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Curating content for specific target audiences, including how to research topics and increasing visibility in search engines, is increasingly important for successful business, says Greg Bortkiewicz
As businesses and workplaces continue to reopen, FM companies will be hopeful of seeing an increase in trade. Whatever the service, it’s a competitive sector. FM leaders will need a robust plan in place to attract new business. One channel that is often overlooked or misunderstood is organic traffic – website visitors that find a site via Google or another search engine.
Why organic traffic matters
The average website receives just over 50 per cent of its traffic from organic search. Organic traffic is great because it’s free and people place a lot of trust in the results they find in Google. That said, ranking as one of the top results does take time and effort. But it’s worthwhile.
The top three results in a Google search attract many more clicks than other results. How often do you scroll down past the first few results? People want information quickly and if you don’t provide it, your website won’t be seen.
Ranking as a top result requires a comprehensive search engine optimisation (SEO) programme. A big part of that is creating relevant, useful content.
Researching content topics
A content strategy must start with in-depth research into keywords – these are words or phrases that people type into search engines. Let’s say you run a cleaning business. Trying to rank high for the keyword ‘cleaning service’ would be very difficult as it’s such a broad term.
Perhaps your business specialises in carpet cleaning in the commercial sector in London, Manchester and Liverpool. The keyword ‘commercial cleaning service in Liverpool’ will be a much better keyword phrase to target as it’s much more specific.
Through keyword research you can determine how many people search for different terms every month, as well as uncover similar keywords you may not have considered.
The more targeted keywords will have a lower search volume, but the upside is that that audience is more targeted. It’s preferable to reach a lower number of the right audience, than a high number of the wrong audience.
There are a number of tools that offer keyword research support. Alternatively, many people partner with an SEO specialist to undertake this work. The results are invaluable as you’ll now have a list of keywords to target and can create a content plan around them.
How to create high-quality content
Let’s say you want to target the keyword ‘commercial carpet cleaning’. A good first step would be to add this as a service page. The page needs to mention the keyword a handful of times, but it cannot be unnatural in the content or overused.
As this is a service page, it would make sense for the content to talk about your company’s experience and expertise in carpet cleaning. Word counts can vary but should be at least 300 words. There’s no fixed upper limit but do not add words for the sake of it – keep your copy concise.
Sub-headers to break up the content are a great idea, as are bullet point lists when appropriate. These make the content more digestible for a reader. And if you are writing well for a reader, the chances are that search engines will also like your content.
A quick tip if you are ever struggling with what to write – search your keyword in Google and see what the top results are. This is what Google considers great content, but just be careful not to plagiarise.
Create regular content
Regular content signals to Google that your website is active, and blogs are the perfect place for a steady stream of new content. You can use blogs to answer questions that potential customers might have. For example, a blog titled ‘Why outsource cleaning services’ gives you a chance to share the benefits of an outsourced service, and you know that people asking that question in Google could be potential customers.
You can use Google Analytics and other tools to track your keyword rankings and organic traffic. It can take a few months to generate meaningful results, but a strong content strategy should begin to play a key role in winning new business.
Other key SEO considerations:
- Providing a great user experience on your website;
- Ensuring your mobile site is optimised; and
- Tracking organic traffic and conversions.
