While blog posts can talk about all sorts of different things, the highest converting blog posts all have a common theme. With any content you create, you should always focus on one overriding question: Why?Why would anyone want to engage with what you’re creating? What do they get out of spending time reading your blog posts? Then, when you are creating your content, make sure you answer that question by providing relevant information that has value.If you’re looking to improve the conversion rates on your content marketing, here are six strategies that make a difference.
1. Create Enticing Titles
The headline is the first thing people see. If it doesn’t grab their interest and show them the value of clicking to read your blog post, they’re likely moving on to something else.
- Focus on how the content will benefit the reader.
- Talk directly to your customers.
- Use active verbs and concise language.
- Reflect your brand voice.
2. Use SEO Best Practices
Using SEO best practices has multiple benefits for your blog posts. When your content marketing is optimized for SEO, you’re more likely to rank in a Google Search. That improves the odds someone will find your blog post in the first place.Also, the more content you have that uses SEO best practices, the better your overall website will perform when it comes to search marketing.
- Use primary and secondary keywords.
- Use long-tail keywords that match search intent.
- Include internal links to relevant content on your site.
- Include external links to high-quality websites.
3. Include Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Title tags and meta descriptions are what show on search engine results pages (SERPs), yet many marketers forget to include them when creating content. Title tags are a major factor in how search engines understand what your page is about. It can be the same as your headline, or you can tweak it.There are a few best practices you should follow, including length. Google only shows the first 50-60 characters of meta titles and cuts off meta descriptions longer than 160 characters.
- Keep your title tags to 60 characters or less.
- Keep your meta descriptions to 160 characters or less.
- Include keywords in your title tag and meta description (but don’t overdo it).
- Write for customers, not search engine crawlers
4. Make It Easy to Read
Huge chunks of text can be difficult to read — especially on mobile devices. Find ways to highlight your key information so that those scanning a blog post can easily see your most important points.
- Avoid long blocks of text.
- Use short sentences and short paragraphs.
- Avoid jargon, strive for simplicity.
- Break up text with bullet points and subheads.
5. Include Interesting Visuals
Besides your headline, an image will be one of the first things people notice. A great image can draw people in. It also helps to create visual differences throughout your piece.Varying sentence length and paragraph length can help, but images make an impression. Our brains process images 60,000 times faster than text.It also helps to break up your text. A study by BuzzSumo of one million articles found those using images every 75 to 100 words received greater engagement and were shared more frequently.
- Ensure images are relevant to the content
- Avoid stock images (if possible)
- Focus on positive images
- Consider showcasing happy customers using your products or services
6. Add a Compelling Call-to-Action
Finally, be direct about what you want people to do. Your call-to-action (CTA) should convince readers to convert. Whether that conversion is to buy your product, sign up for a newsletter, read more content, or download an email, always ask for the sale!
- Explain what you want readers to do next
- Tell readers how to do it
- Focus on the benefits they will receive
- Create urgency
Improve Your Content Marketing Conversions
Want to significantly boost your conversions? These six tips can help get you started. To supercharge your conversion rates even higher, contact the experts at 20North Marketing. We are a full-service digital marketing agency that can help grow your business. Contact 20North Marketing today.
