Content marketing is a generic term that covers many different aspects of online marketing. Ultimately, it is about having quality content that draws attention to your door, but also includes complex techniques like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), mobile marketing, Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Some techniques draw organic traffic to your door, which is unpaid traffic generated from the quality of your content. Other traffic will come as a result of paid advertising campaigns that are not considered “organic” traffic. To keep your content marketing game in top shape, here are the top 10 tips for small business content marketing from the Team at Brandgy:

1. Generate Multiple Forms of Quality Content

First, and foremost, you must include different types of content on your website. Text articles and pages are good for search engines who want to see original content on the site. However, content should also include images, infographics, graphs, videos, and even audio podcasts. Not only does it make your site more interesting, but content marketing like videos can go viral and raise your traffic overnight.

2. Use SEO in Your Content

It doesn’t matter what content you use, always remember to optimize it for search engines. Research keywords with high appeal and low competition using the Google Keyword Tool. Videos should have keywords put in the description. Images should contain ALT-text on them so that search engines know what they contain. Try long-tail keywords of 4 to 5 words in a phrase to niche your keywords better. Need help with keyword research? Reach out to the Localsync Team and they can help you get started.

3. Pay Attention to Mobile Trends

Everyone has a smartphone these days and are searching while they’re out and about. If your content is not optimized for mobile devices, you will end up losing in the Search Engine Page Results (SERPs). You need to have a responsive web design on your website and use content with local and hyper-local terms (like down to the neighborhoods) to get this type of traffic to your door.

Of the 10 tips for small business content marketing, this is one of the first things you need to fix. Over 50% of web traffic is from mobile devices. If your content is poorly displayed or inaccessible for mobile users, over 50% of your potential audience is EXCLUDED. If the front door is locked, your customers cannot come inside. Need help with creating a responsive website? There are a lot of people that can help (think Fiverr, Localsync) and there are now even website builders that make it easy to do it yourself.

4. Get Paid Traffic to Start

Use Google Adwords campaigns to get the traffic started, especially for new sites. These campaigns offer a steady stream of traffic that can also be limited to geographical areas. These are typically called PPC campaigns, for Pay-Per-Click.

5. Use Your Blog to Engage Readers

Have a blog within your website that is updated at least two or three times a week.

Studies indicate that the more a blog is updated, the more you increase conversions on the site. Blogs help readers to identify with you as a human being and reduce the distrust factor. They are ideal ways to share news about your company, but make sure you publish content that isn’t sales-driven too, to generate public interest. It should be information that helps your readers and that informs them of current events in your field. If you only publish sales information it comes off like spam.

6. Create Landing Pages for Offers

Also include landing pages and make sure that content is optimized for sales. It’s important to understand what headlines help people to click into a landing page offer and what type of images and fonts work best. Always have a Call-to-Action button to increase conversions.

7. Join Social Networking Sites

To get more organic traffic, you need to join social networking sites.

When you publish a blog post, make sure it includes the widget that has the social sharing buttons on the bottom so that it can be easily disseminated on these platforms. Post updates about new blog posts to your social networking sites. You can even automate these so that you don’t have to do it manually every time.

8. Get Your Readers' Feedback

Respond to comments on your blog and social networking sites to find out who are your loyal fans and followers. By responding to them you engage them more. You also can gain valuable feedback on why they like your feeds and send them back to your website for more information. Do not ever engage in spamming or trolling as this can easily derail your content strategy before it is off the ground.

Always be respectful, even if the feedback is negative. Learn from your mistakes and carry on.

9. Track URLs and Visitors

Use shortened URLs in your content and social networking posts, through tools like AggMe. The tool allows you to track how many people are clicking on the links and where they are being shared online. This is one way to measure which type of content is more successful with your audience. Track traffic patterns on your site and see which content gets the most views too. This will give you a bird’s eye view of what topic your visitors find most engaging. Then, consider serializing your most popular posts so that you have them coming back again and again.

AggMe has a free plan to get started and you can use our discount code, (Brandgy20), to get an additional 20% off of paid plans. You can even add your own branded domain name to use when shortening links.

10. Test Your Strategies for Your Audience

Another way to tweak your content is to post two slightly different versions, like with two different headlines. Send half of the traffic on your site to one version and the other half to the other.

This is called “split-testing” in content marketing. Then, review conversions. The one with the highest conversion rate wins and that’s the type of headline you should continue to use on landing pages.

Top 10 Tips for Small Business Content Marketing – Bonus Tip #11 – Keep Getting Better and Better with Content Marketing

By carefully measuring the types of content that draw the most attention, the style of writing, and format that is the most popular, you will get a good idea of what works with your particular audience. It will become almost as if you are reading their minds. It’s not hard, but it has to start with good quality content writing. Then, have a plan to track what’s working and what’s not. Do what works more often and eliminate what is not working. In this way, you get better and better over time. You will attract more organic traffic and have a genuine possibility of going viral in the future. This ends up winning the content strategy game by creating massive exposure that yields real dollars down the line.

Interested in learning more about how content marketing can help your small business? Contact us – we would be happy to help!