Why Do I Need An Ongoing Web Content Program?
This is a legitimate question. If you’ve already spent a good deal of time and money on website pages and blogs, why do more? If you’re ranking for keywords that you think are working for you and garnering a large amount of searches, it becomes even harder to justify marketing dollars for an ongoing program.
The answer is that an ongoing web content program has the ability to position your business as a thought leader and garner targeted web searches which produce higher-quality leads. It’s hard to make an argument for it in quarterly reporting, since those reports focus on short-term results. You won’t see a traffic spike when you post a new blog to your site as you do with an ad, and this can lead to some doubt about its worth.
The argument is best made as one of long-term investment and quality of leads. Paid search and other digital advertising results usually come with a higher bounce rate and lower conversions than organic search results. Where an ad is gone in a month, your web content sits on your site and can continue to draw in traffic for years - if it is the right content targeted to the right people. High-quality web content is the blue chip stock in your marketing portfolio which you hold onto for long-term gains.
Quality > quantity
If you want quality leads, you need quality writing. And that means bringing in the professionals. While junior writers are still honing their craft, more senior content creators have a tried and tested skill-set. They’ve also learned from years of experience, developing an instinct and an eye for copy that converts.
So what is quality content? Anyone who’s ever worked in marketing knows there are no hard and fast rules, but there are some general guidelines when it comes to sorting mediocre marketing from compelling copy.
High-quality content is:
Engaging - reaching your target audience by catering to their specific needs or challenges
Well-researched - you can’t reach your audience if you don’t know your audience. Good writers will delve into topic areas to ensure they know what they’re talking about, rather than spouting jargon or simply copying competitors. They also do their keyword research, knowing exactly what phrases will get you views
Sophisticated - staying away from obvious gimmicks, aggressive persuasion, fear-based content, or other lazy marketing tricks
Clear - if your audience can’t tell what you’re selling, how can they buy it? Your copy should clearly define your value proposition and next steps
Original - your copy should offer your audience something new, whether that’s information they might not know, news about a product launch, or a new spin on an old idea
Top-notch content doesn’t just improve your brand’s credibility, raise awareness of your products or services, and generate sales. It also makes your content more appealing to audiences and search engine algorithms - thereby making it more likely that you’ll zoom to the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
Google’s search bots are more discerning than you think. They determine quality by looking at factors now known by the handy acronym, E-A-T - Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. The search giant released its most recent Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines in October 2021 to give businesses even more detail on what exactly they’re looking for when it comes to page quality, but it essentially boils down to E-A-T-worthy content, and optimal page design. E-A-T is so important to Google, in fact, that it is mentioned a whopping 186 times in the guide.
So how do you know if you’re doing E-A-T right? The best way to get a handle on your performance is to measure it. If you see an increase in traffic, congratulations, you nailed it. Even more so if your content has earned you a featured snippet (see below). On the other hand, if your traffic is stagnant or dropping, you’re almost certainly not producing E-A-T content.
Featured snippets
The holy grail of SEO is Google’s featured snippets. These are the 1-2 sentence descriptors that appear at the top of SERPs to quickly and succinctly answer user queries. Grab a featured snippet and you’ll piggy-back over the competition to get the coveted top spot - known in the industry as “Position 0” - on SERPs. Research from HubSpot shows that ranking in the featured snippet with a high traffic keyword increases click-through rate by over 114%.
But they take time. Google pulls featured snippets from pages that are already ranking well, meaning that you won’t get one overnight. Most of our clients have landed featured snippets - but only after six months to a year of a consistent content program, one that’s churning out fresh, high-quality content at least twice a month.
Even if you don’t land a featured snippet within that time frame, it’s a good idea to consistently position your business for your target key phrases in search as that’ll drive traffic while you’re waiting for Google’s algorithm to discover your awesome content.
Think outside the blog
Creating original blog posts is a great way to get noticed, but it’s not your only opportunity for high-performing content. Think big, and look at ways to maximize your other outlets. Any client touchpoint has the potential to drive leads and make those all-important conversions.
Our editorial team can help you create copy of all kinds or simply revamp material you already have in your arsenal. Whether rewriting web pages, creating new site content, developing sales/marketing materials, or writing for your social media accounts, we produce copy that performs, across a range of platforms and audiences.
Our team of experienced writers can help you develop a web content program that meets your business needs and delivers measurable results, contact us today to request a quote, find out more, or get started!
