Interested in finding out more about exactly what our organic team gets up to? Discover everything you need to know in our SEO and content team starter pack.
Are you interested in a job in SEO or content, or perhaps you’d just like to find out more about what the team does?
Well, you’re in luck as this guide delves into everything you need to know!
Here at c3, we’ve combined our SEO and content experts to create the overall Organic Search team. This is because, for most clients, we employ a connected strategy allowing the two teams to work closely together in order to deliver the best results for our clients.
At the moment, there are many agencies hiring for digital PRs…
It’s a tricky task to try and sum up SEO, but we’ll give it our best shot. In a nutshell, SEO (which stands for Search Engine Optimisation) is all about optimising a website for visibility on search engines such as Google.
There is an even more technical side to SEO, which focuses on enhancing the technical parts of a site to improve its rankings. This can include:
Ultimately, SEO is all about ensuring that a website is ranking as highly as possible, in turn bringing increased traffic, whether that’s customers, clients, or another type of audience.
Wondering how we put this into practice? Discover our approach and what this involves by reading about our SEO services.
Content falls within SEO, as it shares the same goal of boosting rankings and driving traffic but refers to all the written work involved. This includes blogs and other website page copy.
Having content as part of your overall marketing strategy is crucial. Apart from the obvious, a solid approach to content will prompt Google to take notice, keep your readers onsite, and result in conversions.
For more information on exactly how we do this at connective3, you can read all about our content strategy and content writing services.
On top of the strategy side of things, a lot of the work the content team undertakes involves different types of writing. Below are a few examples of the different content formats our team writes:
These tend to be the most common type of content writing for our team. Most of the time, these are SEO-focused blogs and guides written with the intent of boosting organic search rankings. However, other times they may be long-form articles on topics important to a client’s audience. Whatever the subject matter, these types of informational pieces are useful for helping a client become an authority.
Most of the time, when our PR team launches a campaign, they need a relevant page to link back to, which is where the content team comes in. As well as writing the onsite campaign content, they also support the PR team in creating press releases that can be used during outreach.
White papers are report-like in style, compared to typical informational blog posts and other long-form articles. The goal is to delve deep into a certain topic and provide an expert analysis.
Shorter in length, landing page copy is another type of writing our team does frequently. Essentially, landing page copy focuses on what the page has been built for, such as “maxi dresses” or “midi skirts”, whilst targeting relevant commercial keywords and improving internal linking, with a CTA (aka call to action) promoting the services.
To make sure content is performing as well as it should be, the content team go in and review what’s already there to see what can be improved. This might include implementing more relevant keywords, and even potentially adding entirely new sections.
If a client is developing a new interactive tool for their website, then the team can write up the necessary copy for the page, or even just review and offer feedback and recommendations on what should be included.
Like any industry, there are lots of helpful tools available which definitely make our lives (well, jobs) easier. If you’re curious about which ones we use the most at connective3, here are a few of our top picks:
A holy grail tool for the entire Organic team is GA4, aka Google Analytics. This tends to be the main tool used when reporting and highlighting results to our clients, including users and sessions.
It’s a free web analytics service that’s part of the Google Marketing platform and provides all sorts of stats and analytical features which can be used to look at how customers engage with a client’s website.
Another tool our team uses on pretty much a daily basis is the SEO software tool suite, Ahrefs. A popular choice for many people in the industry, some of its key applications for the team include keyword research, competitor analysis, and monitoring rankings to name a few.
There are also other tools for our keyword research purposes, including Semrush and SERPAPI.
The official source of keyword information, Google Keyword Planner is a free keyword research tool from Google itself. Find new keywords or check volumes against those from other tools like Ahrefs; it’s extremely straightforward to use.
ScreamingFrog is a website crawling tool which allows our team to crawl websites and analyse various key SEO elements, such as broken links, duplicate content, and overall site architecture. Both our content and SEO experts use this often when auditing or conducting health checks.
One which our team don’t rely on but still think is worth mentioning is Grammarly. It’s a great tool to have if you just need a little nudge on your grammar every now and then. It can also be set to American English, which is particularly nifty if you’re not certain on all the different spelling changes.
An essential tool for anyone working in SEO, Search Console is great if you’re looking to keep your site well-optimised and in good health. The tool offers an all-in-one place for handling several key aspects:
Google Search Console also offers a view of performance, allowing you to see how many ‘clicks’ and ‘impressions’ each page and keyword is driving.
As with any industry, there are certain terms that will be thrown about that you might not be familiar with. While it’s natural to pick up on these things over time, we thought we’d make it easier by compiling some of the most common industry terms everyone should know.
In SEO, keywords are the words or phrases that are used when searching for something online in search engines. Sometimes they may also be referred to as ‘search queries’.
Keywords can be things as simple as ‘vegan sandwich’ or ‘wedding dresses’. There are also long-tail keywords which are more specific and made up of multiple words. This is because the person searching has a better idea of what they actually want to find.
For example, a typical keyword might be something like ‘wooden desks’, whereas a long-tail keyword version would be ‘small wooden desks for home office’.
A main part of both SEO and content strategy is identifying relevant keywords and targeting them in our work, to ensure a client is appearing when people search online. We have tools which allow us to see how many people are looking at each keyword per month, which gives us a good idea on whether to target them or not.
Another element that has to be considered when it comes to keywords is the ‘search intent’. Basically, what is the person wanting to discover when searching for something online?
Google wants to ensure that users are being given appropriate results for what they’re searching, so it’s important that your approach satisfies user intent.
There are four main intent categories that most search terms fall into:
Probably most of the commonly used terms across content and SEO is SERP, which stands for Search Engine Results Page. As it states, this is the page that comes up when you look for something in a search engine like Google.
The reason why this is such a common term in SEO and content is that one of the overall goals is to see a client appear (or ‘rank’) as close to the top of page one of the SERPs as possible, if not first.
Think about it: when you search for something online, how likely are you to scroll down or go to the next page? Not many people do. What appears in the SERPS and where a page ranks changes depending on a search engine’s algorithm which tend to be updated and reviewed regularly.
On the SERPs, we have featured snippets or ‘position 0’. These are the boxes that appear right at the top when searching for something and provide context for that search with a short paragraph, list, etc.
When writing content, one of the goals is often to try to earn featured snippets, as this is the highest possible ranking position on search engines other than advertisements. The reason these are so desirable is that people tend to stick to the top few results after searching for something.
A featured snippet is more attention-grabbing than a standard result due to being bigger and, in turn, is more likely to be clicked on by users.
People Also Ask (PAA) boxes are also like mini featured snippets where Google pulls out what they believe to be the best answer to commonly searched questions.
Meta titles and meta descriptions are two important HTML elements and important to bear in mind for SEO purposes.
The meta title, sometimes called a title tag, is there to let search engines and readers know what the page is about – it’s also the text that appears as a blue link in the SERPs.
Meanwhile, a meta description is a short summary of the page’s content and the page’s primary keyword. There are various estimations of the ideal character count for a description, but typically the recommended number varies between 100-160. It’s worth mentioning that Google may not always display the meta description written, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile.
Meta titles and meta descriptions are two important HTML elements and important to bear in mind for SEO purposes.
The meta title, sometimes called a title tag, is there to let search engines and readers know what the page is about – it’s also the text that appears as a blue link in the SERPs.
Meanwhile, a meta description is a short summary of the page’s content and the page’s primary keyword. There are various estimations of the ideal character count for a description, but typically the recommended number varies between 100-160. It’s worth mentioning that Google may not always display the meta description written, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile.
When it comes to linking, this falls into two categories – external and internal. Links, whether external or internal, are an important ranking factor for Google as it gives them an idea of whether the content is of high-value or not. You can find out more about the different types of links and their value in our digital pr starter pack.
External linking is when you add a link to a website that isn’t your own; for instance, if you’re referencing them as a source. Internal linking is when you add links pointing to other pages on the same domain. In SEO, internal linking is the one focused on most, as it is in your control and can have real impact on how your website ranks.
Ultimately, internal links can help Google start to understand your site structure, as well as the relationship and relevancy between different pages. Having an internal link structure in place also enables users to better navigate your site.
Anchor text are the words, or sometimes just one word alone, used when adding a link to another page, aka the clickable text. Often, this is highlighted in a different colour on a website to make sure it stands out from the rest of text.
Sometimes viewed as one of the pillars of SEO, in short, authority is how ‘strong’ your website is. A ‘stronger’ website should, in theory, help a website rank in the SERPs, although Google claims this isn’t actually a deciding factor.
Building authority takes time and is therefore part of a longer-term strategy, and can involve actions such as auditing the full website, optimising content and website structure, and link building to name a few.
Crawling is a process done by search engines to discover new or updated content through the use of robots (aka crawlers or spiders). They do so by analysing code/content for each URL they can find on a site. From there, they decide if it is new content and/or if it is of any value.
Crawling is basically step one of having search engines see your pages, which is then followed by indexing.
Indexing is all about which parts of your website can or can’t be found by a search engine and, in turn, added to its index. It’s important for pages to be indexable if you want them to start ranking and driving organic traffic.
However, there are instance where you might want pages to be non-indexable, including those with low-quality or gated content that you only want to be accessible in a particular situation. If you don’t want a page to be indexable, then you can either add a robots.txt file or a “noindex” tag.
For more information on crawling and indexing, you can read our beginner’s guide to how search engines work.
Building authority takes time and is therefore part of a longer-term strategy, and can involve actions such as auditing the full website, optimising content and website structure, and link building to name a few.
At C3, we believe a connected approach is the best way to achieve real results. That’s why our SEO and content team, aka the Organic Search team, naturally ends up collaborating and working closely with other channels. Curious how we do that? Let’s find out.
Typically, you’ll receive a brief prior to the brainstorm which will include key information such as an overview, previous campaigns, industry news, competitor insights, inspiration, and some initial ideas so other people can see where to start.
Perhaps the most obvious way of linking up organic search and social is by using social media platforms to promote onsite content such as blogs and other articles.
Another way is by reviewing keyword seasonality and trends, and planning this into both your social and organic calendars. Identifying when certain keywords are popular is great for ensuring the most visibility on your content, which will likely translate onto social media searches too. Alternatively, looking at what’s trending on social media platforms specifically could also help to inform your content ideas and roadmap.
Not everybody thinks the same way, so the same approach won’t work for everyone, and that’s fine. There are all sorts of ideation styles including brainwriting, figure storming, round the room, and change of scenery.
From writing a strong CV to impressing during the interview process, there are multiple important parts to consider when applying for a job in organic search.
To help give you a bit of a head-start if you’re wanting a career in SEO or content, we spoke with Ben Barker, our Group Head of SEO, and Head of Content Strategy, Elle Pollicott, for their insights when hiring.
During an interview, in addition to the initial impression you give and your skills on paper, it’s important to nail the interview questions. Lucky for you, we want to give you an idea of what you might be asked when interviewing for a role in SEO or content.
Below are some examples of interview questions you might be asked in SEO, with some being for an entry-level role and others for a strategist position:
Alternatively, if you’re planning on going for a role in content, these are some interview questions you might want to prep for:
Of course, it’s not just about having the right answers to the questions but also about showcasing your previous experience and the qualities or skills you can bring to a job. Here are some qualities and skills that will serve you well in a content or SEO role:
With the emergence of AI and how fast it’s evolving, it naturally begs the question of how, or perhaps even if, content and SEO can take advantage of it?
This is something we’ve already been looking into at connective3, having written a couple of blogs like what generative AI search means for digital marketers and how the rise of AI will affect content.
Hopefully, you’re feeling all clued up now that we’ve covered all the basics of SEO and content. If you’re ready for a career in SEO or content, the team at Connective3 is always growing, so be sure to see what openings we’ve got on our careers page.
To find out even more about exactly how we deliver results for our clients, you can read more about our services.
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