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What are your thoughts on search engine optimization (SEO) and content creation? If you see them as separate initiatives, you are not alone. So many small businesses make that assumption to their own detriment. They treat SEO as a technical checklist while content creation becomes an ad hoc creative chore left on the back burner until someone in the company has a free afternoon.
Not only are they not separate initiatives, SEO and content creation are two sides of the same coin. Think of it in terms of taking a road trip. SEO builds the interstate while content is the vehicle that gets you to your destination.
SEO is rooted primarily in keyword strategies. But without quality content, keywords have no purpose. Likewise, content would barely be searchable without a specific keyword strategy in play. So you really need both, especially if you want to maximize performance in the local organic search space. Enter the content calendar.
Strategically Scheduling Content
Pixsan, a local San Diego SEO services provider, describes the content calendar as a tool for strategically scheduling everything from blogs to videos to posts on various social media channels. But it’s more than just a repository of publication dates. It is a blueprint that aligns business objectives with known consumer behaviors and established ranking signals.
The SEO specialists at Pixsan say that most San Diego small businesses publish content randomly. They do so without knowing that it creates significant volatility in search engine crawl frequency. Crawlers do not like randomness. They like a combination of predictable updates and content that demonstrates topical authority.
Mapping Things in Advance
The most successful San Diego SEO service providers know the value of planning. They understand that mapping content in advance addresses randomness. Staying several months ahead helps SEO experts achieve three critical goals:
- Eliminating Gaps – An established content calendar eliminates topical gaps by ensuring that every stage of the customer journey is covered through a regular, predictable cadence.
- Optimizing Linking Opportunities – A steady publishing cadence offers opportunities to optimize both internal and external links. Although both are important, internal links benefit more from a predictable cadence by tying together multiple posts to create a more complete story.
- Better Resource Allocation – Content planning allows creators to be more efficient with limited resources. Planning creates consistency, allowing creators to build one concept on another. It’s more efficient and cost-effective than the chaotic alternative of coming up with new content ideas every week.
You have probably heard the phrase ‘failing to plan equals planning to fail’. It certainly applies in the content creation space. Random creation and publishing don’t serve local SEO very well.
So Many Additional Benefits
In addition to achieving the previously mentioned goals, deploying a content calendar benefits both the SEO provider and the client in a number of ways. For instance, a content calendar makes it easier to develop topical authority. Individual topics can be developed with greater depth over a set amount of time.
A content calendar can also take advantage of regional and seasonal trends. By planning in advance, creators are not caught off guard when it’s time to start creating holiday-themed content, for example.
Still another benefit is the ability to streamline conversion pathways. When content is planned and strategically developed, each post or video can be engineered with a call to action specific to that point in the customer journey.
Quantifying the true value of a content calendar is difficult. If you already use one, you already know. And if you don’t, talk to your San Diego SEO services provider. Between the two of you, you can get one going.
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