SEO Company For Small Businesses: Why Storytelling Marketing Beats Keyword Stuffing

There was a time when SEO was solely focused on cramming “best pizza in Los Angeles” into all of the content so much that it sounded robotic. That time has passed, thankfully! We operate only with local businesses, being a Los Angeles SEO Company, and have witnessed the evolution of Google from rewarding keyword density to focusing on true human engagement. The businesses’ Storytelling Marketing that have the most success today are those that create stories, not articles that contain a lot of relevant terms.

The End of Keyword Stuffing?

Earlier this year, we saw a bakery in Pasadena that had created a website with so many instances of the phrase “artisan bakery in Los Angeles,” it was painful for us to read as we were reviewing the website. Their website had a bounce rate of 78%. Therefore, the people who searched for them on Google went to their website and left without engaging with the company due to the robotic nature of their content.

That is the problem with old school SEO. It may trick Google and have short-term results, but it will not pass the human test, and Google’s algorithm continues to evolve in ways that mimic human judgment. If people do not like your content, then Google will eventually also dislike your content.

What Is Storytelling Marketing?

Storytelling marketing isn’t about forgetting to use seo; it’s about putting a human face on your search engine optimisation. You won’t be using the same keywords repeatedly, such as “affordable plumber” because instead, you will tell the story of the time you helped save Thanksgiving by fixing a family’s ruptured water pipe at 9 o’clock on Thanksgiving Day!

When you are an SEO company for small businesses that understands work storytelling, you know that telling a story provides you with:

• Emotion: Storytelling creates emotional responses from your reader that build rapport and trust.
• Memorability: People forget facts but remember stories.
• Natural use of relevant keywords: When you tell a story, the relevant keywords appear in the storytelling process as opposed to force-feeding them into SEO copy.
• Extended site visits: Good stories are compelling and keep your visitors on your website longer.
• Social sharing: People share stories with their friends instead of sharing keyword-loaded descriptions of the products they purchased.

Results That You Can Count On: The Numbers Do Not Lie

When we took that Pasadena bakery’s website from page after page filled with keywords to one filled with stories about the owner’s life as an artisan baker, we saw numbers that reflected this:

Before Changing to Story-Based Site:

• Average Time On Site – 42 seconds
• Bounce Rate – 78%
• Conversion Rate – 0.9%
• Organic Traffic – 1,200 visitors per month.

After Changing To StoryBased Site:

• Average Time On Site – 3 minutes 18 seconds
• Bounce Rate – 34%
• Conversion Rate – 4.2%
• Organic Traffic – 2,800 visitors per month.

The old site contained “artisan bakery Los Angeles” multiple times (keyword stuffing); however, it also contained stories (ex: about the grandmother who taught the owner how to bake, about the owner rising at 4 AM each morning to bake fresh croissants, about a regular customer who orders the same birthday cake annually for her daughter), which naturally incorporated relevant keywords and fully engaged readers.

How Storytelling Helps with Search Engine Optimization

Engagement is Valued by Google’s Algorithm:
When readers spend a greater amount of time with your story content (read, click-through to other pages and come back to your site), Google sees this as an indicator that you have quality content worthy of being ranked higher.

Natural Link Building:
Other websites do not link to pages filled with keywords to bring in search engine traffic; they link to great stories. A Los Angeles-based SEO company that focuses on storytelling generates organic backlinks from other sources because their content is valuable enough to share.

Voice Search Optimization:
People do not type “best Italian restaurant Los Angeles affordable family-friendly”; they use natural language and ask questions like, “Where can I take my family for great Italian food at an affordable price?” Storytelling content answers questions using the same kinds of questions that people actually use.

Featured Snippets:
Over the last several months, Google has begun to feature more and more content that answers peoples’ questions with detailed and contextual answers. This is exactly how good storytellers can provide this type of content and format.

Begin Your Business Journey

1. Know What Makes You Unique: You’re starting a new business for a reason and you must know exactly what sets you apart from your competition, why you became an Entrepreneur and the problems you will solve for customers.
2. Customer Testimonials: Some of the best stories about your service or product come from the experiences of your actual customers. Let’s say for example that your Venice Beach Yoga Studio has helped an injured client recovery from his/her injury and now they are a 5 times a month member at your studio. Or your Silver Lake Mechanic helped a single mother keep her car on the road by working within her tight budget.
3. Tell The Human Side To Your Business: There are lots of great stories about Early Mornings, Challenges Overcome, Team Members who make it work! Share these stories with your customers.
4. Have A Local Connection: At The Los Angeles SEO Company, we know there are so Many Great Stories Associated With The Los Angeles Area, Businesses In Your Area, Communities or Neighborhoods, And The Unique Nature Of Our City! Share Those Stories With Your Audience.

Competitive Advantage

Most small businesses still look at search engine optimisation the same way they have for years, with old techniques like keyword research, keyword density calculations, and Technical SEO or Mechanical Optimization. But when you embrace Storytelling Marketing, Your Not Just Improving SEO, But You Are Creating Content That Is Actually Relevant And Useful For Your Customer.

A Storytelling Focused SEO Company For Small Businesses Not Only Compliments Your Existing Content But Also Assists In Creating Relationships That Keyword Stuffing Could Never Do! It Creates Relationships With Customers That Know You By Your Story, Not Because You Were #1 On The Search Engine Results Page!