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Tag: small business marketing tips

  • How to Rank Higher on SERPs

    Less than 1% of visitors to search engines will go past the first page to find what they’re looking for. That means if your brand isn’t already on their mind, it had better be on the first page of search engine results. So how do you improve and rank higher on SERPs? Here are a few tips to propel your site from anonymity to renown!

    Optimizing Your On-Site SEO

    an SEO infographic

    The single most impactful way to rank higher on SERPs is to optimize your on-page SEO. Fortunately, there are tools available to help. Depending on the content delivery service you utilize, there are built-in SEO plugins to help optimize your content. For example, if your site is on WordPress, you can use the Yoast plugin to make sure your content is properly optimized for SEO before you publish it. 

    It goes without saying, but you’ll also want to make sure your site has the proper HTML markup, alt tags on images, the right H1/H2/H3 use of headlines & tags, and no grammatical or spelling errors. Finally, your content should be written for humans–not robots. If your copy is unintelligible, stuffed with keywords, or otherwise dubiously presented, you’re doing more harm than good. 

    A Better Website Will Help You Rank Higher on SERPs-What Does That Mean?

    In addition to optimizing your on-site SEO, the most obvious way to rank higher on SERPs is to improve your website. But what does that mean exactly? Does that just mean creating a more efficient website? Yes and no. 

    people highlighting best marketing practices as part of a unique marketing strategy

    First of all, as mentioned, getting to the first page of search engine results requires a considerable amount of SEO work. That means not only choosing the right keywords for your site, but the right density, as well as the proper layout, appearance, functionality, and accessibility. If you have dead links, for example, your site will never reach the first page. If your keywords are off-base from what your brand does, you’ll never reach the first page. 

    However, if your website is securely hosted, full of reputable backlinks and properly formatted images, you’ll be on your way to moving up the rankings. At the same time, while your site may rank on the first page today, it doesn’t mean it will tomorrow. For best results, continually add to and update your page with engaging, keyword-driven content, connect and sync external accounts (like social media and Google My Business), and take advantage of other channels, like paid ads and email marketing, to drive traffic to your website. 

    The more search engines pick up that users are engaging, interacting, and sharing your website and content, the higher they’ll rank your domain authority. And while producing long-form content like blogs or whitepapers is more of a lead-generation tactic than SEO, it still has the potential to drive significant traffic to your website–and that’s where the higher ranking comes from. 

    Data & Analytics Are Your Best Resource!

    Since part of ranking higher on SERPs has to do with creating better content, how do you know what content will drive traffic? That’s where data and analytics come in. 

    an icon showing data and information on a computer

    Tools like SERanking, SEMRush, and Google Analytics can give heaps of insight. Not only can they tell you how your site ranks for target keywords but they can give further insight into which keywords are driving traffic and what people are looking for. That means you can optimize your website–and content–for those keywords to keep things consistently fresh, relevant, and exciting! 

    Again, obtaining and maintaining a spot on the first page of SERPs is not a one-and-done process. Like most areas of life, maintaining superiority and success comes with constant hard work and improvement. That means if you want to rank higher on SERPs, you have to consistently put in the work. That means regularly auditing your content, getting feedback from your audience, making constant improvements, and of course, continuing to produce the kind of content that got you there in the first place!

  • Content Archetypes: Connect With Your Audience

    While there are tons of types of content (videos, blogs, etc.) and even more channels to consume that content, there are really only four content archetypes. Each complements one another to successfully drive customers towards an intended goal. What are these archetypes and how do you use them? Let’s take a look. 

    Content Archetype 1: The Promoter

    a clip art representation of a promoter, meant to symbolize one of the content archetypes: helper

       Most branded content is promoter content because brands love to talk about themselves. While other content archetypes technically promote the brand as well, promoter content is the most persuasive. It’s argumentative content that persuades customers to make a decision–buy a product, sign up for a subscription, or simply click “learn more.”

    The best way to use promoter content is by showing your product or service in action. Persuasive copy and even other customer reviews can only go so far–customers need to be able to see the benefits with their own eyes. 

    The downside of promoter content is that it doesn’t facilitate that all-important human connection. It might make your customers’ lives easier, but it doesn’t give them a reason to care about your brand on a personal level. That’s where the other archetypes come in! 

    Content Archetype 2: The Teacher

    a clip art rendering of a professor, meant to symbolize one of the content archetypes: the teacher

    Here’s where you can start to make connections with your audience. While promoter content shows people the tangible benefits of your brand, teacher content feeds the passions and interests of an already engaged audience. In a nutshell, teacher content shows your audience something new–or something they may have overlooked. 

    A good way to describe teacher content is thought leadership. Teacher content starts conversations and gets folks thinking. That means it often offers a fresh perspective or unique point of view. Because this type of content is immensely valuable to your audience, it lays the building blocks for creating those connections. 

    Unfortunately, teacher content is hard to create. It requires authenticity and dedication but also more effort and planning than the other content archetypes. If you’re going to create teacher content, first make sure you know what you’re talking about. Then, make sure you’re willing to commit to effort in to be an industry authority or thought leader. 

    Content Archetype 3: The Thinker

    a clip art representation of a man thinking, meant to represent one of the content archetypes: the thinker

    This type of content is perfect for brands whose competitors might be perceived as “better.” Thinker content doesn’t profess the creator to be superlative; it instead positions the creator as progressive, unique, or different. Thinker content appeals to your audience for two reasons. One, it differentiates your brand. Two, since its primary tool is emotion, it appeals to your audience in ways the other content archetypes can. Like teacher content, it helps start conversations. 

    Instead of trying to corner the market by being “the best,” change your audience’s parameters for thinking. Thinker content works because it can help your audience uncover truths or insights, which can drastically change the way they think and act. More importantly, it can help position your brand as a thought leader, which means more connections. 

    Like teacher content, thinker content is hard to create. Not only do you have to know your subject matter but you have to think differently. If you want your audience to see things in a new perspective, you have to see that perspective first in order to be able to share it. 

    Content Archetype 4: The Helper

    This type of content drives awareness and engagement for your brand by helping solve problems for your audience. Compared to promoter content, which shows the benefits of your brand, helper content tells the audience why those benefits should matter to them. 

    a clip art representation of hands joined together, meant to symbolize one of the content archetypes: the helper

    On the plus side, compared to the other content archetypes, helper content is fairly straightforward and easier to create. It doesn’t require the immense thinking and planning of teacher content nor the ingenuity of thinker content. However, it’s more complex and not nearly as boastful as promoter content. It’s the sweet spot that shows your audience your brand has a customer-first mindset. 

    Though it’s arguably the most effective type of content for driving customer decisions, the downside of helper content is brands can become too dependent on it. In other words, be wary of creating too much helper content. The key to a successful content marketing strategy is a perfect balance of content archetypes, which work together to create the optimal conversion series.  

    To Recap

    Promote: promote your brand through product-focused, branded content that drives customer actions. 

    Teach: inform your audience through insightful, conversation-starting content that adds value to their everyday lives. 

    Think: show your audience a new way to think about things with creative, refreshing content that appeals to their emotions. 

    Help: prove to your audience your brand has a customer-focused mindset with provocative, problem-solving content that hits on their desires and pain points. 

    If your content doesn’t fit one of these four major archetypes, it might not be worth creating!