If you are wanting to grow your online presence, one phrase you have probably heard before is “content is king”. It is true that content is a key driver of traffic to your website. The more content you have, the better chances you have of someone finding your website. Here at Ocreative, we like to think of your website as a net. As you create more pages, your net grows, giving you more chances to catch the attention of someone searching on the internet
Unfortunately, creating content isn’t as simple as it sounds. Not just any block of text will bring you traffic. Below are our top 5 tips to ensure your content generates the traffic you need to grow your online presence.
1. Know Your Audience
Before you start creating content, it is extremely important to define who your audience is. Each piece of content you create should have a certain audience in mind. Whether it be current customers or new prospective clients, it is vital you define them and keep them in mind as you write. Of course, you may have multiple targeted audiences, but keep one primary audience in mind as you generate your content for a single page or blog article. Here are a few questions to help you better define and learn about your target audience:
1. What are the demographics of your targeted audience? This can help you decide on the tone of voice you use, industry terms you use, or how you promote your new content.
2. What are some questions or challenges my audience faces? By keeping these problems in mind, your content can aid in finding a solution. Also, generally this topic will be actively sought after and researched.
3. What are my audience’s goals and passions? Again, tuning into to the needs of your audience will greatly help mold the content and become a resource for your audience.
2. Create a Long List
Sit down and brainstorm ideas and concepts of interest to your target audience. Think of issues previous clients have had, topics they wanted information on, or popular topics relating to your industry. Meet with your fellow employees and get their input as well. Depending on their role, they may have different everyday challenges and experiences and thus have ideas for content that you never would have considered.
3. Create a Calendar
Plan each blog article and when you will post it. And more importantly, STICK TO IT! If you have a set calendar, you can plan ahead, see what is coming up next and be more prepared. Consistency is key to growing your website but also to growing your social media. Pick a schedule that will work for you and be honest with yourself. Don’t overdo it and try and post new content three times a week if you will not have the time. A good initial goal is to produce a new piece of content once every two weeks.
4. Provide useful & relevant information
This is extremely important. It is one thing to “catch” the user, but it is another to make them stay. Make sure the information you are providing is exactly what the user is expecting when they come to your site. Keep your information concise and to the point. Do not overload each page with too much text, and be sure to have sufficient images for balance.
5. Call to Actions and Internal Linking
Now that you have gotten your user to visit your website and they are reading the content you have provided, the next step is inviting them to explore other pages of your website. This can be done with calls to action and internal linking. At the end of each page you create, have some sort of call to action such as “Contact Us” or “Read More”. Link to pages in the body of your text as much as possible. This will help visitors navigate the site, and if the user is interested in learning more, they can easily navigate to a different page as they are reading your text.
Adding new content to your website will greatly help your website generate more traffic, acting as numerous gateways into your site. If you are interested in creating more content, but don’t know where to start or don’t have the time, contact us! We are successfully creating content for our clients and improving their online presence.
About Ocreative
Bright, honest, digital innovators and creative gurus, Ocreative is recognized as an internationally award-winning, full-service, integrated marketing agency. Since 2003, we have been producing strong results for our trusting clients, which puts big smiles on everyone’s faces. Ocreative is headquartered in Wisconsin, but our clients are located all across the United States, from Massachusetts to Hawai‘i. Ocreative’s expertise and portfolio include marketing and strategy, advertising and design, websites and digital, and video and multimedia.
