Have you read a bunch of fancy articles about how to setup your 2014 content marketing campaign and expertly implemented the lessons you have learned? Now, your problem could be that things seem to be going your way, but it also seems your competitors have read the same posts! Warning bells and flashing lights start going off in your head. If they read the same posts, that means they’ll be just as successful if not more than you.
Let the Content Marketing Games Begin
Let’s put the brakes on and address this problem! It’s time to get ahead and make some changes to spirit clients away from your competitor—and back to you. Here are four terrific ways you can beat any competitor at the intense game of content marketing.
1. Tell them a Story
Humanity has always loved stories. We love to take basic war stories and turn them into fantasy tales, we love making stories out of everything. It may seem like our culture has slowly walked away from storytelling, but Neil Gaiman has proven that wrong by hosting well-attended and popular ghost story nights. Stories are what bind our society together, inspire us, break our hearts, mend those broken hearts, and tell us we are not alone, and we love it. Ryan Hanely says this is the most important way to win with your content marketing. Use this to your advantage. While your competitors have glitzy banners and trendy new webpages, bring it down a notch and connect with your clients on a more personal level. The fact that you are telling them stories will set you apart from everyone else and you will find more and more people becoming clients.
2. Reach those Millennials
If you do not make a content marketing strategy that caters to the Millennials, you will lose to your competitors now and in the future. By creating a strategy for this generation, you are also preparing your business for the inevitability of marketing to the generation that is coming up after Millennials. Remember, this generation has only known a world with social media, iDevices, and other amazing forms of technology. According to WishPond’s top 10 content marketing predictions, in order to reach generations that will bring in more money for your business, set up mobile platforms for your site, use more visual marketing and create content in smaller quantities.
3. Create Consistent, Quality Content
Search Engine Journal says that you need to have consistent quality content when it comes to content marketing. You already know by now (we hope!) that you need to have quality content in order to rank in search engines and to keep or gain customers. Excellence will help you win and lack of it will make you lose customers; it is as simple as that. Quality comes in the form of great titles, engaging topics, proper internal and external linking, and originality. Get these elements right, and you’ll find more people checking out your site.
Now, what about consistency? What do we mean by this? You need to update your site regularly. Don’t update once a week and then suddenly change to updating once a month and then back to once a week. People will lose interest in your site, also those pesky bots will “feel” your site is flimsy and won’t help rank it in searches. Consistency in updates means better ranking in searches.
4. Don’t Be A Slacker and Pay Attention!
You still might be thinking that content marketing is not important, but it is vital to every business in 2014. If you want to make it big, you have to have a content campaign, plain and simple. Don’t slack off and create content that is wimpy, don’t ignore the content for glitz and glam, this will only hurt your business and will eventually cause it to become extinct. Take a lesson from the dinosaurs; we are pretty sure they did not appreciate the whole extinction process. Content marketing is immensely popular in campaigns, seize this opportunity to generate more business and become a huge 2014 success. In fact, over 50 percent of marketers have said this is number one priority in 2014 as it brings in more revenue for their company. If you are feeling stuck in the quagmire of content marketing, focus on one aspect and work to perfect it. You’ll find yourself growing in the area of quality content and will soon be able to create an even wider variety. Growing in the area of content marketing will set you apart from you competitors and get you leagues ahead!
In Closing
We hope you have learned a little more about content marketing and how to stay ahead of your competitors. Using these quick tips will help you beat the competition and gain more leads for your business. You will find that 2014 will be a great year of success for your company and you will be ahead of the game!
Are you one of those people who really think that the success story of their business is going to write itself? We hate to break it to you, but without a solid growth plan based on effective, personalized online marketing strategies you will probably wander in the dark for a very long period of time.
Content plays a very important part in this process and can guarantee your smooth evolution and considerable profitability and popularity increases on time and on a budget. Great content is one of those things that just seem too good to be true, and yet they are: it is affordable, even if you rely on professional web writing services, effective and offers you the chance to make a name for yourself in your field of activity, sell better and faster than ever before, bury you main competitors 6 feet under the ground, diversify your clientele, improve brand awareness and enhance your online presence.
The Era of the Content Beast: Feed It Regularly!
The most recent infographic launched by Express Writers tells us that we live in the era of the content beast. To keep the beast on your side, you have to feed it regularly. This means that you have to publish and update quality content as often as possible.
Doesn’t this sound like a fun challenge? Truth be told, fantastic, reader-oriented content won’t bring you your coffee in the morning, but will pretty much take care of the rest. So what’s stopping you from putting your awesome writing skills to the test? We will let you in on a little secret: investing in web content can make you money.
Money makes the world go round and great content will rock your entire universe, turning you into a well-known, influential, highly competitive player in your sector. Contrary to popular belief, first-class content doesn’t have to burn deep holes in your pockets. Obviously, there are two categories of copy: bad copy that makes you pinch pennies and good copy that gets you where you want to be and lets you sit on a pot of gold, according to Forbes.
Does Your Web Copy Help You Make or Waste Your Resources?
These days, Google gives you everything you could ever need to create stellar, search engine-friendly and user-friendly content. From essential SEO tools to cost-free guidelines enabling you to optimize your content the easy way, Google bends over backwards to give you the key to perfecting your web copy. Since all these amazing resources are widely available, not using them would be like finding the gold fish and throwing it back in the water.
Why Your Copy Could Be Throwing Money Out the Window
Before we go any further, try to provide an honest answer to this question: does your web copy make you earn or lose money? If your current promotion strategies haven’t taken you very far, chances are that your content stinks. Fortunately, there are many ways in which you could address this pressing problem. First of all, you have to identify the cause. Your web copy writing could be impacted by multiple issues, including the 2 concerns listed below.
You’re Not Getting Enough Traffic. OK, so you write headlines better than David Ogilvy, understand your audience and create content based on the elementary needs and demands of your audience. You play by the book, and still you don’t get enough traffic. This probably means that you don’t make the most of 3 key elements that could save your business and help you pursue your most ambitious goals.
A Verified, Personalized Content Strategy: According to Forbes, a content strategy represents the solid foundation of any marketing campaign that you may want to launch. To evaluate you current content strategy in an objective manner, you should ask yourself a few important questions: Am I creating and delivering web copy on a regular basis? Are both my content and my website properly optimized for search engines and tailored to the real necessities of my reader? Do I expand on interesting topics that can actually convert my readers into fans, followers and devoted buyers? Am I on the shortest path to SEO success or did my outdated, unverified, ineffective pre-Panda and pre-Penguin optimization tactics made me get lost in a labyrinth of unpaid bills and ever-growing expenses?
White Hat Link Building Strategies: Inbound links work to your advantage, letting Google know that you are a high-quality, popular, trustworthy source of information. If other respectable sources link to you, this basically means that they vouch for you. Guest blogging, getting listed in local directories and creating link-worthy content pieces are three excellent methods to build credibility and trust, according to AudienceBloom.com.
Social Media: Some of the most popular social networking websites give you the opportunity to profit from free or extremely affordable promotion strategies that support your current content distribution tactics. Social media can amplify your web copy marketing strategy and act as a powerful brand builder.
You’re Not Selling. Isn’t it extremely frustrating when you do as you are told and somehow your sustained efforts never get rewarded? We hear you. You have always crafted killer web copy which is 100% original, optimized for search engines and complying with all the rules and guidelines introduced by Google. You make the most of the very best marketing strategies and you are still very far from improving conversion rates. Your story doesn’t have a happy ending: your readers are not buying. There are a few possible scenarios that you should factor in:
You Are Not Launching the Right Bait: perhaps the web content that you have been creating so far is not actually targeting your ideal customers. Before crafting web copy, you have to define and analyze your audience, to be able to come up with inspiring, compelling articles and blog posts.
Your Content Is Not Stimulating Your Readers to Take Action: a content piece that does not include a powerful call to action is as useful as a bathing suit at the North Pole.
Your Website Looks Tacky and Isn’t Mobile-Friendly: your web copy may not be the one and only culprit for your lack of success. Did you really expect to witness improved conversion rates without updating your website? Since more and more clients are mobile, standard websites are so 2013. To boost your profit margins and restore your competitive edge, make sure your website undergoes an extreme makeover. Play your cards right by relying on responsive web design. Otherwise, you may lose money, and we’re not talking pocket change. According to eMarketer, almost ¼ the entire global population will use a smartphone in 2014. Can you really afford to ignore the ever-growing needs and demands of an ever-growing audience? We didn’t think so.
How to Address a Bad Copy Alert
Bad web copy can be a real nightmare, especially when your end goal is to make a lot of money fast. Guess what: bad content is just like a car without gas. You can push it a few miles and sweat your heart out if you’re really perseverant, but it won’t take you very far. To address this problem, you just need to follow a few basic steps:
Make sure your current content is properly optimized for search engines
Rely on both on-page and off-page optimization strategies to witness rapid results
Ditch black hat SEO strategies that could get into trouble (duplicate content, paid links, hidden text and keyword stuffing)
Write with your readers in mind
Use Google Trends to discover new exciting topics that could raise the interest of your readers
Take a peek at what your competitors are doing and see if you could actually embrace a similar approach
Write compelling posts that include strategically placed call to actions that are difficult to ignore
How Good Copy Fills Your Pockets
Good web copy can pay for all the things that you need and crave for. That’s right: instead of making you break the bank, awe-inspiring content actually gives you the opportunity to attain your most ambitious goals while scoring a big profit. You may ask: how is this possible? It’s not magic and it’s definitely not rocket science. Here are 5 of the most important ways in which first-class content can become your personal wish-granting genie in a bottle.
Good Copy Puts Your Products in a Different Light. Let us tell you this much: perfection is 100% attainable, especially when it comes to web writing. If you can write stellar content you’ll do it; otherwise you’ll find an excuse. There is no justification for low-quality content. Great web copy gives you the chance to individualize your products and separate them from their counterparts launched by a sea of competitors. Great content pieces bring out the best in your merchandise, accentuate its unique features and its benefits and make it seem more appealing in the eyes of a larger segment of buyers.
Good Copy Turns “Average” into “Remarkable”. OK, so your detergent can wipe the tiniest, most stubborn stain off the face of the earth in a matter of a few seconds. But what you may not know is that dozens of other manufacturers brag about the same thing. Flawless web copy focused on the uniqueness of your brand allows you to exceed their efforts and compel more people to put your product on their shopping list.
Good Copy Sells Your Stuff Faster and Better Than Anything Else. Good copy sells faster and better than an employee working on commission. Why? The answer is simple: it resonates with your audience. It creates a compelling story that surrounds your products and your brand and makes them recognizable. Copywriters have that special something (a mix of creativity, empathy, passion for in-depth research and their own way with words) that enables them to create effective copy.
And by effective, what we actually mean is that client-oriented copy is a solid moneymaking machine. Copywriters know how to explore and exploit the secret desires of a large audience. Just analyze Louis Vuitton’s most recent spring campaign. At a first glance, you will probably be shocked: what could be the connection between South Africa, luxurious, insanely expensive handbags and wild animals? Actually, the creative minds behind the Louis Vuitton campaign got everything right. Associating iconic, high-end handbags with exotic destinations and a stress-free lifestyle based on the carpe diem principles was an excellent idea and represented the foundation of a very successful advertising strategy.
Good Copy Brings and Keeps You in the Public Eye. Good copy makes you invincible. The success of your company comes to an end only when people stop talking about your brand and your product. Excellent web content pieces give you the certainty that this worst case scenario could never become a part of your reality. It’s actually a pretty fair exchange: you give readers unlimited access to info that could simplify their daily life or make it more enjoyable, while they spread the word about your business and offer you the chance to expand your client database.
Good Copy Brings You on Page 1 in Google. Yes, we are fully aware of the fact that obsessing with rankings is not healthy or productive. But this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t work hard to bring your website on page 1 in search engine results. A better ranking will increase your online visibility, making it easier for your clients to find you. Great web copy reflecting an ideal keyword density and an optimal number of inbound links will help you improve your website’s current Google ranking. At the end of the day, you have to keep in mind that you write for people, not for machines.
Keep things interesting, cultivate the interest of your readers and stimulate their feedback, conduct extensive research to spot changes that could affect your rankings, get to know your audience, learn even more about your products and services and their list of benefits and stitch all these pieces together to solve the puzzle. Good web copy is not a gift from above; it is an extremely valuable end product that requires time and effort, but eventually leads to much-appreciated monetary advantages.
You can’t put a price on perfection, but we can tell you this much: premium web copy is an excellent long-term investment, taking into consideration the tremendous success that you’ll have with Google and SERP rankings and also the increased number of buyers. Whatever you do, don’t forget that great content is the element that creates and feeds the powerful love story between marketing and sales.
If you “speak SEO” (for example, you already know what SERP means), then you’re familiar with on-page and off-page optimization strategies designed to bring you on page 1 in Google, Yahoo and Bing. Google-friendly link building tactics are always a safe bet, enabling engines to catalog you as a trustworthy, popular and relevant source of information that deserves to occupy a privileged position in SERPs. But if you’re really craving for a bigger piece of the pie, you may need to broaden your horizons and rely on different other useful tactics, like content syndication, for instance.
Syndicated Content: An Effective Strategy
One of the most effective strategies to build credibility and trust while boosting your SEO efforts is to let a third-party webpage publish your content. Yes, that’s right! Called content syndication, this can become your powerful ally in the long run. You have to count on site publishers who are constantly craving for flawless content to be able to pursue your boldest optimization goals. Make no mistake: this is not a classic “sharing is caring” situation. You don’t syndicate your content because you are an altruistic person, but because you know that this is the key to an enhanced online visibility and a better ranking.
When Sharing Is Caring (About Yourself & Others)
Let’s start with the very beginning: what is content syndication (or syndicated content), and why should you factor in this option?
Syndicating content means that you are publishing it on a different website. Your content can be posted on a third-party website in different forms, including snippet, full article, thumbnail or link. Syndication can help you attain your most ambitious promotion goals, by allowing you to increase exposure for your line of products or brand.
Web content syndication creates a win-win situation for the original author and for the publisher. What’s in it for the third-party website, you may ask? The source that decides to host your articles satisfies its hunger for premium content, attracts a larger segment of visitors, increases website traffic and manages to stay in the public eye, thanks to your quality web writing.
In short, everybody gets what they want and they all live happily ever after in a universe in which they can make the most of search engine-friendly optimization techniques that do not upset Google. Does this mean that content syndication is always a safe bet?Unfortunately, this is not the case. However, as long as you get familiar with the not-so-secret dos and don’ts of syndication, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
Discovering and Avoiding the Pitfalls of Content Syndication
Let’s start by making one thing crystal clear: syndicated web content is only useful in guest blogs RSS feeds, and press releases. Other than that, syndication like article directories (1 article in 50 directories) is bad news with Google. Duplicate content is another major issue that could stop you from harvesting the fruits of your labor. If you post an article and you let a publisher publish the same exact content piece, you will most likely be forced to deal with a duplicate content problem.
According to Search Engine Journal, there are 2 main SEO concerns associated with content syndication: duplicate content penalties and a negative impact on your ranking.
a) Duplicate Content. By now, you should be fully aware of the fact that Google has a zero tolerance for duplicate content. Your refusal to craft stellar, 100% original content can get you out of the game in no time. But when you syndicate your materials, you don’t do it to manipulate search engines. Content syndication lets you promote your content and ultimately your entire business at a higher level, in a cost and time-effective manner. So how do you syndicate your content without making Google’s entire zoo angry? When it comes to content syndication, less is more. Rely on fewer partner sites to distribute your content and choose only the ones that can actually bring your web writing in the attention of a large audience interested in finding products or services just like the ones that you are providing. Moreover, you should include internal links and canonical tags, to let Google know that your website is the original source of the syndicated content. These simple measures should stop you from getting into trouble.
b) An Inferior Ranking. Even if you manage to improve your visibility via content syndication, there is one more threat that you should take into consideration: your content syndication partner could outrank you in search engine results, and this is definitely a risk that you can’t afford to take. It may be a good idea to syndicate your web content and eliminate your RSS feed later on, after you manage to improve your visibility.
How can you do it right? According to Search Engine Land, there are 4 main pain and risk-free tactics that could guarantee the success of syndicated content: 1) Syndicate an Article Synopsis. This is a huge SEO opportunity explored by many respectable news sources, including Business Week, which can teach us how to syndicate content like a pro. A certain story that appeals to a broader audience can be picked up by various high-quality sources. Some of them will not replicate the entire content piece. Instead of copy pasting the original article, they will display only one snippet and also link back to the original source. Obviously, this is great advantage for content creators, because syndication gives them the chance to collect quality links by simply letting reputable websites publish synopses. 2) Ask Your Publisher to Use the NoIndex Meta Tag. If your publisher agrees to place this meta tag on every single page that he “borrows” from you, this means that you no longer have to worry about duplicate content situations that could attract major penalties. NoIndex meta tag placed on a page is a valuable indicator that lets search engine know that they should not return that particular page in their results. 3) Create Two Categories of Content. There are situations in which identical content published on different websites could give you a hard time. To avoid penalties and other negative consequences, you could try to upgrade your content creation strategy. Basically, you could divide your resources and your efforts to come up with 2 categories of content: one for your website and one for your content distribution partners. In this case, the key is to develop and promote excellent, high-value content. Whether they’re published on your site or on the platform of your syndication partner, second-hand materials won’t do you any favors. 4) Rely on the Cross Domain Canonical Tag.This practice is 100% Google-friendly, so it doesn’t expose you to any risks. If your content can be found in 2 different locations, you can use the cross domain canonical tag to let Google know which website is the original source.
As you can see, content syndication can’t hurt your SEO efforts, as long as you take these basic measures of precaution. All the 4 tactics can help you increase your visibility, enhance brand awareness, attract a larger number of potential buyers and boost your profits. Speaking about money, what does content syndication cost these days? It all depends on your goals, needs and expectations. Generally speaking, there are two categories of syndication options: paid and free. Obviously, if you have limited financial possibilities or if you simply want to make the most of what’s good and free in the SEO universe, you can start by getting in touch with influential bloggers who are well-known in your field of activity.
They could endorse you by publishing your materials without expecting to get paid for this. Paid alternatives are usually worth your time and money because they bring and keep you in the public eye and increase your exposure by syndicating your web writing on popular sites like Time or CNN. Taboola and Outbrain are two of the most relevant paid content syndication options that could do wonders for your business in the long run, by putting into the spotlight and allowing you to be discovered by a larger pool of potential clients. Outbrain can recommend your content on your website and on various top-rated publisher sites, to get what you want to say about yourself or your products in front on an engaged audience. This is one of the most respectable so-called content discovery platforms that gives you the chance to capture the attention of the right public at the right time. Outbrain can offer you two types of advantages:
The chance to use its technology to improve reader experience, increase the time spend on your site and boost page views, while encouraging your visitors to discover more quality content located on your own website. You can also add a new revenue stream by recommending third-party content distributed on other sites.
The chance to grow and diversify your audience, by posting your content on different websites, where readers are more likely to read your content, assimilate your message and act accordingly.
Outbrain lets you gain an insight into content optimization, while also enabling you to perfect your content & media strategy.
When Should I Give the Green Light to Content Syndication?
So now you know how to use content syndication and how to address potential risks that could hurt your ranking and compromise your SEO efforts. But keep in mind that timing is also of the essence. In order to syndicate your content, you should already be able to count on more than a few high-quality materials. As a rule of thumb, first of all you should test the content that you plan to syndicate by publishing it on your own website. This is the simplest method to measure its effectiveness and its level of impact on your public. Once you feel ready to start looking for content distribution partners, you also have to count on a competent, skilled content manager who could monitor the syndication process.
How Do I Come Up With the Right Content Syndication Strategy?
To identify and implement the ideal content syndication strategy, first of all you should analyze your own goals. Perhaps you want to increase website traffic in a manner which is not very different from paid search. Or perhaps you want to elevate your visibility and make sure your brand stays in the center of everyone’s attention for the longest period of time. If what you really want is to boost your traffic, syndicating entire articles may not be the best choice.
In this case, it would make more sense to syndicate only a first paragraph or a headline accompanied by a link to the original source. If your end goal is to increase brand awareness, then you should know that all forms of content syndication may work well for you. Once you come up with a cohesive, personalized strategy and you feel ready to put theory into practice, all you need to do is to find the best content distribution partners that could support your objectives.
How Do I Find the Most Suitable Content Syndication Partners?
The answer is simple: by conducting extensive research. First of all, you have to list and analyze your goals and determine how much money you want and can afford to invest in this process. Afterwards, you just have to take a closer look at the kind of content that you have and plan to distribute and think where you would like to see your web writing. When it comes to selecting the perfect candidates for this job, you must take into consideration 3 main aspects:
1) The particularities of your content (tone, style, audience, calls to action and general purpose)
2) The requirements of your potential content distributors
3) The software/infrastructure capabilities of all candidates
Obviously, your goal is to find a partner that can help you promote your business the easy way, in front of a large, diverse, deep-pocketed audience, without burning deep holes in your pocket. Take baby steps when it comes to distributing your content, at least until you get familiar with the written and unwritten rules of content syndication.
Who knows, maybe content syndication could be the next best thing for you. If you play your cards right and manage to establish a fruitful collaboration with respectable partners, syndication could open the doors to unbelievably effective promotion strategies that you wouldn’t want to miss out on.
When browsing through your Facebook and Twitter feed, you are inundated with headline after headline. Some are trying too hard and some not hard enough, but when you come across something called “13 Celebrities with Voldemort’s Nose” you just know you are going to click on that. Who wouldn’t want to see James Bond morphed with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? How do you go about creating captivating headlines like Voldemort’s nose?
Whether funny or serious, this blog explores a few short things to consider when creating great headlines and captivating audiences before they even read your article.
So, let’s look at a few things you should consider when writing your blog:
1. Education is the New Sexy
Do you want a headline that will grab the reader’s attention? Then educate them before they even get to your article, SEOCopywriting.com writes. If your headline does not provide a small lesson, a lot of people will pass you by. People like to be educated and they like to show others how educated they are. This means, they will read and share an article that has a smart headline that gives enough information to entice them, but not too much information to spoil the article. The reader will then expect to see a solid article to back up the creative headline.
2. Get Into a New Groove
Don’t be afraid to try something new with your headlines. Readers are overwhelmed by all the headlines out there that talk about something being the “best ever” or headlines that are overly long and complicated. Incorporate words or phrases that many people still won’t expect to see in the headline, this will grab the reader’s attention while also informing them that they are about to learn a great deal about your chosen topic.
3. Pay Attention to the Internet’s Reactions
The Internet is great for gauging what kind of headlines will grab people’s attention and which will throw them off. For example, while many of Upworthy’s headlines get lots of clicks and shares, several on the Internet are getting annoyed with Upworthy style headlines. People have even created a list of what a classic book’s title would be if Upworthy had written the title. You can still do similar headlines, but keep in mind that you shouldn’t have an overly long headline. Just place yourself in the position of your targeted audience and think about whether or not your headline would grip them, or if it would even grip you. If it wouldn’t grip you and entice you to read it, then don’t use that headline!
If you are stuck on trying to find a great headline, don’t despair. Many writers will go through headline after headline before they decide on the best one. (We even went through a few for this article!) You can also go to a few successful websites to see how they fashion their headlines.
After you have crafted an excellent headline, don’t forget to craft amazing content. You want your content to strongly backup and support your headlines. Once you have created amazing captivating headlines and content, you will see your readership growing and will watch as your content begins to go viral. Remember, headlines are the glorious sprinkles and buttercream icing that top a yummy cupcake!
Back in the day, all you had to do was stuff a few keywords onto a page and you were set with the search engines. Heck, you could put nothing but your keywords on a page and be golden. Today, Google has changed the way content and traffic play with one another – and let’s just say if your content isn’t playing by the rules, traffic won’t come hang out.
If you aren’t getting traffic to your website, it’s probably a multitude of reasons. Although, there are some sites that just need a quick tweak to get the job done. Regardless, you should take a look at your site and see what you’re doing to drive away readers or worse, turn away Google.
Reasons You Aren’t Getting Traffic
We won’t go too crazy here, because the list could be hundreds of things long. But often websites that aren’t getting traffic are offenders of four common things:
They Don’t Give a Crap About Their Content
When you don’t care or put the effort into your content, it shows. When you’re passionate about a topic, it will show to your readers and people will share, send and come back for more. If, however, you don’t care about the topic or niche you’re covering, then there is a good chance you’re putting minimal effort into making the content for it. Caring about the topic is rather important – well, if you want people to visit your site.
Also, a website isn’t something you build overnight. If you haphazardly threw your content together, it definitely will be a turn off to the average reader. Websites can take up to six months to build traffic, so use that time wisely.
They’re Bouncing All Over the Map
Maybe you do care about the topic you’re covering, but perhaps you’ve picked something too broad or you just aren’t sticking to the point. What do your blog posts look like? Are they sticking to a specific niche or are you covering off-topics things? You can’t just go wild when you create content. It needs a purpose and most importantly, needs to be relevant to what you’re marketing at all times.
You’re Not Covering a Topic People Care About
This might sting a little, but the problem very well could be you’re just covering a topic people don’t care about or aren’t searching for it. Choosing a narrow niche is always risky, and if you picked the lucky niche that a limited number of people are searching for or it’s just too boring for the average reader, you’re going to get a trickle instead of a heavy flow of traffic.
You’re Not Using Keywords, Or You’re Using Keywords Too Much
If you aren’t using keyword-focused posts, that’s okay. Keywords aren’t as important these days as the quality of the content, but a keyword should still be sprinkled in here and there to catch those users searching for something specific. If you’re one of those sites spamming your content with nothing but keywords, well, then you know why you aren’t getting traffic – Google probably blacklisted your site.
Once you’re penalized by Google, your life gets a lot harder. KISSmetrics has a great post discussing 50 ways you can get penalized by Google. So if you’re not getting traffic, you might want to check that out too.
One thing you’ll see consistently in these four reasons you’re not getting traffic is your content. Content is king and it has been said over and over again. If you have poor quality content, you’re not going to get traffic, get shared or get anywhere. Period.
Content goes viral fast, according to Search Engine Journal. So if you write the content people are interested in, you’re going to see your traffic jump off the charts. Let’s put it this way: over 2 billion YouTube videos are watched every day, WordPress has over 200,000,000 blog posts read, and there are over 50 million tweets on Twitter every day. You want your content to go viral.
7 Ways Content Drives More Traffic to Your Site
Since you know content is obviously the reason you’re not getting traffic, now it is time to discuss how you can increase your traffic with content. You have probably heard how to write content, but maybe you’re just putting that off until you get more traffic and better visitors to read your content. Well, the right content today means more visitors tomorrow. And here’s why:
1. It Answers the Question Readers are Looking For
People on the internet are always searching for something. Whether they are looking for ways to save money or how to cook dinner tonight – they have a purpose on the web. You are the answer to the searchers question. You will have that article, blog post or tutorial that guides them to the answer they’re looking for. By having the answer the reader needs, you also become their future go-to for additional advice and information in that same niche.
Now, if your content doesn’t answer the question, you’ll be the first site that user avoids in the future. Its’ all about quality content that attracts the reader, but gives them something valuable. The reader shouldn’t be promised something in your headline or through keywords and then be let down when they take the time to click through. Deliver on your promise with high-quality content that drives the point home, gives the reader the answer he or she needs, and is made up of quality information. That means taking time to actually write your web content – including researching when necessary – and showing that you care just as much about what the reader is looking for and that’s why you’re developing the content just for them.
Being thorough matters too. If you just write a 100 word blog post, it is unlikely that you’re covering everything about the topic. That means your readers will have to go to another site to find answers that you didn’t get to. Instead of going for super short posts, use your content as a way to answer everything a reader is looking for. Cover the topic fully and be the only site the reader needs to go to. When readers don’t have to leave your site to find additional information, your traffic will ultimately increase.
2. It Entertains
Sometimes an internet user is there to be entertained. Sometimes they had no intention, but they stumbled across that special blog that did it anyway. That could be you! Content that entertains could get your content shared over the web or just encourage a visitor to come back in the future and see what more entertaining posts you will cook up next.
You can’t, however, entertain the reader if you don’t put effort into the content. It takes time to write something up that is truly witty and unique. But, that is what readers are looking for and even more importantly, what Google expects from websites. So, before you just slap any piece of content up, think of the person who is actually reading the content. Are they likely to enjoy it or pass out of boredom? Let’s face it; users that are bored on a site will not only bounce as fast as possible, but they won’t come back. Google looks at bounce rates, according to OSTraining, so you want users to actually stick around and read rather than bounce right back and never visit your site again.
3. It Can be Shared Instantly – Going Viral
Crappy content doesn’t get shared. Now does it? Have you ever found that piece of content online that just hit you so hard you were compelled to share it with everyone on your Facebook and Twitter? Think of all of the blog posts you have pinned on Pinterest. It’s highly unlikely they were boring or offered you up nothing. Right?
That is because great content is content that is shared. And, when you share content via social media, it could go viral in a matter of seconds. It’s all about writing that post that people see, share and share again. If your content is boring or doesn’t offer any meat to a reader’s meal, it won’t get shared and it won’t have the potential to go viral.
But, when you write something great and it is shared, your content could increase the number of hits your website gets in a matter of just a few days.
4. It Can Make Your Brand More Appealing
Content doesn’t just make your website fun to look at; it makes your brand more appealing to buyers. If you are selling something with your site, you want content that makes your brand more appealing and helps consumers trust it enough to buy from it. The right content can do that. It’s all about finding a balance between offering customers information and selling them what you’re selling. Your posts should be thorough, high-quality and give readers something to take away, but also compel them to click through and make a purchase.
High-quality relevant content is more likely to make your brand appealing and convert a reader into a buyer than boring, poorly written content.
5. It Can Be Customized to Your Personality
Content is unique and should be unique. The right type of content can showcase your personality, your own style and make you stand out among the hundreds (if not thousands) of blogs and websites out there covering the exact same topic. Your content can make you seem like the only website to go to when readers are looking for something in that niche. That’s what makes unique content so great. You’re not spouting off the same boring stuff that everyone else is – you’ve taken it and spun it into a different direction that takes readers a step back.
When you write unique content that offers a piece of personality, you’re going to see an increase in traffic. Users are going to share your content, come back for more and you’re more likely to go viral just for being yourself.
6. It Can Make a Really Boring Topic Super Awesome
Let’s face it; there are some topics out there that are extremely boring. You can’t run from it – it’s your business. But, the right content can make even the most snooze-worthy content seem like a hip rock concert (okay, maybe that’s too far). If you’re writing boring posts on a boring topic, no wonder you have no traffic coming to your site. People aren’t searching the internet to find a way to take a nap, they are looking for information.
Even the most boring topics can be a little more interesting with the right copywriting. Just add a little humor or add some personality. If the topic is truly doomed, then it might be time to switch and try something a little easier.
7. It Can Use the Right Keywords
Yes, keywords still matter, but they aren’t the save-all for more traffic. Once you know the keywords you do need to use or the keywords that your searchers are likely using, create content that specifically addresses those keywords. Don’t stuff a page with the keywords, get in-depth and really give the reader something to take away. Also, use keywords in your headers if you can. These are great for increasing traffic and search engine visibility. By using the right keywords in your content, you can increase the chances your site is seen and your traffic increases. But, like we said, stick to a safe density – such as 1 to 3 percent – to keep yourself from being penalized by Google. Because once that happens, you won’t see traffic at all.
Getting more traffic isn’t rocket science. It’s all about striking a balance between the right content, keywords and just being yourself. If you take these steps and implement them today, you’re going to see your traffic start to increase. While we can’t promise results overnight, we can promise you’re going to see higher traffic in the coming months just by taking more time with your content.
