Creating quality content, which is regularly published, is now more important than ever following Google's latest updates. Not only it will have a positive effect on your rankings, but it will also increase your business' visibility, promote trust within your target markets and allow your company to develop a real personality, which is key to branding. Ultimately, the goal is for your content to boost visits to your site, which should in turn increase enquiries and conversions. We've compiled a short list of top tips to get you started:
When writing content it is good to start with these two question, as it will help to create a consistent content strategy:
Try to create content which will last and not become "out of date" quickly. With this in mind try and avoid mentioning dates. However, it is fine to mention seasonal terms such as "Christmas", "Mother's Day" or "Q4" for instance, as these will push your content piece into a cycle. Providing your article or blog was popular, it will be current every year at the time mentioned and could rank again during these periods.
If you suffer from the dreaded writers block, you can use Google Trends (http://www.google.co.uk/trends/) and look at top keywords used on-line in your specific industry. Skip Hot Searches and click on the Explore In Depth button. Type in keywords related to your products/ services to find out the most popular searches in your sector. This can highlight a current hot topic, which means that your content will be in line with what people are searching for right now. This is a great way to create a popular blog post or news article.
Another great tool to write content in tune with popular topics is Google's predictive queries. Just type in keywords important to your business into Google search and see what else comes up while you type under the search box (before you hit enter or search). If people in your sector or potential customers are asking specific questions, why not answer them? This will create a popular content piece, which will give value to your audience and increase their trust in your brand.
Some formats work better than others and we've found that the following tend to be successful:
Once you have created a piece that you're happy with, make sure that a maximum number of customers and stakeholders see it.
Drawing up a content strategy is often neglected by many businesses, which is most of the time due to lack of available time or staff. However, if you spread the load between a couple of people and devise a monthly schedule in the form of a planner, it is feasible to implement. The rewards can be huge and digital content can be easily tracked so you will instantly see how it performs for your company.
I am a digital marketing professional with over 25 years’ experience in the sector and a passion for the internet industry. I build and implement online marketing strategies and campaigns to achieve my clients’ goals across a wide variety of sectors. As a marketing leader, I use my expertise in search, content, social and lead generation strategies to consistently improve and shape commercial success that drive growth, engagement and business development.
