Looking to create great content that generates site traffic and really connects with people? One of the most common mistakes is losing focus. Long or short, the best blog posts stay on point and communicate a specific idea throughout. If a new line of thought begins to develop in your writing, do yourself a favor and save it for another post. However brilliant it may seem at 2am, your readers are likely not interested in following your stream of consciousness.
Readers that sense a writer lose focus are more likely to move on to something else. They’re also only going to find your post to begin with if it’s relevant to their needs or interests. That’s why for content to be truly accessible and valuable, it needs to be highly targeted.
Targeted content - easier said than done?
On the contrary, there is a wealth of information available to help you brainstorm post ideas with the potential to both generate traffic and demonstrate your Thought Leadership.
The trick is staying focused from the beginning to end and top to bottom, always keeping your intended audience in mind. Here’s how:
1) Keyword Research
It’s admirable that you want to create valuable content for your audience, but how do you know what they want to read?
I recently had a conversation with an art consultant interested in expanding her online community. She was curious about what sort of content might get her some traction while creating real value for her audience. I suggested that she start with an idea of what she does, then see how people search for it.
Before starting a post, I recommended that she do a bit of keyword research to get a better handle of what sort of content people are looking for. A site like Übersuggest is a great please to start. I plugged in “art consultant” into Über’s free research tool, and it spit out the initial keyphrase plus additional keywords for each letter of the alphabet. You can even drill in further as you can see I did below for “art consultant.”
The best part? Übersuggest is integrated with Google’s keyword tools, so these suggestions are bona fide search queries by real folks. You can also use Google’s Keyword Planner for more suggestions. Keywords aren’t the be-all and end-all, but they can help you target your writing.
So now we know that real people are searching for information about “art gallery consultant,” and, further still, are interested to know “what does an art gallery consultant do.” Bingo!
2) Scope out the Competition
There’s nothing quite as illuminating as first searching for the thing you think you want to write about. Are there any opportunities? What seems to be working and what doesn’t? Is there anything of value I can add to the conversation?
I searched for “what does an art gallery consultant do” and got the following Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
A few things caught my eye:
- The #1 result is a .biz, not a .com, which means it likely has a lower Domain Authority (DA), a good measure of a site’s competitiveness, but is more relevant to the search query than the following .com’s. This might represent an opportunity.
- Turns out the above hypothesis was correct - the first result has a DA of 26 vs. the second site’s 56. That’s a big difference. The former is presumably first because it is the only result that uses the original search query in both the url and the page titles (see red arrows). That’s what I call staying focused!
- The last result - which we might all normally completely ignore - jumps right out off the SERP. His profile image, post recency, and network size commands attention. Who is this Mr. Huff fellow? He’s clearly writing about art consultants, and how they can help your business. How can what I write build on whatever he and others have already written?
3) Build Shares into Your Content
There are no guarantees that people will share your post. However, if you think through who would, and why, then they just might! That’s why one of the best ways to create targeted content is to incorporate your audience in a meaningful way.
What strategic partners can you feature? Influential fans? Client businesses? What about other writers in your space, like Mr. Huff? If I’m an art consultant, then I’m going to want a piece of that network! How can I reach out and offer something of value, or perhaps pitch something that we can work on together?
All Together Now
Before writing a post, if you first get an idea of what people are actually looking for, check for opportunities, and build in other relevant players with influence, then you’re well on your way to content glory.
Remember, people aren’t necessarily looking for you. They’re looking for answers to their questions, even if they aren’t sure yet what solutions they’re looking for. So when it comes to getting seen and selected as the trusted choice, may the best brand win!
Something to think about: Intent Marketing vs. Search Marketing
When developing content, consider search intent. People might be looking for “art consultant,” but what’s really in their head? What are their followup questions (i.e. subsequent searches)? What are their concerns? Goals? By creating targeted content that demonstrates value and empathizes with customer needs, you’re improving not just your search performance, but your likelihood of business success, as well.
Don't stop learning now! Check out our other posts in our Better Business Writing series: