On the whole, great content is largely subjective. It depends on what you’re interested in and what your level of understanding is like. Plus, whether you can make it through an entire piece of content whilst keeping your concentration and absorbing the information within it. We’re generations of skim-readers too, which can have a big impact on whether something is deemed ‘great’ or not. We’re aware this opening paragraph seems to provide more of a problem than a solution, but that’s where we come in with some advice and tips on what can make ‘great’ content.
We believe that great content achieves several things:
It keeps your attention from start to finish, whether you’re skim-reading or not.
It answers the questions you have, based on your search queries.
It serves a purpose.
It offers the right tone of voice and language based on the topic and target audience.
It encourages you to find out more or take an action.
So, with these things in mind, if you want to know more about how you can achieve great content for your business, below we’ve provided a number of tips and insights that are sure to help.
For content’s sake
One thing we always recommend that brands never do, is content for content’s sake. Not only does it stand out like a sore thumb as ill-thought-out content or a gap filler, but it doesn’t achieve anything to help your business. What is the data telling you your target market is interested in reading about? Do your research, find out key topics and their search volume and write about those things (assuming they’re relevant topics of course). Always consider what search queries are going into the search engines, as this is what helps to give your content purpose. You can home in on people who are actively looking for your services or products, and then by ensuring you’re answering their questions, you can draw them in.
No Errors, please!
One way to turn users away from your brand is errors in your content. A website littered with mistakes feels somewhat unofficial, and can easily lose you the customer’s trust. This is especially important if you’re selling high end or expensive products and services; customers simply will not part with their money if your business doesn’t seem legit.
Inspire a response
Great content should also inspire the intended response. So, for example, if you’re writing link bait content, it only succeeds if you actually get links at the end of it. Likewise, when writing for websites, you want to see your traffic and conversion rate increase. Whilst the copy may not be at fault per se, it is there to do a job and as such it should have an impact.
Write for your user
Google has been hot on writing for the user for some time now, so we needed to include it here to help reinforce the issue. Content that’s stuffed with keywords will never be great, so it’s important to strike a good balance between writing for your target market and including those relevant keywords from your research.
Whilst we’re on this topic, it’s also good to consider the language you’re using. You may know your business and its products inside out, but would your target market know too? Using acronyms and abbreviations may be easy for internal comms, but you need to be clear that your audience is on the same wavelength. For example, we know that a chunk of our audience is likely to know what ‘SERPs’ stands for, but we like to clarify it as ‘search engine results pages’, for those who are starting their digital marketing journey.
In summary
For most businesses and a good number of bloggers, content is a commodity that offers numerous opportunities. It provides context for the search engines, enabling your site to rank for those vital terms. It’s the basis for reassuring first time visitors and helping turn them into repeat customers. It ensures profitability, through sales or advertising.
Therefore, producing great content is the basis for success with many online businesses. Just like a Hollywood studio relies on consistently producing films that find an audience and return a profit, websites and blogs need to make the same investment in their copy.
Great content cannot be defined, certainly not in any all-encompassing context. There is no single rule that covers all variations, intentions or applications. It simply happens as a result of applying knowledge and skill in a style that will appeal to your intended audience. The return you get on it will be somewhat determined by luck and the scale of your competitors, but it will certainly improve your chances of success.
So, when you next hear someone talking about how search engines are looking for great content, ask them how they define it. When you write, fulfil your customers’ expectations and the rankings should follow, along with links and social awareness. That’s good practice and perfect SEO. If you’d like to know more about how Koozai can help with your content marketing, feel free to get in contact.
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