I’ll play the devil’s advocate. Clearly the internet and your website is important, and for most businesses it is increasingly so. In fact, the future demands an effective website and an effective content marketing effort.
But I’ll ask….. Is specifically chasing an improved ranking the best value for your time and money? In your business, are there more effective ways to find new customers? If you are blindingly successful in achieving top ranking and your services are in demand, can you cope?
And at the risk of offending, I’ll also ask….. How does your website and your content fit with your overall business and marketing strategy? Is it just a thought bubble, or part of a well thought out plan?
There are any number of reasons we choose to do what we do. Equally, there are a multitude of results we want from our individual business ventures. What we all generally crave is the best income from the least effort.
Well, guess what? If it was easy, we would all be doing it. And if we are all doing it, how do we stand out from the crowd?
In times gone by businesses worked out that if you advertised on the front page of a newspaper, more people would see you. If you advertised in a popular or glossy magazine, your message will be out there.
Newspaper and magazine publishers charged you more for premium placements. But it didn’t always work.
Today, the likes of Google offer that service through AdWords and through rankings based on their algorithms which they keep updating. So the game changes. You pay for AdWords directly, and pay for the rankings indirectly.
That’s right, you pay for the “free” listing in search engines. In just the same way you pay for cold calls, sales meetings and networking. They all take time, and for busy people, time costs money.
And that doesn’t always work either.
If you do choose to chase higher rankings (and you probably should as a part of your overall marketing strategy), how do you go about it?
The answer is in quality and quantity of your content. And that is where marketing today differs from yesterday. Content drives the internet and the internet is the future of advertising. The internet allows you to add more information any time you choose. But, be warned. The value of that content will vary. If not properly planned and constructed, it may confuse your audience.
On the upside, a well thought out content marketing strategy can be cheap and flexible. It is possible to take one (or a series of pieces) and then slice and dice it, or morph and change it, to create a multitude of pieces that all deliver a consistent message. The cost and effort is shared across every piece, making it affordable and accessible.
That content can be uploaded to your website to improve your rankings over time. Some of it can also be freely shared on social media and used later in a monthly email newsletter. It can also be offered to others for use in their marketing.
Smart operators know where to best spend their time and their money. They know what tools are available, they know what they cost, and they know what works for them. They don’t follow the crowd unless the crowd is going their way.
accross business , its associates and alliance partners, are available to help you to create your reality.
