Like the sirens who tortured Odysseus’ ears on his homebound journey, content marketing aims to lure in anyone who is listening. Today’s average internet user has the attention span of a goldfish and clicking on different links becomes both a stimulation and a reward for them. Although a lot of content marketing will appeal to its target users briefly, only the most intriguing content marketing will pull the user down under the water and keep them reading and exploring the entire site.
The first step in enchanting your audience involves knowing who they are. Content marketing involves the usage of keywords that will draw your target audience to you, but it is important not to be too vague or you will not bring in any traffic. Take time to consider what kind of person you want to appeal to and make a list of keywords that would appeal this type of user. It is also important to remember not to make your keywords too vague because only a few people every month will ever search for them. The perfect keywords achieve a harmony between volume, competition, and relevance.
Volume
Google’s Keyword Planner Tool is a great instrument that can be used to identify the number of keywords searched for every month and it’s free! By searching for keywords that may be relevant to your business you will be provided with insight as to which words are too broad and which words are specific enough to appeal to your target user.
Competition
On top of knowing your audience, you also need to know your own site’s authority and how it compares to other sites like it. To find this information you will have to do a search through LinkedResearchTools’ Competitive Keyword Analysis. This data will rank you among other similar companies and provide you with the ability to begin your comparative analysis.
You can create a stronger virtual presence for yourself by increasing your social media footprint. By growing something as small as your Facebook likes, shares, tweets, or Google +1’s your website is sure to flourish against your competition.
Relevance
It is important to make sure to use keywords that actually pertain to what your site is about. Consider whether your keywords describe your website as a whole or just a certain page to warrant their usage. Although you may attract people to your website, they will not stay for very long if they cannot find what they are looking for.
Keyword Varieties are great to have as long as you make sure they are relevant. For example, many websites use keyword qualifiers such as “best of” or “top ten” to bring people onto their websites only to have them disappointed as to the lack of content. It is important to make sure that once you have your targeted audience to keep them hooked and on your website for as long as possible.
Include all of the different keyword variations to make sure that your website gets the attention it deserves:
- Broad Primary Keywords
- Synonyms
- Keyword Qualifiers
- Misspellings
- Plurals
Captivating people into visiting your website is all about communication. You may be able to attract a few people, but without the proper keyword techniques and content it is very unlikely that they will stay. It is only by knowing your target user, knowing your site’s authority, and creating relevant content that you will be able to conquer the web!