How Value-Driven Content Can Boost Your SEO and Brand Reputation

It's time you move away from a Search Engine Optimization focus to a value-driven focus. What does this mean? In the past, businesses and brands cared mainly about ranking high on Google, so they're content was primarily focused around keywords. What this inevitably lead to was poor quality content no one cared to read. Once you understand that content is the doorway to sales, you will find greater outcomes for your Internet marketing initiatives.

What is Value-Driven Content, Really?

In a nutshell, value-driven content is content that's designed with the reader in mind. It answers pressing questions and concerns they may have, entertains and/or educates. Visitors actually find value in the pieces of content your brand produces. This in turn increases engagement, which can give your SEO a boost.

The Tie Between Content and SEO

We know that keywords still remain a factor in how your content is ranked, but it's no longer front and center. What Google cares about today is how much people like your content. The way it verifies this is by identifying how users interact with your posts. Are they sharing it, commenting on it, clicking the “like” or “+1” button? All of these are signals that Google pays attention to. So in turn, the content with high user engagement will prevail.

Your Brand Reputation: Content is Key

In the real world, conversations and presentations tell people a lot about your character. People are able to hear what you say and see what you do and determine whether you're a good person that's trustworthy and vice versa. In the digital world, your content does this for you. Your brand can't speak for itself, so you need to do it in the form of videos and written content.

Obviously, if your content is low-quality, then the impression people will have of your brand is that it's mediocre. Who wants to do business with a mediocre company? Only cheap people. If you want to draw in higher-paying customers who are loyal to your brand, then you need to deliver high-quality content that addresses your audience.

Creating Value-Driven Content

Research plays a major role in finding out what type of content your prospects would value most. You have to determine what type of questions and problems they have and then address them. User intent should also be researched before selecting the keywords you implement. Knowing why people are searching for those terms will help you come up with ideas on how to use them in your content. Some are obvious, like “used cars for sale” and others not-so-much, like “back pain”. The latter users could be looking for beds to buy, chiropractors, medicinal healing and so on. Careful research will help you identify which keywords to use in your strategy and how to use them in your content so that it caters to your audience.

Hugh Benjamin is an Internet marketing expert at I Think an Idea, a Los Angeles SEO Company that helps small businesses across the globe with growth by implementing sound SEO, social media and online reputation management strategies.  Call 888.240.0606 for a Free Online SEO Evaluation.