Content marketing is an extremely important factor when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) nowadays. In fact, it is more important now than ever before when it comes to organic rankings.
There are also dozens of aspects that play into content marketing and how well your content will rank. Some of these include the quality of your content, who your content is targeting, what type of media you are incorporating, and more.
Check out some of the top content marketing trends you should be considering when it comes to your SEO strategy:
- Steer Clear of Insincere Content
Long gone are the days where you can write up a quick paragraph of useless information, plug in a few keywords, and watch it rank quickly.
We are now seeing companies invest in informative, well-researched articles, blogs, and resource papers. Not only are these pieces of content more comprehensive than we have seen in the past, but they are also much longer in word count.
Top search results are including content with statistics, references, studies, facts, links, and much more.
If you want real traffic from quality web visitors, your content must provide value for readers.
- Take the Time to Create (AND Follow) a Content Creation Process
With the emphasis on valuable content increasing more and more, brands are taking the time to actually invest in content marketing processes and procedures.
Whereas a company may have had one in-house writer that spent a few hours a week on content in the past, brands are now spending much more in order to have a solid content creation process in place.
Some areas where brands are focusing more on in regard to content marketing include:
- Research – Brands are spending more time researching topics and keywords for content pieces.
- Planning & Outlining – Brands are spending more time outlining what content pieces will cover.
- Writing – Brands are taking more time to actually write content that is accurate, informative, and valuable.
- Optimizing & Editing – Brands are taking more time editing content and optimizing content for SEO purposes.
- In-Content Media – Brands are taking more time to create graphics, infographics, charts, screenshots, examples, and more to place within content pieces to provide even more value for readers.
- Posting, Distributing, and Promoting – Brands are spending more time locating the best places to post their content and distribute their content, as well as spending more time and resources on promoting content.
Investing in the content marketing process is crucial to the success of your content, in addition to the success of your overall SEO campaign.
- Tailor Your Content to Your Audience(s)
Another popular trend that is dominating 2019 is the personalization of content toward a brand’s specific audience(s).
Why is this?
The main reason is because tailored content is more likely to resonate with your audience. Tailored content helps to provide a better user experience for your audience, creates increased loyalty from customers, and generates more ROI.
Brands are tailoring their content based of different targeting factors, such as demographics, preferences, interests, browsing history, and so forth.
Not all content is going to appeal to every user. For example, a repeat visitor to your website will have a different motive than a first-time visitor. This is where personalized content comes in handy in order to provide value to both visitors.
- Be Authentic and Transparent
In today’s day and age, authenticity and transparency are two of the biggest components that customers focus on when selecting which brands to give their business to.
The benefits are tremendous when brands are able to accomplish the authenticity and transparency that customers are looking for. Not only do they get the business and revenue from customers, but they also receive their loyalty and referrals.
- Use Multiple Channels to Distribute Your Content
We are now seeing brands turn to multiple channels to distribute and put out content.
While blogging is still a necessity and a popular channel for content distribution, it’s no longer the only channel to promote your content through. If you are only reaching out to those who read your blog, you may be missing out on potential customers that prefer audio or videos, or a mix of all three.
With the rise of smartphones, multi-channel content distribution has become a necessity for brands to be successful.
In addition to blogs and articles, marketers are starting to invest in YouTube, Vimeo, podcasts, live streaming, social media, and much more.
The main thing to remember when deciding where to place your content is to determine where your audience is looking, and go from there.
- Collaborate with Other Brands and Organizations
Another trend that we are seeing dominate 2019 is the collaboration between brands when it comes to content creation.
Whether it is guest blog posts, collaborative articles, podcast interviews, YouTube collaborations, research studies, case studies, or any other form of content creation, brands are investing in these combined efforts to extend their content reach and value.
Content Marketing and SEO: What’s to Come
Content marketing strategies for SEO are only going to continue to grow. Then above trends are just the start of a new era with content marketing and how it effects organic rankings for brands. It’s important for marketers to do their research and invest their time to stay on top of evolving trends as we continue to grow digitally.
