It’s almost the end of the year 2012, and now is the perfect time to look back on your performance on digital marketing and sharing content online for that matter.
Indeed, 2012 has brought us a whirlwind of changes as Google almost devastated the world of SEO.
Likewise, the content publishing industry has encountered many fluctuations, with Google’s Panda and Penguin updates.
For webmasters and bloggers’ pages to rank high, several tactics were tried and tested battling against these updates. However, the obvious solution remains: the web is leaning on content strategy nowadays.
In this article, we will discuss the five reasons why content strategy is the way to go for 2013.
Social Media
Much focus had been given to optimizing websites with stuffed keywords and creating links to improve page ranks.
Because the trend paved in for less determination on writing great content, searchers become disappointed and frustrated on which site to trust.
There had been a downfall on the number of sites leading people to helpful information.
Hence, people started turning to social media for answers.
In social media, they can engage with fellow searchers who might share their experience, reviews and testimonials on products and/or services they want to acquire. So a lot of social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, become new trusted sources of great information that help to influence purchasing decisions.
If you’re a marketer, taking advantage of social media is one of the keys to getting your authority level to the top.
Create opportunities to engage with customers and potential clients.
Target audiences from these sites and drive them to your website.
Google Updates
Apart from Penguin and Panda updates, Google had launched a whole bunch of updates that penalized existing websites this 2012.
These include the August/September 65-Pack, which changed the way on how “page quality” is calculated and changed how local results are determined; and Exact-Match Domain (EMD) Update, which changed the way it handles exact-match domains (EMDs) among others.
So if you are not in the works of ardently keeping up with these many algorithm releases and analyzing what Google will come up with next, providing a good content to your audience would be your best weapon against competitors.
A good strategy is to spread valuable information, sit back, relax and wait for searchers to find and recommend your site.
People Long for Unique and Quality Content
The ultimate purpose of having a search engine is to help people find answers to their most daring questions and concerns.
The problem is that bloggers and marketers had abused the power of search engines by monetizing their sites and “forcing” people to land at their pages which don’t have quality information.
They spin articles and even duplicate content online.
Chunks of these contents therefore now appear in the bottom of search results, after Google did the cleanup.
As Google intends to be a content provider that sides with the searchers, content will remain as king.
Google Authorship Markup will be a hit on 2013
Google had unveiled a small snippet of code (e.g. rel=”author”) called the Google Authorship Markup, which online authors can insert in their posts.
These authors as well need to add the sites they contribute content to their Google Plus profile pages.
When the code in the content matched the author’s profile successfully, a box of profile picture will appear beside the description in the search result.
Altogether, the articles will make up to the authority rank of the author that point toward the quality of the contents published.
It is projected that Google will use this author rank to assess the content quality.
Emotional Outreach
Good content made with solid research and one that is written with a great conversational tone will enhance understanding of your readers and customers.
If you are successful in reaching out to your target market using personal emotions, you will see that more will be driven to visit your site and build a bond of relationship with you.
In this way, more people will be in tuned for your compelling and tailored content.
Conclusion
Since transformations in SEO have gone big this past year, you should update your marketing tactics and content development skills.
Now, improving on your content strategy is all about future-proofing your website.
Make sure that you deliver is valuable for your target niche to increase conversions in 2013.
Celina Conner is a Yoga Instructor, a holder of a Marketing Diploma from Martin College Australia and a mother of a beautiful daughter, Krizia. She has a passion in cooking and formulating vegan recipes. Follow her adventures on her Twitter.
"You’re such a smart boy!" were his first accolades heard. So, it’s no wonder that this phrase became the title of his business, Smart Boy Designs.