Understanding Content Marketing: Advanced Content Strategies

Taking Your Content to the Next Level

How a well-planned and designed content marketing program will change your business

Chris VaughnContent Marketing Director

What We’ve Learned

1. What ‘Web Discovery’ Means to Your Business

2. Optimizing Visitor Paths

3. How Search Engines Reward Great Content and Websites

4. How To Think About Conversion Rates and Web Analytics

SMB Internet Marketing Priorities & Challenges

• Web Discovery1. Proprietary Traffic2. Social Media

• Traffic Management1. Visitor Conversion2. Analysis & Optimization

• Barriers1. Time2. Expertise3. Budget

PredictableDiscovery

ConvertibleTraffic

Optimization

What’s Next?

1. What Marketing Path For Business?• What Is SEM (Search Engine Marketing)?

• Does buying traffic make sense for small businesses?

2. Defining Search Engine Optimization (SEO)• (What is SEO?)

• On The Page SEO vs. Off the Page SEO

3. Building A Content Marketing Program• Sending Visitors Down The Conversion Funnel

4. Content Marketing Tips• (How Can I Be Efficient?)

Marketing DecisionsWhat Path Is For You?

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

• Search Engine Marketing is the process of increasing web visibility through the use of ad-buying campaigns, contextual advertising, and other forms of paid placement and inclusion.

• Google Adwords is an example of a product that lets individuals or businesses utilize SEM

Companies bid for advertising space by selecting keywords and an amount they are prepared to pay if someone clicks their advertisement. The company assigns a budget and that budget is met once a certain amount of clicks is achieved based on the price of a click.

The amount per click is decided by Google based on the popularity of the search term and the competition on the bidding.

What About Buying Traffic?

PaidSearchInclusion

Big Business Spends Big on SEM

They Are Competing For 20% of the Search Marketplace

Popular Queries: Filled With Paid Links, Expensive Ad Campaigns

A more defined searchdelivers a Page 1 resulton Google, right up with

Amazon.com’s owncontent

What is SEO?

• Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving a web page’s visibility to search engines by method of creating unique and valuable content

• Content Marketers consider how search engines work, how people search online, and how to create content that fills those funnels

What Is SEO?

http://searchengineland.com/introducing-the-periodic-table-of-seo-ranking-factors-77181

On The Page SEO:Content

• Content Quality– Is your content well written? Is it unique to your website? Is it

duplicated anywhere else?

• Content Consistency– Are you frequently publishing new content or updating existing

web pages with unique content?

• Content Keywords– Are you researching the keywords that you want to be found on

and using them appropriately with your content?

• Content Engagement– Are you creating content that is keeping visitors on the page for

a reasonable amount of time?

Great Pictures

Title with keywords

Connect and Share On Social

On The Page SEO:Building Factors

• HTML Tags– Are you using the right title tags with the correct keywords? Do

your META tags describe your content?

• Headers and Subheads– Do Headers and Subheads use keywords and “talk” to search

engines?

• Page Load & Clarity– Does your page load easily? Is the content easy to scan and

view?

• URL– Do you have a descriptive URL that explains the content and

contains meaningful keywords?

On The Page SEO:Avoiding Violations (Don’t become SPAM!)

• Duplicate Content– Do not use content from another business or webpage word for

word. Search engines omit websites who duplicate content.

• Paid Links– Avoid buying links to get more traffic.

• Keyword Stuffing– Are you overusing the keywords and phrases you want in hopes

search engines pay more attention to you? Search engines have an algorithm that will block pages with too many keywords.

• Spamming– Has your website or page created links for it in ireelevant or

inappropriate places to create more traffic? (Think of those ‘Facebook spam posts’

Business Owners/Executives Care About Two Things:

1. Money

2. Results

Why SEO-Driven Content Has Become Standard For Businesses

1. Through the correct research and application of SEO, NOT SEM, companies can compete in a larger chunk of the search marketplace and appear on more search results pages (INCREASE RESULTS)

2. Proper Content Marketing costs a fraction of what is spent on large ad-buying campaigns (SAVE MONEY)

3. Because being found online has never been more important

recap and Look ahead

We’ve Covered:• Consumer online activity• Content & prospect traffic• Defining conversion• Visitor Paths Optimizing

Content To Them• Search Engine

Optimization (SEO)• Long-Tail Search• SEO Vs. Searh Engine

Marketing (SEM)

Coming up:• Remaining today:

– Content Marketing - Putting It Together

– Content Marketing Tips– To do checklist

• Next week:– Using Social Media

Marketing– Putting It All Together In

To Your Sales Funnel

So, What Comes Next?

“Instead of one-way interruption, Web marketing is about delivering useful content at just the precise moment that a buyer needs it.”

- David Meerman ScottMarketing Strategist

What is Content Marketing?

The creation and sharing of content for the purposes of engaging current, past, and future client and prospect bases.

Why CONTENT?

• Creating and sharing high-quality, consistent, and relevant content to your client and prospects improves and drives:– Consumer Action– Brand Loyalty– Fan Retention– Increased Fan and Client Sharing

SMB Internet Marketing Priorities & Challenges

• Web Discovery1. Proprietary Traffic2. Social Media

• Traffic Management1. Visitor Conversion2. Analysis & Optimization

• Barriers1. Time2. Expertise3. Budget

PredictableDiscovery

ConvertibleTraffic

Optimization

A. Google (and other search engines) search the internet for content

• It organizes the content around keywords

• Places it into it’s big file cabinet so people can find it easily

Content must be fresh, frequent, unique, and unduplicated

•GOAL: To compete on LOTS of the different search terms your prospects are using

Keywords

CONTENT

Q. How Do Search Engines Work?The Internet’s File cabinet

Page 1

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Content Marketing

What Type of Content?

Blog

Social Networks

Webinars

White Papers

Case Study

Testimonials

Video

And More and More and More…

• eBooks

• Podcasts

• Interviews

• Press releases

• Newsletters

Whatever fits your strategy…

All of This Content:

• Creates new landing pages where you can be found on search engines

• Answers questions and provides supports for clients

• Creates and retains new visitors and leads

• Establishes authority in your industry

• Drives consumer actions

How Does Content Convert Leads?

Use Call toActions to

Create Offers

Use Forms To Capture Information

Call Or E-Mail Your Leads To Offer Free Consultations and Further Education

Tips For Beginning A Successful Content Marketing Program

How to Develop and Maintain An Efficient Content Marketing Program

Or: How Do Content Marketers Do It?

Search Phrases

• What search terms are consumers using to find you?– List and prioritize those keywords– Build content around those terms to improve

search ranking

• What search terms do you want to be found on, that you are not currently?– Research phrases, discover competitiveness

of them and build content strategy around them

Content Calendar

• Plan Your Content Based On:– What your clients and prospects have enjoyed

reading in the past– Questions you have been asked about your

business– What your industry is up to (Emerging trends

and business initiatives)– What your current clients request

SEO-Rich Content

• Is your content filled with keywords and phrases that you have deemed important to your content strategy?– Use headers and tags rich with keywords so

that search engines will rank you higher– Develop your content around specific topics

partnet with your desired search phrases, sprinkle the content with the keywords to help you get found

Think Ahead!

• Think of new forms of content that is unique to your business– What sort of contests or sweepstakes might your fans

most enjoy?– Are there certain types of videos or interviews with

accomplished professionals in your industry that your clients and prospects might enjoy?

– Do most of your clients engage regularly on mobile devices? What sort of content might optimize your prospect’s mobile experience?

To-Do Tasks and Questions to Answer• Does a content marketing strategy make more

sense than paid search advertising for your business?

• What Search Terms Are Visitors Using To Find You now? What search terms do you want to be found on?

• What sort of content would best engage your prospects? What strategy would you use to nurture your leads?

• Begin to think about paths visitors take on your website and how to optimize them for the best conversion opportunities.

SOCIAL MEDIA IS AT THE INTERSECTION OF PAGE RANK,

SEARCH AND REFERRAL TRAFFIC

WEBINAR # 3 IN THIS SERIES WILL HELP YOU:

1. UNDERSTAND WHY2. GRASP TOP TACTICS3. ALLOCATE RESOURCES4. MEASURE ROI 5. Fill Your Sales Funnel