Killer Checklist for Creating Valuable Content

by | Oct 21, 2011

Mastering Internet Marketing in Tulsa internet marketing in Tulsa

No matter the signals search engines use to determine rank, relevance, or topical focus it always comes back to the content.  That’s why your internet marketing needs a solid content strategy.  Blindly writing and publishing content won’t serve your target audience properly and you’ll struggle to get positive results.  If you want to succeed with your internet marketing or beyond on a national or global level then you need to know how to create valuable content.

The concept is simple, but actually getting to the point where you create valuable content is difficult.  It’s not as simple as what you think your customers want to hear, or the common pain points of clients.  There’s a lot more to it.  Here’s a great checklist for creating valuable content that you can follow when you’re blogging, writing articles or even creating simple videos for your business.

Content Checklist for Internet Marketing in Tulsa

Make Your Content Findable

If your content can’t be located then no matter how much heart and passion you put into it, it’s of no value to anyone.  Take the time to optimize your content for the search engines and make it easy for your customers to find it.  With properly optimized content, you can easily grab market share.  That’s what internet marketing is all about.

  • Add an H1 tag
  • Use a variety of other H tags, including H2 and H3
  • Fill in your Metadata to populate search results with optimized content
  • Link out to related content, not just internally but outside your domain
  • Add alt tags to all of your images using relevant search terms

 

Make Your Content Readable

This is a barrier for a lot of business owners.  It’s OK if you can’t write though, at least not on the level of a college professor.  You don’t need to.  Most of the content on the web, save for technical writing, should be written for an 8th grade reading level.  Even still, you need to put some effort into making your content stand out if you want your internet marketing in Tulsa to produce results.

Keep in mind also that readability goes beyond grammar.

  • Break your content into chunks with brief paragraphs.  Brevity is sexy.
  • Use bullets, as white space makes content easier to digest and skim
  • Numbered lists provide the same “easy skim” read
  • Follow a style guide that keeps your content consistent
  • Use subheadings to separate key points (and get your H tags in)

 

Make your Content Understandable

If something doesn’t seem relevant to your target audience they may find it confusing, offensive or simply may not understand the angle of your internet marketing.  There are uncountable examples in traditional media of marketing that missed its mark.  You need to make sure the visitor and reader can understand your content.

  • Is the content appropriate (do you use video or text?)
  • Is it written and appropriate for the target audience
  • Is it within context? (are you writing about plumbing when you’re  a car dealer?)
  • Does the content respect the education level of the audience? (see above about readability)
  • Are you clearly articulating your ideas

 

Internet Marketing should Always be Actionable

Producing content, even that you perceive to be valuable to the user, might have no value to you if it’s not actionable.  It also may do nothing for the reader if they don’t know what to do once they finish digesting it.  If they wander off at the end then there’s a good chance no good came of it.

  • Create a call to action and tell them what you want them to do
  • Create a place for a dialogue – make sure they can comment
  • Invite them share their opinion, thought or story
  • Link out to related content so they can  stay within your sales funnel

 

Internet Marketing Thrives on Shareable Content

It’s not just internet marketing that thrives on sharable content, it’s everyone.  Refer to the fist line of this post and you’ll see why.  Valuable content is shareable content.  You need to make sure the content includes

  • Something to provoke an emotional response from your reader
  • A reason to share it that they can’t often resist
  • Steps that make it easy to share (like simple share buttons on a blog post)
  • Personalization that helps your content stand apart when its shared.

 

If that checklist still has you scratching your head on content creation then come talk to us about your internet marketing. There’s no reason to hold back your marketing because of some simple content creation issues.  Whether you need complete content management or simply some consultation to help you get your feet wet, Tulsa Internet Marketing can introduce you to the world of creating valuable content.