Why did the marketer bring a ladder to the content meeting?
Because a good content marketing strategy takes sales to the next level…
Du-dum-cha!
Bad jokes aside, building a content marketing strategy is pretty overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. So in this guide, I’m going to glide you through my super simple step-by-step process for building a bulletproof content marketing strategy (one that doesn’t involve bad jokes.)
Here’s what you’ll learn today:
What is a website content marketing strategy?
Why Every Business Needs a Solid Content Marketing Strategy
How A Content Marketing Strategy Can Increase Lead Generation
The Five Steps of a Content Strategy Plan
What Is A Website Content Marketing Strategy?
In plain English, it’s the content you post on your website. Who’d have guessed? But there’s a lot more that goes into a good content marketing strategy than just “post and pray.”
There’s planning, preparation, and a whole lot of SEO tweaking that makes a content strategy blossom. Then there’s managing content launches, updating old content for link building, and everything else that makes your marketing brain throb.
A good website content strategy gives your audience everything they need related to your business.
Say you write a content marketing blog like ours. It’s a pretty big niche, right? So you need a solid framework to build from so that you can answer a wide array of search queries that inevitably drive traffic to your website, then funnel readers through the different stages of the buyer’s journey.
An example of this would be our strategy. We have 6 main sub-niches inside our main content marketing niche, so we’ve built a step-by-step content strategy that targets each problem in each niche, with each article leading to the next, and eventually, to an enquiry.
Kind of like this:
If you already have a good content strategy in mind, but don’t quite know how to optimise your articles to rank on Google, give us a call and we’ll help you out, or check out this useful article on SEO best practices for content marketing.
Why Every Business Needs a Solid Content Marketing Strategy
I’ve been working as a freelance content writer for the better part of three years now. And one common theme I’ve seen among all the businesses I’ve worked for is that if there’s a lack of content, there’s a lack of growth.
I’ve seen businesses blank refuse to post content, or push projects to one side, only to open up Google Analytics at the end of the month and wonder why the traffic is dropping.
On the other hand, I’ve seen businesses focus on writing quality, up-to-date content, and even now they’re still seeing articles posted six months ago raking in profits because they stuck with the plan and kept consistent.
Here’s a few reasons why every business needs a solid content marketing strategy:
1. Increased Website Traffic
A well-structured content strategy will increase your website’s visibility on the search engine results page (SERP.)
Posting consistent, high-quality content is what makes Google blush, and when Google likes what you write, she’ll show it to the rest of the world.
That’s how you get more organic leads to your website. You post an article answering a common query, an interested prospect searches that query on Google, then Google decides that your content answers it right and shows your page at the top of page 1.
Now imagine having page 1 content across dozens, or even hundreds of articles. That’s thousands of potential leads coming to your website. If the content marketing strategy is solid, those prospects will turn into customers, too.
2. More Website Conversions
A good content marketing strategy isn’t just about popping up on page 1. Because if the content sucks and only appeals to an algorithm, it isn’t going to make someone want to buy your offer or work with you.
So when you build your content marketing strategy, you have to keep three main things in mind:
- Does this content help the reader, and is it engaging to read?
- Does this content link to other useful content that pushes the reader along the funnel?
- Does this content clearly highlight me as a solution/benefit to what they’re looking for?
You have to keep all of this in mind when building your content marketing strategy to make sure that every piece of content is structured to guide the reader closer and closer to the sale, not just rank.
3. It Builds Brand Authority & Trust
Picture this: you’ve got a serious content marketing problem. You don’t know where to start, you’re overwhelmed by information, then all of a sudden, you find a brand that just seems to have all the answers to your burning questions…
Feel that? That’s called relief.
And that’s exactly what a solid content marketing strategy can do for your business. Prospects will trust you because you know what you’re talking about, and you’ve proved it with a solid content strategy, good link building, and engaging content that hits all the right notes.
How A Website Content Marketing Strategy Can Increase Lead Generation
We’ve already touched on how a proper content strategy drives traffic to your website, but now, I want to really paint the picture so you know exactly what I’m talking about, and how you can implement this into your business.
Let’s assume you’ve adopted a solid content strategy already. You’ve been uploading consistently for 6 months, and now Google trusts what you write. You’ve followed all the SEO best practices, and your content is ranking on page 1.
Now you’ve got traffic coming to your website. They’re not “leads” yet, but traffic is where it all begins. Because once people land on your site, your content marketing strategy kicks in:
A prospect searches a query → your article ranks at the top → they click and read → throughout the article, you’ve left links to book calls, visit product pages, drop their email, or take the next step toward becoming a lead → and this cycle repeats across multiple articles ranking high on the search engine results page.
Now, your lead generation is at an all-time high, thanks to a proper content marketing strategy.
You can book a free call with our team here, and we’ll point out any gaps in your content strategy for you.
The 5 Steps Of A Website Content Strategy Plan
Content marketing may make you despair, but with this simple five-step strategy, you’ll have everything you need to make a solid plan for your business:
1. Research & Goal-Setting
Before you write a single word, figure out who you’re talking to and why.
Define business goals (sales, leads, brand authority, etc.)
What are you trying to achieve with your content strategy? Is it more sales? More leads? Brand authority?
Whatever it is, your strategy needs to be tailored to that goal.
If it’s sales, you want to focus on hard direct response copywriting. Hitting the psychological pressure points that make the reader want to take action. That means building emotion, agitating the problem your product/service solves, then hitting the reader with urgency to act now.
If it’s leads, you need to focus on lead capture & enquiries. “Book a call with us”, “sign up today to get this free goodie”, all the sort of marketing that puts the reader in your marketing vault so you can hit them later.
If it’s brand authority/awareness, you need a solid SEO strategy. Winning keywords, structured data, and valuable, engaging content the keeps readers engaged and stops them from “bouncing.”
Research your target audience (pain points, desires, buyer’s journey)
Who are you writing content for? Where did they come from? Why would they be on that particular page? What are they hoping to achieve?
Effective market research is what separates a good content marketing strategy from a bad one. You can’t write an article titled “How To Build A Website Strategy”, then in the same breath say “buy my email marketing course!”
Sounds obvious, I know. But that was an extreme example. The same would apply if you wrote an article on “How To Make Fried Bread”, then tried selling the reader fried bread, rather than a more in-depth recipe book on how to make it.
It’s all about intent. Where they are in the buyer’s journey, what they’re looking for, and how you can help them.
Run competitor analysis (what they’re doing right/wrong).
This gives you the map before you start the journey. Every piece of content you write should be compared to what’s working elsewhere. Then, when you see what’s working, ask yourself: What did they miss?
Fill that gap and you’re already beating your competition. And if SEO is the goal, Google will pick up on that value fast.
2. Content Planning
Now you know your audience, it’s time to figure out what to say and how to say it.
Build a content calendar.
Figure out exactly when you’re going to post. Google likes consistency, but it flags up spam. If you decide to write 50 articles, then upload them all at once, you might get flagged for spamming content.
For reference, you can check out our tips and tricks page to see our upload schedule. It’s rock solid and spread fairly across a team of 8. Each team member posts 2 articles per month, and our calendars alternate so that content is published to the website every 2 days.
Choose the right formats (blogs, case studies, landing pages, etc.)
Ask yourself: what does my website actually need right now? If lead capture is the goal, don’t waste time cranking out blogs when you’ve got no landing page (and no lead magnet) to send people to. Build the foundation first, then layer on supporting content. The order matters as much as the content does.
Identify target keywords and topics.
SEO might not be at the forefront of your business goals, but it’s always best practice to make sure you’re sticking to the blueprint.
What are people searching for? What terminology do they use? How can you deliver that information in a way that appeals to the reader and search engine bots as well?
Align each piece to a stage in the funnel (awareness, consideration, decision).
Does the reader know they have a problem? If not, educate them. Are they looking for a specific solution? If they are, introduce yourself. Are they ready to make a buying decision? Remind them why you’re the best option.
Each piece of content you write needs to cater specifically to at least 1 stage of the buyer’s journey, and if they’re anywhere other than the bottom of the funnel, you should be leaving links to more content that moves them towards a buying decision.
3. Content Creation
This is the fun bit… actually creating the content.
Write with personality and persuasion, not just keywords.
Above all else, your content needs to have some “umph” that keeps the reader reading. Personality, imagery, contrast. The kind of storytelling that readers can’t take their eyes off.
Make sure you’re following copywriting best practices. Things like emotion building and sales psychology are what “brainwash” readers into action. You don’t want someone to read your stuff and then bounce. You want business, and you get that with strong copywriting.
Add visuals, graphics, and design elements.
We prefer to let our copy do the talking, but that doesn’t mean design isn’t important.
Use visuals and design to highlight your brand attributes. Use images and pictures to showcase products or services. Anything that makes your content pop – add it.
Always include clear calls to action (CTAs).
Throughout all your content, you need strong CTA’s. Whether you’re linking to an article that targets the next stage of awareness, or pitching a direct sale to a checkout page, your content should have plenty of clear CTA’s throughout.
4. Distribution & Promotion
Don’t just publish and pray. Get your content seen.
Optimise for SEO (on-page + technical).
Make sure your content matches the logical flow. Most important information at the top, least important at the bottom.
Keep structured data formatted correctly with 1 strong H1 at the top, and slowly lowering title tags as the order of importance decreases.
Add schema markup to all your posts and pages. This helps Google read your pages better, and the better Google can read it, the more likely it is to rank.
Share in communities, partnerships, or PR outlets.
We’re focusing on website content today, but it doesn’t hurt to add a quick note.
Repurpose your content across different channels (social, email, ads). The more eyes on your website, the better.
5. Measurement & Optimisation
Here’s where you separate guesswork from growth.
Track KPIs, Run A/B Tests
What gets measured gets managed. Use Google Analytics to track what users are doing on your website. If the bounce rate is high, you need a stronger hook. If they’re not clicking links, maybe you need a different CTA. Tracking is what opens the door to perfection, and while true perfection is probably impossible, you should be doing everything you can to get as close as possible.
Content Marketing Strategy Template
Looking for a more structured content marketing template?
Click here to get a fully customised content marketing strategy template for your business.
I could leave a link to a generic one, but I’m not the type of guy to be lazy. You need a template that matches your business, your goals and your market. And that’s exactly what you’ll get when you click this link.
Or, you can book a call with our team and we’ll walk you through it in real time!
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