The secret to increasing visibility and driving traffic to your website is content. We wouldn’t be able to rank at position #1 and #0 for the term “B2B appointment setting” if it wasn’t for our complex and thoughtful content strategy.
You should aim to become a thought leader in your vertical with your content, showing readers that you’re a reliable resource and planting the idea in their head that they can trust you to help them. Don’t give visitors the hard sell through your content, but instead provide value and credibility through information.
A Step-by-Step Guide
Our blog posts are typically around 2,000 words. There have been studies suggesting a correlation between posts around this length and a higher search ranking.
It may seem tiresome to create this much content that actually provides value to your readers, but outsourcing the task of content creation is a common way for marketing teams to save time and money. The Marketing Specialists at EBQ can help with this process.
Each of our headlining topics are approached from a similar psychology and keyword research approach that we’ve outlined in previous sections.
The ultimate goal of your content strategy should be to create an internal spider web effect on your website, which users can navigate through to explore many commonly asked questions around the category.
Content for each stage of the buyer’s journey
What are you trying to accomplish with each piece of content you create? You should have distinct goals for every blog and other content pieces you produce.
When planning your next piece of content, it’s helpful to think about the different stages a buyer goes through before making a purchase decision:
There may be fewer readers closer to the decision stage as the funnel narrows, but these visitors are typically more rewarding because they’re much more likely to buy. You should create content for visitors at every stage, so you’re able to capture as many opportunities as possible.
There are two post-sale stages of the buyer’s journey that are worth mentioning here:
Growth: This is the stage customers experience as they go through onboarding and adoption of your solution. Look for opportunities in blogs, website copy, tutorials, and collateral to add value to the growing customer relationship through upselling and cross-selling.
Delight: In this stage, customers find out what level of support your company provides as they become regular users of your product. The goal here, obviously, is to delight your customers, which can be done through different content types that ensure they have all the information they need to get the most out of your solution.
You probably won’t write too many blog posts targeting these last two stages, as they typically don’t generate sales directly. However, modern marketers should be mindful of the value that can be gained during these post-sale stages and always look for content opportunities to delight customers in every stage.
Creating valuable content
Undeniably, it’s a challenge to consistently publish good content that provides tangible value for your readers. Getting results from a content strategy happens gradually over time while your web of information grows, so marketers have to be persistent and always look for the next way we can meet the needs of online visitors.
One method of content ideation that has helped us answer the most pressing questions of our buyer personas is browsing through the question-and-answer site Quora. Engaging on forums where people who meet your ideal customer profile discuss their daily concerns gives you useful insight into what topics will catch their attention.
Of course, it’s important to publish content on a regular basis to see those gradual effects unfold, but you should always prioritize the quality of your content too.
Here are a few tips for producing high-quality content that keeps readers engaged:
Put yourself in the shoes of the intended reader and provide content that teaches them something new and relevant to them
Outline your business case for writing a particular piece of content as a reference for your internal team to understand how your product fits with the topic
Provide concrete examples of the points you make and actionable takeaways for readers to use as a guide
Link to other relevant content you’ve published throughout each content piece and make sure to use relevant keywords for the anchor text of links
Anticipate further questions readers may have after reading your insights in order to provide more information and keep them from leaving the page to search for it elsewhere
Structure writing in a logical way using elements like section headings, bold fonts, and bulleted lists to break up large blocks of text and make content easier to follow
Use branded visuals to give further context, make content more appealing to read, and promote brand recognition
Double check spelling and grammar to avoid simple mistakes that could damage the credibility of your content
Make sure all information you’ve gathered from outside sources is accurate and recent
