Storytelling is the New SEO

I've said it once, and I'll say it again – Content is king.  It was true back in 1996 when Bill Gates quoted it, and it remains just as true today, especially when it comes to an SEO campaign.

The truth is, you can no longer throw just any piece of content out there and expect results.  It is important that you are telling a rich, compelling story – This is considered SEO gold and it can easily skyrocket your brand interactions.

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past 10 years, you are probably aware that Google is constantly evolving, changing, and growing.  We keep hearing about this (adorable-sounding) zoo of algorithm changes - From penguin to pandas, from hummingbirds and more; I think it’s safe to say that the only thing consistent with this powerhouse is change.  Although it may sound like Google is trying to be impossible to work with, they are actually just giving everyone a dose of tough love.  You see, the fact is that Google wants to keep clean, concise content for it’s search results; meaning they simply want you to create amazing stuff and get it shared across the internet.

With that being said, how would you craft your content?  In my humble opinion, it starts with you asking yourself a few of the following questions:

• What is the Personality of Your Brand?  This is a tricky one.  What does your online voice sound like?  Is your brand liberal?  Fun?  Trendy?  Conservative?  Defining who you are as a company will dramatically help share your story online.
• Who is Your Target Audience?  This is rule number one of any marketing campaign; know your audience!  Who are they?  What trends are they more likely to be attracted to?  Create a mental image of your audience and revisit it often when attempting to reach out to them.
• Where Does Your Audience Hang Out in the Digital World?  Do they spend most of their time on Facebook?  Are they socially engaged on Twitter?  The bulk of content marketing is knowing where your audience is and learning how to deliver your story to them at the right time.
• How Will You Make Your Story Easy to Share?  Okay, so you've created an epic piece of content that tells a fascinating story, now what?  You need to make certain that your story is incredibly easy to share, and enticing enough that people want to share it.  For example, installing sharing distribution channels to your blog and literally asking your reader to share is an excellent idea!

The ultimate goal you want to reach is getting your story told well, and told to the right people.  Once you're there, Google starts to pay attention and your SEO efforts will most definitely reap the benefits.

Always keep in mind - People love telling stories.  People love listening to stories.  People love to search, and Google really loves people to search.