Google’s recent search engine algorithm update, Penguin, is a boon to businesses that are using content to educate and engage their website visitors.  Here’s how Google’s Matt Cutts described the update, “While we can’t divulge specific signals because we don’t want to give people a way to game our search results and worsen the experience for users, our advice for webmasters is to focus on creating high quality sites that create a good user experience and employ white hat SEO methods instead of engaging in aggressive webspam tactics.”  While Google doesn’t reveal the components of its algorithm, Cutts also said, “We are trying to level the playing field a bit.  All those people doing, for lack of a better word, over optimization or overly SEO – versus those making great content and great sites.”

Simply put, content marketing is the new SEO.  Google’s Penguin update rewards companies that produce good content frequently by referring web visitors.  While it’s still important to optimize your website for keyword phrases and to have links to your content from relevant websites, it’s even more important to create great content that gets shared on social media to drive web traffic and inbound links.  If you’re over-stuffing your content with keywords and buying links from spammy websites, you will get punished in your search engine rankings.  As evidence of this contention, my website has 34 keywords phrases that are ranked in the top 3 search engine positions.  However, for the top five keyword phrases that drive traffic to my website, I am ranked 100+, 100+, 100+, 48 and 90.  Why is this?  It’s because I’m creating content about these topics that is getting shared on social media sites.

How to Use Content to Generate Website Traffic

According to Gleanster, at least 50% of your website traffic isn’t ready to buy at their first conversion.  However, you need to get marketing contacts at the top of your sales funnel in order to nurture them into leads.  The best way to generate website traffic and fill the top of your sales funnel is to blog frequently and promote your blog through e-mail marketing and social media.  Here are a few business blogging best practices:

• Blog at least weekly.  Marketing automation software provider HubSpot’s research indicates that the more frequently you blog, the more website traffic you will get.
• Your blog articles should be between 500 and 800 words long – give your readers something to think about.
• Break up your blog’s visual appearance with images, bulleted lists and numeric lists.
• Blog about topics that are interesting to your audience.  For example, a business could use the 10 most frequently asked questions by its customers to create 10 blog posts.
• Include keyword phrases in your blog titles and in every 2 to 3 paragraphs in the blog itself.  Don’t overdo it – it bores the reader and will be penalized by Google.
• Include social sharing buttons on your blog so that your readers can share your content with their friends and associates.
• Always include a Call-To-Action in your blog that links to a landing page where a reader can opt into your marketing database in exchange for a valuable piece of content like an eBook, video or webinar.

Keep in mind that your blogging efforts won’t pay off overnight.  However, if you blog consistently using best practices, your website traffic will increase.

How to Increase Leads With Content

While blogging is the best way to drive traffic to your website, premium content offers like eBooks, videos and webinars are the best ways to convert that traffic into leads.  Lead nurturing is the process of providing prospects with the appropriate content as they move through their buying process.  At this stage, your goal is to get a website visitor to become a lead by exchanging a means of contacting them (typically an e-mail address) for a premium content piece that educates them on a topic important to them. 

For example, consider the case of a family that just purchased their first puppy.  Mom performs a search engine query on “best fences for keeping dogs.”  She is directed to a blog post that she reads entitled, “How to Make Sure Your Puppy is Safe and Sound in Your Backyard.”  Within the blog post, she is directed to an eBook entitled, “The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Fencing for Dogs.”  She fills in her name and e-mail address and downloads the eBook.  The eBook helps educate her on the options for fencing in the dog and positions the provider as a trusted authority.  She’s not sold yet, but the fencing company can provide her with additional content offers that help her as she moves towards the final purchase.  This is just one example of how premium content offers convert website visitors to leads.  I’m sure you can think of an offer that educates your potential buyers on your product or service.

Key Takeaways

• Recent updates to Google's search algorithm have leveled the playing field so that businesses that create quality content that is shared on social media are rewarded with increased web traffic.
• Blogging is the best way to increase website traffic.  You should blog weekly at minimum and promote your blog through social media.
• Premium content offers like eBooks, videos and webinars convert website traffic into leads.  Most of these leads will be at the top of your sales funnel and can be nurtured with additional content.
• Content creation can take time to show results, but you should start seeing increased traffic and leads by the 3d month of your campaign.

My recommendation to all small and mid-sized businesses is to start planning your content campaign immediately.  Many businesses outsource their content campaigns to inbound marketing agencies and serve as editors in the content campaign.  Get started today!

Tags: Inbound Marketing ROI, Washington DC Inbound Marketing, B2B Inbound Marketing