I know, there are a million blogs out there with ideas on how to write great content. But having supervised and written hundreds of thousands of pieces of content for the internet I’ve learned some valuable things. Get into your topic fast, write what you actually know and fulfill the promise of the headline. If you can do that, the rest is easy. But let’s get into it a little more indepth. 

GET INTO YOUR TOPIC FAST 

Don't beat around the bush when it comes to the point you are trying to make. People reading online have an endless amount of free content. If they find themselves scrolling endless to figure out what shoes to buy or when the best time to cut their lawn is, they're not going to stick around. People want information and they want it quickly. You got 15 seconds to tell people what they want to know. So get to the point. Best time to mow your lawn is in the morning? Say it right away. Nikes are the best running shoes for under $150 dollars? Tell me that from the start. You'll have plenty of time to go into further detail but now the reader understand and they're hooked in. They'll give you the space once they know they got what they're looking for. 

The worst thing you can do is meander. I hate to break it to you but unless you're a popular online writer with a devoted following you're not going to get a long leash to lead your writers in. You need to hit them fast. 

Though not always the best content on the internet, affiliate content usually does a good job of getting into the topic quickly. Look here:

WRITE WHAT YOU ACTUALLY KNOW 

Your goal when you write is to bring value to your reader. If you're not a doctor you shouldn't write about medicine. If you're not a trainer you shouldn't write about the best workouts. The way to provide value to your reader is to write about what you actually know. 

This doesn't mean you need to have a degree in your subject matter. It does, however, mean that you need to have real information about it. 

Don't be afraid to be personal. You may not have a degree in exercise science but you do know the exercises that work best for you when it comes to relieving stress. You might not be a chef but you might have a recipe you think is great for a date night. When you are writing with confidence it makes your writing leaps and bounds better. 

FULFILL THE PROMISE OF THE HEADLINE 

I've seen so many companies fail to live up to the promise of the headline. You'll see an article with the words "complete" and "everything" that has an article that doesn't contain either. 

You'll see articles about the "real reason" and it ends up being a guess or a theory. That's not a good experience. Imagine walking into a restaurant that promises "authentic french cuisine" and when you get in there they just heat up a frozen dinner. Feel letdown? That's how readers feel when they get duped by a headline. 

When you write a headline, and I advise you start with that, ask yourself what the reader expects from the article. How would they want it formatted? What's the best way to present that information? How can the reader walk away feeling good about their experience? 

Be true to your word and put them first. If you can do that then you'll find your audience. It might take you some time depending on the subject matter but you will find them.

Hubspot has a fantastic marketing blog. Here's an example of one of their headlines:

You can see it makes the kind of promise you'd want when you search for "how to create a good PPC campaign"

The article itself is pretty great. It's comprehensive and breaks down everything you need to run a successful PPC campaign.

Just use your knowledge to create great articles. The rest often takes care of itself.

Ready to take your content to the next level? Contact us today to learn how our SEO expertise can elevate your online presence and drive tangible results for your business.

“We’re not focused on content right now.” 

“We’ll build content later.” 

These are common refrains we hear from our clients all the time. I get it. Content takes time. Content takes money. Content doesn't always come with an immediate payoff (though it can if you do it right, more on that later). 

So we get the want to push content to the back of the line and focus on paid marketing, social media and email. But leaving content on the table and hoping your SEO will grow without it is a fools errand. 

The quickest way for SEO to grow is to create content that continues to tell Google, and your target audience, what you do and where your expertise lies. 

Let's say you have a website for your personal training business. Let's say the website has 3 page (home, services, contact us). It's going to be hard to convince Google or any other passerby that you're an expert in the field of exercise and nutrition. Let's say that same website has a thousand pages and hundreds of well written articles on exercise and nutrition. It's far more likely that Google will recognize your site as a destination with expert content around exercise and nutrition. 

The truth is that building SEO and diamonds require the same thing: pressure and time. You can spend that time waiting for the world to recognize you, or you can spend that time applying pressure to the topic areas you want to be known for. 

If you can create great content then you can reduce the time it takes to gain that authority. The results for your business can be transformational. 

Of course, there's a science to creating content. You have to know the right content to create, and the right cadence to create it. I've never personally saw the benefit in organizations who dump 100 pieces of content at one time and then don't touch your blog again for months. In my experience the best thing you can do is to create those hundred pieces of content and release the same amount on a weekly basis. Consistently and credibility will get you pretty far. You need to know how your customer funnel works and the journey your customers are on and how to meet them where they are at in search. It's not easy to get right, but the worst thing you can do is nothing at all.

How Much Content Do I Need to Create? 

That is a common question and a good one. The truth is, the more, the merrier. Budgets and writing resources are always an issue, especially for small companies, but the more content you can do the better. 

A good rule of thumb I'd advise is at least 1 piece of content a week though the sweet spot for most companies is roughly 10 pieces a month. This gives you an opportunity to focus on the two to three content areas that you are most passionate about. These should also be the areas that are most aligned with you business. 

The good news is that if you're an expert around the topic or product your choosing to write about the content you create will be easier. Many people think that you need to hire professional writing services to create your content. While I know there are many great ones and it can be worth it, what you need is someone with expertise. A decent writer with great expertise is always better than a terrific writer with no expertise. Expertise builds trust and when you're looking for a loyal audience and consistent traffic from Google, trust is everything.

What Do I Write About? 

This is a loaded and complicated question. When you get deep in the weeds of content planning this is a very fun and challenging exercise that can transform your business. But if you're looking for a quick and dirty way to get started ask yourself this question: 

What are things a potential customer of mine is going to google? 

If you can start there it's easy to find 10-20 article ideas. Will that be enough to transform your business? Hell no, but it's a start and one good piece of content is likely to inspire another. 

How Long Until The Content Starts to Work in Google? 

Another question worthy of its own blog post. But for now, a good piece of content can start to show results in 3–12 months. That's not a guarantee, but it's a good rule of thumb. The more you write and the more quality content you put out, the faster the process usually goes. 

Is it Better to Focus on Quality or Quantity? 

Always quality. Of course, doing one piece a year is not advisable, so there's a sweet spot on that Venn diagram. You need to find a place where you can marry the two. Speed matters, but only if it doesn't sacrifice quality. 

For more tips continue to read our blog and if you need a game plan to take over the world through SEO, we're here to help. Get in touch.