We create content on our websites and blog with the hope that people will read it, enjoy it, share it and come back to read more. Unfortunately, sometimes your website or blog can be a ghost town with virtually no visits other than you and maybe a few friends.
So how do you market your website and blog posts to ensure you get traffic?
First you need to make sure that the content you are creating is worthy of people’s time.
- Is it informative?
- Is it well presented?
- Do you have nice images?
- Is it between 500 to 1500 words?
These are just a few things you need to consider when creating your blog post. You also need to make sure that your website has ways for people to share your content with others with social share buttons.
Fortunately, WordPress makes this very easy to do. With so many themes (Like Evo Pro) and plugins that give you a ton of ways to style your social media icons, it is effortless to make your content easy to share.
Facebook Marketing
A lot of content creators have been up in arms over the past few years since Facebook changed their algorithm which made organic reach extremely difficult. Facebook has become a Pay to Play Platform.
So does that mean you should give up on Facebook? No, you should continue to market your content on the social platform. The trick is that you have to develop genuine connections with people who will engage with your posts and links. If people continuously like and share your content on Facebook, then your content will be shown in their feed more often.
Groups are large on facebook and you should definitely make use of relevant groups.
Gone are the Days of Spamming Facebook
Facebook has made it very very difficult to just throw up content on the platform. Marketers were spoiled in the past with being able to simply share a link and having it liked and scene by a large audience without little engagement.
Now you have to work for it.
Twitter Marketing
Twitter is a favorite of marketers and gives you another way to market your website to the masses. But Twitter has also changed their algorithm which made it difficult to reach people. Engagement is key and making sure you connect with people is important. You can direct message people and @ them in your tweets. Also proper use of hashtags is important.
LinkedIn is a professional social media website which means that the content you share should be presented in a professional manner. You can use LinkedIn to connect with people in similar fields or create a niche market and target it.
Groups are a large part of LinkedIn and should be used. Just make sure you follow the rules of the group so you don’t get kicked out.
Google+
A lot of people have brushed off Google+ but if used correctly can be a great platform for you to share your content. Those who use Google+ tend to have high rates of engagement. This can be a benefit to you since you want to have a high level of engagement with your content.
Google+ also has SEO Search Engine Optimization benefits which means it can help you rank better in the search engines. While it’s not designed for this purpose, the proof is easy to see when you Plus a persons post on Google+ and you’re signed in to Google, their content if relevant to your search will be prominently displayed in the search results.
Quora
Quora is one of my favorite social network/Q&A websites. It is where you can ask questions and people knowledgeable on the topic will provide an answer. This means you can provide answers to topics that you are familiar with and potentially share a link to your website or article that talks about the topic. Just make sure to provide legitimate answers and don’t spam Quora.
Another benefit of using Quora is, if your answer is a good one and well received by the community, it might get featured in their Email Digest. One of my answers was emailed to almost 100,000 Quora Users. This can be extremely beneficial to your website marketing strategy.
YouTube
YouTube needs no introduction, it is the king of video and if you’re able to create relevant videos to go along with your blog posts, then this platform can be extremely useful. Google owns YouTube so you get an added benefit of having a video show up in the search results of Google along with a link to your article.
Also remember that YouTube is the second largest search engine, second only to Google.
Note: Facebook is making a huge play in the video space and is directly going after YouTube’s market. On facebook, links to YouTube videos don’t get scene as often but if you upload a video directly to facebook, more people will see it. This is a battle of the titans but YouTube has the edge for content marketers since you get the benefit of getting found in the search engines and since YouTube still has a significant lead in the video market.
Other Platforms
There are a lot of Social Media Platforms out there that cater to various markets. You should identify which one makes sense for you and your business. Below is a list of other notable platforms to use.
- Instagram – Is really a pay to play platform since links are not easy to share but you can develop a nice following on the platform.
- Pinterest – Is another photo sharing and mood board type website that you can use if it makes sense for your site.
- Snapchat – Is geared to a younger generation.
- Periscope – Is a live video platform created by developers from Twitter. This can be a beneficial site to use.
Pay to Play
Another way to market your website is to pay to show up in the Social Media websites feed. This can be a very beneficial way for you to market to people who would be interested in your website and content. You can really target your audience and ensure that you get the most out of your ad dollars.
You can also advertise with Google to show your website and content in the search engines and this is a fast way to end up on page one of Google but again, you will be located in the Ad designated location which gets about 14% of the clicks versus 86% of organic search results.
SEO Search Engine Optimization
This is the goal of most website owners, to end up featured prominently in the search engine results on page one. This takes a significantly long time to do properly which is why this should go in your long term strategy. The basics of SEO are:
- Create High Quality Content
- Properly coded website
- Fast loading website
- Featured on Social Media
- Consistently created content
The Takeaway
Marketing your website and your content is no easy task but if you create a strategy and are consistent in your effort, it will pay off. You just really need to research what works and what doesn’t. Most people quit way too soon. This means that if you keep on working at it, you will succeed while others won’t.
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