Content-Centric SEO: 5 Proven Examples + Tips to Drive Traffic

Content-centric SEO is content specifically designed to answer the questions and needs of your target audience. Discover how top brands use it to drive high-converting traffic, and learn how you can do the same.

There are so many elements to consider when optimizing your website for SEO, from on-page formatting and off-page profiles to technical SEO on the back-end of your site.

But there’s another element to strongly consider when building or optimizing your SEO strategy: the content-centric SEO approach.

Below, you’ll find the benefits of content-centric SEO for your digital marketing strategy, see examples of how other companies leverage it successfully, and learn how to create content that drives traffic, clicks, and conversions.

What is content-centric SEO?

Content-centric search engine optimization, or SEO, uses engaging, informative, and relevant content to meet the needs of target audiences.

With content-centric SEO, the copy, keywords, and visuals you use on the page are the main attraction.

Let’s say you want to go on holiday to Rome. You search for “how to plan a trip to Rome” on Google and find a travel site ranked first on the search engine results.

It has a collection of information-packed, valuable content, such as:

• Blogs about the best places to visit and restaurants to eat in
• Videos showing the stunning scenery at sunset
• Case studies and testimonials from happy customers who’ve visited Rome
• An infographic detailing the temperature at different times of the year
• An interactive quiz that plans a detailed itinerary based on the answers you provide
• A map showing the best five-star hotels to stay in

Convinced by the expertise and knowledge shown by the website, you book a trip.

By understanding what you want and the questions you may ask, the travel site knows how to satisfy your needs, so it’s more likely to earn your business.

All industries can benefit from content-centric SEO solutions, including roofers, cybersecurity specialists, plastic surgeons, and plenty in between.

Further reading: The SEO Content Strategy You Need: A Step-by-Step Guide

The benefits of content-centric SEO

Here are some of the reasons to optimize content with your target audience in mind:

• Drives targeted traffic to your site: A content-centric SEO solution identifies the keywords your target audience will most likely use. This means higher rankings in the organic search results and more clicks to your website
• Increases brand visibility: By producing valuable, relevant content, customers are more likely to share your content on their own websites and social media. This means more people become aware of who you are and what you do
• Establishes you as a thought leader in your industry: Regularly creating well-researched and insightful content proves your authority in your chosen sector. This makes you appear more credible to customers and industry peers
• Fosters customer loyalty: High-quality content provides additional value to your customers. This means customers are more likely to continue to buy from your business and recommend you to others
• Protects your site against algorithm changes: The search engine algorithms are constantly evolving and changing — Google had four core updates and three spam updates in 2024, and several more minor updates daily. However, search engines consistently value helpful content created to benefit people. This means new algorithms are less likely to negatively affect content-centric SEO.

Examples of content-centric SEO

Here are five examples of content-centric SEO to inspire your content creation strategies.

1. HubSpot
2. Gymshark
3. Dame
4. Away
5. Moneta Group

1. HubSpot

As one of the best-known digital marketing resources around, HubSpot regularly posts insightful and valuable content that answers people’s questions about marketing, sales, and customer service.

(Image: HubSpot screenshot)

The HubSpot team stays up to date on the latest marketing trends that people want to know more about. For example, there is a large library of resources about artificial intelligence (AI) and how companies use it.

HubSpot also focuses on readability, which means almost every piece of content includes elements like bullet points, short paragraphs, infographics, images, and other visuals.

Aside from articles, there are videos, podcasts, ebooks, and interactive tools. These elements encourage visitors to stay on the site longer and learn more about HubSpot’s range of services.

2. Gymshark

Along with a strong presence on social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube, Gymshark also has a wealth of information on its Shopify website.

The content highlights products and campaigns, provides information about the best gym exercises, and includes videos showing the proper form and technique.

(Image: Gymshark screenshot)

There are also guides about gym etiquette and the best things to wear when working out.

It’s evident that Gymshark does extensive keyword research regularly to understand what prospective and existing customers want to know.

3. Dame

When people have questions about sexual health and intimacy, rather than speak to a doctor or a friend, they may turn to search engines.

Dame provides a wealth of resources to help people understand more about bodies, sex, and relationships.

(Image: Dame screenshot)

By covering what some would consider sensitive topics, like disability and sex, reproductive health, and sexual trauma, Dame can stand out in the search engine result pages (SERPs).

This means more organic traffic, satisfied website visitors, and boosted conversions, all while educating and meeting the needs of its audience.

4. Away

Away specializes in selling suitcases and travel accessories. It’s up against many well-known competitors, including Samsonite, Antler, and Tripp.

To stand out, it raises brand awareness and encourages organic traffic with a range of aesthetically pleasing guides to travel, packing, and more.

(Image: Away screenshot)

Authenticity is critical to content-centric SEO, and Away achieves this by using visuals provided by locally based photographers. This shows that the content and the brand itself are trustworthy.

5. Moneta Group

Financial services can be considered a dry, not-super-exciting topic — something you only use when you have to. However, high-quality content-centric SEO can make businesses in this sector feel fresh and engaging.

We worked with Moneta Group to boost SEO rankings through targeted content. We identified their top competitors and pinpointed long-tail keywords their rivals weren’t using.

Next, we created engaging, informative content that prospective customers would be interested in.

Tangible data like charts brought the content to life, establishing Moneta Group as a reliable and knowledgeable financial partner.

(Image: Moneta Group screenshot)

This content-driven approach brought fantastic results, with Moneta Group growing its net organic keyword portfolio by 326% and increasing organic keywords in positions one to three by 164%.

4 expert tips to optimize your website for content-centric SEO

Creating content-centric SEO is easier than you may think. The key is to plan ahead and do your research.

Here are our top tips for creating customer-centric copy.

1. Carry out detailed keyword analysis
2. Focus on your customer needs
3. Create trustworthy, authoritative content
4. Track and monitor your results

1. Carry out detailed keyword analysis

A solid content-centric SEO strategy starts with keyword research. This identifies what to write about and the goals prospective customers have.

“When it comes to content-centric SEO, there’s a lot of work to do before writing and posting content,” says Sam Yadegar, co-founder and CEO of HawkSEM.

“It’s critical to check out your competitors and study the search engine results to understand what people are looking for. This means you can tailor your content accordingly, giving you the best chance of reaching the first page of the SERPs with your target keywords.”

Research is essential to the process — every decision you make for a content-centric SEO solution should be data-driven.

“People tend to let what they think will perform best guide the type of content they write,” says Sumarie Enherlbrecht, SEO Specialist at TBô Clothing. “However, data-driven content is more likely to rank and lead to results.”

By using a content-centric SEO strategy and monitoring the data, TBô Clothing increased its organic traffic by 226%, the number of keywords it ranked for by 211%, and organic revenue by 600% in just seven months.

Helpful tools for identifying relevant keywords include:

• Semrush
• Ahrefs
• Ubersuggest
• Mangools

You can also use the “People also ask” feature in the Google search results to see additional queries people are searching for.

Once you have your keywords, use them in your content to get the best results in the search engines.
For instance, add them to:

• The meta description and page title
• Page headings and subheadings
• Internal links
• Page copy
• Alt text and filename of any visuals you use

When it comes to content-centric SEO, the user experience is critical — shoehorning keywords into content can harm your search engine ranking.

2. Focus on your customer needs

Content-centric SEO answers the questions your target audience has. Creating content that matches their requirements can drive leads, sales, and conversions.

It’s important to understand your target audience and their pain points. Look at the specific questions your customers ask via your website, social media profiles, customer service calls, and emails.

Also, ask them directly what content you can create to help them.

Kate Ross from Irresistible Me, a brand specializing in hair extensions, used real customer questions to her advantage.

“We created an in-depth guide on choosing the right hair extensions, complemented by several easy-to-read, keyword-rich blog posts about our products,” shares Ross.

“This gave customers all the information they needed, increasing engagement and conversion rates.”

Remember that, with content-centric SEO, education should always come above pushing customers to convert. If your content is too salesy, customers may be more likely to leave your page.

3. Create trustworthy, authoritative content

You don’t want customers to just read your content; you want them to trust it.

Given that about one in three Gen Zers doesn’t trust ecommerce websites, earning your customers’ trust can be a challenge.

It’s important to consider E-E-A-T when creating your content. It’s part of Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, and stands for:

• Experience: Demonstrating your skills and knowledge
• Expertise: Fact-checking content and linking to appropriate references
• Authoritativeness: Tailoring content to the specific needs of the target audience to provide value
• Trustworthiness: Providing informative, objective content that inspires reliability

(Image: HawkSEM)

One way to create content that customers warm to is to talk about your personal experiences. Brad Gall from Brad Gall Electrical does that with his content.

“HVAC can be a drab subject area, so we take quotes and anecdotes from our technicians to adopt an expert, authentic, and bird’s-eye view,” shares Gall.

“Not only does this show experience, but it provides a human touch.”

4. Track and monitor your results

SEO strategies require constant tracking and monitoring to ensure the right results. Content-driven SEO is no exception.

The needs of your target audience can quickly change, so do regular keyword research to ensure you’re targeting the right words, phrases, and queries.

Also, keep a close eye on your competitors. While you may be the only website discussing a specific topic, nothing can stop your nearest rival from creating content-centric copy that rivals yours.

Here are the tools we recommend to track your content-centric SEO:

• Google Analytics: Free to access, Google Analytics allows you to see how much organic traffic and conversions your content-driven pages generate.
• Google Search Console: Google Search Console lets you see which keywords drive traffic to your site and which search queries your site appears for.
• SERP tracking tools: Tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, and Mangools monitor how your pages perform in the search engine rankings, often in real-time. If your pages fall in the rankings, you can take quick action to put things right.

Can I use ChatGPT to create content-centric SEO?

While generative AI platforms like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini can help you implement a content-centric SEO strategy, it’s still important to keep real people at the center of your efforts.

Tools like ChatGPT can save time on tasks, such as sorting keywords into clusters and helping with writer’s block when creating headings for content-centric articles.

However, storytelling is an essential part of content-centric SEO, and generative AI struggles with this currently.

Emotion and authoritativeness are cornerstones of content-centric SEO, and humans are the best at creating this type of unique, informative copy.

The takeaway

Not all the content on your website needs to be content-centric. For example, if you have an ecommerce product page, you may want to prioritize usability and searchability over information that tells your customers a story.

However, when the aim is to engage users, earn their trust, and bring them one step closer to converting, content-centric SEO must be central to your content strategy.

All SEO campaigns can benefit from content, whether a long-form pillar page or a suite of frequently asked questions.

Consistently planning, creating, and posting top-notch content brings you one step closer to positioning your brand as an industry thought leader.

Looking for content marketing services that drive growth for your business? HawkSEM can help.

Our experts will conduct keyword research, analyze your target audience, and develop engaging content that gives you an edge in search engines like Google and Bing.

Book your free consultation today and see how we can transform your content-centric marketing and dramatically improve your online presence.

This article has been updated and was originally published in April 2024.