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The Truth About Content Marketing

Even if you are using content marketing, you might still be missing the boat!

Much has been said about the value of content marketing in recent times. And, yes, most of it is true.

Search engine optimization has always been an important component of being found online. The ability to search has morphed over the years, creating a much easier and more functional way for web visitors to search for topics and items of interest to them.

But these improvements in search ability have been created by search engines changing the way they track information on the Internet. Algorithm changes, especially with Google (who still dominates the search engine world with approximately 87% of the search market), have changed the way that SEO marketers do their business – at least in a lot of cases.

In the early days of the Internet, people were encouraged to drop tons of keywords into their website copy, even if sometimes it didn’t even make that much sense. We were also encouraged to build backlinks to tons of websites, in the hopes of building authority.

Well, while the essence of these tools still works, the practicality of putting it into practice has shifted for the better.

While it’s still important to have backlinks, it’s more important that you have quality backlinks. If you have too many backlinks to questionable sites using questionable practices, this can actually harm your placement. And while keywords are still important, it’s important that they make sense, flow properly, and are used appropriately.

So, yes, content is king!

But make sure that your content is fresh, new, and relevant to your audience. Search engines are getting smarter and smarter and will penalize you if you are plagiarizing other content. There is nothing wrong with sharing someone else’s content on your site, but ensure that you are giving attribution and are sharing the information in a proper fashion.

Gone are the days of static sites. And by that I mean those sites that were built, put onto the Internet, and never updated. Adding new, fresh content on a regular basis is your best way to improve your ranking.

But what’s even more important than your search engine ranking?

Being relevant to your audience! By providing fresh content on a regular basis to your target audience, you will gain authority, followers, and-most importantly-respect.

So write often, post regularly and give something of value to your audience and you will win the battle to stay relevant and preserve your positioning.

Until next time…

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.

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Avoid Google Penalties

October 4, 2016September 4, 2023 Nancy Boisvert Newsletter agapi marketing, content marketing, designing a website for marketing, marketing, online marketing, SEO, small business marketing, social media, web design, website, website marketing

Don’t get caught making these simple mistakes that could incur penalties and affect your traffic.

You don’t have to be a search engine optimization specialist to know that there have been some big changes in how Google ranks sites over the past few years.

Nearly anyone who has a website has heard of the Panda and Penguin updates Google made in the past few years. And of course, Google continues to make changes to its algorithm to ensure it maintains its position as the top search engine. But be aware that these changes can affect how your site is seen by Google and you must do your best to stay on top of them so you don’t incur a penalty.

In the early days of search engine optimization, the “experts” would dump keywords heavily into content, often delivering something that might attract a higher ranking but certainly would not engage the reader. Another tactic was to build links with other sites that may have been low-quality links from directories and other spamming sites that few people ever really clicked on.

The changes that Google has made to their algorithms has actually resulted in better quality. These old tactics no longer work, thank goodness, and the trend has been toward content marketing. Providing people with content that is relevant and valuable to them has also proven to work well to assist with rankings.

But there are still some ways that you can inadvertently end up with penalties from Google while engaging in content marketing.

Avoid the following and your site is likely to stay safe.

1. Lack of unique content: Another area where you can run into difficulty is by providing a lack of content that is unique. Duplicating other content in a copy and paste fashion is like playing Russian roulette and it is likely only a matter of time until your site is penalized. If you are an affiliate marketer, do your best to avoid the simple copy and paste method as well, as this will be seen as not providing value and may end up causing Google to penalize your site by lowering your ranking. Do NOT plagerize!

2. Over-optimizing or low quality internal content: What of the things that Google algorithms search for is the quality of your content within your website. Make sure you are providing unique, new content to your website on a regular basis and avoid rampant repetition of your content throughout your site. This not only will help you avoid incurring penalties, but also will significantly boost your organic rankings. Use different types of content as well, like podcasts, video as well as written blog posts. Google will notice and you should be rewarded.

3. Keep current: I have often heard people say that they have finished their website. Now, I know what they mean by this, but keep in mind that your website is never finished. It should be seen as a living, breathing entity that requires some attention. Ensure that your website is kept current, removing content that is no longer valid, updating content, and making sure that all your links are working properly. If you don’t have current information on your site, not only will visitors not want to return but Google will also lose interest in your site.

The biggest penalty is to lose your ranking. It is a difficult and never-ending job to stay on top of your optimization. Don’t risk your reward by cutting a few corners.

Until next time…

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

6 Steps To Improve Your Content Marketing

August 18, 2016September 4, 2023 Nancy Boisvert Newsletter agapi marketing, building your business, communicating with clients, communications, content, content marketing, how to communicate with clients, marketing, online marketing, small business marketing, website marketing

Is your content marketing working for you?

To be relevant online, it is important that you are continually providing fresh, new material. This is not only critical for search engine optimization, but also to keep the visitors to your website -your clients and prospects – engaged and interested. You have to give them a reason to keep coming back. After all, if they’ve already seen everything you have to offer, why would they come back? And, of course, if they don’t come back chances are they’re going to miss something new when you do put it out there.

But you can’t just randomly put up content. You need to be original. You need to be relevant. And, if you are sharing material that you have found in other places, you need to give attribution.

Ask the following six questions to improve the content that you are providing:

1. Do your visitors find your posts, white papers, infographics, webinars, etc. relevant and helpful? Most people, when searching the Internet, are looking for answers to questions or problems. If you are providing something of value they are more likely to learn to trust you, to become regular visitors to your site, and eventually your client.

2. When someone lands on the blog portion of your site, what do they read first? There are lots of software solutions out there that can help you to track and identify this information. Some will give basic stats, such as the number of visitors to the site and others will provide you with live tracking of exactly where they scrolled to on the page.

3. What was it about the article noted above that first caught the visitor’s eye? Was it the title? Was it the associated image? Was it the actual material within the article? All of these are important factors that can lead to more readership and a better response to the article. Just like in print media, a headline is important to capture your audience, and images must be relevant to the material you are presenting.

4. Do you know if your visitors enjoy reading similar content from your competitors, and if so, which ones? Let’s face it, much of what is out there has been said by others in different ways. Searching cyberspace for answers is kind of like watching TV; 500 channels all showing the same or similar programming. So make sure that your content is presented in a way that attracts and retains more readers than your competitor.

5. What topics would your visitors like to see next? Delivering what you are client or prospect wants is key to keeping them loyal to you. There are many ways that you can find out what your website visitors are looking for. Consider dropping in an online poll, or use some of that tracking software I mentioned earlier to ascertain what types of articles are attracting the most readers.

6. Where do your visitors typically go to find content that is related to their interests, job, or industry? By discovering the answer to these questions, you can reach out to specific sites and associations that they are engaged with and offer to provide guest content from time to time. This serves not only to help your SEO with back links, but also helps you gain authority as an expert within the chosen industry.

Until next time…

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.

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5 Ways To Ensure Your Content Is Effective

July 26, 2016September 4, 2023 Nancy Boisvert Newsletter agapi marketing, building your business, business, communicating with clients, communications, content, content marketing, how to communicate with clients, how to grow your business, marketing strategy, small business marketing

Is your content being read?

We are all familiar with that proverbial saying, “if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a noise?”

Well, we can apply the same question to our content.

You can spend all kinds of time, money, and effort compiling and posting content, but if no one reads it, what’s the point?

Creating relevant content that speaks to your target audience, as well as presenting it in an attractive and easy to read format is critical to gaining readership and loyalty online.

We have put together five questions to ask yourself to ensure that your copy is effective and is being noticed by your target audience.

Check out these 5 questions:

- - - - What does your homepage tell people about what you are offering? Always try to think like a first-time visitor to your website. Make sure that your homepage is designed in such a way that it clearly represents your brand and your offerings. This will ensure that visitors to your website will know immediately if this is a site that they wish to explore further.
        
        Is your content written for consumption by the average reader, and free of jargon? Every industry and profession has its own jargon. We converse regularly with our colleagues and our peers using this jargon. But sometimes we can get so used to speaking in these terms that we forget that those folks not involved in our industry or profession don’t understand what that terminology means. If your clients and prospects understood this jargon, chances are they wouldn’t need you. Make sure you are communicating in plain language to your prospects and clients.
        
        Does your choice of language within your content “speak” like your target audience speaks? Aside from simple common sense and personal experience, there is times of research out there that proves that when you communicate in the same terms and language is your intended audience, you create a better rapport. By building this relationship, you build trust and community among your audience, which translates to more readership and a loyal client base.
        
        Are your calls to action effective? Content without a call to action is nothing more than an article or an advertisement. Let’s face it, 99% of us are using online methods and strategies to promote our businesses and convert visitors to customers. Make sure that you would include a clear, effective CTA within your content. Measure the effectiveness of your CTAs with the use of analytics and software tools such as heat maps and content analysis.
        
        Are you effectively communicating your unique value proposition? Differentiation of your business from all others offering the same or similar products or services is the key to building your business and keeping clients. Review your website content regularly to see that your message is clearly defined. But sometimes we are too close and can’t really see how it is being perceived. Consider polling some of your clients to see if they believe that a first-time visitor to your website could define and describe your UVP in their own words

Until next time…
Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.