Can your Thought Leadership Content be SEO Optimized?

Thought leadership is often thought of as an opposing strategy to search engine optimization (SEO) since thought leaders are trailblazers, pioneers in their fields while SEO technicians try to compete in a field by mimicking what others are already doing – only with better, more in-depth content.

(Yes I know we are oversimplifying things but bare with us.)

In this article, we are going to examine the differences between thought leadership content and SEO content and whether they can co-exist and co-mingle.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO?)

When we think of SEO, we describe it as a set of strategies designed to push a page or site on top of search engine results pages.

But with recent algorithm changes, Google finally managed to devalue those tricks. So, what you’ve been doing all these years to make your pages rank is less likely to be effective today.

The usual strategies, i.e., keyword research and link building, are at the twilight of their relevance.

Succeeding in SEO these days requires a more traditional yet historically proven approach.

You sell a legit product, advertise it, and optimize your revenue stream through tests and accounting.

What’s different is that Google uses algorithms and codes to incorporate everything for its search engine to serve its purpose.

Editor’s Note: In theory, Google provides web searchers with results on a given search based on how helpful, relevant, and well-written a website is. But it doesn’t always work that way.

For example, sites that bought links, repurposed content, and created networks of irrelevant sites still found a way to get on top. In a nutshell, Google’s algorithm is experiencing success in distinguishing exciting and relevant content from fillers.

Nevertheless, the improvement in how Google filters and ranks pages are worthy of praise.

It’s especially true for those who stick by the concept of writing excellent content and using it to promote their businesses.

On the other hand, it’s bad news for SEO firms who’ve been cutting corners all these years.

The change forces them to produce excellent content (and a ton of it) to rank high enough in organic search.

So, where does this lead to those who rely on conventional SEO?

Firms that make a living out of putting their clients’ websites on top of Google rely on generating lots of content and creating networks out of links.

But if a company or entrepreneur only think about their target market from a purely SEO technician point of view and not also as a thought leader perspective, they are losing out on having highly qualified leads that will pay you top dollar.

To have the best customers, entrepreneurs must do it via thought leadership.

What is Thought Leadership?

Thought leaders are usually unicorns in their fields. They bring a unique perspective to the industry – usually in a way that nobody has thought about before.

There’s nothing new about this principle, although not everyone thinks it’s useful enough to put a page or site on top. It refers to the production of high-quality content which conveys an organization’s leadership (authority) in a particular niche or industry.

The content is typically a long article that details original research, case study, infographic, and brilliant analysis of a specific issue or topic.

In other words, it’s not your average run-of-the-mill “Top 10 Ways to Invest Your Money Online.”

The content in thought leadership is more persuasive than informative; it is written to appease and satisfy the need for information.

Relationship Between Content Marketing and Thought Leadership

We’ve established the premise that creating content without regard for its relevance no longer works for SEO purposes.

In today’s global village, SEO companies and internet marketing firms are almost forced to embrace the concept of being a “thought leader.”

Editor’s Note: In the world of SEO thought leadership is seen through the lens of something called domain authority or DA. In SEO’s typical analytical way, domain authority is calculated from 0 to 100. Websites like Wikipedia, Google and Facebook will come up at or close to 100 while a newly launched site will be closer to zero. For marketing purposes thought leadership and domain authority are pretty close to being the same thing in terms of outcome, that is getting customers to take some sort of action. 

Anybody can do SEO but it’s much harder –and therefore much more lucrative – to become a thought leader.

But how do you become a thought leader?

You must first be recognized as an established authority on an industry or niche topic.

Usually this comes in the form of an original idea or perspective presented in an entertaining and unusual way.

Editor’s Note: Seth Godin is a thought leader in the marketing space and he has come up with not only his unique take on how to best market but has presented his ideas in a unique way (aka the Purple Cow, The Dip, The Linchpin, just to name a few.) 

In the world of internet marketing, publishing useful content epitomizes thought leadership.

The way to do it varies, from perceptive blog posts, entertaining how-to and instructional videos, to long articles, case studies, and news stories.

Content marketing comes naturally when you or your business is a thought leader. Visitors to your site stay longer because your content is thought-provoking and exciting.

When people spend more time on your page, you get much better chances of driving them to other pages via internal linking. This alone increases your website’s interaction metrics (a sign of SEO success).

The switch to thought leadership content doesn’t mean that you must abandon traditional SEO. You’re worried that incorporating SEO will diminish the value of your content.

There’s a chance for it to happen if you overdo it, i.e., stuffing keywords, linking to unrelated sites, duplicate content.

(That stuff is bad for SEO regardless of if you’re a thought leader or not.)

But remember that Google still wants webpages to be optimized for specific keywords and establish a network of links to authority sites.

Only this time, you’ll have to put your best foot forward to provide a balance. The goal is to carry out on-site optimization of your pages to attract rather than alienate your target audience.

Yes, thought leadership content can be SEO optimized – but it’s not easy. All you must do is create useful information with the right keywords in place.

Both search engines and users love it. But that’s not all.

You can have your thought leadership content “search-optimized” by distributing it across social networking platforms.

Sharing compelling and relevant content helps your brand or company gain fans over at Facebook and Twitter. Google loves traffic driven via social media presence since the content is usually engaging and relevant.

More importantly, your target audience is likely to stumble upon your website through your presence on social media.

Can Thought Leadership Content Be Optimized?

As much as Google values excellent content, there’s no denying that SEO still is about building a network of links. So, no matter how compelling and thought-provoking your content is, you must still incorporate the link building element.

In a perfect world, excellent content leads to a network of links without the need for a push. The reason is that your target audience will give it enough value to the point that they’ll naturally share it with other people. But it’s easier said than done.

Every internet marketer knows that content is only “effective” when seen by as many people in their target audience as possible.

To do this, one needs a proven strategy that’s accompanied by the creation of thought leadership content.

But that’s not it – you still need a third pillar: successful optimization.

In other words, to succeed in SEO these days means creating thought leadership content, using an “acceptable” link building program, and applying conversion optimization.

Conclusion

Thought leadership and SEO are two seemingly opposite concepts, but they create a compelling driving force for brand awareness when combined. Google’s recent changes in how it ranks websites are indicative of a new direction in internet marketing.

At this point, it looks like thought leadership content is the new normal for online marketers and SEO firms alike.