It’s no secret that content marketing plays an important part in the success of a website, and therefore your business. Like you’ve probably heard before, content is king.
Every website needs content to attract visitors and turn them into paying customers. It’s the sales funnel that millions of websites out there use:
How Content Marketing is Killing Content Marketing
- Write long and interesting content on a given topic
- Include sales copy and a call to action
- PROFIT
It sounds so easy, right? But if it is so “easy” then how come a lot of websites get less than impressive results?
That’s because not all content is made the same way.
Some websites choose to use terrible writers and then wonder why they don’t get good results. In order to boost your sales and see your profits double, you need GOOD content. To help you make sure your content is up to scratch, we’ve put together a handy guide that covers everything you need to know.
If you’re not getting the results you want from content marketing, then this is a must read. But before we look at what you should be avoiding, what actually is content marketing?
What is Content Marketing?
Like we touched on earlier, content marketing is an excellent way to generate traffic and visitors to your website. People use search engines to find the answer to their questions. If you happen to have the answer to that question on your site, then you’re likely to attract visitors.
Once you get visitors on your website, that’s the first step done. However, getting them to the website is not enough, you need to make them convert. A conversion can be anything from buying your product or service to signing up to your mailing list. This is the second part of the content marketing funnel, combine this with the first part, and they make a powerful marketing strategy.
If you don’t believe us, then take a look at some of the biggest SEO and marketing blogs out there. Neil Patel and Brian Dean all use the same content marketing funnel. They write huge skyscraper posts that are literally thousands of words long and use them to bring in traffic and sales. If the big dogs are doing it, then you should be too.
Now you understand what content marketing is and how powerful it can be, you probably want to get in on the action right? If you want to replicate other people’s success on your website, there are a few things you should avoid.
Mistakes to Avoid
When it comes to content marketing, the difference between a good and bad piece of content is often down to the writer.
There are plenty of “SEO specialists” out there that claim they know how to do content marketing, but often their content is lacking. Not only is it full of spelling and grammar mistakes, but they usually include things such as click bait titles and keyword stuffing. It’s no wonder their content doesn’t deliver results.
These bad SEO agencies and “specialists” are really giving content marketing a bad name. By offering content marketing services to businesses that don’t perform, they bring the overall reputation of content marketing down. This means businesses who buy content marketing services from these agencies are likely to be put off content marketing for life.
If you’re looking for some help on how to make your content better, then we’ve got some great tips and advice. Here are the top mistakes you should be avoiding in your content.
Not Relevant Or Personalised
The first mistake many writers make when it comes to content marketing is not making the content relevant. If your business is about SEO services, then do you really want to write content on flowers? Sure you might attract a few people with it, but the chances are they’re looking to buy flowers. Since you only sell SEO services, users will leave faster than they arrived, wasting both your time and theirs.
Content that is relevant to your niche should be personalised and connect with the reader. If you know they’re looking for SEO services and advice, then you can put yourself in their shoes. What information do they want? What are they looking for? By thinking about what the reader is looking for and giving them an answer, you’re likely to get better results from your content.
Targeting the Wrong Keywords
One of the most important parts of content marketing is keyword targeting. You can’t target every keyword in the world with one article, in fact, you shouldn’t be targeting any more than 3. When it comes to picking what keywords you want to target, the same standard rules apply.
Keywords should be relevant to your niche and industry, not be too competitive and should have some sort of buying intent. Some keywords can generate thousands of visitors with ease, but if the user has no intention of buying, is it worth the time and effort?
Over Optimised
If you’re new to content marketing, someone else is writing content for you, then be sure to check for over optimisation. Also known as “keyword stuffing”, over optimisation is when you include too many of the same keywords. Not only does this make the content unreadable and repetitive, but you also risk the chance of being punished by Google.
Having the same keyword repeated over and over in your content is not natural. Instead, you should look at including LSI keywords.
Too Short
If your content is less than 300 words, then the chances are you won’t even be ranked in Google. The length of your content plays a crucial role in determining your rank. Ideally, your content should be over 1000 words (go ahead check how many there are in this article!). But if you want to stand a good chance of reaching the top 3 positions on Google you should be aiming for 2000+.
Having longer content does a number of important things. First, it lets you include more keywords and LSI keywords which helps you rank higher. Second, it gives you more time to convince the reader to convert by providing numerous reasons and examples. Finally, long form content usually has a lot more value and is more likely to get shared. Why link to 4 different articles when you can link to 1 that covers everything on the topic? Readers love long content, and if you want to get your visitors hooked, you need to make sure it’s long and informative.
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