Nothing in business is free. I received a call from a former client the other day asking, “Why doesn’t my site rank on Google?” The answer is simple. He had me build him a four-page website and assumed, despite my informing him otherwise, that it would automatically start showing up in local search listings. That is not the way it works, my friend.
Your website is a small island in the vast ocean know as the internet. The customers you’re looking for are boats and planes that traverse that wide expanse, covering thousands of square miles in their respective journeys. If your island isn’t on their map or developed enough where they can see it from afar, you will not get any visitors. It’s that simple.
The Wonderful World of Digital Content Marketing
Websites come in all shapes and sizes. The larger your site, the more visible it will be to those seeking your services. You can add more pages, start publishing blog posts on a regular basis, and dress it up with pretty colors, video, and cool graphics that your buddy supplies you for free, but none of that will actually drive traffic. You need content and images on other websites and social media platforms where your prospects hang out. That’s what digital content marketing is.
Think of it like this. A prospective customer is driving up I-95 from Florida and your island is fifty miles off the South Carolina coast. Chances are that prospect won’t see your island and will drive right by. Now, imagine there’s a sign on the highway, right before you hit Exit 33, telling Mr. or Mrs. Prospect that you are just a ferry ride from Charleston Harbor. Your likelihood of meeting these wonderful folks just increased exponentially.
Digital Content Drives Traffic
That highway sign could be a Facebook ad or an article on Linked In. It could also be a press release on PR Web or an image on Instagram or Pinterest. All of these items classify as digital content and they all drive traffic, but none of them come for free. Your buddy might have some cool graphics for you, but does he know where to post them? Making videos about your company is a great idea, but simply posting them on your website won’t drive traffic. They are no good if no one sees them.
A digital content marketing service can help you. There are some things you should simply not do on your own. Find a professional who knows what he or she is doing and pay the money needed to make money. Put enough content out there in the right places and your site will begin to rank on Google SERP’s, particularly if you add Geo-targeting and local long-tail keywords to your website. I’ll be posting more on those later this week.
Kevin D. Flynn is the founder and CEO of AdvisorScale Financial Writing. When he’s not writing or on the golf course, he spends his “free” time designing WordPress websites or creating business sales processes for start-ups. In addition to AdvisorScale, Mr. Flynn is also the Executive Director of H.E.L.P. for Young Readers and Managing Editor at October Golf Magazine. He lives in Leominster, Massachusetts, with his wife Evelyn. They have four adult children, two cats, and eight wonderful grandchildren.
