If Content Is King, Are All Topics Created Equally? — Damon Burton // SEO National

Damon Burton, Founder and President of SEO National, talks about content topic selection and buyer intent. Do you want to attract everyone or the people who actually want to buy your product? Choosing the right topics for your SEO strategy can make or break your business, and it all begins with keyword research and understanding your audience's intent. Today, Damon discusses if content is king, are all topics created equally?
About the speaker

Damon Burton

SEO National

 is a little camera shy

Damon is Founder and President of SEO National

Show Notes

  • 02:10
    The framework for effective topic selection
    Focus on specific keywords that match your product and imply buyer intent rather than just chasing high search volumes. Prioritize intent and relevance to your target audience when choosing topics and keywords for SEO.
  • 04:12
    Selecting high quality topics for website content creation
    Interview the client to understand the target audience's mindset, and use free tools like Google Autocomplete, SpyFu, etc, to gather data on popular queries related to the topics. Then, analyze the data to identify buyer intent and meet the existing demand.
  • 07:45
    Prioritizing types of content for SEO optimization
    To prioritize types of content, consider seasonality, customer preference, and profit margins. Clustering related content together can improve SEO ranking, but it's important to avoid boring or alienating the audience by rotating between priority topics and other relevant topics.
  • 09:53
    How often you should revisit selected topics
    Ideally, topics should be scheduled six to 12 months in advance to avoid knee-jerk reactions and to accrue enough pieces to represent topical authority. Thorough research is required before substituting topics due to new opportunities or market changes.
  • 13:27
    Common mistakes in topic selection
    Pursuing solely high-volume keywords and blindly following competitors are common mistakes in topic selection. Moreover, constantly changing direction prevents you from accruing enough assets to establish expertise on a subject in the eyes of customers and search engines.
  • 15:14
    The importance of front loading research and avoiding constant pivots in SEO
    Changing direction too frequently prevents the accumulation of enough assets to establish expertise and communicate it effectively. By investing heavily in research before committing to topics, you can solidify your topic expertise with customers and search engines.

Quotes

  • "Do you want one in 100 people buying your thing because you go for the broader term? Or, do you want eight out of 10 because it's more specific?" -Damon Burton, Founder, SEO National

  • "Focus on the intent of what you're pushing out, instead of just the vanity metrics of, I got this high search volume, and rank for the thing that nobody buys." -Damon Burton, Founder, SEO National

  • "If we have a schedule of four blogs per month, we do two or three on priority, and then swap in one or two about something else, just to diversify it." -Damon Burton, Founder, SEO National

  • "There's a lot of value in sticking to the plan, accruing the clusters, and acquiring enough information on your blog to become the expert and have enough pieces of content to represent that authority." -Damon Burton, Founder, SEO National

  • "Look at the data, dig into it, then make a decision. But, don't just blindly follow what other people are doing." -Damon Burton, Founder, SEO National

  • "Constantly changing the direction you're trying to communicate expertise you wont get the opportunity to build up enough assets to show customers and search engines youre an expert on the subject." -Damon Burton, Founder, SEO National

  • "Within SEO, it's of your own benefit to invest heavily in the front-loaded research, and not to change direction later." -Damon Burton, Founder, SEO National

About the speaker

Damon Burton

SEO National

 is a little camera shy

Damon is Founder and President of SEO National

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