By Ryan Delane, As discussed in Content Marketing Basics<\/a><\/strong>, there are three major pieces to consider when producing content for your SEO Content Marketing campaign: Content, Technical Aspects of your Content, and Content Promotion.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What to write?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Let’s get into our first expansion of Interfanatic<\/a><\/strong><\/em> Content Marketing Basics<\/a><\/strong> with tips and tricks for producing content for SEO and your content marketing campaign. Content Marketing is crucial for digital marketing strategy. If you want to guide your website up the SERPs, establish your business as a subject-matter authority, and boost sales, make Content Marketing a key component of your digital marketing strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Content marketing, done well, is difficult. It’s time consuming, it’s labor intensive, and executing beautifully may be complex. It’s also vastly rewarding. That’s why we offer it as part of our services \u2013 many of our clients simply don’t have the time to perform the arduous task list. They trust us to strategize and work, so their websites perform at a consistently high level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s get to it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may already have a number of ideas\nfor content you’d like to write. Perhaps you want to establish your\nbusiness as a subject matter authority and you know exactly how to\ndifferentiate yourself. Perfect! \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you know what you want to write\nor not, consult your analytics. Do Google and Moz keyword searches to\ndiscover what Internet users are looking for, and take a look at what\nis already on offer. What does the playing field look like? Who are\nthe major performers you’re going to compete against? Answering these\nquestions not only help you further differentiate your content, the\nanswers may also lead to strategy adjustments on your part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From your research, you’ll learn which\nkeywords and phrases you want to target. You’ll find out which\nquestions your prospective customers are asking, and it’s up to you\nto devise an efficient method for answering those questions,\nexpressing to them that you and your business are the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without goals, there is no direction. <\/strong>So allow your overall business strategy, coupled with target keywords and key phrases to provide direction and give you themes. You want to have many variations of keyword or key phrase in your content marketing. Change it up, but like a shark, encircle your target, keeping the theme constant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You know, it used to be that a short\narticle posted on your blog now and then was enough. Your content\nwould find their way into the search engines, improving your web\nsite’s authority for certain target keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until a few years ago, some companies\nwould hire inexpensive services to post barely-readable articles on\ntheir sites. Others services linked to customer sites from mediocre\narticles on generic blogs. It was ugly, but it was cheap and it\nworked. It used to be companies could get away with this kind of\ncheapo service because it was a volume game. (We never tried to play\nthat game, by the way. Quality is always better in search.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s no longer the case. Major search engines have cracked down on garbage filler content. It’s still a volume game, but there’s so much information on the World Wide Web, you have to be relentless with content. Both Internet surfers and AI-powered search engines easily tell excellent content from junk. The Internet rewards efficient, valuable content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, this is what works: write excellent content. Lots of it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter how well-versed you are on a topic, market research helps. Ask your colleagues what is missing in your marketing message so you can add it. Read what is already out there so you can fill in the gaps, or make yourself stand out by proving old ideas wrong and giving your prospective customers your own, successful, time-tested new ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best place to start when writing anything is writing what you know<\/strong><\/em>. It helps get you into a flow. And, if there’s an aspect of your business you want to understand better, here is your opportunity to learn! There is no better way to learn than to teach. Writing an article about a subject will force you to be an expert on whatever new aspect you tackle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, say it in a different way. You\nhave to differentiate yourself if you want to do excellent,\nresults-driven content marketing. Don’t just say what has been said,\nadd your own unique twist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is your opportunity to say something nobody else has said. Give us you or your business’ unique perspective on the topic.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The current search algorithms force\nInternet searchers to be specific with their queries. This is where\nthe key phrase comes in. Think of questions searchers might type or\nverbally ask, and answer them concisely. Then broaden your answer,\nfilling in details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You know that when you sleep, your\nbrain percolates ideas and helps you formulate answers. Whenever you\nhave an idea, write it down. Whether you jot it down in a to-do list\napp, a Google sheet, or make a list on a post-it, keep writing down\nyour ideas. When your brain is ready to attack the full article,\nyou’ll know. But keep a list, add to it and cross items off as you\nwork through them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep your idea list handy, so you can\nalways come back to it, add to it, and revise ideas. Even if your\nideas aren’t good and you know it, write it down. Writing is\nrewriting \u2013 revise the idea until it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I get writer’s block, I fall back\non advice I found years ago: just write. It doesn’t matter what comes\nout. Even if it’s stream of consciousness. Try to focus on the task\nand allow your theme to creep in. It may be terrible, it may be\nincoherent, but from the process of writing come ideas which can then\nbe put into an orderly outline. Once you force the faucet open, ideas\nusually then keep coming. And if they don’t, you and I both are\nlikely busy enough to find something else to do until they do. If you\ncan, give your subconscious space to crunch on ideas while you sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Content Marketing with an eye on SEO is a long game. Build a strategy around your long term vision. Break that vision down into bite-size pieces. Then be relentless to produce high quality, efficient, interesting content.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019, both long (1500+ words) and\nshort form (~300 words) content are important. The content should be\nrich and engaging, it should be pleasing to the eye, and it must be\neasy to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you need words and space to\ndescribe your idea, use them. Make sure your long-form content is\nengaging and efficient where it can be. Use that space to entertain\nand inform your readers. Last, but certainly not least, use that\nspace for target keywords and phrases. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you can, pack your ideas into a tiny, ultra-efficient package.<\/strong> Keep your readers interested with both long-form and short-form content. Efficiency is always best in writing, but long-form content with lots of keywords and phrases certainly don’t hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Images and videos are both a critical\npart of SEO. Don’t ignore them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Content Marketing is a lot like Social Media Marketing in that if you must treat it like a garden. When you try a deluge out of nowhere, it might work for a little bit, but eventually everything fades away. When you water a little every day, your results flourish. Stay consistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Begin by producing a content calendar.\nYou know you need both long-form and short-form articles. How long\ndoes it take you to produce each?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on the competitive landscape\nof your topic, you might need to produce long-form articles weekly,\nand short-form almost daily. That’s simply not realistic for most\nbusinesses. And you don’t want to produce drivel. You must produce\ncompelling content, so keep your goals realistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most businesses are fine with one or\ntwo long-form articles per month and at least one short article per\nweek. But the more you do, the more keywords (of course, without\nbeing spammy), the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you find that your content calendar\nis too aggressive. Gently fall back. Remain disciplined \u2013 keep at\nit. But, if you can’t do a 1,500-word article once per week, make it\n1,000. Or once every two weeks. If you fall back to a single 1,500\nword article per month, try to post a 300 word article per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interfanatic<\/em> Digital Marketing with Web Site Maintenance & Design<\/p>\n\n\n\nContent Selection for Impactful\nContent Marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Selecting Target Keywords and Key\nPhrases<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Topic Research For Content Marketing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Write What You Know<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pro Tip: Keep an active list of\ntopics handy<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Pro Tip II: Just write<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Change it Up: Both Long and Short\nArticles Are Critical to Content Marketing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pro Tip: Spice Up Articles with\nEffective Images and Videos<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Crack Down on Consistency with a\nContent Calendar<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pro Tip: It’s Okay to Slow Down<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n