Content is King

Do you want to optimize your website and maximize the number of people you are reaching? Of course, you do!  Especially, if you want to become an affiliate marketer!  Content is the answer.  In fact, it has been said, “content is king”.

“Content is king” came from an essay by Bill Gates back in 1996 and is still very valid today!  

Bill Gates stated, “Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the internet.” (Evans H. January 29, 2017. “Content is King”-Essay by Bill Gates 1996. Retrieved from https://medium.com)  

He could see the future and content is a huge factor in bringing people to your website. That’s the purpose of a website, to attract visitors!

However, it can’t just be any content. The success of your website relies on quality content. It must, first, meet the needs of your target audience and, second, your content should be maximized for search engines, such as Google or Bing. 

Easy, right? Well, there are a few things to think about.

Know your Target Audience

How do you meet the needs of your target audience? 

First, you must determine who your target audience is. Do you want to target the middle-aged handyman? Or the 18-25-year-old fashionista? Once that is determined, stick with it, don’t stray from your intended audience and, most importantly, have a deep understanding of who they are. 

Research what is important to your audience, what your audience is inquiring about and what they are interested in learning. One way to do that is to monitor the behavior of your target audience on social media. It’s a great way to obtain information on what is significant to them. 

Check out BuzzSumo for this, it’s an awesome monitoring tool where you can check out influencers, experts and monitor behavior and all the bells and whistles of content marketing. 

In order to meet the needs of your intended audience, you have to establish that you are an expert in your field.  They need to trust that you are their “go-to” person for the knowledge they are looking for. You can do this by educating them.  

Help them get the answers to expected and unexpected questions. Tell them what to look out for. Give valuable tips on how to be successful. Be sure to show them how you have helped others succeed. Be aware of the problems they may face on an everyday basis and offer solutions to those problems.

Quality Content

Your content can include text, video, infographics, surveys, webinars, and podcasts. You have lots of possibilities! However, be original!

Your content must be unique and not found anywhere else on the internet. Keep your offerings fresh and up to date!  Not only does your content need to inform, but it must also be entertaining. You must capture their attention from start to finish.

You can use facts or statistics, or even anecdotes or analogies. Storytelling is also a significant part of creative and quality content.  When you can use provocative, inspiring, emotional or funny stories you will draw your audience in and they will continue to come back. HubSpot is an excellent example of practicing the art of storytelling, check them out for some inspiration! 

Don’t get too technical, either. You will lose your audience if you use a lot of technical words and phrases. If you’re writing a blog post it’s important it is well structured and free of errors.  Think about your own stuff.  If you came across your own content would you continue to watch or read until the end? Make some changes if the answer is no.

SEO

This leads me to SEO or Search Engine Optimization. You want to be very familiar with this, because you want to get people to your website and this is how it is done. 

You need to build your website and content in such a way to achieve a better ranking in the results of any search engine, namely Google.  Wouldn’t it be great to be at the top of the list? There are ways you can make this happen.

We have talked about creating unique content. Did you know Google looks for that? It looks for content that is original and not copied elsewhere.  It also looks for content that is relevant to your audience. 

Post on social media a lot! Google checks to see if you have a social media presence.  You can get some help with this by installing an SEO plugin, like SEOPress.  SEO is vital to your business.  Don’t leave it to chance.

Keywords

Lots of little things need to be included in your content that will create better SEO.  Those little things are “keywords”. Keywords are the terms, whether just one word or a whole phrase, that people use to search for information in search engines.  

Most likely, people will use phrases instead of one keyword. Keywords will be what best describes your product, services or other topics you address on your website.

The search engine looks for sites that have content that includes the keywords or phrases the user has put into the search engine.  It would be helpful if you did extensive research on your keywords that pertain to your topic. Choose keywords and phrases that have a high number of searches with lower competition, which means they are searched at least 1,000 times, but you know you can beat those first 10 pages that pop up on Google.

For example, if you want to target the fashionista and you are talking about a fabulous, new beauty product, you can use the keywords “new beauty products for 2019” or you can get even more specific and post “new, affordable, all natural, beauty products”. Use those keywords in your content, in your headlines, and in your page titles.  Headlines and page titles operate as the main content in search engine result pages.

You can even use keywords in your links.  Speaking of links, links within your website and backlinks, need to be logical, valid and relevant.  

There is a saying that reminds us to do just that, “every link needs a story”.  

Google even looks at the links on your website.  Blogs are also a vital way to draw your audience in and obtain greater SEO because you can add within your blog those very important keywords.

A is for A Wrap Up

In conclusion, relevant and quality content that is fresh and up to date with highly researched keywords can drive your target audience to your website, and you will have the opportunity to promote your affiliate links and make some cash!  

Monitor that outcome by checking social media. Is your content being shared on social media websites? Can it be found in search engines? If not, don’t get discouraged. Reimagine and change up your content. The one who never gives up wins the race and receives the crown.

Tell us about your success using unique content!  We would love to hear from you!

Check out our other blog posts like ” Affiliate Marketing for Beginners” and “Post Relevant Content”