Do You and Your Staff Want to Read It?
Here’s a tip for all the business owners who manage and write their own content for their website. Write content that is natural, compelling and interesting for your readers. If you wouldn’t be interested in reading the content why would anyone else? Ask yourself, if it wasn’t your own company site, would you read through it without losing interest?
Strong Content Reigns Supreme
More and more you hear industry experts talking about how ‘content is king’ for online rankings. That keywords no longer matter and link building is a thing of the past. While algorithms have changed dramatically over the years, the truth is that keywords and on-page coding and link building are not as important as they once were. That’s not to say that keywords and link building is irrelevant. They still play an important role; however, the largest factor is indeed content.
We often tell clients that search engines such as Google want to provide the best possible experience for users. It only has the user’s best interest in mind and not the company’s. With that in mind, businesses must create content explicitly to create a positive user experience – don’t try to trick Google with keyword stuffing or anything else. Google will figure out what you are trying to do and will impose penalties on your website and negate your rankings. Do things the right way and you will succeed.
Remember You Have Value to Share
Remember that your business has unique expertise and approaches to your industry. The more distinctive information you can provide the better. This is important because not everyone looking for the same answer will ask the same question so having more information will give your website the best chance at answering someone’s question.
In the past few years many businesses have launched blogs on their website. There are a number of good reasons why this is great for SEO and business. First off, as mentioned, search engines love content, new content and as frequently as possible. Blogging is a great way to produce that content so that your website can improve ranking.
Secondly, as people become savvier shoppers, they increasingly rely on the internet for information to make decisions. Blogging is a great way to engage with potential customers, and build loyalty and trust if done correctly. We always see blogging as a soft sell. You probably won’t get the sale right off the first read, but you are building value and relationship.
Over time customers who can trust you will be more likely to buy from you. Give potential customers good information without pushing. The blog doesn’t need to scream “Buy Now!” Let’s face it, no one wants to be told to buy something. Customers want to know they made the personal choice to buy because it is a smart decision and they can feel good about it.
Effective blogs that have high click-through rates include posts like “Top 5 Viral Campaigns,” “How to Have Brand Consistency Across Social Media Platforms” or “Most Common Characteristics of Top Companies.” Lists and how-to posts are effective content because the reader knows that you will be answering a compelling question in a straightforward and succinct manner which will be easy to read. It is important to choose topics that give value to your readers.
Try using those formats for your content and see if it makes a difference for your site. It is common that the valuable knowledge we have feels so natural to us that we forget to express it and share with others. But this is where your great content often lies. What do you do best? What do you love? Share it!