#1. Define Your Niche

For a start, any content marketing will be successful if you take the time to plan it. Instead of publishing content on any idea that comes to your mind, you should focus on a particular topic area.

A niche is a category of related topics. It can be as broad as "music" and "food." However, you can choose to be more specific by focusing on categories like "RnB" and "Chocolates," respectively.

Having a niche is the first step to building an excellent SEO content marketing strategy. The more specific your niche is, the more likely you are to attract an audience that can give you high conversion rates.

#2. Define Your Audience

What if I tell you that it's impractical to write for everyone on the internet? Okay, let's make it simple. If you run a blog for photography equipment, do you think non-photography enthusiasts will have any business visiting your blog?

Well, if they want to get a camera or something similar, Google may do well to direct them to you. But the point is that the only people that visit your blog or vlog are the ones who are interested in your content. As such, you should adequately define those your audience because we have different interests.

Plan the demographics you want to target. Are you providing content for business owners or end-users? What are their interests? These and many other questions will help you define your writing style and tone.

#3. Use Keywords

Keywords are the sauce of any SEO content marketing strategy. An example of a keyword is a phrase or word you searched on Google and saw this article.

A keyword can be as short as "Halloween," and as long as "how to make money online." Such long keywords are called "long-tail keywords."

Planning a keyword can be tricky, especially when you want to rank better in google within the shortest time with a wrong tool. In case you're confused with the best keywords for your website, premium SEO tools like SEMRush, Ahref, or RankTank makes the process easier.

But if you want a free tool, then you can use Google Keyword Planner.

#4. Content Quality

Let's assume you've used your keywords to write an article, what's next?

Most content marketers think that keyword is the only SEO requirement to rank on Google's first search engine result page. It's not. Google Algorithm is also very concerned about your content quality.

Here's a quick checklist for your next content:

- H1 or Heading 1 Tag

When Google bots crawl through websites, they search for header tags. Besides that, header tags give structure to your articles and make them easy to read.

NB: H1 tag is different from your page title, and you're should to use just one per page.

- H2 or Heading 2 Tag

H2 tags are used for subheadings. For instance, the titles of the five tips I listed in this article are in H2 tags. As a matter of necessity, you must have H2 tags in your article. Even if your article will be a block of paragraphs numbered list like mine, you still have to divide it into headings.

- H3 or Heading 3 Tag

As you've probably guessed, H3 tags can be used for headings under H2 headings. For instance, all the points I listed under "Proper Formatting" from H1 to Paragraphing are H3 headings.

- Sentence Structure

Keep your sentences short. It's easier for people to read and understand it when it has below 25 words. Except you're drafting a legal contract, it's against SEO content marketing ethics to write complex sentences with scores of words.

- Paragraph

You're not the only one who finds it annoying to read so-called paragraphs...they're just text blocks. A paragraph should not exceed three sentences. On rare occasions, four sentences may work; that's if the number of words in each sentence is exceedingly low.

#5. Use Yoast SEO Tool

The Next step check listing your content is to make sure it's optimised. Yoast SEO will analyse your paragraphs, keywords, use of headers, and grammar. It also allows you to add meta tags like "meta title" and "meta description," which can significantly boost your Google SEO ranking.

#6. Build Your SEO Content Marketing Strategy

SEO content marketing strategy doesn't stop at writing a properly edited article. It also involves getting your audience dedicated and informed using email campaigns, offers, and promotions.

If as a content marketer, you write content on your blog or website, you can take a step further by designing a newsletter subscription form that new readers can join so they can receive emails on important news from your blog or website.

Conclusion

Content marketing is one of the most sought after jobs today because "content is king." Now you've known these SEO tips for effective content marketing strategy; it's time to start creating those content in your head. And guess what, you can become a prolific content marketer in no time.