Thriving in today’s competitive search environment can be quite difficult. Between all of the niches that are filled with competitors and the constant changes that search engines hand down in terms of algorithm changes, it’s hard to stay ahead of all the stress and problems. Search engine success revolves around having a message, the message being high-quality, and getting it distributed to as many people as possible. This isn’t as hard as it sounds – at least in terms of the main ingredients – and below, we’ll discuss three pieces of that puzzle that are easy to recognize and can lead to better overall SEO opportunity for your brand, business or blog.

The Audience

The first and perhaps most important element of SEO success is the audience. When pinging for SEO, you are doing so in the hopes that people see your pages, and subsequently click on them. Without an audience to cater to, there is no point in advertising or content marketing. Because of this, understanding what makes your audience tick is crucial. You’ll want to look into behaviours for your industry or niche, and determine from that what the best course of action is. By learning as much as possible across search engines, social media and web analytics, you’ll begin to paint a picture of how your audience responds to each potential content scenario, what they expect and what they do not like.

The Demand

After you have established an audience, you must then begin to listen to the whims and desires of said audience. While a broader niche may bring people to your website through search and social media, what will keep them there is your ability to adjust content strategies to address their desires. You may be writing about environmentalism, but a section of your audience will want to hear about marine environmentalism, while another will want to see long-term implications of climate change addressed. Even in small niches, the need to dig further into the category and provide a variety of viewpoints and opinions is crucial. This will ensure that there is something for everyone, and the rest of the associated content will be received more positively by them in the process.

The Content

Last but definitely not least, the content you produce has inherent value when pinging for SEO, and will make or break your efforts with search engines and individuals alike. The process doesn’t end once the basic content is created, though: you must then create additional content in the process of promoting it on social media, paid search and through other mediums. In addition to that, the follow-ups with subscribers and comments on social media and in blog posts continues the effect that can be garnered here. Ultimately, the experience that people have with your brand is related to its content, and the amount of time you spend crafting this experience is directly correlated to the amount of return traffic and business you can expect.

Conclusion

By addressing three key components of search engine success – the audience, the delivery and the content – you, too, can manage a thriving internet blog, business or brand.