Content marketing is immensely popular, with brands in every industry setting up blog posts and ebooks that are designed to build relationships and bring in leads in the form of new readers. Some brands have blogs that take off and even go viral, while others struggle. While this can come down to having great content, sometimes there are more factors at play.
In last week’s #SEMrushchat, executive editor of Search Engine Journal Danny Goodwin tuned in to share the insight he has gained and some of the strategies he uses while managing the industry-leading publication. Both Danny and many of our other chat participants had a lot of great advice on how to maximize the value of your content, so make sure you catch up on the discussion in this recap before you even start drafting your next blog post.
Q1. What are the steps a company can take to build a data-driven content marketing strategy for 2018?
We are still at the forefront of 2018, so now is the time to give your content marketing strategy a closer look as we head into the Spring. That means building a data-driven content marketing strategy, which allows businesses to set and optimize for certain goals, understand what metrics to focus on and how to find them, and how to interpret and act on the results.
First, ask yourself why exactly you are creating content. Are you using the blog as a part of a sales funnel to generate leads? Establish thought leadership? Start with a clear idea of why you are creating content, and then ask yourself what value it adds to your business and to your readers.
A1: Define goals for the year.
Are we looking to increase brand awareness or qualify more leads? Once the goals are in place, then build an appropriate content marketing strategy. #SEMRushChat— Narmadhaa (@s_narmadhaa) January 31, 2018
A1: Start with understanding what the content is supposed to do & build metrics in analytics around it.
start by defining different types of conversion #semrushchat
— JP Sherman (@jpsherman) January 31, 2018
A1. Considering the *goal* of your content is key for me. Where does it fit on the 'Do, Know, Go' scale? Or 'Navigational; Informational; Transactional'?
Not *all* content has to be selling something. #semrushchat
— Ⓞⓟⓣⓘⓜⓘⓢⓔⓨ (@Optimisey) January 31, 2018
A1: #Semrushchat Establish:
* A plan
* A schedule
* Goals
* Practical way of tracking those goals
* Get as many minds in on creating that content so you don't have the same old stuff.
* Pizza (Always makes content creation easier.) pic.twitter.com/9lEVVsJMUF— Colt Sebastian Taylor (@ColtSTaylor) January 31, 2018
Next, start gathering data. What types of content are performing well, and which are helping you to accomplish your specific goals? Use this information to develop your strategy, and then review your analytics on a weekly basis. This will allow you to continually evaluate what content is driving traffic and conversions.
A1. Define your goals first - Use @googleanalytics to evaluate performance of past content, create more of what works to drive traffic & conversions, test content where there are knowledge gaps you could fill. - K #semrushchat
— CallRail (@CallRail) January 31, 2018
A1: Look at what content drives traffic and conversions, and create more of it. #semrushchat
— Laura Ferruggia 💻🔗📈 (@lauregg) January 31, 2018
A1: It starts with a deep understanding of your audience. Look at GA and see what content is performing well. If you're looking for new content, look at your competitors content, Quora, and what people are talking about in FB groups. #SEMrushchat
— Dario Zadro (@DarioZadro) January 31, 2018
A1 woah big question to start with!
Understand what data is has access to - and what of that is unique to the business as that should provide a competitive edge. Then use your honed marketing skills to create a fab campaign etc.
#SEMRushChat— Simon Cox (@simoncox) January 31, 2018
A1: Look at analytics and customer/market research data #semrushchat
— Rachel Howe (@rachelmhowe) January 31, 2018
A1 Love this. "Search Research Marketing" is my new term. Using search data to get insight. #semrushchat https://t.co/S0F5pxHYfO
— Dean Brady (@deanbrady) January 31, 2018
A1: Check out your analytics from the past year and use it as an opportunity to learn what truly resonates with your audience.
That information will shape the strategy you build for the year ahead. #semrushchat
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) January 31, 2018
If you are optimizing for leads or conversions, it is important to make sure that your analytics platforms are set up to help you monitor for this easily. Set up goal tracking in Google Analytics to better be able to evaluate how your content is actually helping you to accomplish leads or sales. Being able to track leads in a very concrete way (instead of just looking for correlations in traffic) will benefit your long-term content strategy immensely.
A1. Figure out what your audience responds to. Measure results. Did your content:
Rank
Drive traffic
Drive leads
Get sharesHave a goal for each piece of content. Not everything must convert to leads, but everything must have a purpose.
#semrushchat— Danny Goodwin (@MrDannyGoodwin) January 31, 2018
A1: Make sure you know what data you need to capture. No point in having huge spreadsheets without knowing what you need to do with it.
Check Search Console as well and see what is already being searched for and delivered #semrushchat
— Andy Drinkwater (@iqseo) January 31, 2018
Some content marketing strategies may focus on accomplishing several goals. That is fine, and it works exceptionally well for some businesses. It is important, however, to have specific goals for each piece of content that you write. Not every blog post you write needs to be focused on converting leads directly; some can be written for thought leadership purposes, or to build relationships with industry peers. Even if your goals for individual pieces of content aren’t always the same, however, every single one needs to be written with a goal in mind.
A1: Gather your data and evaluate it to determine what is working and what isn't. Then determine goals and formulate a plan to build on your best content, maybe ditch the stuff which isn't working or rework it. #semrushchat pic.twitter.com/gIEIGyx1YG
— iPages CMS (@iPagesCMS) January 31, 2018
A1: Definitely start with a clear idea of why you're creating content and the value it adds. THEN you dig into gathering data and creating insights to develop your strategy. #semrushchat
— Matt Lacuesta (@MattLacuesta) January 31, 2018
A1.) Have an awareness of where in the funnel each update is targeting, and set-up appropriate ways to measure impact, then refine before your next attempt. Layer in distro and you're on your way. #semrushchat
— Ryan Glass (@RyanGPhx) January 31, 2018
As you are creating your content strategy and deciding what types of content you want to create and what you want to write about, you should also get involved with your customers. Listen to their audience to discover what their needs are, and go out of your way to write content that solves their pain points and addresses concerns specific to them. You can also use your content to generate discussion on social media, so make sure that you chat with them there to build trust and get more insight into what they need.
A1 Create the Infrastructure to create data driven marketing campaigns including personnel w/ appropriate skills, effective communications channels, access to data, & understanding of what your audiences might want to see. #SEMRushChat
— Bill Slawski ⚓ (@bill_slawski) January 31, 2018
A1) Understand your audience. Understand which of your content is working for them and driving conversions.
Create a stunning campaign built on those understandings.#semrushchat
— David Rosam (@davidrosam) January 31, 2018
A1: build an understanding for your audience, from the types of content they like and don't like. You also need to understand your competitors in the market and monitor trends. #semrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) January 31, 2018
A1) research KWs/topics/questions being asked in the niche when putting together a new strategy. Understand where you can improve your existing content. Track changes. We have too many tools available to go w/ your gut feeling. #semrushchat
— Taylor (@TVYLORTOMITV) January 31, 2018
A1 part2) After looking at what content works and what doesn't then readjusting and optimize - optimize - optimize!#semrushchat
— Nathan Driver (@natedriver) January 31, 2018
Finally, get ready to create a schedule. It is not enough to just post randomly. Create a dedicated content schedule for both creation and promotion, cycling old content back in the distribution cycle, so it isn’t a one-and-done affair. This will help you get more results long-term.
A1 1. Data integrity. 2. Understand data and sources. 3. Use Customer Service. 4. Create content calendar. 5. Produce. 6. Promote 7. Tweak. 8 Promote. etc. #semrushchat https://t.co/7u3V7O2gSA
— Arnout Hellemans (@hellemans) January 31, 2018
A1:
1. Review your most popular content and update the existing content to keep it fresh.
2.Spend more time promoting your old content as well.
3.Try to write the content at least 2000 words or more and cover everything that user needs to know.#SEMrushchat— Ashok Sharma (@Ashok83) January 31, 2018
Q2. What are the best content marketing metrics one should use to determine the success of a content marketing campaign or effort?
There is no one set answer to this question because it depends heavily on the specific goals you have for your content. The metrics and KPIs you are using to evaluate the success of your content, after all, won’t be the same for a lead generation campaign as a thought leadership or brand awareness campaign. In some cases, the metrics you are monitoring may even vary within your industry and niche.
This is why it is so crucial to determine the metrics you want to value most before you start running your campaign; it allows you to strategically optimize for these goals and monitor them more consistently.
A2. Your metrics/KPIs must tied to your business goals. That will vary wildly depending on your industry/niche. For some it's lead gen. For others brand awareness. Content must help the business/brand achieve goals. Whatever those are. #semrushchat
— Danny Goodwin (@MrDannyGoodwin) January 31, 2018
A2 your KPI.
Key Performance Indicators.
They are determined by what you are trying to achieve as a company and for that campaign. Other measures should fit into these and drive direction.— Simon Cox (@simoncox) January 31, 2018
A2 Depends. Could be links, coverage, reach, visibility, conversions. Basically it depends on the goal. #semrushchat https://t.co/JoWoteWwtt
— Arnout Hellemans (@hellemans) January 31, 2018
A2: It really depends on what your goals were in the first place. No point in tracking metrics that don't reflect on your goals.#semrushchat
— Heather Harvey (@Fizzle_Up) January 31, 2018
A2) It depends on your goals.
How about conversions, sign-ups and content engagement?#semrushchat
— David Rosam (@davidrosam) January 31, 2018
A2: Did you end up meeting your goal? [engagement, revenue, email sign ups, etc.] #semrushchat
— Rachel Howe (@rachelmhowe) January 31, 2018
In general, however, there are a few basic metrics that most content strategies should be evaluating.
The first, unsurprisingly, is engagement rates and conversion rates. Engagement rates — which include comments and shares — can tell you how much conversation your content is generating, along with how many people are finding it helpful. You can also use social listening for this purpose, and really get an idea of what your audience loves and why they love it. This can be exceptionally valuable, even more so than just having the numbers. It is not just about the clicks or the fact that there are comments, after all; it is about what customers are actually saying and how it impacts brand awareness.
A2. Important metrics can include links, shares, rankings, revenue, brand awareness, engagement, or maybe even getting Featured Snippets if that's important to you just to grab visibility. #semrushchat
— Danny Goodwin (@MrDannyGoodwin) January 31, 2018
A2 Listen to what gets the most Ohhs & Awws when you show off a content study or campaign, and those may be the points tied to metrics that matter to your audience (social listening works, too.) #SEMRushChat
— Bill Slawski ⚓ (@bill_slawski) January 31, 2018
A2: Metrics around that content, so look at GA or other stats to gauge engagement over 3min?, bounce, ctr, utm trackers, tags, conversions to given goals for said content #ContentValue #SEMrushchat @mrdannygoodwin @semrush ultimately is it Hook, Line & Sinker
— Alexis Huddart (@Flexoid) January 31, 2018
Since most content strategies are either directly or indirectly used to drive conversions long-term, conversions are crucial to monitor. It doesn’t matter much, after all, if you are getting a ton of shares but it is making almost no impact on your business’s bottom line. You can set up goal tracking in Google Analytics to better see how your content is involved in driving conversions.
A2: Engagement, Shares, Conversions are all pretty good, but essentially those should lead to this: #semrushchat pic.twitter.com/EwiztSGLEm
— Matt Lacuesta (@MattLacuesta) January 31, 2018
A2: 1. Resulting conversions but surely the most important metric has to be ROI although sometimes just improving reach can be a step on the way to longer term goals towards improved conversion rates #semrushchat pic.twitter.com/Ygosue9Vbd
— iPages CMS (@iPagesCMS) January 31, 2018
A2.) "If it don't make dollars, it don't make sense" - DJ Quik
Quit banging under false pretense #semrushchat— Ryan Glass (@RyanGPhx) January 31, 2018
Content consumption, including the amount of time the average reader spends on a page, and if they scroll through the entire page, is a strong indicator of value. If you are getting clicks to your site, but then they click right away again, your content may not be interesting enough, valuable enough, or original enough. If, on the other hand, users click and read all the way through, it is valuable to them in some way.
A2: i bristle a bit at the word "best"... but... I LOVE looking at content consumption (scroll + time) which is a strong indicator of value for non-transactional content #semrushchat
— JP Sherman (@jpsherman) January 31, 2018
A2: If you wanted to just make sure people were reading a whole article, install something like @HotJar or @CrazyEgg to see heatmaps of read length #semrushchat
— Andy Drinkwater (@iqseo) January 31, 2018
A2: how many people saw the content, time on content, did they convert, social shares, how did the content achieve goals #semrushchat
— seoplus+ (@seopluscanada) January 31, 2018
A2: The metrics vary largely based on the goal of the content. One of the metrics I often look at is time on site. Just because someone got to the content, doesn't mean they actually read it. #semrushchat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) January 31, 2018
Q3. What are some standard guidelines that a contributing author should follow when submitting a guest post?
Submitting guest posts to other sites is an excellent way to expand your reach and connect with new audiences. If you are submitting a guest post to a publication in which you could potentially be a contributing author, however, there are a few things to keep in mind.
When submitting, you should never assume that your article or authorship will be accepted right off the bat (or at all). Even blogs within the same industry aren’t one-size-fits-all, with each covering different topics or having different writing styles. If possible, ask the editors if there are topics they are looking for, or what their audience finds most valuable. You should also look through the site on your own time, looking for common threads in the articles. Are there a lot of think pieces? Tutorials with step-by-step screenshots?
A3 Also: Be able to write quickly about timely/newsy topics. And look at websites, do a site search on Google to look for content gaps on topics you know a lot about. Find your niche within a niche. #semrushchat
— Danny Goodwin (@MrDannyGoodwin) January 31, 2018
A3: You should really publish some guidelines on your site, but overall, dropping a ton of links and being too self promotional should be avoided. #semrushchat
— Rachel Howe (@rachelmhowe) January 31, 2018
A3) Make sure the content is relevant and of interest to the publication, as well as adhering to grammar rules and technical submission details. If the content doesn't conform to the brand or interest the audience, there's no point in submitting to that publication #semrushchat
— Brandon Lazovic (@brandon_lazovic) January 31, 2018
a3 Guest Posting -
Understand the needs of Target Audience
Know the Industry
Offer Unique Content
Adhere to the Guest Posting Guidelines#semrushchat— Debi Norton (@BRAVOMedia1) January 31, 2018
A3: When submitting, don't assume something will be accepted. Ask if there are particular topics they are looking for or audiences they are trying to engage #semrushchat
— Andy Drinkwater (@iqseo) January 31, 2018
You should always follow the writing style and tone of the site, in addition to having chosen a relevant topic. If you don’t, it won’t fit in with the publication, and it is likely that the editor will decide it is just too much work for them. If you are able to write in a way that drives conversions and appeals to the site’s audience, you will increase the odds of acceptance. Some publications have writers’ guidelines posted online; look for them before submitting.
A3. They need to make sure that they are serving the business website's audience #semrushchat
— Cheval John (@chevd80) January 31, 2018
A3
1 Unique content
2 Actionable
3 Avoid the basics
4 Link to credible resources
5 Don't appear overly self-promotional
6 Don’t cut and paste… Oh - ok the rest are here: https://t.co/9NNFX9Cj4F#SEMRushChat— Simon Cox (@simoncox) January 31, 2018
A3. You should provide brand guidelines and writing guidelines for any post.
For non-byline content, these should give the voice to make the writer invisible.
For byline content, it gives what to think about, but provides oportunities for the author's voice to show #semrushchat https://t.co/atjGvjZt4b
— 𝓓𝓸𝓾𝓰 𝓡. 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓼, 𝓔𝓼𝓺. (@ferkungamaboobo) January 31, 2018
A3: You need to explain the blog's objective, understand our audience, and any topic needs to be approved before writing. Be clear about your reposting policy, and review process. It's nice to offer tips on style and formatting since it is your blog. #SEMrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) January 31, 2018
A3: If you have a style guide for your brand, that's important to give to guest contributors. It'll allow them to adapt to the style of content you like to feature on your site. #semrushchat
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) January 31, 2018
A3) Stick to brand style (only if you've developed a successful one!). Write a a topic that appeals to the site's audience, AND you're and expert on. Actionable advice is great. Check your spelling and grammar. Advise on length. Don't sell your products or services.#semrushchat
— David Rosam (@davidrosam) January 31, 2018
You should also use common sense and blogging best practices. Your content should be unique; plagiarism doesn’t earn you friends. The post should be well-written and free of grammatical errors. The headline should be strong, and the content should offer the information promised in the title. The posts (for most sites) should be no less than 1,000 words. Provide links that are resources. Links to your own site can come across as overly self-promotional, and they take away from the level of authority you want to achieve. All guest posts should provide value and never appear like a sales pitch. Most blogs that accept guest posts are educational resources, and there is no place for selling oneself.
A3. Think it was @iPullRank that said (and apologise for mangling the quote): "Write the answer you wish you'd found when you looked for that."
Don't make it an ad; don't make it link bait or click bait; make it helpful and useful and in keeping with your brand.#semrushchat
— Ⓞⓟⓣⓘⓜⓘⓢⓔⓨ (@Optimisey) January 31, 2018
A3 Offer something unique/different. Go beyond the obvious/basic. Tell me something I don't know. Use data. Be genuinely helpful. Make it about helping your potential reader, not you. And don't write long for the sake of writing long. #semrushchat
— Danny Goodwin (@MrDannyGoodwin) January 31, 2018
A3: Don't submit re-written articles unless it shows a significantly different view. No-one wants to read the same thing written a different way. Be unique #semrushchat
— Andy Drinkwater (@iqseo) January 31, 2018
A3) don’t be a self promoting idiot. Ideally the host should have guidelines setup #SEMRushChat
— Nathan Driver (@natedriver) January 31, 2018
A3. Be authentic and not so self serving. The aim should always be to provide actual value to the brand's audience. #semrushchat
— Doris Shadouh (@DShadouh) January 31, 2018
Q4. What are some of the best ways to grow your blog audience? Are there any strategies that work for everyone?
Growing your blog’s readership is something that can take time, but fortunately, there are several great strategies that can be used by brands and individuals regardless of industry.
The first strategy is particularly straightforward and involves offering content that your audience wants to see. What is valuable to them? If you are able to answer their questions, offer new or simplified ways of solving problems, or providing them valuable insider knowledge, you will build a readership quickly. If you need a little help with getting started, find an engaging community and draw inspiration from the questions and conversations they are having.
A4. Yes. Strategy that works for everyone - providing value. It's difficult, it takes time and dedication, but if you manage to provide value on a regular basis you are going to do fine.
You still need to promote your content though, but it will be way easier. #semrushchat
— Sergey Alakov (@sergey_alakov) January 31, 2018
A4 your Brand is also important in this respect too - build a brand that has values your audience can empathise with, and content they want to read. Example: @whitemoosecafe has been killing this.#SEMRushChat
— Simon Cox (@simoncox) January 31, 2018
A4: Refer to A1. :-)
More isn't always better.
1- Quality content that users WANT. Search Research Marketing - are people searching for your content? Are you better than other content in your space? Offer value.
2 - Consistency
3 - Relevance
4 - Easy to share#semrushchat https://t.co/OFAvVisHbs— Dean Brady (@deanbrady) January 31, 2018
A4: Know your customer really well and provide lots of unique rich content targeted for them. Open up a discussion with your readers and engage with them. #semrushchat
— iPages CMS (@iPagesCMS) January 31, 2018
A4... we try & put ourselves in our audience's shoes. Imagine we are them & what ground breaking thing will they would ♥to know (that we already know). Maybe it's about CV writing, career paths or similar
We also do regular polls to ask our audience what they want #semrushchat— Natasha Woodford (@TashaWoodford) January 31, 2018
A4 Be the source of newsworthy and engaging information that your audience is very focused upon and curious about; so much so that they will share, and refer others to it, & quote & reference it. In short, be a trailblazer. #SEMRushChat
— Bill Slawski ⚓ (@bill_slawski) January 31, 2018
In addition to winning over your audience, trying to win over the hearts of fellow industry peers is a great strategy, too. Word of mouth is the best marketing strategy, so these may be individuals who will share your content and endorse you.
A4 Win over the hearts and minds of those in your industry (influencers / super geeks). The best growth strategy is word of mouth. In addition, the biggest thing is consistency and dedication. For a long period of time. #semrushchat
— Danny Goodwin (@MrDannyGoodwin) January 31, 2018
A4: Collaboration is the key from my point of view. Embed quotes of othee thought leaders, write guest blogs, interview micro-influencers , etc. #semrushchat
— Benny Gelbendorf (@BGelbendorf) January 31, 2018
A4. Social ads, especially with retargeting. Influencer outreach. #SEMrushchat https://t.co/juOzoMYjv4
— 𝓓𝓸𝓾𝓰 𝓡. 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓼, 𝓔𝓼𝓺. (@ferkungamaboobo) January 31, 2018
A4: I think we should Engage with other bloggers on a regular basis and
Contribute to the top blog’s on regular basis#SEMrushchat— Ashok Sharma (@Ashok83) January 31, 2018
Online communities like Facebook groups and discussion forums can be a great place to promote your content. You can and should leverage these groups and social media as channels to share blog content, as this will help you grow your readership instead of just sustaining it. There is also the option of repurposing content from social media and turning it into a post, like writing up a recap from a live stream or, perhaps, a Twitter chat to send engaged users to your site.
A4. What I've been doing is posting them in my Facebook groups and creating discussions around them. I also encourage my sales teams to share them with customers who ask them questions on topics I've written about. That has been successful so far! #semrushchat
— Doris Shadouh (@DShadouh) January 31, 2018
A4: (2/2) look at video, infographics, or create a storytelling podcast. One of the greatest things about marketing today is that it presents a variety of ways to share content. #SEMrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) January 31, 2018
A4 There was an old (2002) article that I took some influence from called 10 tips on writing the Living Web: https://t.co/EymL6Vm2Ow #SEMRushChat
— Bill Slawski ⚓ (@bill_slawski) January 31, 2018
A4: One of the best ways to grow your blog audience is to share your content on social media.
Be present on the platforms your target audience is using and you can gain more traction in time. #semrushchat
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) January 31, 2018
A4: Be different - be social and try to engage with industry leaders if you can.
Write something that is a bit controversial - don't be afraid to give your view. See what people are searching for in your niche and write about that #semrushchat
— Andy Drinkwater (@iqseo) January 31, 2018
A4: it's a bit odd and time consuming, but adding a podcast every other week did the most to get links & audience for my old blog #semrushchat
— JP Sherman (@jpsherman) January 31, 2018
A4. Share the blog posts on your social media channels and address pain points, trends, news in the industry that your target #audience would like to read. If it benefits them, they'll read it. #semrushchat
— SourceMedia (@SourceMediaCo) January 31, 2018
You should also optimize your content and blog in every way possible to focus on readership growth. Feature incentives to engage or convert, like contests, giveaways, discounts, and lead magnets; promote them both in the text of your posts and in sidebar widgets. You will also want to make sure that there are social sharing plugins on your blog posts to make it as easy as possible for your readers to tweet it or pin it.
A4 #SemRushChat
When in doubt.... Swag & prizes. And probably contests.
That'll get me back there. pic.twitter.com/St7WlvnBqM
— Colt Sebastian Taylor (@ColtSTaylor) January 31, 2018
a4 Starts with offering up ENCHANTING Content that actually helps the audience
Include an INCENTIVE to engage/convert
Make it easily SHARABLE#SEMrushchat— Debi Norton (@BRAVOMedia1) January 31, 2018
A4: (1/2)One quick way is to encourage the audience to sign up for an email list. You can also look out for guest post opportunities to help grow your name and your writing. My favorite is to give a blog post a new life, don't stick with the same type of content #semrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) January 31, 2018
A4. Also, if you have budget for paid social, use it. :) I'm also a big fan of growing email subscribers. It's a sign they like your content, and you can reach them whenever you want to promote your stuff and keep them loyal. ) #semrushchat #semrushchat
— Danny Goodwin (@MrDannyGoodwin) January 31, 2018
And while all of these strategies are great, remember that readership growth does take time, and there is no substitute for consistency and dedication.
A4. I think consistency works for both questions. If your audience has a certain expectation, strive to meet it. If that’s post length, depth, frequency, etc. #SEMrushchat
— Gene Petrov // Leadership & Management Consulting (@GenePetrovLMC) January 31, 2018
A4: Best Way to Grow Blog Audience: Be Consistent (publish on same topic and regularly) Share on social media, and finally paid social ads (very targeted to what your offering is!) #semrushchat
— SoPro (@SoPro_London) January 31, 2018
A4: Consistency #semrushchat
— Rachel Howe (@rachelmhowe) January 31, 2018
Q5. What are your top tools for finding content for your blog posts?
This is one of the biggest struggles that most individuals and brands will face. Great results with content marketing, after all, requires consistency, and that means generating a lot of topics for content ideas. Fortunately, there are content tools that can help.
SEMrush’s own topic research tool is my first choice, for many reasons. It will analyze your competitors’ content and automatically provide ideas for you to compete with them and resonate with your audience (and theirs). SEMrush’s keyword research tools will also provide you with keyword suggestions that you can use to generate relevant content.
A5: Also, @semrush has this neat new topic research tool ;) #semrushchat
— Rachel Howe (@rachelmhowe) January 31, 2018
A5:
-- SEMRush
-- Answer The Public
-- Hubspot Blog Idea Generator
-- Google Trends
-- Trending topics on Social Media#semrushchat— Andy Drinkwater (@iqseo) January 31, 2018
A5: @semrush of course! We also love @BuzzSumo, @keywordtoolio & @answerthepublic to help come up with content questions & ideas. #semrushchat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) January 31, 2018
A5. We start by analyzing business objectives and coming up with high-level topics. then we analyze what the competition (direct and indirect) is doing with these topics. Semrush and Ahrefs are good for that. Then we build content that helps users more that others #semrushchat
— Sergey Alakov (@sergey_alakov) January 31, 2018
It is also a great strategy, as discussed above, to answer the questions your customers are asking. Even if the answers may seem obvious to you, look at support questions, or the questions that people are asking on social media or sites such as Answer the Public. Or, even better, look at the questions that your competition’s customers are asking them on social media. You may also get some ideas of questions being asked on different forums, like Quora or in Twitter chats.
A5. For me, Twitter chats are the best to find content. #semrushchat
— Cheval John (@chevd80) January 31, 2018
A5: Answer the questions your customers always ask. Use sites like Quora, forums, conference and seminar discussions, and FB groups to find content ideas. I then use @semrush to find the perfect keyword based URL slug :) #SEMrushchat
— Dario Zadro (@DarioZadro) January 31, 2018
A5. Best tool surely has to be your own brain. Eat breathe and sleep your subject and soak up lots and lots of information. Then when you evaluate the data of what the reader is interested in, the ideas can just flow. #semrushchat
— iPages CMS (@iPagesCMS) January 31, 2018
A5. Experience.
What are your customers having trouble with? What are they asking? What do they need?
Let me tell you a story about Peter. He was... So we... And they all lived happily ever after.#SEMrushchat https://t.co/CweyObrmI5
— 𝓓𝓸𝓾𝓰 𝓡. 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓼, 𝓔𝓼𝓺. (@ferkungamaboobo) January 31, 2018
Google Trends and trending topics on Twitter or Facebook can give you some ideas about trending topics that people are searching for, and what they most want to see. Similarly, Google’s search features can also be a huge source of knowledge if you look at the autocomplete or “people also ask” features. This can help you find relevant content ideas that will appeal to your audience.
A5) I usually see what's trending on social media. A lot of my content stems from my own trial and error in the industry. Working for a Fortune 500 also has its perks when it comes to best practices and systems with curated content about almost anything in digital #semrushchat
— Brandon Lazovic (@brandon_lazovic) January 31, 2018
A5. @answerthepublic & @GoogleTrends are fab for finding out what people are asking about your niche, I would then write blog posts to answer those questions 😁 #semrushchat
— Emma Lambert💫 (@Emmaaa_95) January 31, 2018
A5. Google trends, Google autocomplete, answer the public. #semrushchat
— Reva Minkoff (@revaminkoff) January 31, 2018
A5: A lot of replies have already mention all the great tools available, so I'm going to talk about where I usually start: Just Googling different phrases and seeing what topics people are discussing on forums and what the related searches are. #semrushchat
— Laura Ferruggia 💻🔗📈 (@lauregg) January 31, 2018
A5: I love @scoopit for its discovery engine. But once I decide on a topic, just good old Google searches are often the first place I start doing research. #semrushchat
— Paul Chaney (@pchaney) January 31, 2018
A5: I love using Google Alerts and Google Trends. I'm also a big fan of using @feedly, Quora, @ahrefs, and @semrush. But, nothing beats getting your hands dirty with content gap analysis between you and your top competitors and a content audit with GA & WMT #SEMrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) January 31, 2018
A few other tools that our readers mentioned to help identify great topics were Buzzsumo, Feedly, Inoreader, Hubspot’s blog idea generator, and Answer the Public.
A5. KISS "Keep it simple, stupid" #semrushchat
— DamianS (@DamianS1) January 31, 2018
A5: Great Content!
I know it's a bit obvious but it's always all about the content... #semrushchat pic.twitter.com/jM7h0cDqEA
— iPages CMS (@iPagesCMS) January 31, 2018
A5) @feedly, @Pocket, Google trends, @Mention, FB Groups, @reddit, talking to the client, talking to customers etc etc#semrushchat
— David Rosam (@davidrosam) January 31, 2018
A5. Top tools to discover content:@BuzzSumo @Alltop @NerdWallet
20+ Google search operators
Quora & Reddit#SEMrushchat https://t.co/uzfoynMQVK— Parth Suba (@parthsuba77) January 31, 2018
Q6. Fill in the blank: A great blog post has __________.
A great post should have a lot of things, with the core focus being on unique, original, and exceptionally valuable. Fresh ideas or techniques to solve a problem will always get more attention than the same ideas being rehashed, after all, especially if you’re able to solve users problems that affect their pain points most. Keep this in mind, and write content that has a point and a clear purpose.
A6. A purpose (and a defined target audience)! Also, a great blog post is a SUCCESSFUL. Which ties back to the goals that you set out at the beginning. Did you reach them or fall short? Measure everything you create. Learn. Improve. #semrushchat
— Danny Goodwin (@MrDannyGoodwin) January 31, 2018
A6) Value...did someone else say that yet? lol #semrushchat
— Nathan Driver (@natedriver) January 31, 2018
a6 A GREAT blog post has a PURPOSE, new, FRESH IDEAS & an INCENTIVE to wrap it all up! #semrushchat
— Debi Norton (@BRAVOMedia1) January 31, 2018
A6. A great blog post has to educate the reader and solves the pain points related to the business industry. #semrushchat
— Cheval John (@chevd80) January 31, 2018
A6: a great blog post has a ....
purpose to exist. #semrushchat
— JP Sherman (@jpsherman) January 31, 2018
A6 A great blog post is a comprehensive view of author on a very specific topic related to their focused niche. In other words, it has to be epic content written for its audience in mind. #semrushchat
— Komal Mansoor (@komalwriter) January 31, 2018
A6: Actionable tips #semrushchat
— Rachel Howe (@rachelmhowe) January 31, 2018
Great visuals are always a plus, as are links and statistics to back up any claims or research that you are sharing. It should also be well-written and cleanly formatted to make it easy to read.
A6: #semrushchat Oh... And maybe relevant content that can be useful short term and long term?
But alsot #CatGifs! More like... #SemRushCATChat pic.twitter.com/jTBBt9DAqK
— Colt Sebastian Taylor (@ColtSTaylor) January 31, 2018
A6:
1. Well formatted text and layout
2. Compelling title and images
3. Valuable links
4. Actionable tips
5. Insights supported with facts and proof
6. A well looking and intelligent call-to-action
7. Solves a problem or problems/ pain points.#semrushchat— Dido Grigorov (@DidoGrigorov) January 31, 2018
A6: A great post can be visual, or data-driven, but will evoke human emotion and build a connection between the audience and the brand. #SEMrushchat
— Danny Ray Lima (@dannyraylima) January 31, 2018
A6: Value, insight, infographics and a call to action #SEMrushchat https://t.co/fdh8v295JU
— Eli River Munc (@EliMunce) January 31, 2018
A strong stylistic voice can also help, or, as one chat participant put it, “mojo.”
A6: A great blog post has...the audience in mind. It provided the audience with info and a well-displayed call to action. #semrushchat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) January 31, 2018
A6: The answer to the query the reader was looking for with added value they didn't expect.
(With an extra little sprinkle of "wow")#semrushchat— Heather Harvey (@Fizzle_Up) January 31, 2018
Emotional appeal is also huge. Try to express or generate empathy, and use emotion to drive action. When in doubt, storytelling is key to the emotional appeal for most readers. This can be thought-provoking, which can help encourage engagement and conversions.
A6 (I needed to add this) A Great Blog post has people commenting (with sadness, for all the blogs that removed comments) #SEMRushChat
— Bill Slawski ⚓ (@bill_slawski) January 31, 2018
A6 A great Blog Post has…
Empathy.#SEMRushChat
— Simon Cox (@simoncox) January 31, 2018
A6 A Great Blog Post has people talking (asking questions, arguing, eating popcorn, sharing. loitering, Hi-fiving) #SEMRushChat
— Bill Slawski ⚓ (@bill_slawski) January 31, 2018
A combination of all of these factors will help you create not only great content but also content that converts.
That is all for today! Make sure to join us on this week's #SEMrushchat with Gini Dietrich to discuss "How PR is the New Linkbuilding." Hope to see you there!
![Preview: [Infographic] 23 Essential Metrics to Measure Your Content Marketing Performance](https://cdn.semrush.com/blog/static/media/aa/5b/aa5b9539d0173654b1a645821c546950/resize/411x-/content-analytics-var2.png)
Comments
Occasionally takes part in conversations.
Provides valuable insights and adds depth to the conversation.
An experienced member who is always happy to help.
I do this for my clients as well. Totally agreeing with each of your points given, and I will try to follow when planning to write content as per your marketing strategy Becky.!
Precisely written with in-depth information which gives an insight to a newbie as well as pro writers. !
Thanks for the detailed and elaborated post. Amazing piece of writing!
Either just recently joined or is too shy to say something.
This website is something that’s needed on the internet, someone
with a bit of originality.Everything is very open with a precise explanation ofthe issues. It was truly informative. Your website is useful.
Online shopping Bangladesh
Provides valuable insights and adds depth to the conversation.
Occasionally takes part in conversations.
Glad you reminded me about the benefit of scheduling in old posts, too. Far too often I fall into the trap of forgetting about all my great work 1-2 weeks after it's been published and promoted.. I should be asking myself if there are any timely discussions or news events I can update my old content with. Plus it's good practice in general to revisit old pages.
Thanks for the compilation, Becky.
SEMrush employee.