Is Your Article Useful? the Hallmarks of Relevant Content

A successful blog contributes to a website's SEO and pushes it up the search engine results for its target keywords. All business owners want their blogs to have high-quality content. Achieving this, however, is easier said than done. 

Besides finding the best marketing team for the job, you also need to know the hallmarks of valuable, high-quality content. You must align your blog with your business goals, discuss topics that matter to your customers, make your text easy to digest, and give readers actionable takeaways. Let us look closer at these attributes below.

It Aligns with Business Goals and with User Intent

A digital strategy that works wonders for a coffee shop won't necessarily get the same results for a fast food place. Even if they both sell food and drink, their business goals are different. As such, they would have different metrics for success. Similarly, you cannot consider an article 'high-quality' if it does not provide what the readers need. Even if it has beautifully written sentences and impeccable grammar, it should first and foremost contribute to the business' goals.

To write successful content, you need to consider user intent. If your target audience consists of supply company owners, for example, writing an in-depth article about the benefits of your graphic design tools to marketing teams won't do much for your brand. If you write an article discussing the value of good graphic design for B2B businesses, though, they might pay attention.

It Goes in-Depth and Discusses Topics That Matter

High-quality content does not just skim the surface of a topic; instead, it covers various relevant angles. Word count is not a reliable indicator of quality, though—some articles convey precisely what the audience needs in less than 1,000 words. Though many studies show a correlation between content length and rankings, it does not mean one causes the other. Just because longer content ranks high in SERPs does not mean you need to drag out your articles to meet a certain word count.

Instead, focus on addressing particular concerns only people in that niche or industry would have. For instance, a coffee production company's blog could write about how to start selling grounds at a farmer's market, the best point-of-sale systems for coffee shops, and the pros and cons of cafés selling alcoholic beverages. These topics would matter to small distributors and café owners, who could be customers of the coffee production company.

It Is Actionable and Links Readers to More Resources

People visit blogs because they are looking for solutions to their concerns. They don't visit for pleasure reading, so make your content practical. Have concrete actions in your article to try in their business and link readers to external sources like tools, applications, or websites that provide more information. You could also recommend books and podcasts, links to scientific studies, courses, or degree programs for those committed to extensive learning.

It Is Conversational and Easy to Digest

David Ogilvy, widely recognized as the father of advertising, emphasizes the importance of speaking the way people do. "If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular," he said.

Conversational writing will always have a place in content marketing. People listen if you speak the way they do because we pay attention to what we understand. If the article is overly academic or has too much jargon, people won't finish reading it. Keep your text simple, especially for a business blog, and align your writing style with the audience.

It Provides a Positive User Experience

Also, keep in mind that most people only skim through articles online instead of reading them from start to finish. A landmark UX study on people's reading patterns online shows that one of the most prevalent ways people consume digital content is with an F-shaped reading pattern.  According to the researchers, people spend the most time on the headlines, part of the first two paragraphs, sub-headings, sidebars, and images. Though people exhibit other reading patterns, this is the most common, and it is what many people default to when reading online.

Leverage this tendency by formatting your text to direct users to what you want them to see first. For example, you could include the most critical points in the first two paragraphs of your text and use headings or subheadings.

Differentiate important data. Surround it with a border, use bold or larger font, or highlight the words. Use bullets and numbers for lists or processes, edit your content, and ensure your links contain information-bearing words. For example, suppose you have the sentence "Learn about homesteading from our blog." Instead of using the phrase 'our blog' as the link, choose 'learn about homesteading.' It links the call-to-action directly to the product.

Conclusion

High-quality content does not happen to your blog by accident. You need to keep your readers and customers in mind when deciding what content to publish on your website. Also, it's vital to make the content reader-friendly; people do not have all day online, so give them exactly what they came for, and they will surely be back for more!

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