SEO Reputation Management plays an integral role in any successful content marketing campaign, so learning how to successfully create and distribute content will be highly beneficial to your efforts. Check out these 10 tips for effective content marketing that will boost your reputation among Google and other search engines! Remember, though, that this list is by no means exhaustive; feel free to comment with additional tips you’ve found useful!
1) Define your goals
As a content writer, you want to make sure your content marketing matches up with your overall company’s goals. Knowing what you need to accomplish is crucial for creating effective content and planning a successful editorial calendar. Of course, if you are an agency specializing in content marketing, this step may seem silly however, even agencies need to be concerned with goals. In fact, a proper audit of client needs is critical when forming an editorial calendar strategy.
2) Identify your audience
Before you dive into content writing, consider your target audience. What is their age group? Are they male or female? Where do they live? Do they have children or are they single? The more targeted your content, the better it will appeal to your readership and increase visibility in search results. This makes sense because Google prioritizes web pages with useful information based on its users’ search intent.
3) Create a content calendar with topics, tags, and keywords
If you want to attract organic search traffic, your content needs to have a strategic focus. A good content calendar can help you streamline your marketing efforts by building a routine around planning and publishing content.
4) Create compelling headings
Making headings compelling is not a skill you need to be a professional writer but it will make your copy much more engaging. We’re talking about headlines on blogs, tweets, and any other type of content you are creating or curating. Crafting headlines requires smart thinking (you want to use terms like Powerful or Effective) and even smarter research (you want to know what your target audience is searching for).
5) Build links through partnerships
When you develop content marketing relationships with other businesses, you can link to them and they’ll likely return your favor. You’ll notice how search intent is at play here: When people see your partnership mentions in your content, they’re likely to click through to each partner’s site. And when those partners see their own links mentioned on a high-ranking page of yours, they’re likely to return the favor.
6) Include CTA’s at the end of every piece of valuable information you share with your customers
So, what’s a content writer to do? Include a call-to-action at every natural stopping point in your content. Not only will it improve your conversion rate, but it will help you build trust with potential clients by giving them more information and/or insights into how they can solve their problems.
7) Use images in blogs (they increase views by 80%!)
Images can take your content to a whole new level, even if they’re stock photos. Consider adding an image or two, and be sure to include relevant keywords in your image file names. Some bloggers also use keyword tools like Yoast and Soovle to help them find just-right images for their posts.
8) Add videos to each blog article
Our videos are short, approximately 2 minutes in length. That’s just enough time to capture your readers’ attention and give them a taste of what you’re selling. It will also leave them wanting more which is great because it means they’ll be back on your site ready to read more of your content. And even if they don’t return, we still have their email address!
9) Supplement each blog with social media links
Posting on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn will help you reach more people and gain better insight into your target audience. It’s also a great way to supplement content marketing with links to your site, where users can engage more deeply with your content (for example, via interactive tools like quizzes).
10) Use analytics to determine what works and what doesn’t!
When writing content, it’s important to be able to measure what works and what doesn’t. You can use analytics tools, like Google Analytics or Kissmetrics, to determine whether your latest content piece is getting you any traffic, how much of it came from social networks, and how much time people spent on your website after reading said content.
Conclusion
The best way to begin your content marketing campaign is by making sure you have a plan in place. Identify your target market, design your message and plan out how you’re going to reach them. Once you’ve created a valuable content and nurtured your audience, you can then proceed with more advanced strategies like search engine optimization and social media promotion. Content marketing isn’t easy but if done correctly it can be highly rewarding.