Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was an effective tool in the early days of the internet.
Some considered it a dark art. Others did everything they could to game the system, looking for shortcuts.
However, if you simply approached your website as a way to serve your readers, it was easy. You wrote about topics your readers searched for using their words and followed the right formatting.
Boom, your web page would be at the top of search results.
I did this and built a website, bringing in 87,500 visitors a month.
But now, in 2024, SEO is a whole lot more competitive.
Because now there’s a new twist.
Google’s E-E-A-T framework stands for Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Industry thought leaders bring expertise and experience.
It makes sense for SEO and thought leadership to collaborate.
After all, both groups want to bring more visibility to the company, build credibility, and ultimately drive revenue.
Why not communicate and work toward the same goals?
SEO Content Clusters and Thought Leadership Are a Dynamic Pair
SEO content clusters use a broad keyword term like “B2B lead generation” and write a lengthy post about it. Some such posts can be 3,000 words at minimum. I’ve heard of 10,000-word blog posts.
The idea is to create an excellent resource for the topic. Next, you publish ancillary posts that explain specific terms or sections in more depth.
Such related topics for this example could be:
- Social media marketing for B2B lead generation
- LinkedIn for B2B lead generation
- Targeted outreach for qualified leads
- How to target decision makers for B2B lead generation
- Top marketing automation tools for B2B sales teams
You get the gist. What makes it a cluster is you interlink these articles creating a spider web that tells Google this content goes together.
Traditionally, such an approach is practically guaranteed to boost your website traffic.
Of course, like all things SEO, the approach works until it doesn’t, and now that so many businesses take the content cluster approach, it’s working less than it did a few years ago.
However, your content will stand out better if you support these SEO posts with thought leadership pieces.
That’s because both Google and your readers care about personal experience and expertise.
Companies might ask you to interview a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for more context and quotes. That’s a great approach.
An even better approach is to build a relationship with thought leaders and use their existing content related to your content cluster. If they don’t have related content, share the SEO strategy with them and ask if they’d be open to creating something.
For example, if your thought leader wrote a piece about their experience with B2B lead generation, then you’d have a terrific piece to link to from your bigger content piece.
That link is a vote of confidence from your site and tells Google, “This is good stuff.” Google considers links part of its algorithm for determining what’s pushed to the top of search results.
The Underlying Content Strategy
Pretend you’re a consultant helping the business with its content strategy. Your role is to bring together the business objectives with the content piece. That includes SEO and, ideally, thought leadership content.
Every piece of content supports another piece. That 5,000-word pillar post should link out to three to five thought leadership-driven pieces that go deeper. These pieces provide specific insights that deepen the company’s credibility.
It’s helpful to involve the team responsible for SEO and the thought leader in communication in the interest of building long-term partnerships.
Here’s what you might experience.
The SEO team shares a spreadsheet with dozens of keyword terms and phrases. The company has a prominent thought leader, and you want to coordinate a meeting between the SEO team leader and the thought leader.
Your thought leader may be a busy executive. They’re creating content often on their own time. They’ve worked hard to establish a positive industry reputation, so show them how they can benefit by taking this meeting.
Ideally, you’ll have a mutual introduction to break the ice and add as much personal detail as possible. With that in mind, here’s an initial framework for your email requesting a meeting.
“Hi [name],
I really enjoyed your recent piece on [whatever you liked] in [wherever it was published]. Your experience is a valuable perspective for the industry. Would you be open to a short call with myself and the SEO team to discuss how we could bring more visibility to your content?
You may know Google prioritizes expertise and credibility more and more. I’m working with the SEO and marketing teams on the company’s overall content strategy for driving revenue, and we’d love to incorporate more of your insights.
We know you’re busy and don’t want to take up too much of your time, but we’d love to start the conversation. Does next Tuesday or Thursday at 10 a.m. CST work for you? [You could include a calendar link.]
True thought leaders are generous people. They give a ton of their time and energy to creating helpful content. Make it easy for them to say “yes” to a discussion. When thought leaders and SEO collaborate, they can spark ideas that drive business results, and everyone wins.
