Reader Friendly Content Grows Buyer Trust and Improves Google Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Each of this week’s articles support that theme differently. These experts’ insights show how reader friendly content builds trust and enhances SEO:
Writing naturally benefits the reader and sends a positive signal to Google (versus forcing keywords into our copy).
Gaining a buyer’s trust begins with trusting our instincts. Being ourselves is attainable and healthy. “Being remarkable” can be misleading because it’s a relative standard.
Earning trust in a machine learning age (aka Google’s RankBrain) will continuously redefine what’s “reader friendly content.” Artificial intelligence search applications will line up content marketing and SEO even more closely with personal branding and thought leadership authority.
Trustworthiness and its link to helpfulness is a major signal in Google’s secret sauce.
How the company chooses to measure trust in its search algorithm continues evolving. We better pay close attention because Google wields the monopolistic power to either reward or punish our content.
That’s why I think WHAT we write and HOW we write is a vital SEO tactic. Here’s my take on why reader friendly content is great SEO now (and in the future).
Successful Inbound Marketing and Public Relations Requires Content Marketing and SEO Work Together
This past week, I attended webinars, started studying books, and read articles with a common theme: When content marketing and SEO work together, long term, impactful business goals are achieved.
This resounding theme also touches upon another key element: a publishing strategy integrating content marketing and SEO (search engine optimization) is sustainable. These experts share their views on important changes in marketing organization (and individual) skills, mindsets, and organizational structures.
That’s a huge deal for all businesses:
Large Corporations
Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
Freelance Professionals
Here are links to these great articles on where inbound marketing and public relations are heading to deliver more meaningful business outcomes and results.
The Social Media ReInvention Community knows how much my family loves dogs. My family is blessed with two loving German Shepherds utterly devoted to our young daughters. And, one German Shepherd is a rescue.
If the Following Video Is Not Remarkable and Compelling Storytelling, I Don't Know What Is
Note: My apologizes for the brief commercial in the video's introduction. I couldn't locate the commercial-free version. But, I promise it is a moving and soulful content marketing example.
Rule 16 is Highlighted Differently for Obvious Reasons. When the video ended, a lump entered my throat and tears filled my eyes. I don't know what else to say …
The Content We Should Create / The Stories We Should Tell. I'm currently reading / studying Mitch Joel's wonderful book, Ctrl Alt Delete. Mitch makes a valuable and insightful point about committing the common mistake of "creating content just for the sake of creating content or telling stories just for the sake of telling stories … "
Direct quotes from page 196 of Ctrl Alt Delete:
"Marketers often will often say that the best ads are the ones that tell stories. While you can easily shoot back with a 'Duh, tell me something I don't know,' take a cold hard look at all of your marketing collateral and ask yourself if you're telling a story worthy of being told—-or are you just telling a story to get something sold?"
It's not all about content. It's all about stories. It's not all about stories.It's all about GREAT stories.
Your Turn. How did this video / art affect you? Which 22 Pixar Rules of Storytelling do you recognize? How about comparing notes? Please let me know in the comments.
In parallel with the release of LinkedIn Student Jobs and LinkedIn University Pages, LinkedIn also launched their "LinkedIn – Now For Education" landing page. The landing page is "a buyer-persona friendly" site serving and targeting the following audiences:
Parents: The Alumni Section can help parents locate their 1st degree connections who may be able to help their child gain valuable insights (or even more valuable connections) during the application or research process
Academic Institutions: Top universities can be even more aggressive and selective in the students they target and recruit for admission
Prospective Employers: Self explanatory
35 to 54 Year Olds are LinkedIn's Biggest Membership Base
I smiled when the "youthful-sounding" voiceover in the LinkedIn: Your Career Starts Herevideorefers to the predominance of LinkedIn's older members:
"It's (LinkedIn) not just for top executives. It's not just for old people with heavy briefcases. It's (LinkedIn) for you. And, it's the perfect place before you start your professional story."
35-54 year old professionals recognize and understand LinkedIn's value in building and maintaining careers. I would love to find some statistics proving/disproving if this demographic comprised most of the service's first-movers and early adopters.
In about 2 weeks, please stay tuned for my next post in this series. I'll summarize my favorite "pearls of wisdom" LinkedIn shares in the six-part Grad Video Series.
Your Turn: What do you think of LinkedIn's marketing strategy to grow its membership base? Is opening their service to younger members a smart move? Let me know in the comments.
Note: This is post one in a series sharing resources to help new college graduates and current students land full-time jobs or internships. If interested, here are the respective links for posts two and three:
The Premise / Goal / Timing of This Weekly Feature
Premise. If you like the content in this blog, maybe you'll also like the content I regularly read, study, and curate from the Web.
Goal. On a weekly basis, I'm going to publish links to three (3) articles I find interesting. I'll include a brief explanation why I decided to curate them.
1. Why The PC Will Die Soon (Fast Company). I suppose the real question to ask is "what do you mean by soon." I'm not completely sold that the PC or MacBook will completely go away (at least not yet).
But, I acknowledge consumers' desires to be "untethered" (I'm one of them). Consumer demand will continue driving advancements for better mobile and cloud applications enabling "heavy-lifting" content creation from a tablet (maybe even our smartphones someday).
Why I haven't purchased an iPad? Convenience in content creation is the determining factor.
I purchased a MacBook Pro about a month ago (and I LOVE IT). My MacBook Pro provides the essential capabilities for heads-down content creation (i.e., word processing, spreadsheets, infographics, presentation slides, etc.) that an iPad can't conveniently deliver (at least presently).
Plus, my MacBook Pro:
Is mobile and light (I bring it on business trips with my work computer)
Comes with an easy-to-use keyboard for typing lengthy documents
Includes a 500 gigabyte hard drive
Allows off-line usage
Is always "on and connected" (as long as I have access to a WiFi spot, I'm golden)
Has a DVD drive
Yes, I'd love to read my favorite technology content from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, Fast Company, and Wired all from an iPad. Plus, I'd look really cool at the airport or a coffee shop by doing that with an iPad 3.
But, my laptop already does all of the above.
2. P&G To Slash $10 Billion in Costs Over Five Years (Advertising Age). Unfortunately, this decision includes 5,700+ jobs (including fewer P&G marketing executives). Chairman-CEO Bob McDonald says P&G will shift investments away from traditional vehicles like TV to digital channels (e.g., mobile and social media):
"To cut costs without sacrificing impact, Mr. McDonald said P&G is using technology to shift spending from more traditional vehicles like TV to digital and mobile advertising and more efficiently target consumers, "allowing us to build one-on-one personal relationships with every consumer." He also expects to use more multibrand efforts to spread spending more efficiently among brands. He cited the kickoff of P&G's Summer Olympics program in January, which he said delivered more than 2.5 billion impressions in traditional and social media the first month alone and produced a bigger overall impact than the brands could have had by spending individually."
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