Make Your Website More Then a Digital Business Card

Tips on how to drive traffic to your site with engaging content.

Many people I speak with want to know how to improve their SEO and get more traffic to their site rather than their website just being a digital business card. This brief overview highlights the essential elements of developing effective content to drive more traffic to your site.

You have probably heard the term “content marketing” if you have read any articles, or watched any videos, on how to market your business. According to Content Marketing Institute, “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

This means the days are gone of traditional advertising messaging of “buy from me because I’m the best” or “here’s why you need my service.” Content marketing means you are giving your audience helpful or educational information to prove your value and set yourself up as the expert. This could be in the form of articles, videos, ebooks, or downloadable resources such as worksheets.

WHY?

A rising number of marketers report using content marketing to drive their brand forward. Your content helps attract leads and educate your target audience.

In contrast to one-off advertising and the hard sell approach, content marketing shows that you actually care about your customers. It is a long-term strategy, based on building a strong relationship with your target audience. Eventually, when customers make a purchase decision, their loyalty already lies with you and they will purchase your product and prefer it over competitors’ options.

Your Content Strategy.

It is the part of your marketing plan that deals with managing pretty much any “media” that you create — written, visual, downloadable…

When you develop a content strategy , there are some key things to consider:

Who are you creating this for?

How is it going to be unique?

What formats will you focus on?

Where will it be published?

How will you manage creation and publication?

TIPS FOR CREATING ENGAGING CONTENT:

Most articles are 300-500 words.

First, figure out who your audience is and where to target potential consumers. Then, you must get them to act by providing them valuable content.

Use images or video and add statistics to your article to make it more engaging.

Make your content evergreen. To make sure you have a website that people come back to, write content that is continually relevant.

A popular format is to frame your content as a list of tips (like this article you are reading!)

Another approach is to do a roundup of articles, videos, or quotes from experts on a topic.

How-to guides and checklists are also valuable content. Keep in mind these are more time consuming to prepare but typically can be promoted for a longer period of time which gathers more engagement.

Make it easy to skim. Most people who read online content don’t actually read all of it. In fact, 81 percent of people only skim the content they view online.

Include a download to gather names and email addresses of potential leads.

Related: 3 Quick Ways to Get Your Financial Content to Work for You

Now more than ever, content marketing is about generating stimulating content. Stop advertising your brand… The key to getting audience attention is to start creating content people want to read, watch or listen to, create things people actually want to engage with!

These tips are just the beginning to improving your reach and responses. Schedule a consultation with us to talk about the specific audience you are trying to reach.