Most online business owners now agree that content is critical, but not just any material. What you need is content that will attract the right kind of audience. That means you have to generate content that is useful and relevant. So how do you go about this?
Find your Niche
If you haven’t already done so, you need to identify your niche. People go to the internet to search for specific information on a particular topic. So get a niche or several niches and try to specialize in them.
Next, select around 10 to 15 areas of interest in your niche. If you are in the online marketing niche, you may have general topics such as blogging, social media, content marketing, etc.
Conduct a Keyword Search
You need to determine what kind of questions people are asking about the topic or what information they are looking for on that matter. Then, you can generate content that answers those questions.
There are a lot of tools in the in the market for that purpose. A good example is Google keyword planner.
Mind the way you word your topic. The language used by searchers is essential. Identify and target searchers’ lingo. Everyday language will produce better results than technical jargon.
Using the keyword search tool, check out keywords in your topic and the monthly search volumes they generate.
Avoid highly competitive or least competitive keywords. Go for long-tail, less competitive keywords. These are more specific to readers’ needs and are better ranked by search engines.
Match Searchers’ Intent
Find out what the searchers want to do when they enter those keywords. Do they just want to get information, to learn something or are they looking to buy a product?
You can depend on guesswork, but you may also go to Google and see how the top 10 sites have addressed the question. Now generate content that matches searchers’ intent.
Outdo your Competitors
Check what your competitors have done regarding trying to address the keyword question.
Have they handled it adequately? What is missing? What can you improve? Generate a longer post? Add images, graphics? Better links, better design?
Call to Action
What do you want the reader to do next?
Match the content with the action you want such as joining a mailing list, buying, sharing or downloading something in exchange for their email.
Proper keyword planning ensures that you generate the right keyword(s), produce relevant and useful content and convert visitors into potential buyers.
