Writing digital content for content marketing is a more complex process than just typing up a few quick sentences or facts. While many companies today provide interesting, educational, or entertaining content to drive traffic and increase conversions on their site, these attempts can provide underwhelming results if not done effectively.
Want to help your content stand above the competition and reach a larger market? Try these 11 content marketing tips.
1. Perform keyword research
Each piece of content you create should be targeted toward a specific keyword. This can be a single word, or a short phrase called a long-tail keyword. Using a tool such as Ahrefs Keyword Generator or SEMRUSH’s Keyword Research Tool, identify the keyword you want to target in your content. From there, you can construct topic ideas for your post.
Try to use the target keyword in your headline and the beginning of the article. If possible, include it in the first sentence. Just make sure not to keyword stuff or overload your content with the same keyword, or Google could penalize your site.
2. Construct an effective headline
Your content’s headline should grab your audience’s attention. Keep it short and refrain from using overly fluffy language to increase the chance of clicks.
There are many formulas for crafting an effective headline. Some of the most successful headlines use questions, how-to guides, or lists. By including your keyword in the first sentence of your content, you can boost your SEO rankings as well.
3. Increase readability
Consumers want easy-to-ready content that is easily digestible and accessible. Easily readable content helps Google index your site more efficiently, which improves your SEO. Additionally, an increasing number of users are accessing your site using their mobile phones with smaller screen space, so keeping text clear and concise is imperative.
To improve the readability of your content, use short, simple sentences and paragraphs. Visitors are likely to scroll past a large block of text, especially on a small mobile screen. Break up the text with subheadings that describe the next paragraph or idea.
4. Add engaging multimedia
Including media like photos, graphics, or videos can help hold your reader’s attention and engage them in your content. Consumers are more likely to remember images or videos than plain text. Plus, media breaks up your writing, increasing your site’s readability even further.
An interesting infographic or a short, educational video that is relevant to your product can go a long way toward your content marketing strategy. By incorporating media into your content, you can grow your brand’s reputation and drive conversions.
5. Use your unique brand voice
The voice you use to represent your brand is important and includes language, tone, and consistency. It establishes the personality of your company so that customers can better understand your message.
Your brand’s voice will depend heavily on the audience you are trying to reach. Does your customer base consist of professionals, families, or academics? Are you targeting general consumers or a niche group? The answers to these questions will determine the voice you use. In general, however, a more conversational tone is often preferred by customers, unless something more formal is required.
6. Link your sources – external and internal
Throughout your content, provide links to the sources you used to find specific information. Adding source links to your text shows that you did your research and raises your brand’s credibility. Linking to other websites is called external linking and can improve your SEO.
Internally linking to other pages and posts within your own site is also key to optimizing your content. Users can click through to services you offer or relevant blog posts. This helps keep visitors on your site longer and increases the likelihood of conversions.
7. Incorporate other SEO practices
Link building is just one element of a good SEO strategy for your content marketing. There are so many additional factors that go into your SEO rankings. Luckily, each new piece of content you produce can be an opportunity to implement those different elements and see results.
In addition to building links and targeting keywords, you can optimize your site’s metadata to enhance SEO. This includes your title tags, meta descriptions, image alt tags, and more. You can also add a call-to-action (CTA).
8. Add a CTA
A call-to-action, or CTA, is an attempt to get your visitor to take a specific action. This can include downloading a free e-book or PDF, signing up for an email newsletter, or reaching out to your company for more information about your products.
However, customers are usually not engaging with your content to be marketed to, so be sure to keep your CTA short and straightforward. Place it towards the end of the page or piece of content and provide a link or phone number to contact.
9. Edit and proofread
No matter how many SEO practices you implement, your content won’t gain attention if it is sloppy or poorly written. Checking to make sure your text is clear of any spelling errors or grammar mistakes is essential, and usually corrected with built-in checkers. But you also want to make sure your sentence structure is understandable and flows well.
Enlist a friend or colleague to read over your content to ensure it makes sense. You can also read it aloud to yourself, or recorded on your phone, to catch any errors or awkward phrasing.
10. Share on social media
Once you’ve published your content to your website, you’re halfway there. The next important part of any content marketing strategy is sharing the content across your social media platforms. Social media posts keep your customers informed with the latest information or news.
Customers prefer brands that offer them interesting, relevant content, and social media helps you to easily reach those customers. Social media shares, clicks, and likes also help share your message with a wider audience.
11. Reoptimize existing content regularly
After your content has been published and shared, you may think you’re done with that piece of content and can move on to the next item on your list. Not entirely! If you choose to reoptimize your content in the future, you can increase your SEO and conversion rate even further, maximizing that content’s ROI.
If you have existing content on your site, take time to measure each page’s analytics to see what strategies are working. Then, update old content to make adjustments or additions to your SEO. You will also want to provide updated information and fix broken or missing links. Reoptimized content has been shown to boost clicks by 29%.
Optimized digital content enhances your content marketing strategy
While reoptimizing content and the other tips above are excellent methods of improving your content marketing plan, it can be difficult for companies to implement them sustainably. Small businesses often do not have the time or resources to effectively utilize each of these practices themselves.
If you’re a small business owner looking for help with your content marketing strategy, reach out to us at Robintek today. We can offer further advice and develop a content plan tailored to your company’s specific needs.
Who We Are
Robintek is a web development and web design company in Columbus, Ohio. Our team of marketers and copywriters offer content writing and content strategy services to help grow your business. Working as a dynamic complement to your team, we also provide custom digital solutions to our clients including eCommerce marketing, logo design, branding and identity services, photography, and more.
For over 20 years, Robintek has been an Ohio website design leader, offering services to clients across the country. If you’re ready to start working with Robintek for your website development and web design needs, request a consultation today.
