The new reality is simply that your content marketing efforts are now more important than ever. There are new changes in the wind, however, that you must take heed of and adapt to or you will be left in the dust by your rivals.
Quality now dominates and images are a must
The quality of your content affects both your attempts at content marketing as well as your overall SEO strategy. You can no longer just throw anything out there for the sake of putting out some fresh content on a regular basis. Competition, as you well know, is brutal these days and your content must stand above the din or it will be lost in the crowd noise.
You must get personal with your content. It must be aimed directly at your demographic and it must engage them and bring added value to their lives. Also, you need to update your overall site so that it reflects the quality of your content. More images and a fresh look will add credibility to your products or services.
Go long for more traffic and video must be a key component
For the last year or so, long form content has begun to make great strides with regard to higher ROI and more effective SEO rankings. Google has slowly begun to favor content that ranges in the 1,500-2000 words range. Many companies and SEO firms have been running tests on content length and the longer articles are doing even better than the shorter ones. Run some tests and mix up your content with both short and long form.
Video, of course, is critical to your long term survival especially since nearly 90% of potential customers are accessing you through a mobile device. Predictions are boldly declaring that by next year over 70% of all traffic driven will be driven exclusively by video content.
Stay mobile and innovation is crucial
Mobile devices such as tablets and cell phones are now the dominant force in search as well as access. If you haven’t made your adjustments for this, you are already way behind. Google is most partial to any content that can execute effectively on mobile devices so you need to stay lean and mean and clear and engaging within the first 20 seconds that someone accesses you. In addition, it is critical to your overall SEO efforts that you keep innovating and creating new and more effective ways of driving traffic. After all, your marketing exists to drive traffic and your site exists solely to make those conversions.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
