The reason websites like this one get a lot of organic web traffic is simple: I post consistent, well-written, well-researched, very valuable, educational information. Period. This is the single biggest SEO tool companies have but never utilize. I’ll explain why and detail how to create content for your company that attracts people.
Before we get started, know this: Of the small percentage of folks who finish this article, only a very small percentage will do it. Like I tell my interns, the bar is much lower than you may think, so whether you’re a founder of a large or small scrappy team, you can create content that attracts organic visitors in the hundreds (and much more) per day.
SEO gone wrong: Why is my content strategy failing?
For every new client I work with, the reason their content strategy is failing is always the same thing. They aren’t putting in the time to write original, well-researched, and valuable information. I believe the reason for this is twofold: they don’t believe their ideas are unique and can’t make an impact. Also, they don’t believe taking the time to post quality information will actually yield better traffic. I get it. It can take months to see any kind of change and sometimes years to become dominant in your industry.
Why consistent content gives you an advantage
Consistent content is the biggest tool to direct organic traffic to your website. The more quality content you post, the more traffic your website acquires for three reasons. First, more educational content gives you more sales ammo to send to prospects and partners, getting direct traffic. Second, search engines deliver more organic traffic to websites with high publish rates. Third, more content gives employees relevant and engaging content to post on social media. For those who crack the code of how to create website content, these are all valuable.
More web content means more marketing ammo
Understanding how to create content for your brand is a key tool to drive direct traffic to your website. Direct, or referral traffic is when someone clicks a link and/or goes directly to your site. Companies with no consistent web content simply have no reason to drive traffic to their website. If you don’t create new information, you can’t say, “Hey Bob, check out this new article- it addresses the problem you were having the other day.”
Obviously, you can’t post anything to social media either. No one will click a link pointing to your company landing page unless you just so happen to hit them in their buying window at the perfect time. But, if you post a resource and article that will give them critical information? That’s far more likely to get a click. More web content is more opportunity.
More web content has a compounding effect
Writing better articles, more often, has a compounding effect on your organic traffic. Obviously, writing more articles will get more eyeballs because there are more entry points and opportunities, but writing more strong content also impacts traffic to older articles. Increasing your frequency has a profound effect. Even older articles on your website are more likely to see traffic due to your posting new information.
One experiment with an PR communications client of mine involved them moving from one or two content pieces per week to three or four. Their traffic jumped by 10x within 30 days. Think about that: even though their workload increased by 2x, their benefit increased by 10x. If you figure out how to create content for your brand, and lots of it, you can boost organic visits by a large degree.
More web content gives employees social media content
One often overlooked aspect of creating tons of high-value information on your website is the impact on internal staff. Your staff isn’t going to post about your company on social media for fun. If they do because they’re in sales, it will likely be disingenuous and gross. Cringe-city.
But by creating consistent quality, well-researched educational articles, you’re engaging internal employees in a new way, giving them something compelling to post. This is why it’s worth figuring out how to create content for your brand. Consider a post that reads, “my company is great and makes X.” Even if employees play along, won’t get clicks. But “we did some research that shows the X space is growing 120% in three major categories” is likely to score some engagement. This impacts marketing through your employee’s channels, but also recruitment.
How to create content for your brand
Understanding how to create content for your brand is simple in theory, but difficult in execution. Some companies think there is a magic lever they can pull. They mistakenly believe they can hire interns to flood their website with content. But it never works.
Creating content to get more traffic requires three major components: leadership buy-in, a consistent flow of ideas, and an expert point of view (POV). These three reasons scare the crap out of most companies and are difficult to achieve. Because of their difficulty, this leaves your competitors open for disruption.
Getting leadership buy-in for web content
The first step is to get full leadership buy-in and their expert POV. This is non-negotiable and just so happens to be the most difficult part of the equation.
Writing web content with the goal of increasing web traffic is only effective when you post something worth reading. If an intern is writing your content and your target is a CMO or CEO, it won’t be effective for the same reason you wouldn’t send an intern to make a first impression. Web content is your first impression in most cases. Interns or new hires lack the necessary experience.
Only if you understand your client and reader, will you truly understand how to create website content that drives traffic. Executives and experts in your company must contribute to your content strategy in some fashion because they are likely the ones who have an expert POV that clients are interested in.
That’s not to say interns can’t write valuable content. They certainly can, but only from a journalistic perspective. They need to do the work, interview people in the company, and commit to research in the same way a journalist would. Journalists don’t have the experience of a founder, but they interview founders and do the necessary research. Either way, expert POV is required, so company executives or pros have to commit the time.
How to create website content consistently
The other necessary strategy regarding how to create content for your brand is to be consistent. Your team must be able to consistently post quality and valuable information your prospects and audience desire. This is difficult, but there are a few go-to strategies I like to use that make this a bit easier.
Listen to your clients. No, really
If there’s one content strategy hill I will die on, it’s strategic listening. To summarize my blog post how to become a better listener, I suggest carrying a notebook for a few reasons. First, you can write down topics that pop into your head without interrupting others. This helps clear your mind so you can be present and not forget what you wanted to address.
Second, paper note-taking is a huge natural memory-booster. Third, using the notebook method allows you to record the exact questions your clients ask. If they’re asking a question, I guarantee someone is searching for the answer online. This is the #1 hack I use in and the best way to determine high value SEO keyphrases, and sadly, most people simply don’t believe it will have an impact.
Create website content with social listening:
You can extend your listening strategy into social media apps like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Clubhouse as well. Clubhouse and Twitter spaces can be idea goldmines when you’re trying to determine how to come up with new story ideas. The apps are filled with people asking questions and non-experts answering them. Perfect!
Listen to your co-workers:
Expert coworkers may not seem like the best source when considering how to create content for your brand, but they can provide you with direction and insight. If they’re a non-expert, they can give you a good idea of who you should seek out. By applying the methods above and keeping a notebook handy, you will be shocked at how many opportunities come your way.
Inquiry email responses:
If you have a sales team at your company, chances are they answer a lot of customer questions and objections. Simply ask them to forward their responses in their sent folder. Organizing and writing their email responses is how to create website content by the truckload.
You can simply email them questions as well. I email questions like “what has been a major objection this week?” and when they reply, I ask follow-up questions to build an article. I then attach their name to the piece after their approval.
Use Online Tools:
Online tools can be good places to start as well, but keep in mind others use these too, potentially putting you a few steps behind. They also require a firm grasp of the subject matter to produce good information. That’s usually where content creators fail. Plus, they can’t tell you what people have yet to ask, or what your targets will be asking in the next few months.
- AnswerThePublic.com can be good for understanding what people are asking across the web.
- HARO, often used to answer journalist queries, can be useful at understanding what people are writing about.
- aHrefs keyword generator is a free tool to see current search trends.
- SEMRush, etc. has similar tools, albeit at a costly rate.
- Google Trends can be useful for understanding if a term you think may have value is trending.
How to create content for your brand
The way to create content for your brand is to get 100% buy-in from leadership and flex expert POVs as often as possible. Commit to long-term results, never stop learning in your industry, and share that knowledge with your audience as often as possible.
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