Content is the heart of an effective web presence. Whether you're a retailer, a media site or a social startup, it's compelling, up-to-date and relevant content that attracts and engages users. If your content isn't right, your customers simply won't engage with it in the way you hope.
The rise of search and social marketing has not changed this basic truth about the way that the web works. When people link to you, they're linking to your content. When they share via social networks, they're sharing your content. It means that great content should be just as importan t to marketers as it is to the people using the Internet to talk, learn and buy. It turns out that content is still king.
But branded web content is not without its problems. A focus on "search benefits" has led many brands to see content purely as a marketing tool, rather than a way to satisfy a specific user need. This has resulted in keyword-heavy “linkbait,” often of low quality, created for the search engine's algorithms, and not the user.
If you want to maximize the value of content so that it engages and retains customers (and boosts your search rank), take note of these tried-and-true methods.
1. Be on the Side of the User
Content is for people not machines, so you need to make sure that you're thinking about the user when you're developing a content strategy. This mind-set is more likely to create things that are useful to consumers and therefore earn attention and shares.
2. Start Pla tform-Agnostic
Good content is good...
