Putting out high-quality content can work wonders for your traffic. For one, it builds you as an authority figure. People start to trust you more, which will have them linking to you and talking about you more. It’s also exactly what Google is looking for, which means you’ll quickly see big boosts in traffic from search engines.
So how do you create high-quality content that people and search engines love?
Start With an Interesting Title & Concept
Your title plays two crucial roles. First, it gets people on your website to stop and read. But what many webmasters don’t realize is the role it plays in Google. Your title is what people see in search results – it’s the main piece of information they use to decide if they click on the link and come to your site. It’s your headline in the search engines.
If you’re writing about toddlers needing sleep, a title such as “my sleepy toddler” will not cut it. Instead, use something like “Why toddlers need naps” to grab the attention of both search engines and readers.
Make it Emotionally Engaging
People want to have an engaging experience when they’re reading content. Even if their primary goal is educational, it still helps to make your content engaging. Add in personal stories, interesting anecdotes or a dash of personality to help keep people engaged.
Explain Concepts in Easy to Understand Language
Avoid using jargons. Use simple language that a teenager could understand, even if you’re describing a complex topic. Make sure your readers walk away with several “aha” nuggets of knowledge. If the concept lends well to a graphic, use one.
Build Out Evergreen Content
Evergreen content refers to content that isn’t seasonal. Instead, it addresses questions and needs that people will have for months and years to come. Use tools like online forums, blog comments and the Google people also search for to find questions that people ask regularly. Address those questions in your content.
Quality & Quantity Debate
The first and most important factor of your website’s success will be the quality of your website’s content. Quantity – how many articles you publish – is secondary to the depth of the information you share. However, before you jump fully onto the I won't publish often but when I will it will be quality bandwagon… I'd like to remind you of the story shared by James Clear in Atomic Habits:
ON THE FIRST day of class, Jerry Uelsmann, a professor at the University of Florida, divided his film photography students into two groups.
Everyone on the left side of the classroom, he explained, would be in the “quantity” group. They would be graded solely on the amount of work they produced. On the final day of class, he would tally the number of photos submitted by each student. One hundred photos would rate an A, ninety photos a B, eighty photos a C, and so on.
Meanwhile, everyone on the right side of the room would be in the “quality” group. They would be graded only on the excellence of their work. They would only need to produce one photo during the semester, but to get an A, it had to be a nearly perfect image.
At the end of the term, he was surprised to find that all the best photos were produced by the quantity group. During the semester, these students were busy taking photos, experimenting with composition and lighting, testing out various methods in the darkroom, and learning from their mistakes. In the process of creating hundreds of photos, they honed their skills. Meanwhile, the quality group sat around speculating about perfection. In the end, they had little to show for their efforts other than unverified theories and one mediocre photo.
This ties in with our experiences with running the 30-day Blogging Challenge since 2007. Content marketing is like a muscle, the more you use it, the more it grows. Those who complete the blogging challenge within 40 days are 10 x times more successful than those who don't complete it (based on pre-pandemic research).
Publish at least one in-depth, information-packed article every month, and 7 or 8 smaller ones that link to the in-depth article. Naturally, the more often you can publish these types of articles, the better.
Add Pictures!
Web statistics show that users tend to stay on pages with images far longer than plain text pages. Add screenshots and illustrations to demonstrate the concepts you’re talking about. Add photographs of real life events. Or use stock photos to add some pizazz to your content.
If you publish this kind of content regularly, in a few weeks or months you’ll find your website’s traffic growing by leaps and bounds. In the meantime, there’s one type of content you can publish that’ll help grow your traffic virtually overnight – we’ll talk about that the next blog post!
Pros & Cons of Content Marketing
Pros:
- Free organic website traffic!
- Helps you understand your ideal client
- Builds your email list
- Educates your potential customers
Cons:
- Content takes time
- It can take a while to find your voice
- You may not have the skills to create the content
- Can be costly to outsource but is generally cheaper than advertising
Conclusion:
Content marketing is a fantastic way to get more website traffic. It involves some learning, and content creating. Done right and it builds your credibility and expertise.