Digital Content Strategy Guide for Local Businesses

Content Strategy for Business – Your One Stop Guide

When it comes to succeeding online, the right strategy is key. You wouldn’t launch a big marketing campaign without a plan, and online marketing should be no different. Your website needs to work cohesively with all elements pulling together to get you the results you want. The right content will grow your business and win you customers.

What is content strategy?

A content strategy is a plan to make sure that everything you put online works to achieve your overall goals. It is a plan of action that works to get results. By following your content strategy, you will be able to market your business in a way that attracts your target market.

Content strategy involves several different areas of your web presence. It takes into account the structure of your website, ways of selling your services effectively, the keywords you are trying to hit, and the way you present that key information.

Content strategy is a must for any business online

If you want to succeed online, you need a content strategy. Without it you will have an impossible time of achieving your objectives. It saves you from wasting your time trying things that don’t work, or looking in the wrong place for traffic. In the same way a business plan helps you to grow your business in a sustainable way, a content strategy allows you to build your online presence in a way that gets your results.

Start your content strategy today

So what exactly goes into a content strategy? We’ve put together this handy guide, comprising of four simple articles that guide you through the key parts of content strategy. Each section focusses on a particular aspect of a content strategy. Have a read of the chapter overviews below, and then get started.

Chapter One: Site Structure

Just like a building, a website needs to be put together in the right way. Without an easy to navigate site, customers and search engine spiders will get lost, or give up searching altogether. We’ve all experienced being lost in an overly complex maze of corridors, trying to find the right room or department. If you could instantly get out of that situation, you would. That’s why there has to be a straightforward path between where they enter the website and where they need to get to. There’s no point in having great content if people can’t even find it!

In Chapter One we’ll show you how to create solid site structure that presents key information in a clear, easy to find way.

Chapter Two: Selling Your Services

Selling on the internet requires subtlety. You can’t simply give people the hard sell, as they will exercise their right to go elsewhere. If people come to your website looking for information, they don’t want to be sold to. In order to sell your services, you have to build a relationship with your customer. This soft selling requires time. Website visitors expect something of value in return for giving you their attention. It is your job to provide them with this, and then keep them interested and engaged for long enough that they explore other areas of your website and take the action that you want.

In Chapter Two, you will see how easy it is to give site visitors something of value through your content.

Chapter Three: Keywords and Questions

SEO is a huge part of attracting your target audience. They are already out there, searching for information – information which you can provide them with. Using the right keywords, you will be able to get high volumes of quality site visitors. Search Engine Optimisation is about telling search engines that your pages are relevant to the terms your site visitors are searching for. Getting it right will mean that most of your web traffic will come from internet searchers looking for information.

Learn how to find the right keywords, use commonly-asked questions to attract visitors, and optimise your pages to make your content as Google friendly as possible, in Chapter Three.

Chapter Four: Types of Pages

How you present your content can be just as important as the actual content itself. Presentation allows your audience to absorb your key messages. You don’t want anything distracting them from your content, so choosing the right type of page to present your content is vital.

In Chapter Four we show you the many different types of pages you can use to present your content in an appealing and easy to consume way for your site visitors.

What to do next

After you have finished reading the guide, the next step is to put your new-found content strategy knowledge into practice. By following a content strategy, your online marketing will work towards a consistent goal that moves your business forward. As you work through the steps, remember to ask:

• Are these the keywords my target market are searching for?
• Am I providing them with information of value?
• Is my site correctly organized to make it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for?
• Can search engine spiders find all of my web pages?
• Are my internal links directing people to my most effective pages?
• Is my content being presented in the right format?

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