How to Build a Content Strategy to Challenge Industry Leaders

Today, I'm going to show you the 3 most important (and highly overlooked) aspects of your content marketing strategy. Small businesses and startups upset industry leaders everyday — when they focus on the right things.

Unfortunately, most SMBs are still copying the same SEO tactics leaders in their industry are using (and losing miserably).

SMB Leaders Assume the Market Leaders are Good at SEO

They copy the strategy of the big dogs, and always play second fiddle.
They don't trust their own skillset, vision, or story.
They fight SEO battles they can't win.
They start publishing content without a clear strategy.
They give up on the value of SEO too early.

Don’t worry, building an Underdog SEO strategy is simpler than you think. (Hat-tip to Grow & Convert for the amazing name!)
Here’s how, step by step:

Step 1: Target the right keywords for your business.

Focus on keywords that will grow your business.

Big brands (and most agencies) chase after keywords that will deliver tons of website visitors. High-volume keywords are an easy way to get buy-in in a marketing meeting. Don't waste your time competing on those. They're a quick way to waste precious time and budget.

Instead, focus on keywords with "buying intent" first. Build out the best service pages and bottom-funnel (bofu) articles you can produce.

Are you a local business? Write a service page focused on your city or geographic area.
Are you introducing a revolutionary new approach to your industry? Write an article outlining your disruption story, and point out what's wrong with the old approach.
Are you targeting a niche type of client? Write a helpful article outlining why your offer is the ideal solution for their pain point.

Step 2: Publish a new page or article for each keyword phrase you're targeting.

Most entrepreneurs and SMB marketers assume Google will understand the nuances of their website and automatically include them on the organic search results page for all related keywords.

Unfortunately, that's not the case. Sometimes a bigger brand will rank a page or article for lots of keywords — but that is only based on their domain authority (backlinks from other websites). Your site probably has a lower domain authority (DA score), so you need to build individual pages or articles for each keyword phrase. Pinpoint the reader's exact search intent and deliver more value than the big-brand article with 3,789 words of fluff.

For example, write separate pages for each service you offer, and consider writing a new page for each industry you serve as well.

Look at this unorthodox article I wrote that ranks #2 for "best asheville marketing agency" in Google:

https://ragoncreative.com/best-marketing-agencies-in-asheville/

Most established agencies wouldn't risk sharing a Who's Who list of their competitors, so it's an opportunity for me to mix things up.

Step 3: Write like you talk (person to person).

Lean into your personal, small business reality and show potential clients you're a real person.

Industry leaders become lazy and depend on ‌momentum more than their brains, to win new leads and clients. They also have an in-house marketer who's held accountable to a complicated brand style guide — and writes content that reads like an AI robot vomited words onto the page.

You can use SEO content to take on the top dogs in your industry.

You just need to narrow your focus, target specific keywords, and share your POV in a personal way. Then, just keep chipping away one article at a time.

Stay Focused 🎯

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Tools 🛠

I've recently started using SEMrush for all my SEO research and content strategy planning — and I'm loving it. It's got tons of various tools and features to keep my websites humming along smoothly, without overwhelming me with data I don't need.

Get a FREE trial of SEMrush by using this link.

Stay focused, and have a great weekend!

John

⚡️ Friday Focus 90: Underdog SEO

Friday Focus #90