The ocean is enormous. It’s made up of five separate bodies of water, but there is really only one ocean broken up over the planet. In fact, as of 2013, it takes up approximately 71 percent of the Earth. It’s pretty amazing too because it houses about 99 percent of the biosphere and is home to some of the grandest geological features on the planet. But it’s also made of saltwater, something that isn’t all that awesome for humans dying of thirst. I don’t know about you, but if I were stranded in the middle of the ocean dying of thirst, I’d look out across all that water and say, “Well, this is downright crappy!”
If the Internet were the ocean and you were dying of thirst for quality content, you’d find yourself in the same predicament because we are literally drowning in crappy content! Yes, it looks like the web is flooding with content, but instead of, “Oh no! Too much content!” going on, there’s actually a dire lack of quality and an overabundance of non-quality content. It’s like searching for a fresh water oasis (quality content) in the middle of mile after mile and gallon after gallon of never ending saltwater (low quality, crappy content).
“Dollar Days” Have Produced More Saltwater vs. Freshwater Content
We wrote a piece on LinkedIn that received over 300 views in a few days called, The Dollar Days of Online Content Are Gone. The response from the professional community has been intense, and the comments we received validate our belief: we’re drowning in crappy content.
Years ago, it was commonplace for Webmasters to hire the cheapest writers on the Internet (and perhaps the planet) to “write,” and we use this term loosely, their content. The process was simple:
Locate the writer who would accept pennies on the dollar pay averaging $1.25 to $2.00 USD per page, article, or blog.
Send said writer a list of keywords to cram into the content.
Receive said content and publish.
I so badly want to sing the Sesame Street song that says, “One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn’t belong.” But to tell you the truth, NONE of these things belong.
Webmasters and business owners have been so driven by profit margins that they’re gung-ho about skimping on the fundamental staple, the ultimate moneymaking tool that sits so ready at their fingertips: content. Now, it’s understandable that business budgets aren’t what they used to be. After all, economics and the economy affect every last one of us. But the fact that a talented, professional writer (not one these non-English speaking yahoos with zero educational background, no relevant experience, and a complete lack of understanding of even the basics of English grammar) is considered a waste of money is absurd, not to mention more than a little insulting.
I apologize for being so blunt, but the Great Quality Content Depression and subsequent flood of crappy content is a direct result of the hiring of underqualified and often completely UNqualified fakers wielding the title of Writer. As a result, the rest of us are trying to turn the tide on misinformation, a terrible reputation, and a world that scoffs at the idea of writing being a legitimate, demanding profession!
The ‘Anybody Can Be A Writer’ Idea
So you think you can be a writer, do you? It’s easy, right? I mean, everybody writes. We all went to school. We all wrote essays and papers. We all know how to spell and write complete sentences. Writing is easy! It doesn’t take skill, talent, or technique. Hell, it doesn’t even take a lot of time.
If you were lying on the floor dying of a heart attack, what’s the one thing in this world you would want above everything else? Think hard. You would want a paramedic. Why? Because they are highly trained and skilled responders, capable of keeping their cool and doing whatever it will take to keep you alive while rushing you to a medical facility. Why would you want to be rushed to a medical facility? Because there are dozens of trained professionals there who can and will do everything possible to save your life. Thanks to their training, chances are they’ll succeed.
Did you know that a well-researched, properly written, engaging, and emotionally moving piece of content sometimes takes hours to write—even for the professional writer who writes 5 days a week, 8 hours per day?
Did you know that while some people wrote essays and papers in school that barely squeaked by with a passing grade, others wrote A+ papers that actually moved the teacher and left a lasting impression—one that 10 years later the teacher remembers like yesterday?
Did you know that there’s more to writing than spelling and complete sentences? Can you spot misuse and errors involving subject-verb agreement, clauses and phrases, pronouns, prepositions, ellipses, and confused words? Can you confidently explain what any or all of those terms truly mean in practical working fashion?
Did you know that storytelling is the art of using the written word to craft mental pictures, tickle the five senses, and connect with readers on such an intimate level that each reader believes the content was written just for them?
Anyone can be a writer? Writing is easy? It doesn’t take skill, talent, or technique? If all of this is true, then you don’t need a paramedic or even a heart surgeon. Anybody will do!
You see the point. Writing is no less demanding than any other profession, and writers are not entitled to mere pennies on the dollar for high quality work. Crappy content, that’s what you pay a couple of bucks for. Quality content comes with a price because it’s quality—just like YOUR quality product or service. You get what you pay for.
How to Levitate Above an Ocean of Crappy Content
Thanks to the dollar days of content, the Internet is crawling with downright scary bad content. When is the last time you took a good, long, hard look at your content? Are you part of the saltwater infested ocean, or do you stand out as engaging, compelling, and fresh-water?
Business 101: In order to succeed you must stand out as different. Something has to be unique. How can you levitate out of the Crappy Content Ocean and make it to the Quality Content Clouds where you will be seen both near and far? Get yourself an Industry Copywriter.
As a business owner and/or webmaster, you face a tricky challenge. How do you create a strong online presence, reach your target audience, AND appease the great Google gods? It’s a tall order. You might have tried keyword stuffing, but we all know that thanks to Google’s array of algorithms, those days are gone with the wind. Maybe you use redirects and link building tactics. Are you—perhaps without full knowledge—using black hat SEO techniques? Such techniques only inundate the web with more crap content. STOP!
Google’s goal is focused and singular. They are creating the best possible experience for the user, whether they are mobile or in front of a desktop. Who is the user? The user is every person on the planet who pulls up Google and googles. They want legitimate, relevant, well-crafted results. And they’re only going to see you if your voice is stronger than everybody else. The best way to achieve this is through quality content.
Quality content isn’t just landing pages and website content. It’s sharable content, from blogs and PRs to Tweets and G+’s. It’s media for the busy audience like videos and podcasts. It’s SlideShares and social media re-shares. It’s all those words from big to small, and the word and character counts that have to encompass it all.
Don’t throw you money away by being a cheapskate and hiring the “writers” still trapped in the dollar days! If you think that will save you money, just wait until the content has to be rewritten by a professional because it’s riddled with errors and shunned by Google.
Industry Copywriters – Your Best Investment
Industry copywriters are experts. They are specialists with proven, tangible experience in YOUR industry. They are the combination of an industry expert and a skilled, talented writer with up-to-date copywriting knowledge. The benefits of hiring a professional copywriter far outweigh the woes of not.
Sure, you can hire that so-called writer who’s coming to you live from the cheap pricing of a third world country, but why would you put yourself through that headache? When it comes to the business of online presence and search engine rankings, here are some words to live by: Quality over quantity and return over initial cost.
Writing ain’t easy, folks! It takes a professional to know when to fudge the rules versus when to hold fast to them. And it takes an industry expert to craft copy that appeases the almighty Google whilst drawing in your ideal clients and supporting conversion. Will you continue to drift in the saltwater or levitate above as a sparkling, freshwater oasis?
Content pieces are the indispensable aids that highlight the cool factor of your company, products and services, increase brand awareness and customer loyalty and help you get (and stay) on the same page with your prospects.
But unless you are commercializing your product—whether it’s the fairy dust that can prevent aging or sleek cars that run on tap water—chances are that you have a lot of competition in your sector.
Why Should You Invest in Content Marketing Tools?
A customized, cohesive content marketing strategy can help you separate yourself from other players in your field, reflect the best features/most notable benefits of your products and interact with your target audience in an ideal manner. In this context, great storytelling skills could guarantee your success. You may ask: what makes a good story? While your merchandise may be truly mundane, the story of your company and the message that you’re trying to send to your potential buyers should be anything but tedious and unoriginal.
A Plethora of Handy Tools for Every Conceivable Marketing-Related Problem
Maybe you’ve got a mean case of writer’s block. Perhaps you don’t speak SEO or don’t know how to adapt your content flow to the real necessities and expectations of your audience. Maybe in the absence of awesome content distribution strategies, your web writing looks like a crowned king who is yet to find his influent queen. Last but not least, maybe you’re the real ninja of words, but can’t or don’t know how to measure the success of your current content marketing strategy. Regardless of the real root of your problem, a great variety of content marketing tools can enable you to overcome any challenge and step up your marketing efforts the easy way.
What Are the Main Categories of Content Marketing Tools That You Should Focus on?
According to an awesome infographic introduced by ClickZ, content marketing enhancement tools can be broken down into 5 main categories, based on the specific purposes that they have been designed to serve:
Content research
Content organization
Content creation
Content organization
Content marketing analysis
It is advisable to use at least 1 or 2 tools listed in each category, to make sure that all your everyday tasks, ranging from extensive research that represents a major first step to content marketing analysis, are absolutely flawless.
15 Excellent Content Marketing Tools That Will Help You Steer in the Right Direction
Most content marketing tools are free or almost free. If you need another great reason to put them to good use, think about the fact that everybody else is already doing it. Without any further ado, here are 15 excellent aids that every online marketer needs in his life.
Quora. One of the most popular sources of knowledge, Quora is one of the basic tools that you should use while doing your homework. By simply selecting the topics that actually interest you (technology, luxury fashion, economics, history, psychology and so on) and following them you can stay in the loop and expand your knowledge database. Moreover, Quora defines itself as an accessible place to create new content and share existing pieces that float around the Internet.
Content Forest. Do you feel lost in the middle of a thick, dark forest of unwritten thoughts? If so, you should know that you can actually exit this labyrinth by using Content Forest, a handy end-to-end, complete marketing solution that ensures the hassle-free automation of all your daily operations, ranging from content creation to marketing and analytics. Flexible, modulated and powerful, this tool could become a valid substitute for your marketing consultants who are costing you a small fortune.
Pinterest. A great image is more valuable than 1,000 carefully chosen words. This is not a cliché; it represents the mechanism that made Pinterest so popular in the first place. People like to collect and organize images that reflect their style and aesthetic demands. Why wouldn’t you turn this hobby into an activity that could boost your content research efforts? Analyze different boards and create your own to become a cool trend scout and find out how you could put your products and services in a different light, to increase their power of seduction.
Curata. Content curation is one of the hottest trends that you cannot afford to ignore. If you are an avid collector of rare written gems that are only a few clicks away, give this useful tool a try to achieve business success in 3 easy steps. With Curata, you just have to find, curate and share first-class web content that can truly make a difference in the lives of your readers.
Contently. In case you are interested in finding the ultimate storytelling platform, remember to check out Contently. This handy tool ensures a win-win situation for brands looking forward to perfecting their marketing strategy and also for freelancers who are eager to get new assignments. Driven by the desire to create a “better media world” governed by great content and not by mercantile goals expressed via more or less compelling ads, Contently arms brands with all the tools and the talent that they could ever require to compete with the most gifted and influent publishers.
Storify. Your images are breathtaking and your calls-to-action are compelling. Your body copy is 100% unique and your headlines make your visitors ignore the fact that curiosity killed the cat. But what is all these essential elements don’t add up? Use Storify to glue all the pieces together and create an awesome whole. You just have to collect media online, publish the best pieces on Storify, share your content with the whole world and go viral. In addition, a Storify VIP subscription would enable you to unlock real-time updates and additional customization options that could come in handy, when it comes to telling a convincing story about your brand.
Percolate. Percolate defines itself as the complete content marketing software that is good enough to provide great answers to all your daily web writing-related problems and concerns. From proper planning, brand governance, content creation and outsourcing to comprehensive audience acquisition and analytics, Percolate is focused on all key marketing assignments that you need to conduct and monitor to grow your company and boost your profit margins.
Buffer. A content marketing strategy is pretty much dead and buried before its time without a proper social component. Buffer lets you discover the easiest way to distribute your content on networking websites, engage with your followers and build longer-lasting relationships with your audience. If you need to handle multiple social media accounts simultaneously, Buffer can lend a helping hand by enabling you to schedule posts, work closely with the members of your team and measure the success rate of your updates.
SlideShare. Maybe you feel the need to repurpose your old content. According to Quicksprout, it wouldn’t hurt to turn some of your articles into slide decks and promote them using SlideShare, the content marketing tool that brings you in front of more than 15 million presentations. By allowing you to discover, wrap and share what you love the most, SlideShare lets you build a bridge between your brand and your targeted audience and draw your inspiration from other people’s slides.
BuzzStream. Are you constantly tossing and turning in bed, trying to come up with new ways to build buzz around your brand and develop relationships with trusted influencers in your industry? If so, BuzzStream can provide the best solution for you and your team. Focus on two major components, link building and PR & social media, BuzzStream lets you source prospects, simplify your SEO and social workflow and improve your online presence in different environments without wasting time and money in the process.
Outbrain. Dreaming about simplified long-term monetization? Want to find the easiest way to turn your words into solid gold? If that’s the case, you may want to start using Outbrain. Known as a premium content discovery platform, Outbrain displays two handy components: Outbrain Engage (created to help you make great recommendations on your website and count on an extra revenue stream by promoting quality third-party content), and Outbrain Amplify (designed to help you broaden your audience by distributing your web writing on other platforms). No matter which options you choose to use, Outbrain will help you understand that engagement matters a great deal.
Addvocate. Want to empower all your team members by giving them access to a tool that turns content marketing into a child’s play? Try Addvocate, a neat advocacy platform that prioritizes content and internal messaging. According to a TopRank Blog on top content marketing tools, Addvocate lets your employees understand how, when and what to say about your business and helps them use analytics to improve their own performance.
Google Analytics. Launched by the mastermind that regulates and monitors all your online activities, Google Analytics allows users to breathe new life into their marketing strategy on a daily basis. Encompassing a wide range of killer features focused on different segments (analyzing and testing, campaign performance, audience behavior and characteristics, data collection and management and so on), Google Analytics gives you everything you may need to run a perfectly healthy online business and follow your plans for expansion.
Facebook Insights. According to Mashable, Facebook Insights dashboards let you assess the effectiveness of your digital marketing strategies and implement the right changes. By examining both user insights (likes, unlikes, demographics, total number of page links, media consumption and so on) and interaction insights (feedback for your daily stories) you’ll find out where you are, determine where you want to be, and estimate the distance between these two points.
Optimizely. Looking for a testing tool that doesn’t play with your nerves and doesn’t actually demand otherworldly technical skills? In this case, look no further. Optimizely is perhaps one of the most user-oriented A/B testing software that you could profit from at this point. Basically, it gives you prompt, precise answers to any questions that you may have on level of engagement, conversion rates, signups and clicks and more. It gives you the opportunity to test every little thing that goes on your website, from assets placement to the color of your buttons. Coding skills are not required, but constitute a major plus as they enable you to take this handy tool a step up.
You can definitely survive without all these handy tools, but why sweat more when you can have all the extra support that you may require at your fingertips? Whether you need a helping hand when it comes to creating, distributing and promoting content or analyzing the overall performance of your web writing, there are plenty of tools that can make your life a whole lot easier. Choose wisely and put them to good use to harvest the ripe, juicy fruits of your labor before anyone else.
We all know Tim Burton, whether we are solid Burtonites or if we have only watched a few of his films with friends or family. He is known for his unique take on films and many remember him for his films like Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, and Beetlejuice. However, his incredible filmography is not the only great thing about this unique director – his copywriting skills are something that any copywriter can learn from. We are going to take a look at a few ways in which Tim Burton does copywriting and how it is tremendously successful. In fact, how he does copywriting is really what has helped push him to the top, since his films are not the standard Hollywood fare.
Tim Burton Stays True To Himself
One thing you can never say about Tim Burton is that he copies or hides behind methods that are overdone. He is known for completely being himself and anything that seems overdone (like Johnny Depp in almost every film) are only overdone because he has stuck to what he likes. You know that you are watching a Burton film, or that he had something to do with the film because it has his unique signature looks and designs. He also sticks with the things he loves and those things that inspired him to become a director, such as using Vincent Price for as long as he could in his films or making a film based off of painter Margaret Keane, who one can obviously see inspired Burton’s art. When being interviewed, he never strays far from his personality, which endears him to many people.
What can copywriters learn from this? It shows how important it is to stay yourself and be genuine. Sure, sometimes it might seem difficult to be yourself when it comes to writing copy, but if you try to sound like anyone else, it will come across as fake and forced. Burton does change to different versions of himself depending on the situation, and copywriters can do the same. If you are witty and sarcastic, you can definitely use this in your casual, laid back pieces, but you should also be able to transform your wit and sarcasm into something professional. Whatever your personality is, always make sure to stay true to it. It will make your writing sound more personable and can create excellent relationships with existing and potential clients.
Tim Burton Dedicates Time To His Projects
You can never say that Tim Burton doesn’t spend enough time on his projects. While he didn’t direct Nightmare Before Christmas, he did direct Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie, all of which are stop motion. (Stop motion filming is a huge process and commitment to undertake.) Many of Burton’s projects all started a long time before they were even considered for large motion pictures, many of which he wrote while working as an animator for Disney. He wrote the story for Nightmare Before Christmas in 1982, and Disney considered for a brief moment to use the poem as a TV show. It was eventually shelved for being far too strange for a TV audience. Eventually, it was filmed and released in 1993 because of Burton constantly working to get it put into production.
This shows an awesome level of dedication to his projects, even if he couldn’t direct some of them. No matter what role he had to take, he always took some role in making his films to make sure things were done like he wanted them to be. This is great for copywriters because it shows that dedication can produce long lasting, quality material. If you simply aim just to write out X amount of blogs a week or to write X amount of word web content pieces a week, you will find that the quality of your content is low and lacking. Spend some time and work on your projects to ensure that you produce the highest quality pieces.
Tim Burton Builds Lasting Relationships With Fans
While Tim Burton is known for being insanely shy, his fans know him as someone they can relate to. This is because he works hard on his projects, gives access to things like an art book, and stays true to himself. Because he follows these core values in copywriting, he is able to build long lasting relationships with his fans. Many feel they know him, though they’ve never met him, simply because he can get on their level and speak to them in a way no one else has been able to.
This is great for copywriting, because relationships are what will make your web content soar. Building relationships will also help you beat your competition at the game and get a strong client base. The relationships you build now will ensure that you will have a consistent client base that will always support you, share your material, and, of course, purchase your items. Build those relationships by following what Tim Burton does, be yourself and dedicate time to your content.
Copywriting Inspiration from Tim Burton
You can learn quite a bit from Tim Burton. Take this chance to look into his work some more and see what inspiration you can gain from him for your content marketing and copywriting. You will love the results you get once you follow the above steps!
What do a pigeon and a panda have in common? They both have a healthy dislike of low quality web content and not so stellar websites, and they aren’t afraid of cleaning up the local search engine results scene.
In July, Marketing Land’s Barry Schwartz published an article in which a major Panda-based local search algorithm update pushed out by Google was officially named the Pigeon update. The update was pushed to U.S. and English-based search results. It reportedly impacted SEOs, webmasters, and local business owners in the areas of Google Web Search and organic local listings within Google Map Search.
The July 24th Update
According to Schwartz’s coverage of the July 24th update via Search Engine Land, the core changes set into motion by Google Pigeon are behind the scenes. However, their impact is visible on local search results rankings. Local businesses saw either an increase or decrease in their web site referrals, leads, and business.
Google reportedly stated that the update improved their distance and location ranking parameters. In July, it was rolling out for US English results. The ultimate goal of the update was to provide more useful and relevant results for users conducting local searches.
On the local front, Search Engine Round Table stated that the update was felt by SEOs and Webmasters, who saw a significant change in rankings on the local search level. On a positive note, Matt McGee reported via Search Engine Land that the lovingly nicknamed Pigeon update fixed a Yelp problem with Google.
An Unconfirmed Google Pigeon Update
Breaking news in the SEO world hit earlier this week as reports of an update to Pigeon spread across the net. Schwartz reported “Pigeon fluctuations” via Marketing Land on Monday, August 2nd. The fluctuations, discussed in greater detail by savvy search marketers including Andrew Shotland, seem to indicate some fine-tuning is now transpiring behind the scenes.
Google’s July update followed the norm meaning it wasn’t without hiccups. For example, it was a tad embarrassing for Google to announce their update to improve the fundamentals of local search results only to be greeted by:
Expedia certainly isn’t a local result and shouldn’t hold this spot in a local-based search. Accidents happen, and it appears that Google tinkered until the issue was fixed:
When asked if a small update went live, Google refused to confirm or deny the change. However, Marketing Land’s coverage noted that Google did say they “don’t have a specific update to announce here” and that they “probably won’t detail all the changes to local search algorithms as [they] go.” It’s likely the notorious Google elves are working tirelessly in the background, but chances are we won’t hear much about it.
Optimizing For Pigeon
According to Andrew Shotland, some good has come from Google Pigeon. In a recent tweet, he said, “Client just hit page 1 for “Chicago” + {Main Keyword}. Starting to like this Pigeon thing.” But what we really want to zero in on is how to optimize or tweak our content to achieve or maintain the best possible SERPs post-Pigeon. Shotland had this to say via Twitter:
Client just hit page 1 for "Chicago" + {Main Keyword}. Starting to like this Pigeon thing
Shotland makes an observation that speaks volumes. In his article published at LocalSEOGuide.com, he says, “Google is in control…they do everything for users!” This observation is especially interesting, as Google has been pushing the need for high quality content and websites since before the start of 2014.
SEO trends have strongly focused on the need for a sound content marketing plan. Content marketers have stressed the need for high quality content that speaks to the user and delivers relevant information. The main idea (or strategy) is to know one’s target audience and keep them firmly in focus, crafting content that is informative, relevant, and engaging—the very definition of shareworthy. In turn, Google and its array of beastly algorithms are on the hunt for websites that produce high quality, relevant content that will hand search engine users the best possible experience.
Based on the available information, there is no credible or reliable How to Optimize for Pigeon Guide. However, the evidence does support that the best action is to continually work on all of that good old best practice stuff, just as you always have.
Google is working out the kinks to their local search parameters. If you continually uphold best practices and work to craft content your audience finds useful, relevant, and engaging, then you’ll weather updates well in the long run. This is not to say that an update won’t suddenly decrease your ranking due to unexpected and “must fix” errors on Google’s part.
What’s Our Best Rule? The Ground One: Quality Content
Optimization for Google Pigeon isn’t a viable option at this point. The results are random, and according to Shotland currently “make no sense.” Therefore, the best defense is to keep focusing on quality content, and chances are Google will smooth the rest out on their timetable.
Recently, there’s been a big push in the SEO community toward “topics rather than terms.” While the SEO of yesteryear was obsessively focused on keyword research and inclusion, today’s SEO has expanded to be more natural, conversational, and user-focused.
Over the last several years, we’ve seen significant shifts in optimization, including Google’s massive push for high-quality, well-written content and the introduction of ranking tools like RankBrain, to name a few.
While keywords can be valuable, and they’ve gained their important position in SEO for a good reason, they’re not the most natural strategy for modern SEO, and many site owners and users alike have found them stale, stuffy, and unproductive.
This has created the ultimate opportunity for a new approach to take over.
Why “Topics Over Terms” Takes the Cake
If you’ve worked in the content marketing industry for years, you know exactly how many changes this industry has seen.
From Panda to Penguin, Google has shifted its ranking algorithms regularly, and marketers have changed their approach to developing content, in turn. This has caused a dramatic change in the way people discover content, and the way search engines rank it.
While Google and other search engines used to deliver content based on its adherence to standards, like keyword saturation, those rules have ceased to be useful or relevant, and today’s focus is more nuanced. Today, value and relevance take the cake, while spammy, SEO-obsessed content falls by the wayside.
This is where the push toward topics rather than terms enters the picture.
Today, people are using dozens of different methods to search for the content they love, from mobile platforms to voice searches, and Google has had to adapt as a result. This has led to a push for authoritative content that delivers a positive user experience.
We’re staring down the barrel of a new key focus: today, the only way to the top is to understand your target audience and produce the kind of quality content they want. When you do this correctly and take the current SEO environment into account in the process, you can establish yourself as an authority in the industry and enjoy a wider reach than ever before.
The Variability of Modern Search Engines
In recent years, the way search engines process and obtain information has shifted dramatically. Historically, marketers have paid careful attention to keyword rankings within search engine results.
Even though keyword rankings change depending on where you are, how you search, and which terms you use, and thus have thousands of different arrangements at any moment, people have historically looked to them as trustworthy ranking mechanisms. Unfortunately, they’re not.
Further adding to the instability of traditional methods of determining ranking is the shift of search engines toward featured snippets, which platforms like Google now roll out more and more to cater to users and offer value.
Google, specifically, has also begun to lean toward machine learning, most notably with its RankBrain algorithm, which helps Google process its millions of daily searches and understand the user intent behind them.
Thanks to developments like RankBrain, Google now knows that someone searching for “Fitness studios in NYC” is likely also interested in a yoga or Pilates studio, even though they never explicitly used these keywords.
This is called semantic search, and it’s at the center of the “topics rather than terms” revolution.
Your Target Audience Is Everything
For years, there’s been a rallying cry throughout the world of content marketing: know your target audience. And that holds just as true in the age of topics over terms as it did in years prior.
After all, your target audience is your ultimate consideration. Since they’re who you’re creating content for, it pays to get it right and ensure that they’re receiving it as well as you’d like them to.
This isn’t a new realization. In recent years, sources like Moz (in a Whiteboard Friday) have explained how targeting specific kinds of people (your target audience) and the topics they’re interested in could be one of the most efficient traffic-driving strategies, blowing keyword-based ranking out of the water.
While a general keyword strategy can help your target audience find your content, it won’t ultimately help them engage with it. The reason is simple: an excessively strict keyword creates restrictions.
Readers want relevant, informative, and engaging content. They want to learn something new, and it’s hard to do that with content that’s only focused on achieving a 3% keyword density. Now that rates of voice and mobile search have skyrocketed, and Google’s Hummingbird algorithm update, which helps the search engine process natural language queries, has launched, it’s more important than it’s ever been to identify the topics your target audience is interested in.
If you were to focus only on keyword inclusion, you’d be hemmed into 10 or 20 keyword phrases. Expand that to a “topic” focus, though, and you’ll quickly find that there are dozens of long-tail variations within each given topics.
According to Fishkin’s whiteboard, creating landing pages with each key term or phrase can create unnecessary words, overlapping information, and user confusion. With search engines determined to bring the best possible experience to the user, it’s a sure bet that confusing content won’t make it high in ranking.
How to Focus on Topics over Terms in Your Content
The benefits of focusing on topics over keywords are undeniable. The question now is where do you start? Here’s your five-step breakdown.
1. Research Your Product(s) and Service(s)
Mike Small from SiteProNews recommend using the Google Keyword Planner tool (it’s free) via a Google AdWords account to research and select your keyword themes. You can also stick to the most notable “core keywords” you have already identified to choose your keyword theme, and then move to step two.
Keep in mind that long-tail keywords count, and these keywords are invaluable for placing in local searches and building out your topic strategy. Once you’ve found a few keywords you want to target, work on building out topics that complement and enhance them.
2. Get Creative
When you rank content with keywords, you simply try to identify every opportunity to stuff a keyword. When you rank content on a “topics over terms” basis, though, you’ve got to get creative with your topic ideas.
The idea of a topic cluster is to use one primary search term and then build out topics around it. Here’s a diagram from HubSpot to demonstrate:
The idea here is to be natural, not mechanical. What are people interested in? Which topics, if covered, will help you improve your internal link strategy? How can you cover the topic broadly while also informing and exciting your audience?
When you answer these questions, it’ll be easier to develop a smart topic cluster and use it to your advantage.
3. Refine Your Cluster Content
Once you’ve created your topic group, it’s time to improve it. You’ll want to edit it, ensuring you’re optimizing your cluster content to attract traffic. How best can you attract readers to these topics. Is there anything you’re missing?
Keep in mind that the goal of cluster content is not necessarily to drive conversions. Rather, it’s designed to bring in the traffic you need to make your pillar content as high-converting as possible. As such, you don’t need to think about “selling” nearly as much as you do educating. Isn’t that a nice weight off your shoulders?
4. Measure the results
As with any content creation, the next step is to measure the results of your effort. Once you’ve created your content, it’s time to pay attention to how many people come to it, and how often.
Collect feedback from your readers. Is there anything they’d like to see more of? If so, how can you shift or alter your strategy to offer it for them? The more you measure the results, the easier it will be to ensure you’re catering to your target audience exactly.
5. Adjust as Needed
If you’re noticing areas where your new content falls short, adjust it as necessary. The more frequently you do this, the better your content will be in the long run.
Make Way for the Future of Topic-Focused Content
We all love themes. A theme opens the door to a wide variety of topics and subtopics; all housed under one primary or mother theme or, in this case, keyword.
While developing topic clusters and moving, mentally, from a focus on keyword-rich content to topic-focused content can be intimidating, this is a relevant and timely move to make in the modern world of SEO. The sooner you wrap your mind around it, the better.
Need content that’s conversational and approachable? Visit our Content Shop to hire our expert team today.
