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Repurposing Content for SEO

Repurposing Content for SEO
Table of Contents
  1. Template item

No matter the size of your team or your business, everyone can benefit from more efficient efforts, especially when you can repurpose work and amplify its impact. Case in point: Let’s talk about how to repurpose other marketing efforts to serve SEO, allowing you to achieve more with less.

How to repurpose content for SEO - Top tactics

Here are some ideas for repurposing content for SEO:

       1. Turn your customer support portal into optimized SEO pieces.

       2. Repurpose social media posts into search-optimized articles.

       3. Repurpose videos into SEO-friendly articles.

       4. Maximize existing blog articles for SEO.

As we go through the steps for implementing each of these ideas, remember to prioritize top performers in your repurposing efforts for maximum results (i.e., your most liked social media posts, articles with the most email clicks, etc.).

First, know your keywords and how to optimize

Before you start repurposing content for SEO, you will need to know what keywords and phrases to focus on. 

There are several paid tools (such as Semrush, Conductor, and more) that will scrape search engine data and tell you how many people search for a given keyword. This allows you to determine the most popular keywords and phrasing being used by your customers. If you work with a marketing agency or other SEO professional, they can also provide a list of relevant keywords to work off of when repurposing content for SEO.

If you’re looking for a quick, no-software solution for keyword research, try this free DIY template. It will guide you through using customer insights to pinpoint a few phrases you may want to target when repurposing content for SEO.

No matter what SEO tools or techniques you use, you also need to have a basic understanding of how to optimize for SEO.

Here are the SEO requirements for any article or page:

  • The exact keyword is in the title, or as close to the exact keyword as possible.
  • The keyword is in the URL (with dashes as spaces).
  • The keyword is in at least one subheading — more if possible!
  • The keyword is sprinkled throughout the body text.

     • There is no exact number. Try to use it as much as possible while still sounding natural and maintaining readability.

Use the keyword in any image alt text as well, especially if Google is showing image results for that keyword search.

Now, let’s get into the top tactics for repurposing content for SEO. 

Repurpose customer support resources for SEO

Many brands have a frequently asked questions (FAQs) section, a customer support section, or otherwise know what questions they most commonly get from prospective and current customers. If your customers are asking the question, there’s a good chance people are also typing it into Google, so this is a great opportunity to repurpose content for SEO.

Summary: Use existing customer support articles to optimize for SEO as well.

Benefits: Not only does this potentially help you rank for more relevant keywords, but it also helps customers find answers to their questions and provides a positive experience with your brand because they can find the answer both on your website and on Google.

Developing a customer support portal (if you don’t already have one) also decreases the customer service resources needed, as you can more quickly point customers toward an article with the answer and better train customer service representatives.

How to do it (if you don’t already have a customer support portal):

       1. Compile the most common questions you get from customers.

       2. Create a dedicated page/URL with each question and answer.

       3. Create an FAQs/Support page with a text link to each question and answer page.

              a. For long lists of questions, you can also organize them into categories, such as “Orders,” “Returns,” and “Product Care” (to name a few).

If you do already have a customer support portal, then make sure it meets these SEO requirements: 

Support portal SEO requirements:

  • Phrase each question exactly how your customer would phrase it.
  • Each question should have its own URL (so that each can rank on search engines).
  • Answer each question directly. For example, “How much do mattresses cost? Mattresses cost between $X and $X….” This is to help optimize for featured snippets on Google.
  • Link to other related questions.

The Wayfair Help Center is a good example of an ideal support portal layout, where the top customer support topics are neatly organized but still link out to individual pages:

View the experience at https://www.wayfair.com/help/index 

This also makes it easy for customers to get their answers from Google, as well as from Wayfair's website:

Repurpose social media posts for SEO

When a social media post really engages and resonates with your audience, consider if it’s a good candidate to expand into an article format. This works best for informational posts, not for marketing posts about sales, specials, etc. 

Summary: Take informational social media posts plus questions posted in the comments section to create an SEO-friendly article. For example, this article on top saxophone tips for beginners creates a comprehensive guide that answers many different questions they got from students (and ranks for “saxophone tips for beginners”).

Benefits: You likely already have a social media calendar and a regular posting schedule. Why not take content from that and adapt it to SEO-friendly content on your website?

How to do it:

  1. Pull any text from the post and the caption. Use this as your title and introduction.

      a. If applicable, consider using the most common question as the title of the article instead (if people are asking in comments, it’s likely to be            something people also type into search engines).

   2. For anything you listed in the post/caption, write a paragraph elaborating on it.

   3. Extract questions that people had from the comments and create sub-sections for each question (prioritize the most common questions).

Repurpose videos for SEO

Different people absorb and engage with information across the web in a variety of ways. Some like video while others still prefer a developed article or count on Google Search to find information they need. Did you already nail your message with a  YouTube video, Instagram reel, or TikTok video? Then why not repurpose that content success for a text-forward audience as well?

Summary: Video drives a lot of engagement and is the primary format for many other marketing channels; however, Google cannot as easily crawl information in videos. So why not turn that video into a search-optimized piece?

Benefits: Save time coming up with new article concepts by creating an SEO article using information that’s already been published in video formats, especially if that video got people clicking, commenting, sharing, or even asking questions you can answer.

How to do it:

       1. Use the video title as your article title.

       2. Download the transcript for your video.

          a. There are many paid tools that will do this.

           b. If your video is on YouTube, you can copy and paste the transcript text

               i. You can find this underneath the video under “Transcript” if you’re logged in to your own channel. Then click the three dots next to Transcript, toggle off timestamps, then copy. If you’re not logged into your channel you can click the three dots next to “Save” to show the transcript, toggle off time stamps, and copy).

      3. Edit the transcript text for grammar and phrasing.

      4. Organize the text into sections and subheadings where appropriate.

      5. If the video has comments on it, pull out any questions people have asked and create subsections answering those questions.

Maximize existing blog articles for SEO

Summary: You likely already have a blog or content hub where you house articles for your newsletter, social media, and more. Why not take those existing articles and turn them into SEO assets?

Benefits: Maximize ranking articles with minimal effort.

How to do it:

       1. Determine which articles have had the most engagement (email clicks, social media likes, etc). You could start with the top five.

       2. Determine the keyword or most common phrase associated with each article.

           a. You can use formal keyword research, or use your gut. For example, if there is an article titled “4 Mistakes to Avoid When Cleaning a Yoga Mat,” consider retitling it to “How to Clean Your Yoga Mat,” as that is what people are most likely to ask. Note that you can also use different headlines off of your website. For example if you wanted to show the “4 Mistakes…” title on your email newsletter to increase clicks, you could do that.

       3. Revise the article to include the keyword throughout the article (refer to the SEO requirements listed at the top of this article)

These ideas for repurposing content for SEO will get you started, but there are many repurposing possibilities that vary from company to company, so keep your eyes out for other opportunities to maximize and repurpose content across all of your marketing platforms.

Alanna HawleyAlanna Hawley
Alanna has been in the SEO industry for over 10 years and throughout that time has worked with brands of all sizes and industries, including Logitech, The Red Cross, Troy-Bilt, Ariat International, numerous local businesses, and companies both large and small. Alanna is also an entrepreneur and business owner in the music industry who understands the unique perspective of founders and CEOs. Alanna's work over the last 10 years has allowed her to hone in on key SEO/SEM strategies and approaches that reliably yield success in driving traffic and business revenue through search engines.
Hire Marketers
Explainers

Repurposing Content for SEO

September 8, 2023
November 11, 2021
Alanna Hawley

Table of Contents

No matter the size of your team or your business, everyone can benefit from more efficient efforts, especially when you can repurpose work and amplify its impact. Case in point: Let’s talk about how to repurpose other marketing efforts to serve SEO, allowing you to achieve more with less.

How to repurpose content for SEO - Top tactics

Here are some ideas for repurposing content for SEO:

       1. Turn your customer support portal into optimized SEO pieces.

       2. Repurpose social media posts into search-optimized articles.

       3. Repurpose videos into SEO-friendly articles.

       4. Maximize existing blog articles for SEO.

As we go through the steps for implementing each of these ideas, remember to prioritize top performers in your repurposing efforts for maximum results (i.e., your most liked social media posts, articles with the most email clicks, etc.).

First, know your keywords and how to optimize

Before you start repurposing content for SEO, you will need to know what keywords and phrases to focus on. 

There are several paid tools (such as Semrush, Conductor, and more) that will scrape search engine data and tell you how many people search for a given keyword. This allows you to determine the most popular keywords and phrasing being used by your customers. If you work with a marketing agency or other SEO professional, they can also provide a list of relevant keywords to work off of when repurposing content for SEO.

If you’re looking for a quick, no-software solution for keyword research, try this free DIY template. It will guide you through using customer insights to pinpoint a few phrases you may want to target when repurposing content for SEO.

No matter what SEO tools or techniques you use, you also need to have a basic understanding of how to optimize for SEO.

Here are the SEO requirements for any article or page:

  • The exact keyword is in the title, or as close to the exact keyword as possible.
  • The keyword is in the URL (with dashes as spaces).
  • The keyword is in at least one subheading — more if possible!
  • The keyword is sprinkled throughout the body text.

     • There is no exact number. Try to use it as much as possible while still sounding natural and maintaining readability.

Use the keyword in any image alt text as well, especially if Google is showing image results for that keyword search.

Now, let’s get into the top tactics for repurposing content for SEO. 

Repurpose customer support resources for SEO

Many brands have a frequently asked questions (FAQs) section, a customer support section, or otherwise know what questions they most commonly get from prospective and current customers. If your customers are asking the question, there’s a good chance people are also typing it into Google, so this is a great opportunity to repurpose content for SEO.

Summary: Use existing customer support articles to optimize for SEO as well.

Benefits: Not only does this potentially help you rank for more relevant keywords, but it also helps customers find answers to their questions and provides a positive experience with your brand because they can find the answer both on your website and on Google.

Developing a customer support portal (if you don’t already have one) also decreases the customer service resources needed, as you can more quickly point customers toward an article with the answer and better train customer service representatives.

How to do it (if you don’t already have a customer support portal):

       1. Compile the most common questions you get from customers.

       2. Create a dedicated page/URL with each question and answer.

       3. Create an FAQs/Support page with a text link to each question and answer page.

              a. For long lists of questions, you can also organize them into categories, such as “Orders,” “Returns,” and “Product Care” (to name a few).

If you do already have a customer support portal, then make sure it meets these SEO requirements: 

Support portal SEO requirements:

  • Phrase each question exactly how your customer would phrase it.
  • Each question should have its own URL (so that each can rank on search engines).
  • Answer each question directly. For example, “How much do mattresses cost? Mattresses cost between $X and $X….” This is to help optimize for featured snippets on Google.
  • Link to other related questions.

The Wayfair Help Center is a good example of an ideal support portal layout, where the top customer support topics are neatly organized but still link out to individual pages:

View the experience at https://www.wayfair.com/help/index 

This also makes it easy for customers to get their answers from Google, as well as from Wayfair's website:

Repurpose social media posts for SEO

When a social media post really engages and resonates with your audience, consider if it’s a good candidate to expand into an article format. This works best for informational posts, not for marketing posts about sales, specials, etc. 

Summary: Take informational social media posts plus questions posted in the comments section to create an SEO-friendly article. For example, this article on top saxophone tips for beginners creates a comprehensive guide that answers many different questions they got from students (and ranks for “saxophone tips for beginners”).

Benefits: You likely already have a social media calendar and a regular posting schedule. Why not take content from that and adapt it to SEO-friendly content on your website?

How to do it:

  1. Pull any text from the post and the caption. Use this as your title and introduction.

      a. If applicable, consider using the most common question as the title of the article instead (if people are asking in comments, it’s likely to be            something people also type into search engines).

   2. For anything you listed in the post/caption, write a paragraph elaborating on it.

   3. Extract questions that people had from the comments and create sub-sections for each question (prioritize the most common questions).

Repurpose videos for SEO

Different people absorb and engage with information across the web in a variety of ways. Some like video while others still prefer a developed article or count on Google Search to find information they need. Did you already nail your message with a  YouTube video, Instagram reel, or TikTok video? Then why not repurpose that content success for a text-forward audience as well?

Summary: Video drives a lot of engagement and is the primary format for many other marketing channels; however, Google cannot as easily crawl information in videos. So why not turn that video into a search-optimized piece?

Benefits: Save time coming up with new article concepts by creating an SEO article using information that’s already been published in video formats, especially if that video got people clicking, commenting, sharing, or even asking questions you can answer.

How to do it:

       1. Use the video title as your article title.

       2. Download the transcript for your video.

          a. There are many paid tools that will do this.

           b. If your video is on YouTube, you can copy and paste the transcript text

               i. You can find this underneath the video under “Transcript” if you’re logged in to your own channel. Then click the three dots next to Transcript, toggle off timestamps, then copy. If you’re not logged into your channel you can click the three dots next to “Save” to show the transcript, toggle off time stamps, and copy).

      3. Edit the transcript text for grammar and phrasing.

      4. Organize the text into sections and subheadings where appropriate.

      5. If the video has comments on it, pull out any questions people have asked and create subsections answering those questions.

Maximize existing blog articles for SEO

Summary: You likely already have a blog or content hub where you house articles for your newsletter, social media, and more. Why not take those existing articles and turn them into SEO assets?

Benefits: Maximize ranking articles with minimal effort.

How to do it:

       1. Determine which articles have had the most engagement (email clicks, social media likes, etc). You could start with the top five.

       2. Determine the keyword or most common phrase associated with each article.

           a. You can use formal keyword research, or use your gut. For example, if there is an article titled “4 Mistakes to Avoid When Cleaning a Yoga Mat,” consider retitling it to “How to Clean Your Yoga Mat,” as that is what people are most likely to ask. Note that you can also use different headlines off of your website. For example if you wanted to show the “4 Mistakes…” title on your email newsletter to increase clicks, you could do that.

       3. Revise the article to include the keyword throughout the article (refer to the SEO requirements listed at the top of this article)

These ideas for repurposing content for SEO will get you started, but there are many repurposing possibilities that vary from company to company, so keep your eyes out for other opportunities to maximize and repurpose content across all of your marketing platforms.

Alanna Hawley
about the author

Alanna has been in the SEO industry for over 10 years and throughout that time has worked with brands of all sizes and industries, including Logitech, The Red Cross, Troy-Bilt, Ariat International, numerous local businesses, and companies both large and small. Alanna is also an entrepreneur and business owner in the music industry who understands the unique perspective of founders and CEOs. Alanna's work over the last 10 years has allowed her to hone in on key SEO/SEM strategies and approaches that reliably yield success in driving traffic and business revenue through search engines.

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