optimization, monthly content creation

The Client

Halleck Vineyard is a family-owned Sonoma winery that makes some of the finest wines globally. They have made their mark on the wine world with their award-winning Pinot Noirs, but offer a range of wines available both online and in their Sonoma tasting room. As a part of their offerings, they also have an exclusive Wine Club and virtual tastings.

Industry: Wine & Beverage

Location: Sonoma County, California

Services Provided: SEO strategy, on-page optimization, monthly content creation

The Challenge

Lack of online presence with no in-house team to build a strategy for their new website and online sales

The emergence of Covid-19 and the lockdown which followed posed a severe revenue setback for small businesses. Like several brands, Halleck Vineyard wasn’t immunized from taking losses. Pre-pandemic, the 25+ years business depended on foot traffic that either knew them or found them through Google maps while visiting the famed wine region.

While they had a loyal fanbase with their existing Wine Club members, their audience was aging and new restrictions caused in-person tastings to dwindle. Seeing this, the team began thinking long-term about creating a sustainable business that doesn’t just rely on their brick-and-mortar tasting room.

Their resolve? Build a website, improve their online ordering experience, and facilitate virtual events.

They knew they needed to increase their website traffic in order to improve both brand authority and online wine sales. Plus, they wanted their SEO content to find itself at the intersection of casual, inclusive, informative, and effective.

These were brilliant decisions that came with tough but surmountable challenges.

• The wine marketplace is crowded with fierce competition. Many vineyards, wine blogs, and wine retailers had already built SEO and content powerhouses that made it extremely difficult for a new competitor with no domain authority to thrive online.
• The new Halleck Vineyard website had about five pages, which were insufficient to drive meaningful traffic.
• The Halleck Vineyard website pages weren't optimized to rank on search engines.
• Finding a partner that understands SEO and brand style/tone that can take over the brand voice from the Founders wasn’t easy.

Eager to find effective solutions, Eric Schwartzman, who’s Halleck Vineyard’s Marketing Consultant and Author of The Digital Pivot started searching for a marketer that had a process for producing repeatable outcomes.

SEO Content Examples

A Guide to White Zinfandel Wine

Read Post

Is Pinot Noir A Sweet or Dry Wine?

Read Post

This is a snapshot of some initial results:

Overall, our strategy quickly improved organic traffic within 6 months. By February 2021, organic traffic growth became exponential, leading to more users and more revenue. 

One reason for this accelerated growth was our low bounce rate. While many factors result in high bounce rates, a prominent one is ‌low-quality or under-optimized content on a website. This is why some businesses get bounce rates as high as 60% with the average bounce rate for all industries at 47% as of 2021.

Halleck Vineyard is off this bracket because our quality content, SEO strategy, and on-page optimization kept the bounce rate to as low as 4.46%.

This is almost 10x less than the average bounce rate. The result? More traffic, happy readers consuming your content, and more revenue.

Competitor Research

Conducting in-depth competitor research helped us discover two key findings. The first is this — publications, wine blogs, and retailers with lots of authority in the eyes of search engines were publishing a ton of wine-related content, but they were promoting online sales as affiliates or as larger retailers with many wines from different vineyards.

The second is that very few wineries were positioning themselves as experts in the industry.

These findings gave us the opportunity to do something remarkably different to favorably compete with these established websites. We were able to go from an unknown domain to one that owns key search engine placements, making us quickly outpace other competitors in both visibility and traffic.

Executing the Pillar and Cluster Strategy

Our content strategy employed the pillar and cluster method. Topic clusters are groups of related content that cover a broad topic. These clusters usually have a pillar page that targets a general, high search volume keyword and smartly interlinked cluster pages which target hyper-specific keywords with lower search volume.

This is a visual representation:

We determined these clusters by the sales and types of wine that Halleck Vineyard sold. We planned for four blog posts a month, with one being the pillar or main guide about a varietal.

We earned immediate ranking within the first month, starting a trend of hocky-puck growth as we built the clusters. Our original topic cluster garnered 300 monthly organic visitors, while our fourth cluster captured 10,081 monthly organic visitors:

An example of a pillar piece is the SEO content piece we wrote is a guide to white zinfandel. Meanwhile, an example of a lower search volume cluster piece piece of content is a question-based SEO blog post about Pinot Noir.

You can see both blogs here:

A Guide to White Zinfandel Wine

This post currently ranks for 196 keywords — 14+ of which are on the top of page 1 on Google.

READ POST

Is Pinot Noir A Sweet or Dry Wine?

This article ranks 268 keywords in the United States, attracts 2300 organic monthly visits, and saves up to $3,600 that the Halleck Vineyard team would have been spending on Google ads every single month.

Plus, 16 of the 268 keywords that this post is ranking are on page 1, position 1 of the search engines.

READ POST

Our strategy was to address the questions and concerns that come up when people are optimizing their training routine - specifically those questions about ingredients and supplementation.

One of the simplest pieces of data that point to the relevancy of all these posts is OP2 Labs’ average time on page.

According to Google search results, a good average time on page is a mere 52 seconds across multiple industries.

But it’s not just about the huge upturn in keywords ranking and unique monthly pageviews.

According to Ahrefs, the estimated Traffic Value of organic keywords ranking on Halleck Vineyard is $7,600.

Traffic Value is the estimated amount a brand has to pay every month if they rely on paid ads. In other words, by creating content and ranking for over 11,000 keywords, Halleck Vineyard saves $7,600 each month.

Want to attract qualified traffic, improve your SEO ranking, dominate your niche, and make more sales?

The team at OSO Content is here to help! Let us create a custom strategy to help you earn more traffic, leads, and revenue today.

Get a Proposal

The post How Halleck Vineyard Gets 4896% Increase in Page 1 Keywords with 4 Monthly Articles first appeared on Oso Content.

The post How Halleck Vineyard Gets 4896% Increase in Page 1 Keywords with 4 Monthly Articles appeared first on Oso Content.

The Client

OP2 Labs is a leading medical, health, and human performance supplement company. Founded by two former US Navy SEALs, the company produces nano-hydrolyzed collagen that over 4,000 medical facilities trust for daily nutrition and wound healing. Their customer base includes world champion Olympians, Guinness Book of World Record holders, CrossFit, Ironman, Jiu-Jitsu, and Running national and international champions.

Industry: E-commerce company

Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Services Provided: Content strategy, SEO consulting, and content production

The Client

OP2 Labs is a leading medical, health, and human performance supplement company. Founded by two former US Navy SEALs, the company produces nano-hydrolyzed collagen that over 4,000 medical facilities trust for daily nutrition and wound healing. Their customer base includes world champion Olympians, Guinness Book of World Record holders, CrossFit, Ironman, Jiu-Jitsu, and Running national and international champions.

Industry: E-commerce company

Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Services Provided: Content strategy, SEO consulting, and content production

SEO Content Examples

Collagen Protein vs. Whey Protein

Read Post

Understanding Protein Absorption Rate

Read Post

PHASE 1: GAIN IMMEDIATE WINS WITH LONG-TAIL QUERIES

The first action we took was to create distinct topics that’ll live on each of OP2 Labs’ websites: Frog Fuel and ProT Gold. This was essential because we didn’t want to confuse search engines by creating content that competed against themselves on both websites (keyword cannibalization). If that were to happen, the result will be lower rankings for both websites.

To prevent this, we created these core topics:

• Wellness, athletic performance, and injury prevention/recovery topics lived on the Frog Fuel website
• Wound healing and aging health lived on the ProT Gold website

Regardless of the site, we also wanted to establish a unique tone and perspective on collagen — one about optimal health and healing with supplements. To do this, we backed every content we wrote with scientific studies and stayed clear of unfounded medical claims. Doing this helped us gain authority in search engines because we were citing reputable science-based sources in our content (a must for the tough YMYL part of Google).

Next, we created a foundation of evergreen posts on both websites by focusing on lower-search volume keywords that would bring in traffic faster.  This was vital for OP2 Labs to start getting qualified traffic quickly by answering very specific queries and concerns. Getting low search volume topics on page one would begin to build our domain authority, setting us up for phase two.

Here are a few examples of these articles:

Beta-Alanine: 5 Effects and Benefits for Athletes

Our post on Beta-Alanine: 5 Effects and Benefits for Athletes ranks for 188 keywords and has over 12,000 unique pageviews.

The post made sense to write because - apart from beta-alanine being one of the ingredients in Frog Fuel’s product - it allowed readers to see the transparency and intentional ingredient sourcing that goes into OP2 Labs’ formulations. The result? Readers know that OP2 Labs is committed not just to helping them identify their challenges, but to creating great products that help them reach optimal performance.

READ POST

Understanding your Protein Absorption Rate

Understanding your protein absorption rate is the first post we wrote for the Frog Fuel website. This post still currently ranks for 77 unique keywords and has nearly 10,000 unique pageviews.

READ POST

Is Your Protein Supplement Giving You an Upset Stomach?

Is Your Protein Supplement Giving You an Upset Stomach is another post that helped us unlock some quick wins with longterm staying power. This post ranks for 693 keywords and has over 40,000 unique pageviews.

Our strategy was to address the questions and concerns that come up when people are optimizing their training routine - specifically those questions about ingredients and supplementation.

READ POST

Our strategy was to address the questions and concerns that come up when people are optimizing their training routine - specifically those questions about ingredients and supplementation.

One of the simplest pieces of data that point to the relevancy of all these posts is OP2 Labs’ average time on page.

According to Google search results, a good average time on page is a mere 52 seconds across multiple industries.

Whereas, OP2 Labs’ average time on page is an astonishing 5 minutes and 3 seconds. This beats the average benchmark by a whopping 482.7%.

PHASE 2: ESTABLISH LONG-LASTING TOPICAL AUTHORITY

Topical authority is the “depth of expertise” that Google believes a website possesses. To gain topical authority, a website must consistently publish high-quality, data-driven, comprehensive, and original content that covers a specific topic.

One post about collagen simply wouldn’t cut it. The idea here is to go deep on topics, as opposed to casting a wide net. We began to build a content calendar with heavy-hitting topics of high search volume, which would now rank much easier, thanks to the lift in domain authority that we created in phase one with lower search volume, long-tail queries.

Adopting this SEO best practice not only allowed OP2 Labs’ websites to rank on search engines, but also helped them offer a library of resources to their growing audience.

Here’s a pictorial explanation of a topic-focused website.

To build topical authority, we identified the topics we wrote that had exceptional rankings and also resonated with our audience. We then created pillar pieces or guides, and clustered articles on both websites, capturing both long-tail queries and general terms.

An example of an article we used for this approach is the “Collagen Protein vs. Whey Protein” article that we mentioned earlier.

PHASE 3: FILL GAPS IN THE FUNNEL WITH SEO CONTENT

In addition to creating top-of-funnel, discovery content with our SEO strategy, we leveraged topics that would support the buyer journey at all stages of the marketing funnel. We developed databases of content for niche needs, providing a prime opportunity for retargeting and relationship building.

This includes performance and nutrition content for football players:

And a library of wound healing resources:

Creating highly-targeted content like the ones above has helped OP2 Labs to become a leader in the collagen health and healing space. And this content has supported OP2 Labs’ new product launches, partnerships with hospitals, and retargeting of high-intent leads through paid advertising.

Want to attract qualified traffic, improve your SEO ranking, dominate your niche, and make more sales?

The team at OSO Content is here to help! Let us create a custom strategy to help you earn more traffic, leads, and revenue today.

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The post How OSO Content Acquired Qualified Leads for OP2Labs via 1285% Organic Traffic Growth first appeared on Oso Content.

The post How OSO Content Acquired Qualified Leads for OP2Labs via 1285% Organic Traffic Growth appeared first on Oso Content.