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Writing for SEO: How to Write Blogs That Rank on Page 1 of Google

Blog Optimization
August 12, 2020/by
Writing for SEO: How to Write Blogs That Rank on Page 1 of Google If you've ever written a blog post before, you know how much time they can take. From topic selection, to gathering research, to writing the post and pressing "Publish," the process often demands hours. That's why, if your post doesn't earn the traffic you expected, it can be a major letdown. All that work that goes into a post for less-than-stellar engagement is, no doubt, one of the most frustrating experiences. Fortunately, there's a way to combat low traffic and bring eyes to your writing: search engine optimization. SEO is a language that speaks specifically to search engines like Google to tell it your post deserves to be at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). As marketers, we're always aiming to write content that'll rank highly on Google, and SEO is the bridge that'll help you get there. Of course, that begs the question: How do you write in SEO's language? For that, don't worry — we've got you covered. In this post, we're going to dive into 13 ways you can master writing for that high ranking your content deserves. Ready to get started? 1. Use headings to your benefit. Headers tell Google what different sections of your blog article will be about. In this post, for example, the header, "How To Write Blog Posts for SEO," tells the search engine what this section is about. Users who type search queries like,...
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Why A Digital PR Specialist Should Always Be Involved in Content Creation

Content Marketing Strategy
August 12, 2020/by
Why A Digital PR Specialist Should Always Be Involved in Content Creation If you've been on the creative side of content marketing, you know not every idea is a winner. Sometimes projects gather a few links and then vanish under a pile of other content. To compete, you have to ensure the content you're creating, from the idea to the actual execution, is compelling enough to earn the coverage and attention you hope it'll achieve. And there's one really excellent way to do this: involve a digital PR specialist from the get-go. I work in digital PR and have consulted on hundreds of content projects. Below, let's review what I've learned about how content creators and digital PR professionals can successfully work together to create engaging, newsworthy content. 1. Recognize viral ideas. Digital PR specialists are responsible for interacting and building relationships with the media, so they likely spend around 70% of their workday online. Typically, they're reading new studies, picking apart articles, and getting to know writers. It's only natural that after experiencing the nuances of the news cycle, PR specialists are able to recognize which ideas make it big. If that kind of market research already exists in the brains of the outreach specialists on your team, why not utilize it? Getting feedback from the birth of a project means the trajectory of the content will be aimed for top-tier coverage. From the idea stage, it may make sense to create a ranking system with your team....
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How to Conduct Research for an Infographic: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide

Infographics
August 11, 2020/by
How to Conduct Research for an Infographic: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. In reality, a picture is worth closer to 84.1 words depending on a variety of other factors, but let’s face it, that’s not as catchy. The original point of the saying still stands, though: Images communicate information more effectively than text alone, and they’re best when working together. And, brands agree with the statement above. In fact, in 2020, infographics were considered the third-most effective type of marketing content, just behind blogging and video. But before you design an eye-catching infographic, you must first do the research to determine what story you’re going to tell, and how you’re going to tell it visually. And that research stage can be pretty tricky -- especially if you don’t have a plan. That why we put together a helpful guide that’ll walk you through how to conduct research for an infographic, without driving yourself crazy. Why Marketers Should Use Infographics There’s a reason infographics are such a popular form of content: Viewers love, engage with, and remember them. When people hear information, they're likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. Meanwhile, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retain 65% of it after the same timespan. This is clearly a type of content your readers search for, so how do you make an infographic that’s informative, beautiful, and shareable? Siege Media conducted a study on what makes infographics inherently...
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7 Helpful Resources for Creating Beautiful Infographics

Infographics
August 11, 2020/by
7 Helpful Resources for Creating Beautiful Infographics Visuals have a huge impact in marketing. Not only do they make content more sharable -- 40 times as much -- but they help us retain information. When details are paired with an image, we remember 55% more of it. That can be pulled off with infographics -- the nifty images that visually break down complex statistics. They're customizable, sharable, and they're easier to create than you might think. Sure, you could hire a professional to create the infographics for you. But if you're restricted by budgets or time, there are some great DIY resources out there for making compelling visuals. To help visual marketers, we scouted the web for some of best sites and tools for building infographics. Check them out below.  Helpful Resources for Creating Infographics 1. Canva Cost: Free with limited features, $9.95/month for Pro, or $30/month for Enterprise. Oh, how we love the ease and intuitiveness of Canva. From the very beginning, it asks you a series of simple, colorfully-illustrated questions about what’s brought you to their site. (Today, it’s infographics, but there’s a ton of other stuff you can create there, too.) Once you’ve let Canva know what you want to do, the site generates several templates you can use as a foundation for your infographic. Plus, it’s got a library of roughly 1,000,000 images that you can add to your project. From there, you can edit the text, background image, shapes and other aspects of the...
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How Behavioral Targeting Gets Your Content Seen By the Right Audiences

Advertising
August 11, 2020/by
How Behavioral Targeting Gets Your Content Seen By the Right Audiences What optimization strategies are you using to improve the performance of ads? If you're like almost half of marketers, your answer probably includes ad placement and targeting. As we know, targeted ads are used to find the most qualified leads by showing audiences content that's relevant to them. Targeted ads connect you with the leads that are going to be the most interested in what you offer. So, how can you be sure that you're generating the most qualified leads with your targeted ads? While there's no sure fire way to tell, there's an optimization strategy you may be missing: behavioral targeting. Targeted advertising allows you to use demographic information, including location or age, to surface ads to relevant audiences. Behavioral targeting uses web behavior as the determining factor, instead of demographics. This increases the impact ads have on audiences. Some of the criteria behavioral targeting looks at includes previously visited websites, search history, and past purchases. If a marketer spent 20 minutes browsing CRMs, Googling software prices, and reading customer management blogs, behavioral targeting would analyze those actions to show that person ads for a CRM product the next time they visited a site like Facebook. Behavioral targeting is used to improve campaign effectiveness. The sales manager weighing their CRM options would likely be more interested in a product ad for one rather than an SEO strategist, making them a qualified lead for the software company....
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How to Adapt Your Content Into an Instagram Story, According to HubSpot Marketers

Instagram Marketing
August 10, 2020/by
How to Adapt Your Content Into an Instagram Story, According to HubSpot Marketers If you're a marketer, at some point, it's likely you're going to be asked the question, "Is it on brand?" This is especially true for social media content. Companies with social media pages generally have a theme that relates to the organization. The use of colors, sensory details, and styling all contribute to the overall theme of a page. I, for one, love thematic Instagrams — they're so aesthetically pleasing. When the colors, text, and photos all fit, I find myself going through all the content because it's so easy to look at — the same is true for Stories. Sometimes, I come across posts that make me think, "How did this marketer turn a simple content idea into this engaging Instagram Story?" And, as always, curiosity got the best of me. I had a question, and I was ready to search for the answer. Fortunately, I knew exactly who to look to for help. I wanted to know just how social media marketers choose the right pieces to include in Stories, so I turned to the experts. I asked HubSpot's marketers this question and compiled their tips. Let's see what they had to say. 1. Look for buzzy, trendy content. When choosing content to add to Instagram Stories, HubSpot Audience Growth Writer Pam Bump, asks herself a question: “Is the content buzz-worthy?” "Trend or buzz-worthy content usually relates to a topic, trend, or piece...
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18 Beautiful New Ebook Templates [Free Download]

Design Templates
August 8, 2020/by
18 Beautiful New Ebook Templates Did you know that landing pages have the highest conversion rate at 23% than other types of signup forms? But landing pages don't convert visitors to leads all by themselves -- without attractive and compelling offers behind them, they won't generate the tons of leads for your sales team that you want them to. That's why it's so important to create valuable content people want to download, and then package it in a way that's visually appealing to your readers. A big part of the ebook creation process is making it look both professional and attractive so people want to read it and share it. We know not every team has someone in-house who can (or has time to) whip up a slick, highly shareable ebook design. But we have good news: You don't need to be a designer by trade to design beautiful ebooks yourself. With the right resources and approach, it doesn't have to be a daunting task. We created ebook templates to help make this process easier for you -- and they were so popular that we decided to revamp the offer for 18 new-and-improved ebook templates for you. We hope these templates minimize the time you spend on the details of design, allowing you to concentrate on writing valuable, lead-generating content your readers will love. Download the Templates Now Start With One of These Free Ebook Templates Here is a preview of some of the ebooks you'll find in the template bundle: 1. Artistic Theme This template...
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How to Run a SWOT Analysis for Your Business [Template Included]

Conducting Market Research
August 8, 2020/by
How to Run a SWOT Analysis for Your Business A SWOT analysis is a useful technique to evaluate a new project or objective your business faces, or your business as a whole. Essentially, a SWOT analysis is a roadmap for how you should move forward with your business, which opportunities you’re missing out on, and which challenges you should tackle. It’s an effective method to maximize opportunities while minimizing negative factors associated with a given project or objective. Plus, it lets you unbiasedly evaluate your business’s strengths and weaknesses, which is key to avoiding unnecessary errors down the road from lack of insight. Here, we’ll provide a SWOT analysis template, and conduct SWOT analyses on major brands Apple and Starbucks. When you’re done reading, you’ll have all the inspiration and tactical advice you need to tackle a SWOT analysis for yourself. You know a SWOT analysis is important, but, how do you conduct one? There are four steps you’ll want to take when evaluating your business as a whole, or your product in particular. Before you start, you’ll need to figure out what you’re evaluating with your SWOT analysis. Creating a social media program, launching a new product, or considering a brand re-design are all good reasons to conduct a SWOT analysis. Use this SWOT Analysis Template. To visualize your SWOT analysis, it's helpful to make a table. Here, I’ve created a sample using a simple Google Doc table -- feel free to use the model yourself,...
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