Google’s ever-changing algorithm causes headaches for webmasters and SEO companies alike, keeping up with the latest developments and building an online marketing campaign that works is literally a full time job.
There are however some online marketing principles that stand the test of time (and the near-constant algorithm updates) and should be the corner stone of your campaigns. Strategies such as content marketing take time and consequently often get under-utilised or even completely ignored.
But creating interesting and shareable content for your own site is gold dust, Google loves great content and so will your visitors. Writing engaging content is a fantastic investment that can generate Google-friendly links, mentions and shares for years to come.
Blog Posts.
I know this is something we have already covered but I can’t over emphasise the importance of having a steady stream of fresh output via your blog.
You can capitalise on this by writing posts that address common questions you receive or help customers with issues they have. See what is going on via social media or with your industry at large if you are stuck for ideas to write about. Sometimes a controversial or newsworthy blog post can really generate interest in your site.
Infographics.
If you have some great data or knowledge don’t waste it, use it to produce a cool infograpic. Statistics can be pretty dull and take a long time to digest, we have already discussed how people on the web don’t always have the time to read wordy explanations of your thoughts and concepts.
Using graphics as a visual representation of your information communicates with people in an instant, making your concepts easier to understand and increasing your opportunities to engage. A well designed infographic has far more potential for sharing than the stuffy report it was based on, this is why Google loves multi- media content.
Industry Statistics.
You know your own business and industry best so why not let everyone else know what is going on. Producing some pithy facts and stats helps your customers to understand you as well as being handy for journalists, students or anyone else doing research. This also helps to underline the fact that you are an authority voice in your niche.
How to Guides.
Share your knowledge with your visitors via useful how to guides. How to guides are brilliant ways of helping your customers out as well as adding quality content to your site.
First of all look at ideas directly related to your products and services these will be ideal subjects for your first guides. Then take a step back and write some others that are closely related to your core subjects.
For example, if you make paint you would start by producing a series of guides that showed people how to paint and use your products effectively. Then you might choose to cover other areas of decorating and home improvements.
The beauty of this kind of content is that it is hugely shareable and well written guides have the chance to go viral.
Video.
Videos are great, if you have already produced some make sure they have a place on your site. If not think about getting some made, this could be demonstrations, product overviews or even great video versions of your how to guides.
Production values don’t have to be sky high, you message is far more important than your ability in front or behind the camera.
Customer Resources.
Providing an area with good quality resources for your customers is an excellent idea. User guides, downloads, F.A.Q’s all add up to an enhanced customer experience.
Make sure you keep this area up to date as new products become available, this is not only great for customer retention but can be a valuable source of links back to your site as people share this information across the web.
The ideas above could form the basis of your content marketing campaign. Great content will benefit your customers, satisfy Google’s interest in fresh content and form the backbone of your marketing strategy all at the same time.
Make a commitment to add new content regularly and you’ll soon have a wealth of material that will attract attention in its own right as well as being a great resource to use as part of a link building campaign.