Content marketing is a strategy that brings leads to smalls businesses instead of small businesses chasing leads.
It’s a strategy that was borne of the Internet, and has since become the gold standard for online marketing.
If you’re not utilizing content marketing for your small business, you’re missing out on one of the most ingenious marketing strategies of all time.
Never Too Late
It isn’t too late to get on the content marketing bandwagon.
As the following article looks at, even if your marketing budget is almost tapped out for this year, here’s how to generate more leads than ever in 2015 with content marketing:
Understanding the Concept
Content marketing works by helping your web content show up on the first page of Google’s search engine.
Let’s say your small business sells backpacks. When a person types in backpacks in their search bar, your website will come up on the first page as a place where they can learn more about backpacks and buy one from you.
Your web content should be more than just a grid of images linking to the checkout page. If you are using correct content marketing, you’ll have some articles on your site that talk about backpacks.
Those articles should incorporate keywords that people will use when searching for backpacks. Keywords can be single words or they can be phrases, called long-tail keywords.
For your site, your articles should include the keywords, hiking, trail, water, school, supplies, and of course, backpack. When your keywords match what people are searching for, your site content will show up.
In turn, your site will enjoy more traffic. And, the more traffic you get, the more Google gets the impression that your site is valuable for searchers.
Choosing Keywords
Your choice of keywords is a critical part of the equation.
So much so, that there are content marketing agencies that specialize in keyword analytics.
They check-in with Google analytics and monitor keyword searches.
If the word “analytics” makes your eyes blur, you’re better off leaving your content marketing strategy to the experts, because analysis is at the core of content marketing.
Creating Content
After the keywords list has been created, it’s time to get the content written.
Your content needs to be fresh, consistent, unique and valuable to the reader. The more value you can create for the reader, the more your site will be seen as authoritative. An authoritative site will be returned to again and again as readers search for information.
Marketing agencies are experts at creating content for your content marketing strategy.
They will either write the content themselves, or hire professional writers to create it. They will then post the content to your site for you, if you want.
Once you have your content marketing strategy in place, all you have to do is reel in the leads that come to your site. This involves a whole other level of marketing, called lead generation.
Again, a marketing agency will be your best ally when developing your content marketing and lead generation program.
A consultation is just a phone call away.
About the Author: Kate Supino writes extensively about marketing matters.