Extra, Extra. Dead Bodies on Page Two. SEO Strategy for Creating Killer Content.

“The best place to hide a dead body is page two of Google search results.” It’s a wacky but powerful quote that has spread across the Internet over the years including on inbound.org. A 2013 study from the online ad network Chitika showed that page one results on Google amassed 92 percent of all traffic from the average search.

Organizations that get stuck on the second page and beyond on Google already find themselves in a difficult position to market themselves. And, one of the main reasons they are on page two to begin with is poor marketing. 

So, creating killer content to benefit your SEO strategy is critical. Valuable content increases the chances that readers will want to share it. Valuable content also will be used by relevant, authoritative sites. Quality finds quality.

Social media tip

One tip that I will continue to implement into both my personal and professional social media content is building landing pages that have specific content to both enlighten and inform your audiences who have just clicked to your site from a search engine. In his book, New Rules of Marketing and PR, Scott (2015) noted several guidelines for landing pages, including creating a page that looks like your brand and assuring the landing page is communications not advertising. It sounds simple enough but many organizations cram too much content onto their pages. Another tip by Scott is to provide a quote from a happy customer. Testimonials show your customers that other customers are happy with your product.

The website unbounce.com offers 101 landing page optimization tips. There’s everything from the fundamentals to building forms to the importance of testing, testing, testing. There’s also a tip about the importance of showing a phone number on the landing page. We need to remember there are many people still not comfortable with online transactions but are willing to order over the phone.

There are plenty of humorous takes on SEO, too. For more SEO fun, click here.

There’s even a rap song about SEO. And, by the way, I found these on page two of search results!

 Social media challenge

One lesson presented as a consideration through new approaches in marketing and PR is to question whether we even need a website anymore.  In likeable social media, Kerpen (2015) noted that he believes there will definitely be companies and organizations in 2016 whose only official website will be their Facebook or Twitter page or their blog.

However, I believe a website, especially one that is mobile-friendly, is needed.  The Internet site MorWeb provided four reasons why you need a website.  They are: Impression and Brand Credibility, Refreshing visitors’ database, increasing online visibility, and controlling the brand story.

Some companies believe they can’t create a website on their own and it will cost thousands if not hundred of thousands of dollars to hire an outside agency to build one for them. Fortunately, most companies can build their own websites. There are hundreds of  “how to” videos on the web, such as this one for do-it-yourselfers:

 

Social media sites are operated by third party vendors. Companies like Facebook control and make changes to the hosting of your page content. You have little say in the matter. But, with your own website, you can choose the way you talk about your brand and your products and make an impact on the minds of your customers.