Content is King
There’s no denying that content is essential to any non-paid or organic marketing strategy. SEO relies on it. Even if you choose to go with paid ads, content still plays an important role. Paid ads rely on landing pages to convince potential clients that you’re selling something they need. But it doesn’t end there. Once someone clicks through to your website, the real challenge begins. Remember with PPC ad campaigns, you have to pay every time someone clicks the link. This can get costly if those clicks don’t convert to quantifiable sales leads. The way to make that happen is, you guessed it– content. Once someone lands on your website, they need to see informational content that’s relevant to them. If not, they’ll proceed to the next website and you’ll be out money.
What Does Content Do?
Content is absolutely essential to any company that hopes to scale its business and consistently get calls. A lot of people out there think they can get away with not utilizing digital marketing. However, I have yet to see an industry that hasn’t benefited from it. Obviously, some industries have always leveraged digital marketing and it seems more intuitive.
However, a lot of service industries have taken steps to stand out on the internet in recent years and increased their revenue because of it. Simply by creating a website, setting up Google My Business, and starting basic social media accounts they were able to capture a huge market, that they were previously missing out on. Hospitals, event venues, non-profits, contractors, financial institutions, schools, and so many other industries can effectively utilize digital and social media marketing to grow their brand awareness and drive up profits. Content serves many purposes. It can:
- Generate website traffic
- Increase your visibility in SERP pages
- Reduce the need for paid advertising
- Engage potential and existing customers
- Generate quantifiable sales leads
- Provide relevant information to different customer segments
- Guide prospective clients through the sales funnel
- Establish your brand as an industry authority
So, with that background, we can get right into today’s question. Is publishing a lot of low-quality content actually better than that publishing less frequent high-quality content?
The Pros and Cons of High Volume Publishing
Publishing is excellent from an SEO standpoint. There’s no denying that. If you publish frequently, you’ll be at the forefront of customer’s minds, and Google will usually consider you to be an authority. This is because your page count is going up, and when Google’s crawlers index your website, they conclude that you’re a thought leader. It also helps you keep clients up to date about the products and services you’re offering.
Unfortunately, there are also some pitfalls to this strategy. Many times people choose to take this approach because they believe the more they publish, the faster they will see results. While this is entirely possible, especially in undersaturated markets, it’s not always successful. There is a lot of information on the internet. As a new website or someone who hasn’t put much time into digital marketing, it will be hard to stand out from the crowd unless you are providing really great information.
But more than that it needs to be unique and resonate with your target market, it needs to be readable, and it needs to convert an interested searcher into a loyal customer. The only way to do this is to pour time and energy into research. You should monitor analytics and determine what customers are searching to find your website, create content for various stages of the consumer journey, conduct keyword research and market research, and write content jam-packed with information. This way people who may be unfamiliar with your product or services can get all the information they need and will be ready to take the next step.
The Pros and Cons of High-Quality Publishing
Personally, I advocate for high-quality publishing over high-quantity publishing. This is because I believe that it’s more important to provide good content to potential customers, than just throwing a lot of useless information at them. I definitely see the appeal of frequent publishing. It feels good when you see all of the impressions on your website, and your keyword rankings are going up in Google Search Console and AWR. But are the phones ringing? Is your bank account growing?
My real problem with publishing a lot of mediocre content fast is that you’re missing out on prime conversion opportunities. When you take the time to understand who your client is and craft content specifically for them, you can build a dedicated community of superfans. You’ll also get fewer clients who need the sales pitch because they’re already informed. By targeting messaging and incorporating some snazzy visuals, you can save yourself a lot of money in the long run. Also, when you choose to produce “high-quality content” it tends to be lengthier. The length itself is good for SEO, but it also offers more opportunities to include keywords and links without seeming spammy.
With that being said, I think there is a time and a place for high-quantity publishing. It’s just important to know what your goal is before deciding on one or the other. If it’s in your budget, definitely try out a subscription content creation service. 12 posts a month will help you grow faster than 2 a month. But if you’re working with a smaller budget, sometimes it’s better to save that money and put it into a well-developed content campaign or paid ad campaign to get the most results in a short period of time. I will always recommend high-volume publishing to improve SEO, but it’s important to know what your budget is and strategize to ensure you’re getting the most out of it.
The more fresh content you produce and publish, the more frequently Google will index your website. Basically, this means the more articles you publish, shares you get, downloads from your page, and form submissions that you get, the higher you will rank on SERP pages.
This is simply because “Googlebots” are spending a lot of time reviewing your site, and people are responding well to the content. When people are clicking through your website, that’s a good indicator that the information you’re sharing is relevant, and Google will continue to recommend you. Publishing 2-3 times a week will show that you’re active on your website. If you can publish even more than that, that’s great. Just make sure you’re not sacrificing quality in the process.
The Most Effective Types of Content
Another way to get the most bang for your buck is writing content that converts well. These content types are excellent ways of garnering more web traffic and driving sales.
Geo Landing Pages
Landing pages are great because they provide consumers with more information about your products or services. These are typically leveraged for ad campaigns, but they also bolster your page count and help with SEO. A Geo Landing page is even better though. This is because they’re location-specific, so clients in your area will be able to see what you have to offer them. Local marketing tends to have the highest conversion rates, so you’ll likely see a large uptick in traffic using this type of content.
Long-Form Blog Posts
You’ve already heard my spiel, so you know there are a lot of benefits to creating well-researched, long-form blog posts. These blog posts help shape your brand, differentiate you from local competitors, and build an online community. They’re also an SEO gold mine. They attract backlinks, it’s easy to incorporate keywords, you can incorporate internal and external links, and encourage high click-through rates.
Service Area Pages
These location pages are great for local SEO. They go beyond your company’s physical location and help people outside of your city, but in your service zone find you. This will give you an organic SERP page boost in many locations, and increase the likelihood of making a sale.
Website Core Content
Core content is essential and one of the first things you should take care of. If you’re building a new website you should include information about your products or services. You should also include an about page, location pages, and more. All of this content should be a minimum of 500 words. It’s vital that when a customer looks for information on your website, they can find it. If you have a lot of skinny content or no content at all, they will likely pass on your services.
Niche Blog Posts
The internet is oversaturated with blog posts. If you want to stand out, it helps to find a niche. Your audience will likely be smaller, but it’s much easier to target messaging. It’s also easy to become an “expert” when no one else is talking about a subject, and you can even monetize your blog posts.
Fort Worth Content Strategy and Production
Developing a marketing strategy, producing content, and publishing is a lot of work. It can be made more stressful when you don’t even know where to start. That’s why I’m here to help your small or local business get started on the right foot. Schedule a consultation with me to put together a strategy and learn some content production tips. Or if you don’t have time to manage your own digital marketing efforts, I can create in-depth, well-written content that will resonate with your clients. My services include keyword research, editing, SEO, and publishing. I can also help you publish content you’ve already written. Whatever you need, I’m here to assist you. My goal is to help you wherever you’re at and educate you, so you don’t have to throw away bundles of cash on expensive agency fees. Email me today to schedule a free consultation!
Meria Ivy 