Internet marketing has changed a whole lot within the last few years. Digital/SEO has mutated from a world of keyword stuffing and back-link building to a utopia where fresh, unique content is without doubt the most effective way to build an effective online brand. What, though, makes content so valuable? Well, we got together with the guys from WebHostingBlueBook.com to bring you this piece on the perks than an effective content strategy can offer:
People want the web.
Without doubt, the most compelling reason for investing in content on the web is that there really are people there who want to read it. A recent infographic on entrepreneur.com showed that 329 million people read blogs every month, 73% of people prefer to obtain information about an organisation through articles, rather than through traditional advertisement, and that 61% of customers now feel better about firms that take the time to create custom content. The market IS there, if you’re prepared to take the time to invest in it.
Content enables you to reach multiple channels at once
Anyone who’s worked in the digital marketing sector before knows that there are a lot of different channels that offer potential – mobile, social, e-mail, etc. However, if you create one really great piece of content that people genuinely like, you’ll automatically tap into all of these channels. Why? Because of sharing! All it takes is people actually wanting to forward your content, and before you know it everyone who sees it will be passing it onto five of their mates. Oh, and clicks from shared content are 5 times more likely to end up with a sale being made. Just so you know.
Content is key to climbing the Google rankings
With the advent of the recent Google Penguin algorithm updates (and before that, the Panda update), good content is now key to rising up in the search ranking. Good SERPs performance comes down to a number of factors, but the most popular remains good, high quality links leading back to the site. What’s the best way to obtain these? To create great content that people actually share. Get those backlinks naturally, and your traffic will increase.
It levels the playing field
One of the problems with traditional advertising was that without the budget, it was impossible for small and medium sized businesses to match the multinational corporations in terms of reaching new customers. Now, though, as long as a company invests the time in creating great content, it WILL reach customers on the web, and it will grow. With the right amount of keyword research, and enough time invested in creativity, small businesses can compete on the same level as multinational corporations. Content from even the most obscure sources can explode without warning. As we know all too well.
It impacts conversion rate
Google rankings, social shares and the like are one thing, but it all means nothing if sales don’t go up. Fortunately, they do. Conversions amongst consumers who interact with ratings and product reviews are 105% higher than those who don’t. Organic search leads have a close rate of 14.6%. The standard outbound marketing close rate? Just 1.7%. Statistics prove that investing in useful content will increase sales. Enough said, really.
