The Ultimate List of Content Marketing Strategies & Best Practices: 102 Curated Tips from Industry Experts
As a lifelong learner, I am obsessed with staying up-to-date on the latest search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing tips and techniques, which is great for you because I’m sharing my knowledge to help you advance your content marketing career.
Over the last few months, I’ve been obsessed with Semrush Academy training, bookmarking any website resource or blog that shared strategies on the subject.
I recently stumbled upon Advanced Content Marketing with Brian Dean. One of Brian’s content strategies was to build a ridiculously long list (RLL), one of the fastest ways to get traffic to your blog.
This got me thinking … why not share my bookmarks with the world so that you can reap the content knowledge I’ve been hoarding over the last few months?
With that said, here is my RLL of curated content marketing strategies and best practices from industry experts at Semrush, Search Engine Journal, Content Marketing Institute, Wix, HubSpot, Yoast, and so many more!
I’ve organized this list based on content marketing functions, focusing heavily on SEO and content creation. The level of information ranges from very basic to advanced techniques, so it may not be useful depending on your expertise.
I hope you find something that inspires you to create engaging content for your website — So with that, let’s dive in!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — Keyword Research, Technical SEO, and Measuring SEO with Google Analytics
SEO Basics, Planning, and Strategy
The best place to start is with some basics. If you’re new to SEO, these resources will be your guiding light to getting up-to-speed quickly. Explore how to create an SEO roadmap and free tools you can use that will enhance your SEO strategy.
SEO Basics: How to Do SEO for Beginners
SEO Basics: How to Do SEO for Beginners
by Connor Lahey, Content Strategist at Semrush
As Connor says in the very first sentence of the post, “This is the complete guide to SEO for beginners.” And this is also an AMAZING example of good SEO in practice. I love the table of contents on the left side of the page, for easy navigation, and the content is bold and linked to draw your attention to the important information. As a visual learner, the imagery does a great job pointing out what to look for when optimizing and measuring your SEO efforts.
What Is Search Intent? A Complete Guide
WIX SEO resource center
116 Top Free SEO Tools
SEO Strategy: How to Create One for 2024 (+ Template)
SEO Roadmap: How to Create One + Free Template
How to create an SEO roadmap
SEO for Brand Awareness: A Complete Guide
Mastering the art of inhouse SEO [2024 edition]
Improve SEO: 11 Steps to Improve Your Rankings
Keyword Research
Once you’ve familiarized yourself with SEO basics, and have mapped out an SEO strategy, it’s time to dive in and start implementing that strategy, beginning with keyword research. Discover tips for effectively finding and using keywords, including question keywords, and applying advanced research tools to drive organic traffic to your website.
What Keywords Are & How to Use Them
What Keywords Are & How to Use Them
By Rachel Handley, Senior Content Writer at Semrush
If you’re new to keyword research, this article provides a great overview of the difference between organic and pay-per-click (PPC) keywords, how to find keywords, and how to identify keywords your competition is using. Rachel explains how you can capitalize on keyword trends and conduct analyses using Semrush’s tools, but I feel like this knowledge can easily transfer to any SEO keyword tool.
Keyword Research: An In-Depth Beginner’s Guide
Keyword Research for SEO: What It Is & How to Do It
Question Keywords: How to Find and Use Them
Keyword research for SEO: the ultimate guide
Advanced Keyword Research with Semrush (ft. Keyword Magic Tool)
Reddit Keyword Research: Uncover Hidden SEO Opportunities
Measuring and Improving SEO
Now that you’ve got the basics of SEO and keyword research under your belt, you’ve likely started putting these practices in play — But how do you know if your efforts paid off? By using Google Analytics and other tools, which allow you to track your progress and make improvements.
In this section, I’ve identified a few resources to help you monitor and report on your SEO efforts. Let's dive in!
How to Use Google Analytics for SEO: 6 Best Practices
How to Use Google Analytics for SEO: 6 Best Practices
By Zack Duncan, President, Root and Branch
If you’re new to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Zack provides a great overview of getting started, setting up your properties, and using the tools to track your SEO efforts. There are pro tips throughout this guide — and if you’re a visual learner, Zach shares images of the platform to help you align your practices.
8 Best Free Google SEO Tools: What They Do & How to Use Them
14 Google Sheets Formulas Every SEO Needs To Know
The Mini Guide to SEO Reporting
How to Create 10x SEO Reports
The SEO Customer Funnel: KPIs & SEO Metrics Worth Monitoring
Technical SEO
Rounding out the SEO list are my curated resources for technical SEO. I left this for last because some organizations pass this task off to developers, or have their own teams, leaving marketers time to focus on other SEO efforts. However, if you’re an SEO fanatic, or really just like diving into the “why/how” of things, then I have 2 resources for you!
What Is Technical SEO? Basics and Best Practices
What Is Technical SEO? Basics and Best PracticesBy Tushar Pol, SEO and Content Marketer
As I said, if you’re new to technical SEO, you may have a ton of questions. Look no further than Tushar’s basics and best practices article! There are a ton of great tips and easy-to-understand explanations for the “whys/hows.” Once you’re familiar with this concept, go back and revisit the “8 Best Free Google SEO Tools” post I mentioned. Combining your knowledge with these tools will take your SEO efforts to a whole new level.
Core Web Vitals: What They Are & How to Improve Them
So there you have it, my curated list of SEO resources, tips, and best practices. Now that you have a solid grasp of SEO, let’s move on to content creation and optimization — where you’ll have the chance to put these SEO strategies into play!