Boost your reach: expert guide to tangential SEO

In short

Are you struggling to rank for key search terms? Looking to find a way to boost your SEO in a crowded and competitive marketplace? You’ve landed on the right page. Welcome to the often-untapped world of tangential SEO.

As you know, employing traditional SEO strategies means you often face tough competition for the top search engine rankings. However, tangential SEO offers an innovative approach to boost your website's reach by leveraging less-competitive keywords and related topics. By incorporating tangential SEO tactics into your digital marketing strategy, you can broaden your content's relevance, attract new audiences and increase organic traffic. 

Sounds good, right? Read on to discover more about tangential SEO and the many benefits it can offer your business. We’ll also include some practical, actionable strategies to help you integrate it with your wider SEO activities and propel your brand and website's growth.

What is tangential SEO?

Tangential SEO is a powerful search marketing practice that involves optimising content around related topics and less-competitive keywords indirectly connected to your primary target keywords. So, instead of solely targeting high-competition keywords, Tangential SEO allows you to create content that resonates with a broader audience interested in topics that aren’t directly related to your core offering.

This approach opens up new avenues for reaching potential customers and gaining valuable organic SEO exposure.

What are the benefits of tangential SEO?

Embracing tangential SEO comes with numerous benefits that can set your website apart from your competitors. Let's explore some of these advantages.

Reduced competition

By targeting less-competitive keywords, you increase your chances of ranking well in search results, driving relevant traffic to your site. For instance, instead of competing for a highly contested keyword like "best smartphones," you might consider targeting a tangential keyword like "smartphone accessories for travel."

Increased reach

Tangential SEO allows you to expand your content's relevance and attract new audiences interested in related topics. This wider appeal can lead to increased visibility and exposure, providing opportunities for your content to be shared and discovered by a broader audience.

Increased organic growth

As your content reaches a broader audience, it generates more shares, backlinks and social media engagement. These organic signals can contribute to the growth of your website's authority and online presence.

Improves domain authority

Tangential SEO enhances domain authority by producing valuable content in core and tangential topics. Consistency establishes your website as an authoritative source, boosting search engine rankings and optimising your online presence. 

How to identify tangential SEO opportunities

To harness the power of Tangential SEO, you need to identify relevant opportunities and topics that align with your niche. Here are some practical strategies to help you with this process.

Conduct thorough keyword research

Utilise keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to discover less-competitive keywords and related search queries with significant search volumes. For example, if your business is in the health and wellbeing sector, you could consider exploring tangential keywords like "healthy recipes for weight loss" or "effective home workouts."

Analysing competitors

Look closely at the content and keywords your competitors are targeting. There are plenty of tools available for this, many of which have low-cost or freemium options. Identify any gaps or opportunities your competitors missed and see if any of these could be your entry point for creating and distributing tangential content.

For instance, if your competitor is heavily focused on "online marketing strategies," you could explore related tangential topics like "social media advertising tips" or "email marketing best practices."

Identifying related topics

Brainstorm a list of related topics and themes that naturally align with your core offering. These topics could be frequently discussed alongside your main keywords, or have a natural connection to your industry. For instance, if you operate a learning and development business, consider exploring tangential topics like "employee training techniques" or "tips for online learning."

Top tip: If you get stuck, talk to your customer support or product development team who may be able to offer a different perspective on topics of interest to your target audience, or problems they need to solve. 

Creating tangentially relevant content

Once you've identified tangential opportunities, it's time to create content that effectively targets those topics while remaining relevant to your core offering. Here are some actionable tips to help you get it right the first time. 

Develop a robust content strategy

Integrate tangential topics into your content strategy to strike a balance between your main keywords and related subjects. Plan a mix of content that covers both your primary offerings and tangentially relevant topics. For example, if you run a travel business, your content strategy might include articles on popular travel destinations as well as tangential pieces on "solo travel safety tips" or "budget-friendly travel hacks."

Write engaging content

Craft high-quality, engaging and informative content that provides real value to your audience. Ensure that your content is well-researched and supported by credible sources. Engage your readers with compelling storytelling devices and practical advice, such as sharing personal experiences or case studies.

Optimising content for search engines

Incorporate tangential keywords naturally into your content, headings and meta tags. Aim to strike a balance between targeting tangential keywords and maintaining relevance to your main audience. For example, if you're targeting the tangential keyword "home office design ideas," ensure that your content offers valuable insights on creating a productive workspace.

Optimising your tangential SEO strategy

As you can see, leveraging tangential SEO in both B2B and B2C marketing can be a game changer for your business. Here are some tactics and techniques to consider to optimise your tangential SEO strategy effectively. 

AI-driven automation

Embrace the power of AI to streamline your tangential SEO efforts. AI-powered tools can assist with a variety of time-consuming tasks, such as keyword research, content optimisation and data analysis. By automating these repetitive tasks, you can use the time saved to focus on more strategic projects, while knowing you are maintaining a consistent and data-driven approach. AI can also help you identify emerging tangential topics that are gaining traction and guide you in crafting relevant content that resonates with your audience.

Content curation and syndication

Expand your tangential SEO reach by curating and syndicating your content across multiple platforms, repurposing your tangential articles, blog posts, or infographics to fit different social media channels, industry forums, or professional networks.

This approach allows you to tap into diverse audiences and extend your brand's visibility beyond your website. For example, if your business offers project management software, you can create a blog post about the benefits of remote work and share it on LinkedIn. You can further boost this reach by encouraging discussion on relevant groups and referring back to your content if it feels appropriate.

Thought leadership and guest posting

Position your brand as a thought leader in your industry by creating relevant content that addresses broader trends or challenges.

Guest posting on reputable websites or industry publications can amplify your brand's authority and reach. When contributing guest posts, ensure the content is both valuable and relevant to the target audience, showcasing your expertise in the tangential topic. For instance, if your company specialises in cybersecurity solutions, you can write a guest post for a technology publication discussing the importance of data privacy in the age of digital transformation.

Leverage influencers and partnerships

If possible, try to reach out to industry influencers and relevant partners to co-create content or co-host webinars centred around tangential topics. Partnering with influential figures in your niche can significantly expand your reach and credibility.

This approach is particularly valuable for tapping into a new audience that may have an interest in your offerings. For instance, if your company focuses on supply chain management software, collaborating with an influential logistics expert for a joint webinar on optimising supply chain processes can help you attract a broader audience and boost your brand's visibility.

Data-driven iteration

Monitor the performance of your tangential SEO initiatives and take time to analyse the data carefully to inform your future strategy. Tools like Google Analytics can help you to track the organic traffic, user behaviour and conversions generated by your content. Based on the insights gained, you can make data-driven decisions to optimise your efforts on an ongoing basis. 

Leveraging social media platforms

Promoting your tangentially relevant content on social media can significantly amplify its reach and engagement. Take the time to connect and engage with your audience, respond to comments, both positive and negative and encourage social sharing to expand the organic reach of your content. For example, you could share visually appealing snippets or infographics from your articles to catch the attention of your followers. This should also encourage them to explore the full content on your website.

Transforming your business with tangential SEO 

As we reach the end of this article, we hope this has given you a good flavour of how tangential SEO can help boost your website's reach and organic growth. By identifying related content opportunities, creating engaging visual and written assets, optimising for search engines and leveraging social media, you can tap into new audiences and unlock the full potential of your website's visibility.

SEO can seem like a steep hill to climb, especially with everything else you have to do. But, trust us, taking just a bit of time each week to work on your tactics and strategy and a few minutes here and there to check your performance will make all the difference in the long run. Incorporate tangential SEO as a strategic element of your overall SEO approach and continually refine your efforts based on data-driven insights and you won’t go far wrong.

Naturally, you don't have to do this all alone. If you would like to find out more about how Contentoo’s team of talented freelancers can help you reach new audiences and delight current customers, contact us today. We would love to help.