How buying habits of today’s consumers have changed
I was discussing the details of a website re-design strategy with a fellow CMO of a major corporation and found it fascinating how one simple idea can catapult into a multi-layered, time intensive operative. What started as a re-branding strategy and website re-design pushed further into an online marketing campaign with the intent of simplifying lead generation efforts for the organization’s sales team.
The problem of managing such a seemingly simple process is due, in part, to how consumer buying habits have changed. More customers make purchasing decisions today influenced in large part to their own efforts of research and fact-finding solutions. This area seems to change rapidly to keep pace with the demands and infrastructure changes in algorhythms such as Google and other search engines. It is hard work and a full-time undertaking.
So the secret in getting your site to rank in the search engines is not just producing content. Many people make the mistake in thinking that they have tons of articles and material to put up on a site when in fact more material is not always better. To get your site found and ranked in the search engines you need to apply what you know about consumer buying decisions and make sure it is reflected in your content.
Make sure your content is written to a Persona.
In order for your content to have an impact, it must be reflective to the person you are trying to attract. If you are an accountant specializing in business tax laws you might not want to attract a persona in the non-for-profit business sector. Keywords are important but more important is the intended audience. Of course you want your pages to rank but your content must be read by the ideal client. This is the difference between impressions and true content followers. Impressions are not indications that your content is engaging or draws a future sales client.
Identify your goal because without it you really are setting yourself up for disappointment. Is your goal to attract more site visitors? Then, focus your efforts on providing content that is informative and non-branded with no push in sales information. Is your goal to increase conversions in visitor to lead ratios? Then, develop content with offers that include case studies, e-guides, webinars, us vs them comparisons, etc. Lastly, if you want to close sales, your content will include topics of price, policies, sales process, and guarantees.
Just remember, when producing content, that you are not trying to be popular. Search engines use algorythms that weed-out keyword stuffing practices in content used to generate more leads. This practice is not recommended as it falsely eludes to a value driven site when you are really only trying to impress the status quo. To get the most out of your investment in marketing automation software, ground your principles in proper content development and you will see the sought after ROI you are hoping for.
