How to Develop a Content Strategy

What Is a Content Strategy? (and Why You Need One)

A content strategy is how you make sure your content actually serves a purpose. It defines what you create, who it’s for, and how it supports your business.

Without one, you’re just publishing for the sake of it. I’ve seen it happen over and over—teams launch blogs, crank out posts, and wonder why nothing sticks. No traffic, no leads, no ROI.

Google’s algorithm updates have made this even more critical. Search engines now reward relevance, depth, and user-first content. If your content isn’t strategic, it won’t rank.

A smart strategy connects your content to real goals: attracting traffic, building trust, or driving conversions. That’s when content starts working.

Foundational Concepts You Can’t Skip

Before you build any strategy, there are a few core ideas you need to understand.

These are the filters I run every content decision through. They’re the reason my content drives traffic and conversions while others fade into the void.

E-E-A-T Is Non-Negotiable

Google favors content built on Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust. That means showing real knowledge and credibility.

When I write about SEO, I’m pulling from actual client work and years of testing. That’s what builds trust with both readers and search engines.

If you’re writing about something you haven’t lived or researched thoroughly, it shows. Either get the experience or bring in someone who has it.

Search Intent Comes First

Forget keyword stuffing. Your job is to solve the searcher’s problem. Every topic should match what someone is really trying to learn or do when they type that query.

I always search the term myself. I look at what ranks and ask one question: what is the person behind this search trying to accomplish?

Content Should Match Funnel Stages

People are at different stages of the buyer journey. Your content should reflect that.

• TOFU: beginner guides and awareness content
• MOFU: product comparisons and case studies
• BOFU: buying guides and pricing pages

A strong strategy hits all three so you’re not just attracting clicks but also moving people closer to a decision.

Topical Authority & Content Clusters

One blog post doesn’t make you an expert in Google’s eyes.

If you want to rank for competitive keywords, you need to build topical authority—and that comes from structured, interconnected content.

I approach this by creating content clusters. At the center is a comprehensive pillar page targeting a broad keyword.

Around it, I create supporting posts that each dive into a subtopic. All of these link back to the pillar, and to each other where it makes sense.

Here’s how I structure it:

• Pillar page: “Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing”
• Cluster posts: “How to Build an Email List,” “Best Email Tools,” “Email A/B Testing Tips,” “Common Email Mistakes”

This structure does two things:

1. It helps search engines understand that your site has depth on the topic
2. It makes it easier for users to explore related content without bouncing back to Google

I also use Ahrefs Site Explorer and Content Gap to identify areas where I’m missing depth.

If I have five solid posts about email automation but nothing on email deliverability, I know what to publish next.

Topical authority isn’t just about more content—it’s about covering your subject matter thoroughly and organizing it in a way that signals expertise.

The 9-Step Content Strategy Framework

This is the exact process I follow when building content strategies that produce results.

Whether I’m working with a startup blog or optimizing a site that’s been live for years, this framework gives me the structure I need to move fast and stay focused.

Ahrefs is baked into every step. It’s more than a keyword tool—it helps me validate ideas, study competitors, fix technical issues, and track performance after content goes live. Here’s how it all fits together.

1. Set Specific, Measurable Goals

The most common mistake I see is publishing content without a clear reason. You need to know what success looks like—otherwise, you’ll waste time chasing the wrong metrics.

Before I touch a content calendar, I set goals that align with actual business outcomes. These might be traffic targets, lead generation, brand visibility, or improving rankings for high-value keywords.

Whatever the goal is, it needs to be tied to KPIs I can monitor.

Some examples:

• Increase organic traffic by 25% over the next six months
• Rank in the top 3 for a specific set of keywords
• Generate 50 new email subscribers or product signups monthly through blog content

Once the goals are set, I use Ahrefs to gut-check feasibility.

I’ll plug target keywords into Keywords Explorer to look at traffic potential, keyword difficulty, and what kind of content is currently ranking.

This tells me if the goal is realistic—or if I need to recalibrate expectations.

2. Define Your Audience in Detail

If you’re writing without a clear audience in mind, your content will miss the mark every time.

I don’t just think about demographics—I dig into the specific problems people are trying to solve and how they go about solving them.

I use a mix of tools and sources to get this right:

• Google Analytics shows me who’s already visiting my site—age ranges, devices, geography, and behavior flow.
• Ahrefs Site Explorer helps me understand what’s working for competitors. I look at their top pages and study which topics bring them traffic.
• I also pull insights from real conversations—sales calls, customer emails, reviews, and surveys. This is often where I get my best topic ideas.

Once I know who I’m speaking to, I document quick-hit personas: what they want, what holds them back, and how they search for information.

This keeps the content focused, relevant, and easier to convert.

3. Audit Your Existing Content

Before I start producing anything new, I take stock of what already exists.

A solid audit gives me clarity on what’s performing, what’s dragging down site quality, and where there are gaps I can fill.

Here’s how I do it:

• I crawl the site using Ahrefs Site Audit or Screaming Frog to identify technical SEO issues—like missing titles, broken links, or thin pages.
• Then I run my domain through Ahrefs Site Explorer to evaluate which URLs are getting traffic and backlinks.
• I also export the full content list and tag each piece by topic, funnel stage, and performance.

This tells me:

• What to keep and improve (usually my top performers)
• What to consolidate or merge (for overlapping content)
• What to delete or redirect (old, irrelevant, or low-quality content)

Often, the fastest wins come from updating or repackaging existing content—not creating new posts from scratch.

4. Analyze Your Competitors

I rarely start with a blank slate. Competitor research gives me a shortcut to understanding what content performs in my niche and what’s missing from my site.

Inside Ahrefs Site Explorer, I plug in 3 to 5 competitors and go straight to the Top Pages report. This shows me:

• Which pages drive the most organic traffic
• What keywords those pages rank for
• How many backlinks each page has earned

From there, I analyze the structure and depth of those top-performing posts.

Are they listicles, deep guides, comparison pages? What subtopics do they include?

If multiple competitors are ranking for a query I haven’t covered, that’s a clear gap.

Ahrefs also helps me identify weaker content. If a top-ranking post has thin content, no visuals, or hasn’t been updated in years, I know I can build something better and outrank it.

5. Do Intent-Based Keyword Research

This step can make or break your strategy.

You’re not just looking for keywords—you’re figuring out what your audience wants to know or do when they type those queries into Google.

Then you build content that delivers exactly that.

I start by entering broad seed terms into Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, then filter using:

• Matching Terms and Phrase Match to expand topic ideas
• Questions to surface long-tail opportunities
• Keyword Difficulty (KD) to find realistic targets
• Traffic Potential (TP) to focus on terms that drive meaningful volume

But the real difference-maker is intent. Every keyword fits into one of these categories:

Informational: The searcher wants to learn something‍

Example: “how to improve email open rates” → Answer with a blog post, tutorial, or guide

Transactional: The searcher is ready to act or buy‍

Example: “best email automation tools” → Create product comparisons, use cases, or landing pages

Navigational: The searcher wants a specific brand or site‍

Example: “ConvertKit pricing” → Make sure your product pages and brand terms are optimized

I use the SERP Overview in Ahrefs to confirm intent. If the top results are all blog posts, I know it’s informational.

If they’re product pages, it’s likely transactional. This helps me match my content format to what Google (and users) expect.

Once I shortlist keywords, I map each one to a funnel stage (TOFU, MOFU, BOFU) and assign a format based on both intent and competition.

This ensures I’m creating the right kind of content, for the right stage, using the right keyword.

6. Choose the Right Format and Channel

Not every topic belongs in a blog post. Some should be a video. Others work better as a downloadable guide or comparison table. Choosing the wrong format is one of the fastest ways to waste a solid keyword.

I use Ahrefs’ SERP Overview to see what Google is already favoring:

• If top results are videos, I’ll consider producing video content.
• If they’re all long-form tutorials, I’ll match that depth or exceed it.
• If the SERP is a mix of formats, I might combine them into one comprehensive post.

I also think through where each piece will live and how it will be distributed:

• SEO-first content almost always lives on the site (usually the blog or resources section).
• Visual content (like infographics) might be created for social platforms and repurposed for blog inclusion.
• Some pieces become newsletter content, LinkedIn posts, or short YouTube videos as part of a content repurposing workflow.

I don’t try to be everywhere. I pick the channels my audience is already using and focus on doing those well.

7. Create Content That’s Built to Rank

Once I’ve selected the topic, format, and keyword, I go into build mode. My approach is simple: create the best page on the internet for that topic.

Here’s how I use Ahrefs to guide content creation:

• Use SERP Overview to analyze the structure and common elements across top-ranking pages
• Study backlink profiles of those pages to understand what makes them link-worthy
• Check what subtopics competitors include, then go one level deeper

When I create the content, I make sure it’s:

• Focused on one clear intent or question
• Structured with H1, H2, and H3 headers that reflect related keywords
• Easy to skim, with short paragraphs, bullet points, and visuals
• Optimized with a strong title, meta description, internal links, and alt text

This isn’t about gaming the algorithm. It’s about giving users what they came for—fast, clearly, and in a format they trust.

8. Promote Your Content Like It Matters

Publishing content is step one. If you don’t promote it, it’s dead on arrival. I treat promotion as part of the strategy, not a bonus step afterward.

My core promotion tactics:

• Share across social platforms with content-specific captions and visuals
• Email my list with a short summary and direct link
• Reach out to anyone I’ve mentioned in the piece (tools, influencers, quoted stats)
• Submit the content to relevant communities or syndication platforms when appropriate

In Ahrefs, I use Link Intersect and referring domains data to find backlink opportunities.

I’ll see which sites are linking to similar content on other domains but not mine, and then reach out with a value-driven pitch.

For high-impact pieces (like pillar guides or original research), I plan follow-up outreach and paid promotion to give them the traction they deserve.

And then there’s repurposing—a powerful way to extend the life and reach of every piece you create.

From one blog post, I often create:

• A LinkedIn thread summarizing the core takeaways
• A short YouTube video or screen recording demoing a key concept
• A carousel or infographic for Instagram or Slideshare
• A newsletter highlight, especially if the content is evergreen
• A guest post or Medium article that expands on one specific angle

This not only helps you show up on multiple channels—it also reinforces your message with your audience and search engines alike.

The same idea delivered in multiple formats builds stronger brand authority.

For cornerstone content like long-form guides, I’ll plan these repurposed formats ahead of time and schedule their release across the next few weeks.

That way, one asset can drive engagement far beyond the blog.

9. Monitor Results and Improve

Once content is live, the work isn’t done. I track how it performs using Ahrefs Rank Tracker, Google Analytics, and Search Console. I look for signals like:

• Keyword rankings over time (especially position changes in the top 20)
• Traffic trends and engagement metrics like time on page and bounce rate
• Conversion actions like form fills or product clicks

If a piece isn’t ranking or converting, I dig into the SERP again. Has the intent changed? Has a new competitor overtaken the results? Does the page need more internal links?

Sometimes all it takes is a headline tweak, updated examples, or reworking the intro. Other times I expand the post, add visuals, or split it into more focused subpages.

And I don’t stop with underperformers. If something is ranking in position 5 or 6, I’ll optimize it further to try and push into the top 3. This ongoing process is where the compounding gains really happen.

Real-World Wins and Lessons Learned

It’s one thing to build a strategy. It’s another to see it in action.

Over the years, I’ve seen first-hand what happens when you combine focused research, quality content, and consistent execution.

Here are a few examples that stand out—and the lessons behind them.

The Skyscraper That Brought in Backlinks (and Rankings)

One of the first big wins I saw using this approach came from a classic Skyscraper strategy.

I noticed a competitor was getting tons of backlinks to a post about SEO audits. The content wasn’t bad, but it was outdated and thin. So I created a better version: a more thorough, step-by-step SEO audit guide with updated tools, fresh screenshots, and clearer structure.

After I published it, I reached out to many of the same sites that had linked to the original post. Several of them replaced their links with mine. Some linked to both. Within weeks, my guide was ranking in the top 5 and picking up organic links on its own.

Lesson: If a topic is already proven to attract links and traffic, and you can create something more useful, go for it. But don’t skip the outreach. Even the best content doesn’t promote itself.

Updating Old Content That Doubled Traffic

Another often overlooked tactic: updating and republishing content that’s already live but underperforming.

I had a post that was stuck around position 10 for months. The topic was still relevant, but the examples were old and the intro buried the value. So I updated it—new screenshots, clearer subheadings, stronger CTA, and a tighter intro that hit the reader’s intent faster.

Within a few weeks, it jumped into the top 3. Traffic more than doubled. Engagement metrics improved too—people stayed on the page longer and clicked deeper into the site.

Lesson: You don’t always need new content to grow. Sometimes, the biggest wins come from improving what you’ve already published.

Using Content Clusters to Build Topical Authority

I’ve also seen major gains from leaning into content clusters. One site I worked on had a bunch of disconnected blog posts about related topics but no clear structure. We mapped everything into clusters with a pillar page at the center and tightly connected subtopics around it.

For example:

• Pillar: “Complete Guide to Email Marketing”
• Cluster posts: “How to Build Your Email List,” “Best Email Automation Tools,” “Email A/B Testing Strategies,” and so on

We used internal links to connect the cluster, optimized each piece for a different long-tail keyword, and made sure everything served the same audience.

Over time, the entire topic area lifted in rankings. The pillar page landed in the top 3 for its main keyword, and the supporting posts ranked for dozens of long-tails.

Lesson: Clusters work. They build authority, help with rankings, and make it easier for users (and search engines) to understand your content.

These wins didn’t happen by accident. Content doesn’t need to be viral. It needs to be useful. When you get that right, the traffic, rankings, and leads follow.