One incredibly effective method for making sure good search results outperform bad ones is to produce and share really good content (learn to make compelling content here and also here). Good content encourages engagement and creates more reasons for people to end up on your site.
Good content is, quite simply, any content that is valuable to the reader. If you have something of value to say or share, then write about it. Beyond the basics of having a good topic and presentation, there are a few more factors that play a role in creating a great piece of content. Here are a few different types of content types that you can create:
- Blog posts
- Social posts
- Outreach to bloggers and journalists capable of deploying well-produced content on high-authority, third-party sites
- External articles, including scholarly articles and long-form reports
- Slideshows
- Press releases
- Wikipedia
According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing adopters have conversion rates that are six times higher than non-adopters. Content is also a key factor in improving your “trust factor” with search engines.
Niche, topical content only
We believe that all of our clients deserve customized content strategies tailored to their specific needs and services. A real estate agent needs content that highlights a like-able image while also driving prospective home buyers and sellers to their website. Developer needs content that showcases their talents and makes it easy for prospective clients to see what they have to offer.
Your own strategy depends on who your audience is, what type of response you’re trying to attract, and your personal brand statement. At Reputation X, we work with our clients to discover their voices and turn them into content that meets their goals.
Note: For more info on the five top content types, click here.
Content strategies
The content on your website must serve the overall aim of your strategy. If the objective is to overwhelm search results with great content, then a volume-based approach is used. If this is used, never spam.
If the objective is to build your brand and transform an already good first page of search results into an outstanding one, we connect your web properties with other authoritative websites in your niche to share content and create backlinks. This is usually the best way as it tends to stick over the long-term. It's the core of the Reverse Wikipedia ORM Strategy of interlinked high-authority topically relevant content.
The role of content in an ORM campaign
Content marketing operates as one just facet of the overall ORM strategy, interplaying with other techniques like link building, outreach, and mention tracking to get you the results that you want.
Good content helps your site by giving others a reason to share it and to turn to it for insights they feel they can trust. It also makes your site easier to find. The more content you share, the more keywords you link to your page, and the more likely you are to come up in search results.
What is "good" content?
Good content is content you would want to consume. If you don't want to read or watch it, why would anyone else?
There are different types of content for different situations. It's important to understand the "anatomy" of search results and how to design and develop content to rank well in different situations. This blog post about the anatomy of search results can help.
We all know bad content when we see it. Perhaps it’s perfunctory or completely misses the point of the headline. The grammar may be poor and the writing choppy and unprofessional. It can also mean the links are bad, irrelevant, or just simply too frequent.
Bad content decreases your trust factors, both within search engine algorithms and among the people who visit your site. So how do you know you’re creating good content?
Quality content should be:
- Original
- Well-written
- Free of grammatical errors
- Not overly promotional
- Not too short or too long
- Well-tagged
Other types of content
Articles aren’t the only way to share your brand’s personality. Images, videos, infographics, and social promotions like giveaways and coupons all come under the content umbrella. Get creative with your content, and always develop it with the intention of meeting the needs of your site's visitors.
Content for reputation FAQs
What are the most important aspects of an article?
The two most important aspects of an article are its page title and snippet (the search engine description). These two parts must be compelling and include your keyword to rank and actually get clicks.
What types of content should I create?
Here are a few different types of content types that you can create: blog posts, social posts, outreach to bloggers and journalists capable of deploying well-produced content on high-authority, third-party sites, external articles, including scholarly articles and long-form reports, slideshows, press releases, and Wikipedia.
How do I create quality content?
Quality content should be original, well-written, free of grammatical errors, not overly promotional, not too short or too long, and well-tagged.
