Search engine optimization isn’t dead, but your approach to it might be.
The reality? Traditional SEO tactics are outdated, but search strategy remains more critical than ever—not just as a performance driver, but as a catalyst for creative innovation.
Here’s proof:
JPL transformed a CPG client’s seasonal content strategy from generating zero conversions to attracting over 100,000 new organic users and achieving 4,500 product conversions. The campaign led to a remarkable 71% year-over-year traffic increase for the season.
Most notably, a single optimized article—crafted with search-informed keywords, valuable content and strategic internal linking—drove 70,000 organic users and 2,700 conversions on its own.
But the numbers tell only half the story—this success came from reimagining how seasonal content could serve user needs in unexpected ways.
Why your SEO strategy needs to evolve
Many marketers still treat SEO as a checkbox exercise. That’s precisely why it’s not delivering results—or inspiring innovative content.
Think of your website’s SEO like maintaining a house. You don’t just move in and forget about it. You inspect, furnish, maintain and renovate as needs change. Sometimes, you even break down walls to create better flow. But the best homes aren’t just functional—they’re inspired spaces that spark joy and creativity. That’s exactly what your SEO strategy needs—to break down walls while building up fresh ideas and possibilities.
SEO shouldn’t be isolated within your web development team. It should be the cornerstone of your website strategy and integrate with UX, content, development, analytics and paid media teams. When search insights inform content and creative strategy, they unlock unprecedented opportunities for innovation.
Evolved search strategies are about optimizing your brand’s findability, discoverability and digital experiences across every platform where your audience searches for and consumes content. But they’re also about discovering unexpected connections and creative possibilities that pure data might miss.
How SEO has changed
The days of simple SEO keywords are long gone. Today’s search results are rich and diverse, pulling from multiple sources to create a dynamic user experience. When someone searches now, they encounter:
- Google Quick Answers and AI Overviews
- YouTube and TikTok video snippets
- Social media posts
- Images
- Business profile listings
- FAQ snippets and forum discussions
- Paid search ads and ecommerce links
This evolution means tracking keywords and rankings alone won’t drive success. You need a holistic approach that considers how your content appears and performs across all these formats. Success requires focusing on strategic content topics, developing scalable SEO templates and mastering multi-channel distribution. Each format represents not just a performance metric, but a creative canvas waiting to be explored.
Transform your content program into a search-driven growth engine
Here’s a powerful truth: keyword research is market research. When you use search insights to guide your content program, you’re tapping directly into your audience’s needs, questions and interests. But look deeper, and you’ll find something even more valuable: the creative sparks that ignite truly engaging content.
Unlike paid advertising that stops performing the moment you stop spending, strong organic search content becomes a permanent asset, driving traffic and engagement month after month. However, this success requires patience and strategy.
Here’s how to build it.
1. Start with an SEO audit
Good UX equals good SEO, and your content program can perform only as well as your technical foundation allows. But technical excellence shouldn’t constrain creative thinking—it should enable it. Before launching any content program, you need to understand what might hold back your SEO program performance while identifying opportunities for innovative ideas.
SEO audit tips:
- Look for scalable improvements to your existing page templates
- Identify ways to grow content authority and improve content discovery
- Look at your data. Benchmark and plan for your analytics measurement
- Inventory your existing content
- Run site performance and crawling tests
- Check your structured data
2. Map your competitive landscape
In organic search, your competitive landscape extends far beyond your traditional business rivals. Understanding who you’re really competing against in search results can reveal unexpected opportunities, challenges and creative approaches you might never have considered.
A competitive search analysis should consider:
- Direct competitor content strategies
- Top-ranking sites in your target topics
- Content gaps and opportunities
- Potential partnership opportunities
3. Create a flexible content calendar
Building a content calendar isn’t about rigid scheduling—it’s about creating a framework that balances SEO strategy with trend exploration.
Set yearly priorities while keeping these three types of flexibility in your calendar:
- Space for timely updates and trend-driven content
- Room for creative brainstorming based on search insights
- Flexibility to amplify content that resonates unexpectedly
Remember, SEO success doesn’t happen overnight.
Creating a content calendar that aligns your SEO program with other marketing efforts and seasonal activations will create guidance for all teams involved. By having a rough idea of your priorities for the year, search research and planning can better support those business goals and allow for enough time to rank effectively in search. And don’t forget to use search trends as creative prompts—they often reveal unexpected angles that can make your content stand out.
4. Develop topic-based SEO strategy
Most marketers struggle with content in three ways: they have too much, not enough or don’t know what to do with what they have. Search research and keyword planning help identify truly ownable areas where your brand has a right to win. But beyond pure performance metrics, search data reveals creative possibilities hidden in plain sight.
SEO keyword research tips:
- Learn what you currently rank well for and why
- Find consolidation opportunities
- Identify content gaps, competitive overlaps and growth areas
- Validate growing or high-volume search terms
- Answer frequently asked questions
- Discover rising or seasonal trends
- Uncover unexpected content angles
- Find creative ways to connect seemingly unrelated topics
- Spot emerging narrative opportunities
5. Optimize existing content
Sometimes your biggest opportunities lie in what you already have. Don’t just optimize for metrics—look for creative ways to breathe new life into existing content. For pages already receiving significant traffic, focus on improving both engagement and creative presentation.
SEO content tips:
- Build interconnected content ecosystems
- Consolidate duplicate content
- Remove outdated materials
- Apply consistent SEO best practices
- Find fresh angles for evergreen topics
- Test creative format variations
- Add interactive or multimedia elements
- Transform successful written content into new formats
6. Build authority through expertise
Your brand’s reputation depends on demonstrating real expertise and trustworthiness. Just like people build reputations through their actions and knowledge, your website builds “reputational factors” through the value, credibility and creativity of its content.
SEO authority tips:
- Tap into internal subject matter experts
- Incorporate sales and customer service insights
- Conduct first-party research and surveys
- Cite authoritative sources and studies
- Present data in creative, memorable ways
- Develop unique perspectives on industry topics
- Create innovative content formats that showcase expertise
- Find unexpected connections between topics
7. Amplify through strategic distribution
Creating great content is just the beginning. Today’s search results pull from numerous platforms and formats, each offering unique creative possibilities.
Expand your reach by repurposing content across:
- Social search platforms (TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube)
- Professional networks (LinkedIn)
- Community forums (Reddit)
- Visual search engines (Google Images, Pinterest)
But don’t just copy and paste—reimagine your content for each platform:
- Transform data into engaging visualizations
- Convert long-form articles into video series
- Create platform-specific creative executions
- Use platform strengths to tell different parts of your story
- Test creative approaches and learn from engagement data
Each platform represents an opportunity to appear in various search experiences while building brand authority. By adapting your content creatively for each channel, you increase visibility while strengthening the reputational and social signals that contribute to overall SEO success.
The bottom line
SEO isn’t dead—it’s evolved into something far more powerful: a catalyst for both performance and innovation. Success today requires a strategic approach that breaks down silos, embraces multiple channels, and focuses on delivering genuine value to your audience through both data-driven insights and creativity. The question isn’t whether SEO matters, but whether your strategy has evolved enough to capture its full potential for driving sustained engagement and results.
Want content that drives results?
If you’re ready to transform your content into a conversion powerhouse, let’s unlock your content’s true potential—contact us at [email protected] to get started with an SEO audit.
