Storytelling and SEO: Create valuable content for your website
Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of art. Before humans learned to write and read, one of the primary forms of entertainment was telling exciting stories that made people listen. In this blog post, we take an in-depth look at storytelling and the effect it has on SEO.
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Exciting and captivating stories
Little has changed since the days when storytelling was the primary entertainment - but not our ability to be captivated by a good story. Many companies have recognized this and incorporated it as an integral part of their marketing strategy. However, it can be difficult to create a story that is exciting, engaging and has a relevant point. If they are also working with SEO, the good story can easily get lost in the work with keywords and technical optimization.
This is where storytelling comes in. A well-executed storytelling can be the missing piece to the ultimate SEO hack. To give you the best chance of creating valuable content for your website, we've put together a few simple tips that you can use to write the perfect story.
Storytelling - the engaging content
Before we get straight into how the two techniques work, it's important to know what storytelling and SEO actually are. Storytelling refers to a narrative that can either help engage an audience or explain something.
The concept is unique in that it tends to include actions such as physical movements and verbalizations. The aim is to create exciting content that can create awareness and engage and inspire the reader to take action.
What good storytelling can do
Good storytelling helps boost credibility and shareability, which are factors that search engines take into account when ranking sites. Here are a few focus points that can help you knit together a good storytelling:
- The topic - should be emotional, relevant and relatable to your readers.
- Numbers and percentages help increase credibility.
- Images and videos make it easier for users to relate and understand content
SEO - what is it?
If you're new to SEO, you might not know what it is. First of all, welcome! At Amplify, we specialize in SEO and SEO consulting. If you have any questions about how it works, don't hesitate to send us a message.
With that said, here's a short intro.
SEO = Search Engine Optimization
Translated to Danish: Search Engine Optimization
SEO is the process of boosting traffic to a website by making it more visible to search engine results. That may sound broad - and it is, because there are many ways you can work with SEO.
SEO is the inclusion of the following techniques in your marketing campaign:
- Content based on keywords that people use to search on Google.
- Copywriting.
- Optimization of image descriptions.
- Link building.
- Keyword optimized meta tags.
Optimizing the site for mobile users.
Include storytelling in your SEO strategy
1. Start with a user story
The principle of storytelling is that it's not about you and your company. Long-winded stories about the company's rise in the past are unlikely to hold the reader's interest for very long. The primary focal point is therefore the user.
When writing a text, you can think about answering the questions:
- Who is your primary customer?
- What do they gain by using your brand?
- Why should they choose your brand over a competitor?
2. Excitement is the key to reader attention
The Danish dictionary defines excitement as; 'anticipation on the occasion of an activity, event or experience with a nerve-wracking, unknown or otherwise captivating course or content.
It's this phenomenon that allows us to sit glued to a screen for hours without blinking when Netflix releases a new season of Stranger Things. Grab your reader's attention and make them so invested in your story that they have to finish reading.
3. Create content focused on increasing your brand awareness
The trick with storytelling is to strike a balance between telling about your company while focusing on the reader. When you create content to increase your brand awareness, you help the reader learn about your company and your products or services. The focus should therefore be angled towards your brand and what it does for the reader. Make it relatable so that the user can imagine a situation where they use the product themselves.
4. Write for the reader, not for Google
SEO is all about incorporating specific keywords that give you a better search engine ranking. There are many recommendations on what you can do to optimize your ranking and it's easy to get carried away. That's why we remind you to write to real people first and foremost, not to Google.
It's about creating a balance between storytelling and working with SEO so it doesn't look like you're flooding your story with specific keywords. The content should still be readable, make sense and create enough interest to make the reader want to finish reading.
4. Write for the reader, not for Google
While it may sound a bit complex to combine the two methods, it's actually a relatively simple concept. It's all about writing a good story and carefully incorporating your SEO techniques into it. Most importantly, your stories need to be relevant, real and credible. There is no room for exaggerated and self-invented stories when you want to increase your brand awareness.
If you still think it's a bit of a hassle or that you could use a sparring partner in developing the interaction between good storytelling and SEO, don't hesitate to contact us. Amplify is an ambitious and data-driven marketing agency that specializes in creating online success. We have specialists who can help with SEO, Google Ads advertising, social media marketing and much more! If you need help, you can contact Amplify on 70 60 50 28 or info@amplify.dk.
If you want to know more about working with SEO and Storytelling, you can read more about Yoast recommendations here.
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