Content still owns the throne in the amidst of a Search Engine Optimized 21st century era
We all have come across this saying, ‘Content is king.’ Well, is it still king? Content certainly is king.
Why?
Because it is the right content that tops up your leads online.
What are Leads?
Leads are impressions that lead to convertibles. Convertibles that influence buying decisions, subscription, downloading, installing, entering, requesting, calling, visiting, booking, or even watching. These impressions can be a simple notice, view, or any form of interaction that has the likelihood of prospects. It is the number of times your website might appear in the search query in search engines. It is the same content that drives the digital marketing presence of a business. Google loves content too. But high-quality ones. High-quality content drives traffic (users who visit your website) to your websites and increases your businesses’ presence on SERP (search engine results pages).
Evolution of Content in the 21st Century
The great Bill Gates wrote ‘Content is king’ in his essay in 1996, and since then, content has only evolved. In recent coursework that I am taking part in, I learned that almost all attractive headlines are based on ideas that were already developed by famous original copywriters such as Claude C. Hopkins and John E. Powers and dated back hundreds of years ago!
However still, most of us assume content refers to only written content. Content refers to any content that an individual can interact with, from videos, visual representations (banners to infographics), podcasts, virtual reality, newsletters, articles, advertisements, social media posts, audio/video testimonials, reviews, Q&As, knowledge bases, web and landing pages and many more. However, it is crucial to understand the content; it must be in the correct quantity and quality. Quality content with proper search engine optimization increases the SERP positioning.
For instance, this includes:
• Being authentic
• Knowledge-based — answering questions to touch the user experience
• Engagement — interactive and less boring
•Accuracy — supportive stats and sources to prove credibility
- Images, music, and videos — ensure these are royalty-free stock sources or your own. Currently, explanation videos benefit a website vastly as these keep users on a website for a more extended period, increasing the average time a user spends on the website. This signals Google that the particular page is relevant for users. That is how the ranking improves when we focus on growing our customers’ interest. Short, informative Q&A videos further help a lot with conversions.
According to HubSpot’s research, video is the number 1 most-required type of content.
- Consistency — for example, if you maintain a blog, keep the audience posted monthly or weekly. Or if you hold a social media page, ensure to preserve consistent posting of 4–6 posts per week. Maintaining the NAP consistency (Name, Address, Phone) same across all platforms is also significantly important.
The Standard Formula for Creating Interactive Content
From 1996 to 2023, almost three decades, content proved to us how valuable it is if used correctly with its intensified forms of communication. Thereby, preparing content with the affirmation of educating the audience or helping them and keeping them interested drives a reader or customer to continue engaging with the content.
The AIDA formula explains us the same:
A — Attention
I — Interest
D — Desire
A — Action
Although the primary goal of any business is to sell or market its products/services, it is crucial to do this indirectly by enticing customers towards quality engagement. After that, it will automatically lead to conversions. Interactive content that meets audience needs is one of the reasons why these top five ranking websites shake the world up-to-date, four of them being social media websites:
1. Google
2. YouTube
3. Facebook
4. Twitter
5. Instagram
(Source: similarweb.com)
The critical key to retaining the crown is to maintain and create irresistible interactive content with a purpose that compels the audience to take action. That is with content that voices the benefits to grab the reader’s attention rather than focusing solely on the features or selling and ranking aspect.
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