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If you're wondering whether content marketing is right for your business, you're not alone. With so many different marketing strategies out there, it can be tough to know which one is the best fit for your company.

Content marketing is a strategic approach that focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.

While it's not right for every business, when done correctly, content marketing can be an extremely effective way to reach your target market. Here's what you need to know about content marketing, as well as how to create a successful strategy for your business.

What is content marketing and why is it important.

What are the benefits of content marketing

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.

There are many benefits of content marketing including:

-Generating leads: Content can be used to generate leads by providing gated offers such as ebooks, white papers, or case studies in exchange for an individual’s contact information.

-Nurturing relationships: Once you have a lead’s contact information, you can begin nurturing that relationship with targeted emails, blog posts, or other forms of content designed to build trust and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry.

-Increasing conversions: By continuing to provide valuable content to leads and customers alike, you can increase the likelihood that they will take the desired action – whether that’s subscribing to your email list, downloading a white paper, or making a purchase.

-Improving SEO: Fresh, original content helps improve your website’s search engine optimization (SEO), which can lead to more traffic and higher ranking in search results.

-Building brand awareness and credibility: Consistently producing quality content helps build brand awareness and credibility over time. The more people see your name and associate it with helpful information or interesting insights, the more likely they are to remember you when they need what you sell.

What are the different types of content marketing

There are many different types of content that can be used for content marketing purposes. Some common examples include blog posts, articles, ebooks, infographics, webinars, whitepapers, case studies, how-to guides, Q&As , images/photos , and interviews . The best type of content for your business will depend on your goals , target audience , and available resources .

How do you know if content marketing is right for your business

You may be wondering ifcontent marketing is right for your business . After all , not every company has embraced this strategy – but those who have often see great results . Here are some signs that suggestcontent marketing could be a good fit for you :

-You want to generate leads : As we mentioned earlier , one of the main benefits ofcontent marketingis generating leads . If this is one of your primary goals , then it’s definitely worth considering this strategy .

-You want to nurture relationships : Another key benefit ofcontent marketingis building relationships with potentialand current customers . If this sounds like something you’d like to achieve , then again – it may be worth pursuing this strategy .

-You want to improve SEO : As we also mentioned earlier , another big advantageofcontent marketingis improving SEO . And since SEO can result in more trafficand higher rankingsin search engines – this could be yet another sign thatthis strategy is rightfor you and your business .

How to create a content marketing strategy for your business.

Define your goals

Before you can create a content marketing strategy, you need to know what you want to achieve with your content. Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, or generate leads? Once you know your goal, you can create content that is designed to achieve it.

Research your audience

If you want your content to be successful, you need to understand who your target audience is and what they are interested in. What are their pain points? What kind of content do they consume? You can find this information by conducting market research or using data from Google Analytics.

Choose your content formats and channels

Once you know who your audience is and what they want, you need to decide what type of content will best suit their needs. Will a blog post suffice, or do they need something more visual like an infographic? Once you've decided on the format, you need to choose which channels will be most effective for reaching your target audience. Are they active on social media? Do they read industry publications?

Create a content calendar

Creating a content calendar will help you stay organized and ensure that your content is timely and relevant. Decide how often you want to publish new content, and then map out when each piece will go live. This will help ensure that your content marketing strategy is consistent and effective over time.

How to measure the success of your content marketing.

Set up Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free tool that can help you measure the success of your content marketing. To set it up, create a Google Analytics account and then add the tracking code to your website. Once you have done this, you will be able to track your website traffic, as well as the number of leads and sales that come from your content marketing efforts.

Track your goals

It is important to set goals for your content marketing strategy and then track these goals to see if you are achieving them. You can use Google Analytics to track Goals, which are specific actions that you want your website visitors to take, such as subscribing to your newsletter or making a purchase. By tracking how many people complete these Goals, you can gauge the success of your content marketing strategy.

Analyze your results

Once you have set up Google Analytics and tracked your goals, you can begin to analyze your results. Look at the overall traffic to your website, as well as the traffic that comes from each individual content piece. Also, look at how many people complete each Goal and what percentage of leads or sales come from your content marketing efforts. By analyzing this data, you can fine-tune your content marketing strategy to make it more successful.

Key takeaways.

Key Takeaways

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.

Content marketing is important because it helps you build relationships with your customers and create a brand identity. It can also be used to generate leads, increase website traffic, and boost sales.

Not all businesses will benefit from content marketing. If your business sells products or services that are not purchased by individual consumers (B2B), if you have a low-budget, or if you are selling products or services that are not well suited to an informational or educational approach, then content marketing may not be right for you.

If you decide to pursue content marketing, there are a few key things you need to do in order to be successful:

1) Define your goals

2) Research your audience

3) Choose your content formats and channels

4) Create a content calendar

5) Set up Google Analytics

6) Track your goals

7) Analyze your results

8) Make changes as needed

Content marketing is not a quick or easy fix — it takes time, effort, and patience to see results. However, if done correctly, it can be an extremely effective way to grow your business.

Conclusion

Content marketing is a great way to connect with your audience and promote your business. However, it's important to make sure that it's right for your business before you dive in. Follow the tips above to create a content marketing strategy that will help you measure the success of your content marketing efforts.

Many people think only websites that collect personal information are vulnerable to malware.  In reality, any website can fall victim.  Malware – short for malicious software – can cause numerous issues.  Sometimes it generates links and advertisements on your website. However, in worst cases, cybercriminals use malware to take control of your website and install programs on the computers of your site visitors in an attempt to steal data, passwords, photos, credit card information and anything else that is of interest.

Knowing the signs of malware is the first line of defense.  If you suspect your website has been infected with malware, it is extremely important to address it sooner than later because:

1. You don’t want the malware to put any of your customers or site visitors at risk.
2. Browsers and search engines will begin to identify your site as containing malware, which is a red flag to both existing and future customers.
3. Most importantly, once Google discovers your website has malware, you have a limited time to clean the malware and send a proper appeal to Google before they remove your website from their search engine.

If you suspect your website has malware, a professional can scan your site, identify the type of malware that has infected your website, clean and resolve the malware, and submit any necessary appeals to search engines to ensure your website is restored to good standing.  How do you know if your website might be infected with malware?  Here are a few signs:

1. Your website becomes very slow for no apparent reason.
2. Your website suddenly crashes or freezes.
3. Your website is being re-directed somewhere else.
4. You notice ads or pop-ups that you have not enabled on your website.
5. There is a sudden or rapid drop or increase in traffic.
6. Browsers (i.e. Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.) send warning messages about your site containing malware.
7. Google Search Console sends you a message that your website has been hacked.

If you’ve experienced these or any other anomalies, your website may have been hacked and infected with malware.  Taking immediate action is key to successfully resolving malware on your website.  If you think you’ve been hacked, give us a call right away and we will conduct a complimentary evaluation and malware scan on your website.