A Cornerstone of SEO Success 

Quality content is the foundation of any successful SEO strategy. It bridges the gap between search engines and users, serving as the medium for delivering information, solutions and value. Without content, a website is nothing more than a collection of code and design elements. Content gives it purpose, transforming it into a tool that connects with users and serves their needs. 

Search engines like Google are designed to deliver the most relevant and high-quality content to users. Every algorithm update, from Penguin to Google's Helpful Content Update, has reinforced the importance of user-centric material that prioritizes quality over quantity. This evolution reflects Google’s mission to serve users effectively by showcasing websites that provide meaningful, well-crafted content. 

For businesses, content offers more than just a chance to rank higher—it establishes a voice, builds trust and communicates authority in their industry. High-quality content isn’t a one-time effort; it requires consistent refinement and strategic planning. This ongoing commitment allows businesses to remain relevant and valuable to users and search engines. 

Content is also the conduit through which businesses can demonstrate their understanding of user intent. By identifying and addressing specific needs, questions and pain points, companies can create a seamless experience that fosters engagement, satisfaction and loyalty. In this way, content is not merely a component of SEO; it is the cornerstone upon which long-term success is built. 

The Impact of Content on Search Engine Rankings 

Understanding why content is important for SEO involves a firm grasp of how search engines work. The connection between content and rankings is direct and measurable. Every element of a page—keywords, metadata, headings, alt text and internal links—works together to signal its relevance and value to search engines. These signals guide search engines in assessing the page’s purpose, structure and alignment with user intent. 

Consider a blog post titled “How to Optimize Your Blog for SEO.” If this post includes well-organized sections on keyword research, content formatting and technical tips, search engines can quickly identify its focus and relevance. Thoughtfully structured content not only enhances readability but also communicates to search engines that it satisfies user queries comprehensively. 

User engagement metrics like dwell time, click-through rates and bounce rates further underscore the importance of quality content. When users spend more time on a page or navigate to other sections of the website, it signals to search engines that the content is valuable and engaging. These behavioral indicators influence rankings, reinforcing the need for content that resonates with its audience. 

When comparing short-form vs. long-form content, each have a place in an SEO strategy. Short-form pieces are ideal for delivering concise answers, while long-form information blog posts allow for in-depth exploration of complex topics. By balancing both types, businesses can address a diverse range of user intents, increasing their chances of ranking for multiple search queries. 

What Makes Content Marketing Crucial for SEO Success? 

Content marketing amplifies your SEO efforts by ensuring that high-quality content reaches its intended audience. This strategic approach to content distribution helps businesses establish authority, drive traffic, and increase engagement. Without content marketing, even the most well-written material can go unnoticed. 

The synergy between content marketing and SEO creates a feedback loop: valuable content improves rankings, higher rankings attract more users, and engaged users generate additional metrics that enhance SEO performance. Take the example of HubSpot and Moz, two industry leaders that have mastered content marketing. By publishing blog posts, whitepapers, tutorials and webinars tailored to their audience, they have positioned themselves as go-to resources in their fields. Their success illustrates how a robust content marketing strategy can enhance SEO outcomes while fostering long-term customer relationships. 

Content marketing also aligns with Google’s Helpful Content Update, which prioritizes material that meets user needs over content designed solely for search engines. Businesses that embrace a user-first mindset can expect to see improvements in both rankings and audience engagement. 

The Importance of Content Strategy 

An effective content strategy begins with a comprehensive understanding of your audience. Who are they, and what challenges do they face? What type of information are they seeking? Addressing these questions ensures that your content resonates with users while aligning with broader business objectives. 

Key components of a strong content strategy include: 

• Keyword Research: Keywords are the building blocks of SEO. By identifying the terms your audience uses to search for information, you can create content that aligns with their queries and intent. Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush and Ahrefs are invaluable for uncovering high-value keywords. 
•  Content Creation: Developing unique content that is engaging and valuable is essential. Your material should address user needs while showcasing your expertise. Incorporating a variety of formats—blogs, videos, infographics and case studies—keeps your audience engaged and encourages repeat visits. 
•  Content Optimization: Optimization involves more than just adding keywords. It includes structuring content for readability, enhancing metadata and incorporating internal and external links to improve navigation and authority. 
•  Performance Measurement: Analytics tools such as Google Analytics and Search Console allow you to monitor how your content performs. Metrics like organic traffic, click-through rates and conversions provide insights into what resonates with your audience and what needs improvement. 

Developing a Content Strategy to Boost SEO 

Developing a content strategy that supports SEO requires careful planning, execution and evaluation. Start by conducting a content audit to identify gaps in your existing material. This process helps you uncover opportunities for new content and areas where updates are needed. Next, create a content calendar that outlines topics, formats and publishing schedules. A balanced approach that includes evergreen content and timely pieces ensures that your site remains relevant and engaging year-round. 

Freshness is critical for maintaining a competitive edge. Regularly updating older articles with new insights, examples and visuals can improve their ranking potential. Repurposing content into other formats, such as videos or social media posts, also allows you to reach new audiences without starting from scratch. Finally, prioritize writing for humans. While technical writing for SEO is important, content that speaks directly to your audience will always perform better. By addressing their needs and providing real value, you can build trust and foster long-term engagement. 

The Relationship Between Content & SEO Rankings 

Content quality is one of the most significant factors in determining search engine rankings. Professional SEO services help empower on site content to meet user needs and signal to search engines that your site is a reliable and authoritative source of information. Google’s algorithms prioritize content that is relevant, readable and engaging.  

A blog post with actionable advice, expert insights and multimedia elements will outperform one that offers only superficial information. This focus on depth and relevance ensures that users find value in the material, which translates to better engagement metrics. Additionally, high-quality content often attracts backlinks, which serve as endorsements from other websites. These links not only drive referral traffic but also boost your site’s domain authority, further enhancing its ranking potential. 

AI's Impact on Content Strategy 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are transforming SEO content creation by streamlining processes and offering actionable insights. These technologies help businesses achieve efficiency and scalability, with applications ranging from topic generation to optimization. 

AI tools like Jasper AI and ChatGPT analyze search trends and audience behavior to suggest high-performing topics. This allows businesses to focus on creating content aligned with user intent and emerging needs. Similarly, AI excels in keyword research, identifying valuable terms that resonate with target audiences and enhance search engine visibility. Content optimization is another area where AI shines. Platforms analyze top-ranking pages for specific queries, offering recommendations on content length, keyword usage and structure. These insights help businesses fill gaps, improve relevance and create competitive material. 

However, while AI optimizes workflows, it lacks the creativity and emotional depth required for authentic storytelling. Successful strategies combine AI’s efficiency with human expertise to craft engaging, meaningful content. As AI evolves, its applications will expand. Businesses that adopt it strategically—balancing automation with creativity—will gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing digital landscape. 

Quality, Quality, Quality 

High-quality content is essential for effective SEO. It’s not just about hitting word counts or checking boxes but delivering value, engaging readers, and building trust. True quality goes beyond surface-level information, offering depth, actionable insights, and a seamless user experience. 

Quality content is well-researched and supported by credible sources, data, and examples. Visuals like infographics and charts enhance understanding and engagement. Clear structure, easy navigation, and tools like Hemingway Editor ensure readability and accessibility without losing sophistication. 

Beyond technical elements, quality content establishes authority and trust. Businesses that consistently provide valuable material build loyalty, attract backlinks, and improve SEO. High-quality content keeps readers engaged, reduces bounce rates, and encourages further exploration, driving better rankings, increased traffic, and higher conversions. 

In today’s competitive digital space, quality content is non-negotiable. Prioritizing substance over quantity helps businesses foster connections, spark meaningful interactions, and achieve long-term success. 

The online marketspace is incredibly vast. Consumers nowadays have practically limitless options when it comes to where and how they consume content. Because of this, marketers must understand what it is their target audience is looking for as well as the best way to deliver it. One key aspect of this is content length. Below, we’ll briefly explore two types of content — snackable and long-form — along with the potential advantages of each.

First, what is snackable content? Going even shorter than short-form, this type of content is typically only around 200 words. It is meant for fast, efficient consumption. It is directed mainly at users on mobile devices who do not have the time or attention span to expend on lengthier content. Snackable content has become popular quickly, as it provides easy-to-digest and shareable pieces of information that many on social media and other such apps or platforms crave.

Going this route can be advantageous. When snackable content is well-constructed and optimized for mobile, it can generate higher engagement rates, as the content grabs attention and is consistently shared. To fully capitalize on this, the content ought to be adaptable across platforms. The versatility of content that can be reworked to suit different formats — such as videos, infographics, etc. — as well as various platforms enables creators to maximize its value, impact and ability to reach new viewers. This helps spread the content numerous ways, such as Stories, TikTok videos and Instagram Reels.

Long-form content also has merit. Seen as more authoritative, these pieces are sought after by those looking to be informed on a deeper level. As these users are typically more invested, they are more likely to maintain interest throughout the content, even though it exceeds 1,000 words. Of course, users can’t be expected to read every word. Long-form content can also be an advantageous route, as it performs better in search engines and other key metrics. In fact, content with more than 3,000 words boasts 21% more traffic and 24% more shares than articles with 901 to 1,200 words.

Long-form is also beneficial in that it’s great for building trust. As consumers continually navigate our oversaturated digital landscape, they get better at seeing content for what it is and realizing its intent. Because long-form content generally requires more planning and research, it is seen as a more trustworthy source. When a brand goes the extra mile and establishes trust as a reliable expert through strategic content, it can help increase conversion rates and other growth-related metrics. Due to length, long-form content is particularly suited to white papers, webinars and blogs as well as YouTube where longer videos see greater success.

In the end, both forms of content can be rewarding when positioned in the appropriate situation or setting. As such, brands need to have a thorough understanding of the target audience and utilize a mix of long-form and snackable content to meet their ever-growing demands.

Blogs are a great source of information, but they can also be a great source of misinformation. Bloggers have a responsibility to their readers to provide accurate information, and that certainly includes bloggers in the marketing space. Publishing incorrect “facts” and shaky assertions can cost readers a good deal of money if they implement faulty marketing campaigns based on that information. Here are a few ideas for properly researching blog posts.

• Don’t go for sensationalism. Coming up with a fantastic title or shocking idea may attract a lot of readers, but if the underlying ideas are based on poor data (or none at all), you’re not really helping readers — potentially, you’re harming them. In the long run, reliable information is what attracts and maintains loyal blog readership.

• Don’t draw sweeping conclusions from small samplings. Every now and then you’ll see a blog post that reports an unexpected conclusion, only to learn that it is based on a survey of, say, 10 customers. A sampling of 10 does not a conclusion make. Much more reliable is a survey of 100 or 1,000, or a survey of 10 that is repeated 10 times or 100 times with the same result. If you come across a survey in your research that doesn’t state its sample size, then it’s wise to assume it’s a small sampling or flawed in some other way.

  

• Verify data with at least two sources. When I’m doing research, I’m amazed by how often two seemingly reputable websites publish contradictory or inconsistent data on points you’d expect to be cut-and-dried, such as the date of a particular event, the production cost of a particular ad or the average monthly traffic of a particular website. Dig deep. Cross-check data and make sure you understand how each source came up with its data. This process takes time, but it helps explain differences in the numbers or exposes flaws in a reported number. When you go the extra mile in this way, you are doing a real service for your readers, by helping them avoid making a mistake and giving them a better understanding of an issue. If you must report data of which you’re not sure, let the reader know.

• Don’t be afraid to report data that doesn’t support your conclusion. Full disclosure is a hallmark of successful bloggers. Readers trust bloggers who present multiple sides of an issue, rather than stacking the deck with only the facts that support their case. In marketing, very few ideas are universally applicable anyway, so there’s no harm in letting readers know your suggested approach is not the only approach that works. By presenting a wide range of data, you build trust with readers because they know you’re trying to inform as well as persuade. Informing without persuading is not practical for business bloggers, but persuading without properly informing is counterproductive in the long run.

Once in a while, you’ll change your point of view or conclusion as a result of your research. That’s healthy! If a deeper look at the facts helps you form a more accurate perception, just think of how much your readers will benefit. Never be afraid to admit a mistake or a change of mind.

Google has announced the phase-out of Google Plus, the company’s SEO/content marketing/social media mashup that had been struggling from day one. The immediate catalyst for the announced shutdown was a security bug, but the platform never really caught on with users or found its place in the SEO scheme of things.

Too Many Problems With Google Plus

As an SEO agency with a heavy focus on content marketing, we were quite active on Google Plus and eager to see it succeed. But there were a ton of challenges. The ones that stood out in my experience:

• In the early days of Google Authorship (GA), the setup process was extraordinarily complicated and user-unfriendly. It was a worthy idea to help search engine users evaluate the authority of the authors behind the content, but it seemed to me the best authors were too busy thinking up great content to learn the complexities of GA.

• From an SEO perspective, we saw limited evidence that involvement with GA had much effect on organic visibility — a lot of work with little return. Furthermore, it seemed obvious that Google’s search algorithm was capable (or quickly becoming capable) of determining the authority of an author without the GA rigmarole. I doubt if we were the only agency to see this, which may explain why Google Plus became the bright, shiny object for only a relative handful in the marketing community.

  

• There was also a built-in conflict with Google Plus. Google’s core business is a search engine that is expected to deliver objective results for user queries, results that cover the entire landscape of the web. However, if Google tilts results to favor original Google Plus content and content receiving a lot of Google +1 button likes, then its results become highly subjective and far more limited in scope. This is not what Google search engine users want. Even if Google Plus was the right idea, Google was the wrong company to develop it. As a content platform, LinkedIn is having much more success: It already had a user base full of expert content creators and users happy to limit themselves — limit themselves to searches within the LinkedIn content platform and limit themselves to searches on business topics only.

• The social media side of Google Plus was no match for Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter in any respect whatsoever. Google Plus lacked a “fun factor” and a broad base of engaged users. At this point, 90 percent of user sessions on Google Plus are less than five seconds (see the TechCrunch article cited earlier). Google has always been weak in UX, and it’s a fatal flaw for a platform aspiring to be a social media giant.

Innovative companies such as Google are bound to fail. In fact, stockholders, company leaders and employees expect failure — no failure means no risk, which means stagnation and decline. Google’s decision to shut down the platform, if it’s noticed at all by the general public, will only serve to improve its stock value and brand perception.

Over to You

What do you think about the shutdown of Google Plus?

What was your experience using Google Plus?

Writer’s block causes anxiety and other mental maladies. But for professional writers with looming client deadlines, writer’s block threatens careers and income streams as well. How do you fight back? Here are a bunch of ways to unblock. I hope your cure is in here somewhere!

• Melissa Burkley breaks down writer’s block into four types on Psychology Today: Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of success and lack of motivation. If you think probing your psyche will get you past writer’s block, this article is packed with helpful insights.

• Here’s more psychological perspective from Maria Konnikova in The New Yorker, How to Beat Writer’s Block. The common denominator is unhappiness, and the author describes some practical techniques to improve one’s mood and creative output.

• Ideas for attacking writer’s block from accomplished writers:

  o “ … writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all.” — Charles Bukowski

  o “There is no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting.” — Robert Graves

  o “Writer’s block is my unconscious mind telling me that something I’ve just written is either unbelievable or unimportant to me, and I solve it by going back and reinventing some part of what I’ve already written so that when I write it again, it is believable and interesting to me. Then I can go on. Writer’s block is never solved by forcing oneself to ‘write through it,’ because you haven’t solved the problem that caused your unconscious mind to rebel against the story, so it still won’t work — for you or for the reader.” — Orson Scott Card

  o “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” — Mark Twain

• Here are four simple techniques especially suitable for business writers, from Brandon Turner on Entrepreneur. I’ve used each of them with great success.

• Can music cure writer’s block? I don’t know about this one. I can barely write my name when music is playing, but other writers swear by it. Here’s a list of 12 songs to beat writer’s block put together by an established psychologist.

  

  2. Breaking Down the Block

  A big, fat writer’s block can fall on you anywhere along the way. Different action is called for depending on where you are.

• Not being able to come up with topics is a major issue, especially for blog writers. Browse topic ideas here, here or maybe here. Lots of good fish in those articles, but here Neil Patel teaches you how to fish so you’ll never starve for topics again.

• Not being able to put a complicated idea or sequence of ideas into words challenges writers working on technical, detailed and/or intellectually deep material. Ways to get past this block include:

  o Write whatever comes into your head and tighten it later.

  o Step away from the work. Your mind will keep working on the problem behind the scenes. When you return to the keyboard, you may find the words flowing as if by magic.

  o Put together a detailed outline (one of the techniques discussed by Brandon Turner in the article I cited earlier).

• Not being able to come up with an ending is particularly annoying, since you are so close to the finish line. Of course, the best way to beat this block is to have your ending in mind before you start writing. Logically, if you don’t know what you’re trying to say, if you don’t know what point you’re trying to make, why are you writing in the first place? That said, many times we reach a point when we think, “This is done, but it doesn’t feel like it’s done.” When that happens, try the following:

  o An executive summary of the key points

  o A famous quote that conveys the essence of your work

  o Asking a question to provoke further thought

  o Suggesting the next step the reader should take, or the next idea the reader should explore

Like most writers, I suppose, I’m something of an introvert. When I get stuck for ideas, the best cure for me is to get out of my head for a while. Talking to people about their ideas, their challenges, their problems and their aspirations never fails to supply me with a lengthy list of ideas for business articles — ideas for both topics and new angles for approaching topics.

Sometimes the worst thing you can do to overcome writer’s block is to think about it.

What do you think about that?

Marketing trends come and go. Storytelling has stuck around longer than most, the idea being that telling a story is more persuasive than rattling off features and benefits because it enables the reader to connect intellectually and emotionally with the value proposition.

Is this correct? Does storytelling help or hurt lead generation marketing?

Like most marketing theories, it's impossible to judge the benefits of storytelling in a vacuum. It's going to be highly effective in some situations, but ineffective in others. If a company has gotten good online lead production in the absence of story-style content, then abruptly shifting gears simply because storytelling is hot wouldn't be prudent. Sure, storytelling might enable the company to generate even more leads, but why not test the concept first?

What variables influence how effective storytelling will be for a given business?

• Complex products and services lend themselves to storytelling because they help the prospect understand the benefits. Our world of SEO makes for a good example. The technical ins and outs of SEO often confuse prospects the more you explain them — but if you show a prospect a well-constructed case study of a success story in a similar SEO situation, prospects often experience that glorious "aha moment."

• Lifestyle products and services lend themselves to storytelling because it's not so much the product/service people buy as it is the feeling they get of owning it. Look at just about any Super Bowl ad — beer and soft drink ads in particular — and you will see slice-of-life situations that people identify with or want to identify with.

• The nature of the target audience is obviously key. IT specialists reviewing operating software want to see detailed features. Warehouse managers reviewing conveyor systems want the same. Their professional worlds are based on facts and details. People whose perspective is more conceptual — for instance, C-level executives, marketing personnel — tend to be more receptive to storytelling.

Storytelling sharpens brand image. Is this good or bad?

There's no doubt that a well-executed storytelling campaign makes a brand more vivid, and helps create a long-lasting impression of the brand in the marketplace. This can be a double-edged sword, however, if the brand image finds itself going against the grain with the market.

This problem crushed the U.S. auto industry in the 1980s. Ford, GM and Chrysler had built strong brands (largely through storytelling) based on styling, status and performance. But economic conditions were such in the '80s that consumers now wanted fuel economy and moderately priced and performing vehicles. Detroit still hasn't fully recovered.

More currently, luxury brands will encounter stiffening resistance from environmentally and frugality-minded consumers if they are not careful in their storytelling communication. Similarly, brands that have cultivated a "he-man" image may find themselves out of sync with today's social sentiments.

Features, benefits and value propositions are flexible. They can change with the times and evolve through innovation. Storytelling is less flexible. You can't go out and tell a luxury story today and a thriftiness story tomorrow — doing so will confuse the entire market, alienate brand loyalists and arouse suspicion among new target market segments.

Again, this must all be thought about in the context of the particular business. Some companies tell stories that aren't much affected by changes in market sentiment, while others really stick their necks out by committing to a particular storyline. Just because storytelling works wonders for Company A does not mean it will benefit your business. The most important thing is not to enter into a storytelling campaign blindly, but instead ask the right questions, test thoroughly and carefully monitor results.

“You should be marketing with podcasts because audio content is a hot trend,” say Internet marketing “experts” these days. I agree. Podcasts have the ability to connect with your target prospect base in a more personal and authentic way than through written words only.



But there are significant challenges to doing podcasts that need to be considered before leaping into the podcast pool.



What Exactly Is a Podcast?



While that may seem like a question with an obvious answer, I’d encourage you to understand exactly what a podcast is.



Though there have been podcasts that are music-based, most podcasts are spoken word presentations, delivered via electronic files, usually MP3s. Content can include a wide range of types including:

• News
• Interviews
• Opinions
• Education
• Entertainment


Podcasts can provide material that is either evergreen (meaning relevant for long periods of time) or time-sensitive (meaning its content could be relevant for mere days, or even hours).



What’s interesting is that the podcast, as we understand it today, didn’t really get going until 2003, a mere 15 years ago as of this post date. With the introduction of the iPod — which is why they’re called podcasts — shows and content could be delivered (broadcast) via iTunes to iPod devices. Then as smartphones and tablets began to include iPod-like features — especially after the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 — podcasts could be delivered via any mobile device via iTunes and several other podcast distribution networks.



The Podcast Learning Curve



So, podcasts are still a relatively new content medium. This is a good thing since they still provide opportunities in a less crowded field. But because it’s still a developing landscape, there’s also still a significant learning curve, especially for those using them for marketing purposes.



The technical issues include recording and editing audio files, choosing a hosting provider (hosting it yourself on your website can take some effort), and setting up distribution on podcast platforms such as iTunes, Stitcher and Google (which is setting up a podcast app in 2018).



With the introduction of the Amazon Alexa and similar voice assistant devices, another tech hurdle is to make sure a podcast can be listened to on them. As of this writing, on Alexa, a special Alexa Skill is needed (e.g., AnyPod, Stitcher).



But these tech challenges can pale in comparison to getting used to recording your voice and, even worse, getting used to hearing your recorded voice. While those who do live public speaking might have an easier time with this, even for them, getting used to speaking into the microphone in a lonely room can be unnerving.



What Should You Talk About on a Podcast?



This is another potential stumbling block. What will you talk about on the show, particularly if you’re doing a podcast to help promote your business? Listeners will quickly tune out if your presentation is nothing more than a sales pitch. It must provide valuable information. This has, of course, always been the case for content marketing, particularly with blogging.



Even if the podcast is a repurposing of existing blog material, realize that many posts may not morph well into becoming podcasts. I’ve found this to the be case for blog posts that contain quite a bit of technical material, or those that require visuals (images or videos) to effectively get a point across.



In general, there are two popular types of podcasts: Daily briefings and shows. Briefings are quick updates, often news or motivational/informational bits, delivered in a few minutes. Official shows are longer, usually running anywhere from five minutes up to an hour or more. The choice of program format will depend on the audience, type of content and budget.



Plus, you’ll need to decide how often you want to broadcast your show or briefing. If it’s daily, that could be a significant investment of time, energy and maybe money. Be conservative to start, then scale up as resources and positive results justify.

The Myth of Marketing With Podcasts



True, doing a podcast show can help establish yourself or your business as an expert and resource, and be a great addition to a content or inbound marketing program. However, the biggest problem is that marketing WITH podcasts requires marketing FOR the podcast!



Difficult to Index and Discover



Unlike text-based blog posts, podcasts are not always indexable by search engines, except for maybe the show’s or episode’s description, title and transcript (if posted). That may change in the future as search engines and functions become more adept at interpreting audio and voice data.



So, this means that your potential listeners are less likely to discover your show in searches. Plus, podcasts should be listed on several distribution networks to help increase discoverability, including iTunes, Stitcher, etc.



Bottom line: This means you’ll have to do some significant promotion to get people to even listen to the podcast, thereby upping the marketing investment or even making it inadvisable.


Podcasts Are Not Direct Response Marketing



While the hosting service used for the podcast can provide a wealth of listening analytics, the one thing it usually can’t deliver is data on clicks to your website. You physically can’t click a podcast to respond to an offer or to request more information! Sure, special links (e.g., landing pages) can be announced in the show to help monitor podcast responses. But you have to remember that many people will be listening to the show in their cars while driving, making even that action less likely.



What this means is podcasts, at this point in the medium’s evolution, are better suited for branding marketing purposes, not direct response. Set your expectations accordingly.


Author bio: Dr. Heidi Thorne, MBA/DBA, is the host of The Heidi Thorne Show podcast, which offers self-publishing news and insight. She is also a business blogger and the author of several books on publishing and marketing. To connect with Heidi, visit her website at HeidiThorne.com.

A central issue in content marketing is whether to use long copy or short copy. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Consider these issues when developing your approach to a given piece of marketing content.

• If your product or service is new, long copy provides the depth of information readers need to figure it out.

• If your product or service is complex, long copy helps readers figure it out.

• On the flip side, if your product/service is familiar and/or easy to understand, short copy makes sense. Readers get frustrated when they’re forced to wade through content that covers material they already understand.

  

• If your goal is to get readers to contact your sales team, strongly consider short copy. If your content provides too many details, readers may feel there’s no reason to discuss the matter further.

• Make long copy scannable. Headers and subheads should communicate key points with flair. Use bold text and bulleted/numbered lists. Kick off and/or conclude with an executive summary.

• If your content is part of an SEO campaign, long copy may improve rankings. But this is not always true, since many other factors affect how Google ranks content.

• Sometimes, long copy makes sense for SEO and short copy makes sense for conversion optimization. Generally, conversion optimization should be the top concern for on-site content. Why? Because if your organic site traffic never converts, your SEO campaign has little benefit.

• Long copy should never be published simply because it didn’t undergo rigorous editing. We writers sometimes say in 500 words what a sharp editor can say in 100 words. If 100 words accomplishes the goal more effectively, go short.

Over to You

What do you think about when deciding whether to go with long copy or short copy?

A lot has been written about how to pitch a guest blog post, and rightfully so. Many widely used pitch techniques are awful.

Nevertheless, on the publisher’s side of the fence, improvements can be made as well — improvements that would help bloggers get far more relevant and useful guest submissions. I write a lot of guest posts, and have been fortunate to work with terrific publishers such as Carol Roth, All Business.com, Smashing Magazine, Crazy Egg, Salesforce and many more. Here are a few things that these top publishers do well, and make it easy for me, as a guest writer, to do the job right.

• Top publishers explain who their audience is and why they read the blog. Some publishers expect potential guest authors to figure this out for themselves, I suppose as a way to demonstrate motivation. However, it’s not always easy to figure it out. If the author’s guess is even a little off, the topic and angle of the proposed article will also be a little off, leading to more editing down the road — or an outright rejection. Seems to me a waste of time, especially since the publisher can convey this information with perfect accuracy in a couple of sentences. In short, good publishers make it easy for writers to be on point.

• Top publishers have high, documented standards. I love getting my hands on a publisher’s editorial guidelines, ideally before a pitch. It’s extremely helpful to understand issues such as word count, voice, image requirements and linking policies in advance of doing creative work. Editorial guidelines are also a great filter for the publisher. Writers may find that certain style, word count or other requirements make the publisher a bad fit. Knowing the ground rules before the game starts saves everyone a lot of wasted motion.

  

• Top publishers want writing, not SEO. Although SEO drives a lot of guest pitches, I don’t think it’s a good practice for publishers to have guest authors do the SEO work for them. For instance, some publishers want (or demand) guest submissions to include several links to their on-site content — it’s hard enough to research and write a post without having to worry about the publisher’s internal link structure. In addition, I’m not sure how well this policy supports the publisher’s SEO anyway, since it inevitably leads to a random, overblown collection of internal links, which is not what Google wants. Another common issue is when publishers insist on inclusion of certain keywords that may make sense for their SEO campaigns but aren’t particularly relevant to the guest post. And, incidentally, a lot of the keyword requirements that I see are badly outdated anyway, and will do the publisher more harm than good.

• Top publishers treat guest writers like team members. Every great publisher I’ve worked with has diligent, professional, enthusiastic and skilled people who help me improve my submission. These people not only make appropriate edits, they explain why the edits are necessary. Explanations accelerate the writer’s learning curve, so the second, third and fourth submissions will (let’s hope) require fewer edits and be stronger overall. When writers feel this kind of love, it inspires confidence and creativity. When writers don’t feel it, quality suffers. Loving writers is good for business!

Yes, pitch techniques need to be continuously improved, but I hope publishers are continuously improving their pitch reception techniques, as well. Teamwork and high standards is the winning combination all the way around.

If you’re stuck in a marketing rut, these 10 quotes may pull you out of it!

1. “If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.” — David Ogilvy
2. “We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in and be what people are interested in.” — Craig Davis
3. “If you have more money than brains, you should focus on outbound marketing. If you have more brains than money, you should focus on inbound marketing.” — Guy Kawasaki
4. “Money coming in says I’ve made the right marketing decisions.” — Adam Osborne
5. “I notice increasing reluctance on the part of marketing executives to use judgment; they are coming to rely too much on research, and they use it as a drunkard uses a lamp post for support, rather than for illumination.” — David Ogilvy
6. “Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart.” — Joe Chernov
7. “Just because you can measure everything doesn’t mean that you should.” — W. Edwards Deming
8. “Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.” — William Butler Yeats
9. “Google only loves you when everyone else loves you first.” — Wendy Piersall
10. “Don’t confuse visibility with credibility.” — Harvey Mackay
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]]> https://www.straightnorth.com/blog/marketing-e-books-still-valid-lead-generation-content-strategy/ Tue, 29 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000 https://live-straight-north-2022.pantheonsite.io/blog/marketing-e-books-still-valid-lead-generation-content-strategy/

I was talking with a business writer friend about what's going on in content marketing. Both of us have seen some of the best and worst in this arena, but I have to say that I see some of the biggest mistakes in marketing with e-books.

Our conversation prompted me to do a Google search for "marketing with e-books" and "using e-books for marketing." I noticed that many of the top relevant search results were from 2012 to 2015, with very few results later than that. Why is there not a lot more recent chatter?

Usually when a marketing strategy or tactic is hot, there's a rush of blog posts, conversation and product offerings for it. If it continues to be relevant and useful, there will be consistent posting and discussion going forward. If not, it may be declining.

I think there are multiple reasons for this search result that should cause marketers to question whether marketing with e-books is a valid lead generation strategy to pursue.

That's an E-Book?

Have you ever subscribed to an email list just to get a free e-book? I have, lots of times. In some cases when I get the so-called "e-book," it looks like nothing more than a PDF file of someone's PowerPoint slide deck. What a letdown! And if I've seen this happen, it's certainly happening elsewhere in the marketing wild.

So, the e-book email incentive tactic may have gotten a bit tarnished by this content marketing blunder. As a result, prospects may be less likely to respond to e-book email incentives these days.



If you plan to offer an e-book as an email incentive, make sure it's something meaty that can actually be called an e-book.

The Amazon Kindle E-Book Sales Fantasy

In hopes of reaching an ever-wider audience, creating a new profit center and building credibility, some businesses decided to publish e-books on the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform. These e-books need to be genuine content, although the inclusion of subtle and infrequent calls to action is usually permissible.

Then the reality set in that creating and selling books can be difficult, and can require a significant investment of time, money and energy. Publishing can also add media liability risk to a business (consult with your business attorney and commercial insurance provider). Also, random readers may not be ideal customer prospects, and response rates may be minimal.

Information Overload

While the e-book bait-and-switch tactic discussed earlier can impact prospects' willingness to join email lists, I think there is a much stronger disincentive: information overload. The stream of content from every possible online and mobile source continues to swell unabated, making the thought of signing up to get even more content in an e-book overwhelming.

All this being said, e-books can still be a valuable incentive and authority builder. However, the investment in this tactic needs to be weighed against the potential results that could be achieved with other methods such as SEO, highly targeted online and mobile advertising, and regular blogging.

About the Author

Heidi Thorne is a nonfiction book editor, and author of more than 20 print books and e-books on business topics. For more information on her books and services, visit HeidiThorne.com.

]]> I was talking with a business writer friend about what's going on in content marketing. Both of us have seen some of the best and worst in this arena, but I have to say that I see some of the biggest mistakes in marketing with e-books. Our conversation prompted me to do a Google search for "marketing with e-books" and "using e-books for marketing." I noticed that many of the top relevant search…

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]]> https://www.straightnorth.com/blog/long-form-content-good-lead-generation-or-wasted-effort/ Tue, 01 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000 https://live-straight-north-2022.pantheonsite.io/blog/long-form-content-good-lead-generation-or-wasted-effort/

Long-form copy — 1,500 or more words — has received a lot of attention recently among content marketers and SEOs. Long-form content, when well executed, certainly goes a long way toward establishing credibility and expertise. And there is no doubt that from an SEO perspective, good long-form content (HTML text) gets favorable treatment from Google’s crawlers.



The problem comes with “well executed” and “good.” Creating high-quality long-form content, especially a steady stream of it, is no easy task. It requires research, interpretation of data, perhaps a week’s worth of time from a highly talented (and probably highly compensated) copywriter, extensive editing, extensive client/internal review, more editing, and considerable time from the design team to create supporting graphical elements.

Whew, lots of work. Is long-form content worth the effort?

As it always is with marketing, the answer to that question is: It depends. For sure, creating long-form content because it’s the latest shiny object, or because you see competitors doing it, is not a good reason. It is too expensive an undertaking, and with no quantification of goals, a money pit waiting to be dug. Situations where long-form content makes a lot of sense include:

• If you are in a business where expertise is a critical factor in securing new business, long-form content gives you a great chance to showcase yours. Businesses from accounting to home remodeling to health care certainly benefit from “going long.”

• If your brand is not widely known, long-form content can help you build credibility and enable you to be published on highly respected and highly trafficked blogs in your industry and related industries.

• If you are already committed to SEO, and the results are neutral to positive, long-form content should help you take your campaign up a notch, perhaps several notches. (I’d be careful about diving into long-form if your SEO is failing, since there may be underlying reasons that would negate the potential of long-form. It’s not a silver SEO bullet.)

• If you sell complex, technical products, long-form content that explains and softly sells them could be a terrific and very direct way to generate sales leads. In this case, the best “home” for your long-form content could be your website’s appropriate product page.

Over to You

What’s your impression of long-form content? Where do you think it works best?

]]> Long-form copy — 1,500 or more words — has received a lot of attention recently among content marketers and SEOs. Long-form content, when well executed, certainly goes a long way toward establishing credibility and expertise. And there is no doubt that from an SEO perspective, good long-form content (HTML text) gets favorable treatment from Google’s crawlers. The problem comes with “well…

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