Content creation is not only time-consuming, but also very challenging. It is a good idea to make it a routine process for your organization but when it comes to content, it’s always quality over quantity. Consistency is great, but should be matched by the appropriate quality standard of what comes out.
In 2019 content marketing has evolved and became mainstream, with even small and medium businesses adopting cost-efficient and effective techniques in an attempt to connect with their target audiences. It can certainly be a very powerful tool but in a media space so saturated with content, how do you even get people to see your message, let alone spend time to read it?
Let’s take a look at some helpful tips on how to make your content marketing effort more appealing and optimized.
Keywords matter. A lot.
Even before you start writing an article, blog, or even putting up a post of social media, you have to consider the topic and search terms. There are many tools for analysis of keywords (Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, etc.). Keyword research is a crucial first step when embarking on a new content creation.
As an example, “content optimization” is the keyword that is used for this blog. By doing a quick check with Google Keyword Planner it was revealed that the competition for this keyword is low. It also provided several suggestions for alternate keywords and pricing if it was decided to promote them.
Other analytical tools provide data on search volume, keyword difficulty, etc. It is all done to help you make an educated decision on which keywords to use in order to rank higher, rather just taking a guess.
Optimize for SEO
Google is constantly improving its algorithm and innovating, which means that it is no longer 100% essential to have direct matching keywords. This includes meta title, meta description, URL, etc.
However, it is still advised to make full use of the tools you are provided, especially if you have a lower-ranking website.
In case you have doubts about how well your SEO is optimized, Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a great tool for analyzing that. This software is essentially a website crawler, that allows you to crawl websites’ URLs and fetch key elements to analyse and audit technical and onsite SEO checks for issues such as duplicate titles, missing or long meta descriptions, missing alt headings, etc.
It is crucial to be aware of any issues your website might have, as it will have a direct impact on your Google ranking.
Optimize content for sharing
If content is king, then sharing is its throne. As was mentioned earlier, content creation is a time-consuming process and you want to get the most out of it. For this reason, you should not just put thought into how you going to optimize and distribute your message but also how you can improve its chances to be shared.
Social media can be great for that and with little extra effort you can really avail of that.
For Facebook, you can do this with the help of Open Graph protocol. What it does is it makes it easier for Facebook to interpret your posts. Here is what’s involved:
- Title tag – you are providing Facebook with the information about what content your page includes and how to display it within newsfeed.
- Description tag – information about the page, encourages people to click on the post.
- Image tag – deals with the images you put into the post. Better optimization, better look and appeal.
Twitter needs to be approached slightly differently. Twitter Cards deal with title, description, and thumbnail. Basically, it is a way to provide extra information about your content to Twitter so there is a better chance your message is shared. It is a bit of extra work but it is worth it.
Of course, there is also an easier way of doing that. In case you are hosting a website on WordPress, Yoast SEO Plugin can help you avoid all the manual work described above. It has built-in options for Open Graph and Twitter Card tags. You can access this through SEO -> Social Menu in your WP dashboard menu. It will fill in most of the required tags once you enable the Open Graph meta data for Facebook. In case of Twitter, just ensure that Twitter card meta data is enabled. In case you want more control, you can customize these settings manually at any time.
Finally, it is a good idea to ensure your content is optimized correctly after setting everything up. A tool like Knowem.com is useful for this purpose.
Pay attention to the language and style
You don’t have to be a Pulitzer-winning author to have a good, quality blog that people enjoy reading. The main reason why users would be willing to access your content is to get value and knowledge, but that doesn’t mean that you should ignore the style and language in which it is written.
Some of the biggest culprits when it comes to blogging are:
- Poor use of headlines and wall of text. This is one of the biggest turn-offs when it comes to digesting an article or a blog. Make it easier for your readers to register the information you provide.
- Long sentences, lack of paragraphs. Elaborating on the previous point, try to keep your sentences shorter and break up the text to give it structure and flow.
- Ignoring proven writing techniques. As Stephen King once said “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot”. Don’t be shy to use other bloggers, content creators and marketers for inspiration for your own content marketing style.
A picture is worth a thousand words
According to Hubspot report for 2018, when people hear information, they’re likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later. According to the same report, 32% of marketers say visual images are the most important form of content for their business, with blogging in second (27%).
The report contains a lot more data and interesting insights, but this alone showcases the critical role imagery plays in the content marketing.
Don’t forget about the backlinks
Many marketers either neglect or simply don’t understand the importance of backlinks. They are important for SEO and build credibility for your website. They are also very useful for providing readers with sources of information (example with Hubspot above) and contribute to a good user experience.
Summary
Content marketing is a very complex and demanding process. It is time-consuming and continuously evolves and moves forward. However, it doesn’t mean that it should be ignored. Businesses who neglect it are inadvertently putting themselves at a disadvantage when compared with their more innovative and engaging competitors.
Getting started on your content marketing strategy is great, but optimizing and refining it should be an integral part in your approach to conducting it. Always keep your audience in mind: what they want, who you are doing it for, what value are they getting, which channel offers the best odds of you delivering your message to your target audience, how you measure the effectiveness of your content marketing campaign.
Remember that when it comes to marketing and especially digital, learning never ends.