Monthly Archives: June 2013

5 steps to creating shareable content

Creating shareable contentEver wondered why some blog post get hundreds – or thousands – of hits everyday? Why their content is regular shared on social media sites, creating a buzz and attracting a new audience?

It’s simple really, they are creating shareable content. And the good news is, you don’t have to have a multi-million dollar marketing budget to emulate them, you just need some common sense and a bit of insight into what makes people want to share content.

Try these five steps:

Solve a problem: Do some research into your niche. Do people constantly face the same hurdles? If so, then give them a solution – and back it up with facts. For example, if you own a hairdressing salon, give hints and tips to keep hair looking lush in winter. Or perhaps you do family counselling, then maybe a post about dealing with teenage angst. And don’t just talk about the problem – give the readers tools to help them overcome it.

Write for people – not Google: There is nothing readers hate more than keyword-stuffed drivel that has just been written to get on to the first page of a Google search. So forget about keywords while you write – your might find they are occur naturally anyway. Put the keywords in your heading, and meta tags.

Catch their attention: The headline of your post needs to grab a visitor and compel them to read on. Create headlines that: are brief and accurate: arouse curiosity; highlight the newness of your information; pose a question; or include a call to action. There is a reason why headlines such as “Five secrets Hollywood doesn’t want you to know” capture readers’ attention.

Add value: Sometimes it feels as if there really is nothing new to say on some subjects, but it is important to try. There is no point just rehashing something that had been said a million times before. So maybe find a new angle on a old issue, or offer a differing point of view.

Be entertaining: This seems to be obvious, but you wouldn’t know it reading some of the blogs out there. Inject your personality, and add images or videos. Don’t be afraid that you are not a good enough writer – if your content is interesting enough, only the true pedant will care if you misplaced an apostrophe.

Do you need compelling content but don’t have the time or resources to create it? Direct Sites Online can help. Call us on 02 9557 7623 or email info@directsitesonline.com.

Get local with your SEO

Despite the advent of the internet, which means your online business can attract customers throughout the world, it is still a fact that proximity is a powerful tool for converting visitors to sales.

People like to support local businesses – which is why you need to harness the power of local SEO.

So what do you need to do to ensure that when people people google “widget sellers in Mytown”, your website pops up?

Network locally – online

Many towns, cities and even suburbs have locally-based forums, Facebook or Google+ groups, or Twitter hashtags. Google – and other search engines – looks fondly upon business who are seen to connect with their local region. When you network, make sure to include links to your site where possible, but take care to avoid looking spammy. Show visitors where you’re based.

Show visitors where you are based

Make sure your website includes information about your locality. If you work from home, you might not want to be specific, but you can include general information about a suburb, or region. And don’t forget the to optimise your Google Places’ listing

Keyword research

This is an important step because it’s the best way to find out what geo-specific keywords people are using. Make sure to cross-check any keywords relating to your product or service with any keywords relation to location.

Foursquare is your friend

Foursquare is a brilliant social network for those of you with bricks-and-mortar businesses, and it can even be great for those working predominantly online. Add your business to Foursquare and ask customers to “check in”. The increase in traffic to your site – and your store – will surprise you.

Use Google Maps

Google Maps will generate HTML code so you can embed a location map on your site. This gives you a double whammy – both your customers and Google know where they can find you.

Direct Sites Online can help your business boost its local SEO. Call us today on 9557 7623, or email info@directsitesonline.com.au.