Find out which is better for SEO: setting up your site on a subfolder or subdomain, and why?
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These 15 tactics will help you earn valuable links that most of your competitors are too lazy to pursue.
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Every webpage needs to be optimized, but these pages often provide the most SEO value to businesses.
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Over 3.7 million blog posts were written today.
The market is flooded with blog articles. So how does your content have a chance of standing out?
Successful content marketing has always been about standing out in the crowd by producing the best content. Now that there’s more (great) content than ever.. how are you leveling up?
— Hiten Shah (@hnshah) 2 January 2018
And while blog competition increases, click-throughs on display ads have continued to decrease. In fact, the average click-through rate of display ads is a staggeringly low 0.05%. Yikes.
Video marketing may be the solution to let your content shine.
By 2021, video traffic will account for 82% of all consumer Internet traffic.
The increasing importance of video marketing is clear. But, is it the right time to add video marketing to your content marketing strategy?
Here’s a list of three reasons why you need to invest in video marketing and three reasons why video marketing might not be the best fit for you.
If someone lands on your page and can’t figure out what it is that you do, that’s when bounces happen.
When Dropbox first launched, the concept was fairly foreign to most.
Since Dropbox’s UI wasn’t a familiar idea, they decided to add a video to their landing page that explained what Dropbox is, and how it works.
After adding the video, Dropbox saw their conversion rate go up 10%.
Adding a video to a landing page can actually boost your conversions as much as 80%.
Users need to not only understand what your brand, product or service is, but also how to use it.
If someone can’t connect to your product, then why would they stick around to read more about it?
The problem and the solution need to be clear, concise and obvious.
A landing page with crowded text will go unread.
So do away with long, drawn-out explanations of a service. Instead, insert a video.
Poo-Pourri is a great example of this. It’s a novel product in a newer product category. At the time of its launch, there weren’t many other products like it.
A video on the landing page visually explains what could be a confusing concept. It details how the product works and also demonstrates where to use Poo-Pourri.
Video is a useful medium for easily deconstructing a complicated theory, concept or idea.
In fact, Forrester Research estimates that one minute of video equates to approximately 1.8 million written words.
It visually or audibly explains the benefits of a service and lets a viewer fully comprehend in a digestible way.
90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text.
Videos can also enforce a strong CTA. Take the landing page for Prezi, for example:
The introductory video plays on the landing page, below the CTA button.
The animated video demonstrates how easy Prezi is to use and how users can create dynamic presentations. The CTA button invites users to click through to ‘see how it works.’
Many companies think of video marketing as a ‘nice to have,’ not necessarily a ‘need to have.’ And I can understand why. Video marketing is a big investment of time, effort, and money.
Your competitors will all have a social media presence, email marketing, and a blog but they may not have video marketing.
So, why bother?
As the market becomes more and more saturated, it’ll be important to separate from the pack.
Video content continues to grow, as does the appetite for it. 53% of people want to see more video content from marketers.
On YouTube, almost 5 billion videos are watched every day. The average mobile-viewing session on YouTube lasts more than 40 minutes.
If you don’t embrace video marketing, you’re missing out on establishing yourself as a leader and authority on your service or industry. And you’re also missing out on a large potential audience.
If you aren’t capitalizing on that traffic, you won’t be generating those leads.
Remember Dollar Shave Club?
Before that viral video, had you heard of the company?
Probably not. An effective video, like the one Dollar Shave Club produced, can define a brand.
80% of users can recall a video ad they viewed in the last 30 days.
And enjoyment of video advertising increases purchase intent by 97% and brand association by 139%.
More than a third of all online activity involves watching videos.
The virality of Dollar Shave Club’s video took the startup to a multi-million dollar company. Capitalize on consumer behavior like Dollar Shave Club did.
As consumers gather their information through video, let them discover your brand with an entertaining and informative video.
85% of the U.S. audience watches videos online. And in 2019, video is forecasted to make up 80% of all Internet traffic.
If you’re not working to capture a slice of this pie, you’ll end up hungry for leads.
LSA surveyed 2,000 consumers and found that 44% of buyers viewed an online video while searching for products and services.
53% of viewers actually contacted the business after watching a video, and 51% visited the business’s website.
As users search for your products, services or business online, make sure they‘re finding your video.
Adding a video to your post can increase your chances of making it to the top of Google’s search results by 53%.
Video content opens you up to an entirely new audience that can find you and buy your product or service.
After watching a product video, viewers are 85% more likely to purchase, and they spend 100% more time on pages with videos.
As Google puts more emphasis on videos and we consume more and more videos, without a strong strategy you’re left with a serious case of FOMO.
Get ahead of your competitors and put together a video marketing plan.
Video is a great way to disperse a message and convert viewers, but if the message isn’t compelling in the first place, it can fall flat.
Refilling a Brita isn’t a topic you would usually rap about. However, when Clorox brand Brita partnered with influencer King Bach and NBA player Stephen Curry, the outcome was a funny rap video about just that.
Consumers are bored by sales-focused messages. I mean, would you want to watch a commercial just about how great something is?
Content that strictly pushes a commercial agenda doesn’t engage with an audience.
You can have video content posted, but if it doesn’t resonate, no one will watch it.
Provide video content for your viewers that gives them something of value.
Whether it’s information on how something works, what a product does, or just pure entertainment like the Brita video above.
A viewer becomes engaged and will stay to watch your video if it’s of interest to them.
The Brita spot led to over 2 million views and a 2,000% mobile search lift.
According to Invodo, 52% of consumers say that watching a product video makes them feel more confident about making a purchase.
Viewers who watch product videos are almost two times more likely to purchase a product.
Clinique tested three, six-second bumper ads on YouTube. Results showed a relative ad recall lift of 69.4% and a product awareness lift of 26.1%.
It’s clear how effective video can be. However, before initiating your video marketing efforts, put together a well-constructed strategy for your specific audience.
You should be able to answer the following questions before you develop a video marketing strategy:
So let’s dive into those.
Car parts retailer Advance Auto Parts included instructional and how-to videos on its website and on its Facebook page.
They found that visitors who watched a video stayed on the site twice as long and visited twice as many pages compared to those who did not watch a video.
Knowing their audience played a big part in this success story. Those purchasing car parts should have tutorial videos at their fingertips as they are most likely DIYers.
The videos show how consumers can make the most out of the items they have purchased. They know their audience wants this information because they engage with it through social media and on-site.
Once you have an understanding of your audience, consider where they will be searching for this information or where they would want this information.
Retailer Zappos added product videos to their product pages and saw an increase anywhere from 6% – 30% in sales.
In this instance, a product video, wouldn’t work on a channel like YouTube.
They’re in the purchasing funnel, looking to buy. And that’s why they’re on the product page.
Give them the info they need to complete their purchase.
Your strategy should differ for landing pages, YouTube, product pages or other areas.
Do they need an intro to the company? Or a detailed tutorial on a specific product feature?
Use your analytics, consumer insights, and customer feedback to determine your video content.
A SaaS company might find hosting videos on how to get the most out of their product on their site successful.
However, on YouTube, they may want to think about entertainment value and explore interviews with thought leaders.
An e-commerce site might take advantage of product videos to increase sales but on YouTube, could consider partnerships with content creators that use products in new and innovative ways.
Take this World Market makeover, for instance:
Your strategy should differ whether it’s a landing page, product page, social channel (Facebook or YouTube) or an FAQ section.
Video content should match what the consumer is after, when they’re after it.
Lands’ End makes use of video marketing in a unique way: by having customer service agents ready to video chat within the Customer Service section.
Customers can get instant access to representatives, ask questions and get the answers they need.
Don’t ask: “What video should I make?” but instead, “What problem am I trying to solve?” That’s the key to effective video marketing when done right.
Emphasis on the ‘done right.’ Your video content needs to be a smart strategy but also needs to be executed properly.
With that said, here are three reasons why video marketing may not be right for you.
When Pinterest first came onto the scene, every brand immediately jumped onto it.
I had clients asking me to develop Pinterest strategies for them. I mean, “had I heard how much traffic Pinterest drives?”
Which is totally valid. But also, not so valid.
Pinterest, like YouTube and video content, is all visual. Indie furniture brand 57st. Design knew that Pinterest was a visual platform where the audience would be searching for inspiration.
With this in mind, they built their channel which resulted in 50% – 60% of their website traffic coming in through Pinterest.
This goes to show that successful channels are quality channels. Not just in what you’re showing, but how you’re showing it.
If you can’t produce consistent, quality content on an ongoing and timely basis, then just like Pinterest, video marketing might not be for you. At least, not right now.
Along with being consistent, your video content needs to provide valuable information for your users. A profitable video marketing strategy marries together good ideas with good execution.
Video content with bad sound or visual quality is unprofessional and doesn’t indicate that you’re a thought leader in your industry.
Growing your video channel also requires consistency, not just in your posting frequency but also your presentation. Check out how I do this on my channel.
My YouTube channel uses consistent branding across all videos and on my channel homepage.
Plus, I make sure it’s regularly updated with videos uploaded every 2 – 3 days.
My channel features attractive video thumbnails, high-quality video, and enriching information.
It brings in new traffic, retains returning traffic and establishes thought leadership. And that lets me stand out above other channels.
If your business doesn’t have the manpower, time or money to invest in quality video content, consider waiting until you do to launch your video marketing.
Otherwise, it’s just hard work with a low return on effort.
How will you get eyeballs on your videos?
Without views, great videos are just that, a great video.
The ultimate goal isn’t views though, it’s most likely conversions, generating new leads or driving traffic. But none of this happens without viewers.
If you don’t have a plan set in place to promote and leverage your content to drive traffic to gain views, then it’s probably time to rethink why you’re even producing videos in the first place.
Once your video is complete, devise how you will leverage the content by cross-promoting it.
Keep in mind that not all content is fit for all channels.
Resolve how you can use your existing network to share your content. And pay attention to not just the video but all copy that goes along with it.
Is your video going to be posted on YouTube or on your site? Can it be posted to both?
Dollar Shave Club’s video was posted to both their landing page and their YouTube channel.
Not all content is created equal, and different content is best suited for different channels.
But there is nothing wrong with cross-promoting your content as long as it works for all channels.
Cross-promoting content, or having shareable content, can help to amplify your content and raise brand awareness.
As an introductory video on the landing page, the video explains the concept of the company. The entertainment value makes it shareable, so it does well on Facebook or other social media.
Use your existing audience to promote your video.
One easy way of doing this is with email marketing.
Videos get the point across easily and can enforce an email’s CTA. Use ‘video’ in the subject line to increase click-throughs.
In fact, inserting ‘video’ into the subject can increase conversions by up to 20%.
Take these pointers into consideration so you can meet KPIs with your video marketing:
Ensure you’re using copy to your advantage.
For business-related videos, you may want to have a transcription available in the video’s description box so that viewers can read along as they watch.
Your transcription should contain keywords so your video can be found by searchers looking for relevant material.
YouTube automatically transcribes your video and uses it to rank your video.
Though the transcription doesn’t always match your actual content so be sure to review and revise your transcription. You can also use a transcription service.
You may also want to add links to social media accounts, blog posts or an outline of the presentation.
Social media videos should have subtitles included since videos on Facebook autoplay without audio.
As more viewers watch on-the-go, playing audio while you commute isn’t always convenient.
Keep it mobile-friendly
How long is your video? This is especially important for mobile. Videos under 90 seconds see better engagement and an average retention rate of 53%.
According to YouTube, mobile video consumption grows by 100% every year.
If your content is more entertainment than instructional, you’ll want shareable content for social media channels, so keep timing in mind.
But currently, viewers watch 86% of business-related videos on desktop browsers and only 14% on mobile devices.
This gives you the option of extending the video a little longer so you can add in more useful information.
Capture SEO
When using video, you have 53 times higher likelihood of ranking on the first page of Google.
But don’t forget that while social media channels (like YouTube) rank on Google search results, YouTube itself is a search engine and owned by Google.
‘How-to’ searches were up 70% year-over-year on YouTube. Your video content needs to focus on SEO so that you’re capturing organic traffic.
If you aren’t using the right keywords, your video will be irrelevant and hard to find. When strategizing your video content, think about user needs and keyword intent.
Then utilize your metadata. Metadata is made up of your title, description, and tags.
These are optimal locations to optimize your chosen keywords.
You can also group similar videos into playlists on YouTube. These playlists should consist of relevant videos and can feature a description and keyword-focused title.
Playlists rank in Google and YouTube search results. By defining the subject matter, it helps to facilitate more views to your content.
You know the old saying, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
That’s kind of like marketing without measuring. How can you tell it’s actually worth your time and effort? How can you know how to grow your channel or business even more?
52% of marketers believe that video is effective for brand awareness. And 73% of marketers say that video gets the best ROI.
Consider the product videos above. These bottom-of-the-funnel videos speed up the sales cycle so you see a higher ROI.
But 29% cited a lack of effective strategy as the reason that they didn’t see a larger return.
A well-constructed roadmap should examine the following:
Set up and track your KPIs and course correct continually. Replace a ‘ready, aim, fire!’ approach with a more structured, ‘hypothesis, experimentation, results’ approach.
If you can’t do that, then video marketing isn’t for you right now.
Video marketing can be powerful.
It can help you increase conversions, aid in reaching a new audience and separate you from competitors.
Or, it can be used to provide your consumers with valuable information to help gain sales.
Nevertheless, it’s essential to share and promote your content, leverage your existing audience, produce high-quality videos on a consistent basis, and track and measure your results.
If you can do those things, then it’s time to jump into video marketing. But if you aren’t prepared to put the work into being consistent with quality videos and then tracking the results, then you might want to hold off.
When did you know it was time to invest in video marketing?
About the Author: Neil Patel is the cofounder of Neil Patel Digital.
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Here are nine ways search engines use machine learning and how it relates to SEO and digital marketing.
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We have all been there.
You spend time and money creating short-and-sweet content for your targeted audience; you drink copious cups of coffee and push out all other daily noise to give it your all.
When your gem is complete, you click “publish.”
But your content doesn’t seem to generate any leads. Even worse, it goes unnoticed.
In short, “Winter is Coming” …but not for the House of Stark: for your business.
The solution? Longer content. Research shows that 3,000+ word blog posts get more traffic.
But if you’re anything like me, you often find yourself skimming through longer articles for the next header, either due to lack of time or to a short attention span.
So where’s the happy medium between in-depth content and increased audience attention?
The tendency is to think that audiences have a short attention span and don’t want to be overwhelmed with information.
Ironically, in the age of misinformation we live in, more information isn’t just necessary, it is reputable.
If your content isn’t attracting the visitors your business deserves, you’re probably missing some vital growth-hacks.
Perhaps you don’t know exactly which topics to expand on or how to rise above the humdrum of essentially rehashing what your company offers over and over and over again ad nauseum.
That’s why we’ve compiled this six-step cheat sheet to creating content that is proven to bring in traffic.
Let’s get clear for a second. Your short content might not have gotten you where you want to be, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have its benefits.
Shorter content is a great way to provide a taste of what your business can provide. Just think about how well short social media posts like tweets or Instagram videos perform.
It’s kind of like serving an appetizer. We all love them. They’re delicious. Imagine a gorgeous 7-layer dip with corn chips. Who doesn’t want to get to the bottom of that bowl?
And that brings us to the pitfall.
Sometimes, short content is best, like when used on a homepage.
But in other cases, like blog posts, it can leave visitors wanting more.
That’s probably why longer blog posts get more social shares.
Readers aren’t left with any questions and want to share the valuable information with friends and followers.
That’s where more informational and data-driven content fits the bill.
It gives your visitors that educational delicious full-flavored bite they’re really looking for.
It shows that you know what you’re talking about, and most importantly, you’re willing to share it so they can really enjoy that deliciously deep 7-layer bite.
Ready for the down low? Let’s get down to that cheat sheet.
On the pyramid of things to pay attention to when striving to optimize and maximize visitors who read your content, having an accurate survey of customer motivation is the foundation.
Not knowing what your audience is clicking on, will pretty much make any other marketing endeavor absolutely futile.
Analytics makes it simple by giving you control of what activity you want to track and providing results within just a couple of hours.
There are two approaches to understanding consumer interest and behavior effectively.
One is through aggregate data, like a current customer’s name or order information.
The other is a people-based analytics platform.
Both of these are key to understanding how your business ranks and how to give audiences more of what they are looking for.
If you’re paying less for a more aggregate-oriented analytics solution, it will definitely help you attract visitors to your website.
But eventually, this bird’s eye view can only take you so far.
If your goal is to create content that doesn’t just attract, but also educates and retains, then getting down-and-dirty with the individual peeps.
This is how you ensure that your business doesn’t hit a ceiling on how high it can go.
More on analytics in a bit…
People are looking for verifiable information delivered in an original way. This is not fast food.
You won’t retain customers by delivering the same information the same way every time.
Knowing what makes your services or products tick to your audience is a growth hack made up of several parts.
Among these are the use of SEO tools like Moz’s Open Site Explorer, backlinks, infographics, videos, and effective CTAs.
Think of backlinks as portals into various parts of your industry’s multiverse.
Except instead of Rick’s portal gun (Rick and Morty reference; yes I am a dork), you’re wielding what we will call the “reputable gun.”
Backlinks show that you’re not just blowing smoke to get the sale (like the Shamwow guy… whatever happened to that dude anyway?)
You’re informed, you’re the expert on the product or service, and you’re taking the time to educate your potential customer/client base to make an empowered decision.
This speaks volumes. It’s no surprise that 73% of advanced SEOs build 1 to 20 links per month. You need to do the same.
The longer the content, the more backlink portals you can include to open your readership to the wondrous world of high-absorbency washrags.
Or whatever product or service you’re selling.
“The eagle has landed,” some guy said once somewhere…
Make sure your eaglet lands on an invitation to engage further with your company.
This applies to downloading a free guide, signing up for the company newsletter, leading them to an exciting case study, or even an invitation to a networking event.
The point is diversification.
Let’s take a pretty easy example to understand.
If you are selling essential oils, your audience might include clients who are interested in natural healing for themselves or natural healing for their loved ones.
They might even be interested in learning how to become a certified aromatherapist themselves.
Create a variety of landing pages to cater to these needs through more content along with corresponding CTAs.
The type of landing page you need will depend on your industry.
A good rule of thumb is to add high-quality images, an eye-catching CTA, and some kind of contact form.
Run A/B tests on a few different versions to see which ones perform best.
Analytics can be scary.
It feels like waiting to find out how you did on that dreaded Statistics test in college.
Okay, so maybe you weren’t a Statistics apasionado, but I would be willing to bet that the subjects you did enjoy, you pursued in greater depth.
It works the same way with potential leads who need to learn more about your product before taking the leap.
You can think of analytics as the barometer for what to pursue in greater depth, through longer content.
Based on a recent article in Forbes, “marketers who invest more than 10% of their working media budgets in marketing performance measurement (MPM) are three times more likely to exceed their growth plans by 25%.”
Companies like Kissmetrics or CrazyEgg provide the tools you need to measure ROIs for you so you can finally throw out your great-grandma’s abacus.
You might not be able to count your chickens before they hatch, but with the right tool, you can more accurately predict which eggs have better chances of hatching over others.
Once you have analyzed specific user behavior and narrowed down the topics that attract more views and the content that gets the most clicks, you can take them and expand them into longer content pieces.
For example, compile several short articles you’ve already written and create an e-book, like HubSpot.
Combine content to get from this…
To this:
Once you’ve written these other pieces of content, include hyperlinks in the text to your main content piece.
This shows search engines that all your content is interrelated.
Hubspot also offers a perfect analogy of this games.
It dubs the website’s main subject content as the Pillar of your entire content enterprize and other related content as the Clusters.
Your pillar is like the sun around which fun and educational planet clusters of content rotate, linked by gravity.
Gravity attracts and keeps things together.
Similarly, your hyperlinks let search engines like Google find your cluster content and related back to your pillar, so you’re more easily found in web searches.
If only MMA champion Conor McGregor could have been a fly on the wall during Floyd Mayweather’s training!
But if you want to be the best at what you do, it helps to leverage what already exists and works while keeping watch for any gaps you may be able to uniquely fill with your service.
Competitor analysis tools like SimilarWeb allow you to compare the traffic analytics for businesses like yours so you can find that edge.
Let’s say you own a burger shop, and a competing business has set up shop right across the street.
They have a much cooler logo than yours, and their approach is young and hip.
This competition can seriously hinder your sales; everyone is looking for the fresh and new.
If you’re not careful, you’ll end up with a cash register full of tears and not dollars.
See the issue here? How are you going to stand out against your way cooler competitor?
Well, imagine that after you’re done crying about it, you take a peek and see what’s on their menu.
To your utter surprise, you notice that their mustard comes in packets, while yours is homemade…
…see where I’m going with this?
Run back to your store and put out a big neon sign immediately! Market the living seeds out of that mustard!
You just found your leverage.
(Ex: The only burger in town serving REAL mustard!” or “Farm-to-Table Mustard. It’s just how Momma made it” or “Buy Local, not imported,” etc… You get the gist.)
So how does this translate into the online marketing content scene?
Well, if you had a website for your burger shop, this would be the time to add a blog or an article chock-full of educated content on the value of fresh ingredients, promoting local business, and how his burger shop is saving the planet, one burger at a time.
Blogging, interviews, guides, and case studies are just a few of the ways to deliver meaningful content.
Here are some other ways to jump-start your content creation process, courtesy of Hubspot:
Since longer content is on the rise, it benefits to find trending topics in your industry and expand on them in a way that highlights what your business can provide over other similar businesses.
Once you have a hook on the right topic, it’s time to write, write, write and promote it like there’s no tomorrow. And if neon signs help, go for it.
Creating effective content is not just a one-time thing.
The attention attracted by your long-form blog or article will likely diminish in a few weeks, if not days (as I addresses in this article).
Additionally, there will always be changes or simple variations in trends to take advantage of.
So based on these oscillations and the knowledge you derive from your analytical platform, your content will continue to grow and build on itself until you attract those 361,494 visitors.
Does writing drawn-out content sound daunting?
Well, there is good news! You can keep that content fresh by updating it!
Fear not, padawan! There are so many guides on how to make that long-form content effective to yield greater ROIs through promotion and social media.
That person-oriented analytics strategy will ensure you remain relevant.
Remember that you’re writing to help people stay informed on the aspects of your industry that benefits them on a personal level.
Another great benefit of person-oriented analytics is the opportunity to send out targeted surveys based on user activity (or inactivity).
Basically, if you notice that a user has not been engaging in your posts and activities, ask them why.
Find out what’s working for them and what isn’t. Based on the results, tailor content to optimize what is working while making sure to address what isn’t.
Who doesn’t love surveys, right?
Feeling a bit overwhelmed? Let’s wrap a lasso around all this.
First, take a look at your landing pages and find out what is and what isn’t getting the attention it deserves.
Several companies provide in-depth step-by-step guides to creating more effective landing pages, content, and promotional strategies.
If you are not already attracting those 361,494 visitors, it is probably going to take a little extra work.
That work involves writing more educational and more targeted copy based on the results from aggregated and person-focused analytics through tools that companies are already providing for your the benefit of your business.
Ask yourself, what is it that my website visitors clearly want to learn more about?
Armed with the results of your new analytics tool, you can empower your potential customers and clients with the educated information they need to make a leap into what your company offers.
And don’t forget to have fun!
Trend analytics, landing pages with CTAs, providing a space to collect email on every single page of your website, and scattering those backlinks like dandelions in the wind are just some of the ways that you can keep ahead of the 2018 trend curve.
What content creation shortcuts do you use to attract visitors?
About the Author: Neil Patel is the cofounder of Neil Patel Digital.
