Stand Out From The Crowd – Spice Up Your Content!
Years ago I read a great book about standing out from the crowd. I can’t remember exactly what the title was but it was something like; “It takes so little to be above average”. This is so true that I see it virtually everywhere I go. From the tradesman who takes the time to answer your call, turn up when he says he will and clean up at the end of the job to the restaurant that maintains a level of service and quality of service that keeps you coming back for more. Easy things to do I’m sure you will agree, however how many businesses do these little times effectively every time? Unfortunately it’s rare.
Content on websites falls into the same category. You can write an article and put it up on your site very easily but to be just a bit better than average barely takes any extra effort at all.
In researching this topic I found plenty of great advice but the articles giving the advice were as boring as the proverbial…
If you want your website to do well in the search engines these days, you need to have great content. Low quality articles, or content that is copied from other sources, simply won’t be enough to stand out from the crowd in a competitive niche. The good news is that you don’t have to be a brilliant writer to improve your website content. There are many simple but effective ways to improve what you have to offer your visitors.
1. Add Video
Adding a video to your website is a great place to start. Video content is engaging, visually appealing and irresistible to many users. It’s also really easy to share, which makes it a good way to draw in new visitors. You can upload the video to your YouTube channel; Vimeo, DailyMotion and Meta Cafe are some other options you have. Then you can grab the embed code from Youtube and stick the video on your website. We like to get a very short branded into and outro video made as well and add that at the beginning and end of the video. You can upload the intro to your Youtube channel as a separate video and then add it to new videos you upload – this can be done right inside your video account.
2. FAQs
Another good, and easy to create form of content is tutorials and frequently asked questions (FAQs). Google loves this kind of content because it serves a clear purpose – answering a question that a visitor has. Visitors also love this kind of content, and if you provide a lot of it you will become someone that consumers think of as being a trustworthy source of high quality information. This will help you to sell your own products and services at a later date.
Q. How do I come up with great content ideas for my website?
A. Read this article for a start…!
What are the questions that people in your industry or niche are asking? Sit down and map out the most important questions and then create content for your website; make a short video, add some text and you have a terrific new page for your website.
There are 2 factors in play here. First, the way people are searching for answers to their problems is changing. People are more and more relying on mobile phones and other devices. Think about how people are now using SIRI to search for information. The second thing is that search is changing over time. We are moving toward Web 3.0 or the semantic web. This was discussed in a previous post here.
3. Info-graphics
Info-graphics are popular at the moment too, although you should not build your entire content marketing strategy around them. Info-graphics are easy to make using online tools such as Piktochart and Vizualize, and many info-graphic creators find that their content turns viral quite frequently. However, if you share too many of them you run the risk of having users get bored or frustrated because most info-graphics are just filler, rather than high quality content.
4. Add Images
An image is said to convey more than a thousand words. Great, high-quality images are a great way to brighten up dull content. A word of warning though; don’t use generic stock photos especially if everyone in your niche is using the same images. I’m sure you know what I mean. Rather, use photos you have taken yourself if you can. This will surely make you stand out from the crowd. Recently I was looking for a tradesman for some work around the home and the company I found had a photo of the team and family on their home page. It just really resonated for me and they got the job.
5. Break Up The Text
There’s nothing worse for me is big blocks of text with no paragraphs or images. Vary your content using the first 4 points already mentioned and make sure you use;
- Short paragraphs
- Dot points
- Content Boxes like the ones you see used for testimonials
- Headlines
- Sub-headers
- Links to authority sites
- Internal links (to your own content)
Good luck with creating your own engaging content!