Content marketing that increases search ranking and website traffic

I receive a wide range of emails and phone calls in a given week questioning how to generate content that increases website traffic.

From business owners, website developers, and even other SEO consultants posing as potential customers, everyone wants to know what the secret is when it comes to content marketing that increases search ranking and website traffic.

There are plenty of resources, whether newsletters, websites, blogs, ebooks, etc., telling you the bare bone SEO basics and principles, such as creating content:

• Written with a focus on customers and not search engines
• That is more than 600 words in length, ideally 1000-1500 or more
• That is relevant and specific to your industry and target market
• That educates, informs and solves problems for customers
• That customers will share with the masses
• That is easy-to-read content consisting of short sentences and containing every day layman terms
• Using specific keywords and keyword variations in moderation
• That includes the use of header tags with keywords within header tags
• Containing moderately supportive external and internal links, images, and videos

And the list goes on with other value-add content marketing strategies and techniques to help increase not only your website or blog’s search engine ranking, but also increase the likelihood your content is shared with the masses and increasing overall website traffic.

Today’s post on content marketing will guarantee you success should you religiously understand, comprehend and flawlessly execute each aspect.

Let’s get started.

Leave content marketing to the professionals

As I’ve learned and experience a with quite a few customers, just because content marketing actions above are performed doesn’t mean a website is going to rank well in search engines for any or certain types of keywords.

From potential customers and existing customers who decide to take matters into their own hands, attempting to perform the content marketing strategies and optimization techniques of a SEO professional, they quickly learn they are not qualified for such a task and that their efforts are not enough as well as costly in certain instances.

In most cases, those very same customers inform me and make the accusation that the “content marketing” idea did not generate nor move their website’s traffic needle in the desired direction, if at all.

Yet, they never realize nor take responsibility that it was their decision to save money performing SEO themselves coupled with their inexperience as a SEO professional that led to great failure and disappoint.

Content marketing is an exponential ongoing investment

The reality in content marketing for most customers is, like most customers not fully understanding the full definition of content marketing as it relates to search engine optimization, their content marketing efforts did not yield the results.

The lack of results in their content marketing efforts were due to a lack of resources in the frequency and abundance of posts and posts varying in relevant subject matter.

Yes, these customers were implementing a content marketing strategy that produced great content and following optimization guidelines to a tee.

However, the sad reality most customers miss is that it is not enough for your content marketing strategy to consist of making one or two posts a week, or a month.

In addition, most of the customers that try to perform their own SEO quickly realizes the team of professionals they must have on staff to move the needle the slightest bit.

If you’re not willing to make the same investment of resources to achieve and sustain an exponential increase in website traffic for your very own website, then what makes you think that you can achieve a fraction of the success as a one man or woman shop, or a 2-10 non-SEO-qualified person shop?

Short answer is: you can’t and don’t try.

A content marketing rule of thumb for increasing website traffic

Personally speaking, I hire a multitude of writers to help assist with Kickstart Commerce’s content marketing strategy as a part of our SEO strategy.

There is no way in the world I could perform my own content marketing strategy as well as my customers all in a day’s work.

So again, I hire writers to write brief summaries about relevant topics pertaining to SEO.

I review, edit, and add additional detail as well as my own writing style to each written piece.

I then optimize and schedule each post according to my content marketing management strategy and schedule.

At this very moment, I have close to 50 articles in a pending state ready to be released.

At any given point during a week, I can have between 20-30 writing projects going at a time for Kickstart Commerce alone.

Add a few customers and their content marketing strategies, and we’re well on our way to managing 100+ writers at any given moment.

A great rule of thumb for exponential increases in your website traffic is to start out posting 2-3 high quality posts a day at minimum per the guidelines stated at the beginning of this blog.

Yes, I said 2-3 posts at a minimum for your content marketing strategy.

The more daily posts and relevant content you create, the more opportunities you provide search engines to favorably index, rank and increase traffic to your website.

Don’t believe me?

Then make an effort to make 2-3 relevant posts for 8 weeks straight combined with Google Authorship.

That is 140 posts for those keeping up with the math.

Even performing the steps above and making 2-3 relevant posts for 8 straight weeks, you’re not likely to see results for 90-120 days.

But think, what would happen over time should you be diligent in executing a sound, proven content marketing strategy?

I assure you that implementing such a content marketing strategy will exponentially move the needle in a positive direction as it pertains to increasing both search rankings and website traffic.

That said, think about your content marketing effort.

Are you the person that is thinking your content marketing strategy of one or two blog posts a week or month is going to make you King of search results of your industry or specific keywords?

For some of you, this just took the wind out of your sails as you realize how monumental a content marketing strategy is to plan, implement, manage and sustain.

Content marketing is not for the faint nor for those who lack time, money and effort to commit to this ongoing effort. Content marketing is not shortsighted and never ends!

Content marketing is not about short-term results

It’s so easy to get distracted by your competitors passing you in search rankings and do away with sound content marketing.

But be diligent and stay focused in executing a sound content marketing plan.

Stop focusing content marketing efforts on the short-terms results all for the sake of making a quick dollar.

Turn your focus on investing and creating a sustainable long-term traffic generating content asset.

Content marketing is not a sprint but rather a marathon where one has to pace themselves, keeping their focus on running their race and not the race of the competition.

Don’t panic because you see or hear about your competition achieving overnight SEO success.

If their SEO seems too good to be true, then it probably is for them and will be the same short-term result for you too.

Sure you can go out and hire so called SEO professionals who can provide you short-term results and at a fraction of the long-term investment.

Those short-term results due to deceptive SEO practices will cause you great long-term pain.

In some instances, using deceptive SEO practices as all or a part of your content marketing strategy causes your website not only to lose traffic because of being penalized or de-indexed, but you will be forced to design, develop and optimize a brand new web presence on a new domain.

Talking about a waste of time, money and effort to only end up with the short end of the stick using deceptive SEO practices as all or a part of your content marketing strategy.

And to add injury to insult, those “bring me success as any cost” SEO professionals will have taken your money and moved on down the road, leaving you to hold the bag of SEO misfortune and no way out.

Sure, it’s easy to be tempted by those motel cheap, fly-by-night SEO professionals and agencies that offer an all-you-can-eat buffet of next day authority and traffic by way of deceptive link building, traffic generation buys, link wheels, farms and networks, and a variety of other deceptive SEO practices.

Yes, you can increase website traffic, SEO authority, and make a few dollars, but for how long and at what long-term cost?

I mean naturally, we all worry about the next search engine kingdom update releasing the next animal to wreak havoc on our websites.

But to worry based on the account of participating in content marketing that uses deceptive SEO tactics, that’s just plain stupid, and foolish.

Anyone can achieve a fast and high search ranking for their website using deceptive SEO practices as a part of their content marketing strategy.

However, the elusive task is sustaining relevant and high search rankings over time while using slow and steady as tortoise, proven white-hat only SEO practices as a part of your content marketing strategy.

Remember that it’s not always the hare that wins the long-term content marketing strategy for both increases search rankings and website traffic.