Google has really upped the ante when it comes to page ranking lately. Their algorithm has been updated to promote good quality content and to give users a more enlightening experience. There has never been a more important time to get your content into shape and ensure it is working hard for you.
But how do you plan and structure that content? Many people blindly update their blog without much thought to the content of each post and how it is actually helping their website to rank. A little planning and forethought can ensure that your content works well and continues to give your site wings well into the future.
Formulating a Content Plan
Without a plan you will fail. Without a plan your content may be great, but can start to lose impetus and your audience quite quickly. Defining a clear content roadmap can help you to push your site in the right direction, keep your audience coming back for more and keep Google nicely fed on some great keywords and links.
First you need to really understand who your audience is. If you don’t, how can you know how to write for the right people? Of course, if you know your business you should know your audience so this first stage shouldn’t be a problem in your content strategy.
What do people expect to find when they reach your site? What do you want them to do? Whether you want them to stick around reading engaging information or you want to entice them to purchase your product, you’re going to need an element of content on your site. How much you use is up to you, but keep in mind that Google loves oodles of fresh content that is updated on a regular basis.
Understand Your Brand
You can’t begin to write for your audience if you are unsure about any aspect of your brand. Even if you are promoting a new brand or product you should take the time to know it intimately so that you can write with passion and expertise.
What do you stand for? What tone of voice should you use? How should you promote your product? These are all questions you will need to answer before you start writing.
You should also look into the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. Are they using good quality content? You could be sneaky and rewrite some of their content if it fits your brand. Make it unique. Make it better. Make it yours.
Understand Your Audience
You need to understand your readers and what they want. Create a sample profile for your typical reader. For example, you might want to use something along these lines:
Sadie is a 25 year old professional living and working in the City. She loves gadgets and electronic accessories and keeping up with the latest technology. She lives alone and loves nothing better than browsing the web when she gets in from work whilst sipping a cold beer. She’s a technology junky and loves to find out about the latest product launches.
From this we can really start to build a good content plan. Technology news would be the obvious choice together with reviews on the latest products and direct links for making a purchase.
This is just a very small guide on what you can do to create the perfect content on your website. Blogs are excellent, but you need to give your audience what they are looking for with every post. Do this and you’ll gain a loyal and engaged readership very quickly.
Jungle Media can help you with your content if you are finding it hard to get those posts published in a timely fashion. From SEO articles to web copy we can handle it all.
