The first step in content marketing is starting a blog. If you post informative, engaging articles, visitors will naturally gravitate to the website. Ultimately, content creation can be one of your key tactics to improve positions in search rankings.
But you need a solid strategy to promote it. Writing about the first thing that comes to mind and publishing it in your blog is a bad idea. After all, you’re trying to appeal to both the algorithms and users.
If your goal is to drive more traffic to your website, choose content formats that will help you achieve it. Today, our editors at Contenteam will share eight content options that will benefit companies from different industries. Here is why they work:
- these formats are shareable, which attracts organic traffic and external links;
- they usually rank better than regular articles;
- the content can be repurposed for social media to expand reach.
If any of these options grab your interest, let us know – we’ll be happy to help you write them!
Table of Contents
1. Infographics
Infographics are a visual presentation of data to communicate information quickly and clearly. It can be an image with one graph or a large detailed multi-page compilation with multiple pages.
Users enjoy sharing infographics. In fact, social media posts with infographics get three times as many likes and shares as other types of content.
How to Create
Gather relevant data (or do your own research) and reach out to a graphic designer. Alternatively, you can try creating your own infographics yourself in simple editors like Canva or Piktochart.
How to Drive Traffic with This Content
- Post on Pinterest, add title + description with keywords, provide your sources.
- Post a snippet of the infographics on social media and encourage users to visit your website to see it in full.
- Use image search to see if others reposted your visuals, contact them and ask for a link.
- Add the word “infographics” to the title of the article – this will attract more clicks in the SERPs.
Example
Help Net Security creates great infographics that found their way to social media and reached the top of image search results.
2. Memes and Gags
This is another format that social media users love. Just make sure to adapt the current Internet joke for your niche so that it doesn’t come off as random or distract users.
How to Create
Meme Generator and Quick Meme are your go-to websites. If you want to bring a unique idea to life and create an original comic, contact an artist.
How to Drive Traffic with This Content
- Your meme iteration should bring up a problem or topic that is relevant to your audience. Then, you can offer a solution or discussion in a blog article.
- Add silly images beside the links to your site – this will make users click to learn more.
Example
Memes are very popular in the crypto space. People at Binance are avid meme collectors, regularly sharing their own or user-generated images. Many of them are about bringing positive sentiment to crypto holders and joking about sceptics.
3. Video
Video is more engaging and convincing to the audience compared to text. Right now, the format is at its peak popularity. According to Renderforest, 78% of webmasters have increased their website traffic through videos.
How to Create
Videos can be very different: from short clips made with a front-facing camera all the way to professional quality shows. You won’t need any special equipment to shoot a simple video – just your smartphone. But if you want to go all out, you can use lights, a microphone, and a studio. Decide based on your tasks, posting platforms, and budget.
How to Drive Traffic with This Content
- Make YouTube videos: Google often puts them above article links.
- Attach a video to the article so that reader will stay on the page for longer and get to the article through its accompanying video.
- Try out short videos, for example, TikTok, and offer users to go to your website as a lead magnet or to get detailed information.
Example
Accenture accompanies blog articles with videos on the same topic. This helps increase time on page and attract more visitors from search results.
4. Detailed Guides and Tutorials
Search engines love in-depth articles with full and accurate answers to the user’s query. According to Hubspot, 2,100-2,400 words is the text length that attracts the most organic traffic. This is why with guides and tutorials, you have a better chance of hitting the top rankings. Since the first positions attract up to 33% of clicks, expect targeted traffic to flow to your website.
How to Create
The best option is to have an expert write your guide. However, an expert with good writing skills is very rare.
You can work with a copywriter and collect references for them (or have them work with an expert directly). This will ensure the final product is factually correct and relevant. Services like ResponseSource can be useful for these tasks – just leave a request and pick suitable responses.
Consider adding infographics, tables, videos, and podcasts to the guides to keep visitors’ attention and make their reading experience more diverse.
How to Drive Traffic with This Content
- Look through search results for your relevant queries and write something better than your competitors at the top.
- Make shorter-format posts based on the guide, post them on social media, and invite users onto the website to see the whole thing and find out the details.
- Share the link on relevant forums and discussion panels to increase page authority.
Example
Adobe occasionally posts detailed tutorials and case studies, solidifying their positions at the opt of search results.
5. Reviews and Unboxing
93% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase. Search engines process millions of requests that have something to do with “review” every day. So, there is demand, you just need to create supply.
How to Create
Pick a relevant product or service and make a detailed and unbiased review. You can test highly advertised features or compare the product to similar ones by competitors. The format is up to you: article, video, social media post, or something else. Most importantly, make sure to add a link directly to the product in the online store.
How to Drive Traffic with This Content
- Research keywords for this topic and add different variations of the product name to cover as many queries as possible.
- Be as thorough as possible to get to the top of the search results.
- Submit your review to the popular review aggregator sites (Amazon, TechRadar) and suggest going to your website for similar reviews.
- Take things a step further and create a section dedicated to this format.
Example
Exodus does not specialize in reviews but still takes advantage of this content format. This strengthens the service’s position as an expert voice in the crypto space.
6. Selections and Compilations
“Top 10 software for business collaboration”, “10 free essential tools for cybersecurity”, “Top 5 books for beginning traders” – search engines rank these articles well because they help users make better choices.
How to Create
Start by collecting keywords for your niche. See which queries are the most popular and list your options for relevant selections. Consult an expert or make your own compilation to create truly valuable content.
How to Drive Traffic with This Content
- See how many tools and items your competitor include and review more.
- Optimize your text for good search engine rankings.
- Complement the material with independent reviews.
- Share each item on social media in small batches and encourage people to view the full review.
Example
Changelly has a regular section with the best cryptocurrencies for the near future. Not only is it a popular topic on its own, but they also support the article with social media posts.
7. Checklists
Users appreciate quick instructions that they can easily follow, which is why lists often become featured snippets. Search engines take them from articles and add a link to the source for a detailed article.
How to Create
Include step-by-step lists in your texts where appropriate. Be sure to put them in an easy-to-understand format like a list or subheadings, otherwise, bots will not register them as checklists. Additionally, you can put a checklist into a visual format to make it more shareable for social media.
How to Drive Traffic with This Content
- Describe each step as briefly as possible.
- Add keywords to the accompanying text and the checklist itself.
- Share an image version of the list on social platforms and mention that users can see the detailed guide on the website.
Example
Mural uses the checklist format, neatly integrating its own collaboration tool into the mix. Plus, heading can be easily turned into steps for Google snippets.
8. Research
The numbers are important to both businesses and consumers. They draw the most attention in presentations and reports, trend analyses, comparisons (e.g., company success vs. market average). Do your own research to get links from other reputable sources and social media reposts.
How to Create
Conduct a survey among your customers. For example, you can add a pop-up window to the website, send out a newsletter, or post about it on a social network. You can go further and seek help from specialized services (SurveyMonkey, TypeForm). If you collect anonymous customer data, assess changes and trends.
How to Drive Traffic with This Content
- Spice up dry numbers with graphs, tables, and other visual materials.
- Share your research with niche publications, offer to publish a press release.
- Make announcements on social media.
- If you don’t have the resources to do your own research, try collecting data from different sources.
Example
Atlassian does a great job with original research on their blog service, having a separate department for Research & Insights.
In Short
Publish high-quality content, and traffic will follow. Consider these formats to promote your blog:
- Infographics
- Memes and gags
- Video
- Detailed guides and tutorials
- Reviews and unboxing
- Selections and compilations
- Checklists
- Research
If you’re looking for a content marketing agency to develop and manage targeted strategies, let’s work together!
FAQs
What is content creation in marketing?
Content creation is the process of generating topic ideas and executing them in different content formats for brand promotion. It can be roughly divided into written and visual content, both of which are meant to attract and retain a defined audience. These days, it’s an essential part of any marketing strategy.
Why is content creation important?
It provides your website visitor with something of value. From the customer’s perspective, it makes you appear professional, trustworthy, and relevant. From the search engine’s perspective, it informs algorithms that your website offers useful content that is worth showing to more users.
What is content creation all about?
It’s all about generating traffic, followers, and leads. There are many other direct and indirect positive outcomes like building rapport with the audience, positioning your brand as a thought leader, upselling, exploring prospect pains, developing new ideas, and many more.
