25 Ways To Improve Your Content Marketing & Get More Traffic

How effective is your content marketing strategy? Which of the following tips do you implement regularly?  Strive to write blog posts that are 1,000 words or longer and interview industry leaders for maximum impact.

Content marketing has become a huge part of attracting the right audiences online, which means that most brands (small and large) are doing it and it's harder to stand out than ever before.

But to help you produce enticing and compelling content that resonates with your target audience, follow these top content marketing tips.

Blog Post Length: Start with your blog posts.  Instead of writing five 500-word blog posts per week, try to write three blog posts and make each one 1,000 words or longer (although you should strive for 2,000 words or more) to help with search engine rankings and generate more traffic. The more value your blog posts provide, the more your target audiences will be engaged and the higher your content will rank.

2). Guest Blogging: I know you've heard it time and again, but guest blogging is one of the best ways to reach more audiences and build your website's authority. Pick five to 10 blogs or websites that you'd like to write for, find the right contact person (usually under the "Contact" or "Submission" page), and send a short intro with two or three topics you'd like to write about. If you don't hear back right away, send a follow-up email or two a few days after you sent your initial email.

3). Headlines: Make your blog post headlines short and powerful. Choose headlines that are searched for often (like this blog post headline).

4). Keywords: Incorporate the right keywords into your content marketing to help with search engine optimization. However, make sure your content is top quality.

5). Recycle Old Content: It can difficult to come up with new blog posts three or four days a week, so recycle old content by updating statistics or adding new trends. After you've written four or five blog posts, add them to your email marketing strategy. In fact, I've taken five of my older blog posts and turned them into an email course which has helped grow my list significantly over the last month or so.

6). Social Media Marketing: Post your content to the right social media networks. Remember, your target audience isn't on every platform. Pick one or two social media sites to post your content.

7). Visuals: Today, text marketing just isn't enough any longer. If you want your content to stick out, then add a visual element to your blog posts or social media content. Video seems to yield the highest levels of engagement right now. If you can't afford to add video to your content marketing, then pick beautiful stock photos to add to your posts.

8). Buying Cycle: Have your content meet the needs of your visitors at every phase of your sales funnels to increase email conversions and sales.

9). Lead Magnets: Create compelling lead magnets for each one of your blog posts to increase email opt-ins. Lead magnets can be checklists, a video tutorial, or some other type of free offer that makes visitors sign up for your email list.

10). Editorial Calendar: Develop an editorial calendar for your blog so you know what you're going to write about weekly. Not only will it help you stay focused, but it will help you create content regularly.

11). Social Media Advertising: If you want to reach more audiences, then try Facebook.com advertising or promoted pins on Pinterest.

12). Shareable Content: Make sure all of your content is shareable. Add social share buttons to your website. You can do this free by signing up for SumoMe.com.

13). Infographics: You don't need to hire a graphic designer to create an infographic because you can use a service like Canva.com or Venngage.com.

14). Call to Action: Make sure every blog post and social media update has a strong call to action.

15). Slideshows: Turn your most popular blog posts into slide shows and upload them to SlideShare.net to generate targeted traffic to your website.

16). Types of Content: Create roundup stories, trend stories, interviews/Q&A's, top 10 tips, checklists, mistakes to avoid, etc., for your blog.

17). Guest Bloggers: In the beginning, it might be difficult to attract guest bloggers if you have low traffic levels, so why not target newer bloggers and entrepreneurs who are looking to get exposure for their brand or website? It's a win-win for both of you.

18). Case Studies: Highlight a case study that features one of your customers who used your product or service.

19). Challenge: Create a 5-day challenge to keep attract new followers and keep existing ones engaged.

20). Recycle Social Media Content: Recycle your social media posts. If you write a blog post on Top Marketing Hacks for Bloggers, post it to Twitter and Facebook several times throughout the week. Just be sure to change up the language to keep followers engaged.

21). Podcasting: Although I don't consider podcasting to be "traditional" content marketing (I think of it more as publicity), these unique interviews can help with your search engine rankings because you'll receive backlinks to your website.

22).  Voice and Tonality: Make sure your brand voice is consistent throughout all of your content including your blog, website, press materials, and social media platforms.

23). Goal Setting: I probably should have included this higher up the list, but it's so important to know your goals. What do you want to achieve with your content marketing campaign? Do you want more traffic, enhance brand awareness, increase sales, or generate more email subscribers?

24). Optimized Content: Make sure your content is optimized properly with the right titles, headings, tags, and alt text on all of your images.

25). Social Media Automation: Use a social media scheduler like HootSuite for Twitter and Facebook and TailWind Infographics for Pinterest to streamline your workflow.  

Keep in mind that nothing worthwhile happens overnight. Content marketing - just like all other forms of marketing - it takes time to develop, but the more consistent and thoughtful you are with your content, the more traffic and authority your website, blog, or brand will earn.

What content marketing tactics have worked for your small business or blog? Describe your experiences in the comment section below.

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