Optimise your thought leadership content to stay ahead in a fast-evolving digital landscape.

Everyone wants their blogs to rank highly on search engine results pages. Of course they do – the higher a piece ranks, the more readers it is likely to secure, which increases engagement and supports overall SEO performance. An entire subsection of the digital marketing industry is dedicated to this endeavour, with countless technical experts offering their services (thankfully, though, the term ‘SEO guru’ has largely disappeared as the industry has matured).

Optimising the backend of your website is a crucial part of the SEO process and this is where technical expertise comes in handy. Ensuring that your robots.txt file is directing crawlers to the right web pages; removing crucial keywords from functionality enabled by javascript; and obtaining security certification are just some of the web optimisation tactics that technical experts can support with.

But the journey doesn’t stop there – or at all, in fact – because search engines don’t just care about the backend. They also care about content.

Above anything, search engines prioritise content that puts the audience front and centre. Only by truly understanding your audience’s wants and needs will your piece climb the rankings, draw in traffic, and eventually, a strong pipeline of leads. This may sound like a tall order, but there are simple steps to consider in order to help get it right.

So, how do you optimise your thought leadership content?

1. Use targeted keywords that match the intent of your target audience

Put simply, targeted keywords are those that your audience are actively searching for.

Imagine the owner of a pizza shop in Rome is looking to attract a greater share of the nine million tourists that descend on the city each year. All are seeking the best Italian experience, straining to distance themselves from the typical tourist beat. The shop owner may know that this audience is frantically searching “most authentic pizza in Rome,” and can therefore pepper these keywords across her blog page, to ensure a higher listing.

Consistently using relevant keywords in a natural and authentic way that relates to the shop’s expertise, products, and the search intent of the nine million tourists will be the first step to improving the site’s SEO.

2. Make it readable

With a search engine’s insatiable appetite for user friendly content, making a webpage readable is an absolute must. The more readable a page is, the more engaging it will be, which will in turn increase the ‘dwell time’ (how long a user stays on a page).

There are four considerations to keep front and centre when producing long form content:

• Is it clear?
• Is my argument organised?
• Does it flow logically?
• Have I kept this simple?

If the answer to any of these is in doubt, it’s time to revisit and make edits.

3. Properly cite the facts

It only takes five minutes on social media for you to realise that everyone is an expert now.

Linking your content to sources and facts will go a long way in climbing the rankings, telling Google that you’re an authority on the matter, and haven’t whipped up a half baked opinion that you’re trying to pass as factual.

But there are still some considerations to keep in mind. Never link to a link – always go straight to the source, if you can. This should be a report or academic paper, for instance, rather than a news outlet or data aggregator (such as Statista). If the original source cannot be found, ensure you link to a credible publication with a high domain authority.

With webpages becoming today’s equivalent of a shop window, it’s more important than ever to make sure that your audience finds yours.

Missive is an independent communications & PR consultancy that specialises in technology. We work with B2B and B2C brands focused on digital transformation across multiple industry sectors including, enterprise tech, FinTech, EdTech, AdTech, HealthTech, Telecoms and SpaceTech. We are headquartered in London, with a global reach and mindset. Everyone at Missive shares a passion for delivering communications and PR that create impact. Read more about us.

Missive is a Top 150 PR Agency as listed by PRWeek. Missive was named Workplace Champion of the Year by PRCA in 2021 and Best Consultancy by the PRCA in both 2017 and 2020.

If you’d like help in making your content climb the rankings, Missive can help you – email hello@missive.co.uk to contact the team.