How to help your business stand out with unique content

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importance of unique content

First of all let me make it clear that “unique content” doesn’t mean that you have to get your content writing topics from another galaxy. In many cases multiple people have already written about the topic you are about to write. It becomes unique when you write on it from your perspective, from your point of view, the way it affects your business. That’s what makes it unique.

Publishing unique content on a regular basis

Publishing content – whether you’re doing it on your website or your business blog – regularly is an integral part of your short-term and long-term content marketing strategy. There shouldn’t be long delays in publishing new content. The problem is not writing and publishing, the problem is coming up with unique content ideas non-stop. How do they do that? How do successful bloggers and publishers come up with totally unique ideas day after day, week after week, month after month, and amazingly, year after year?

Whether it’s difficult or easy, it depends on your level of involvement. My personal experience has been, when I am eagerly seeking out new content writing ideas, I get them, and when I don’t, it becomes very hard to write something interesting and unique.

How unique content helps your business stand out

The usual stuff isn’t much interesting. People don’t share it, people don’t seek it and people don’t talk about it.

But does it mean I cannot write on a topic like “How to create killer headlines for your blog posts?” because every copywriter, content writer and blogger on the World Wide Web has had something to say on it?

Not necessarily.

Even if the topic has been beaten to pulp you can still make it unique by giving it your touch and applying your business philosophy on it.

In India there is a corporate motivational guru called Shiv Khera and one of his famous taglines is, “Leaders don’t do different things, they do things differently”.

Normally I don’t relate to this tagline much because I believe doing different things is as important as just being different, but in this context, it can help you create unique content if you present it differently, and by differently I don’t mean simply changing the vocabulary of the article or the blog post, but giving it a twist that only you can give.

Remember that when you’re creating content you want to make an impact. If you’re writing it for your customers and clients, they need to see the inherent message and grasp it in the right manner.

Let’s come back to “How to create killer headlines for your blog posts?”

Normally you would have a bulleted list on how to create great headlines. Now consider these headlines:

  • Increase your conversion rate by 400% with your headlines
  • Your blog headlines can make or break your online business
  • The money is in the headlines
  • No compelling headlines? Forget doing business

In these three headline options we are basically talking about the same thing – the importance of creating compelling headlines but we’re using different contexts to attract different readers. Some readers would want to know how they can improve their conversion rate, some would like to know how critical they are for the survival of their business, and so on.

You can go on and on. You can talk about the importance of headlines for hospitality business, for a web design business, for a business consulting business, basically everything under the sun.

Add context, write in your own unique style, make it relevant to your readers and you have got yourself unique content that can help your business stand out.

How to make your business Google-updates-proof

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Google Penguin update

Has your search traffic been hit by the latest Google Penguin update? Many websites have taken a hit and according to the various search engine forums, people are even considering layoffs.

That’s pretty serious.

Are these businesses asking for it? Why depend solely on a search engine for your business?

Anyway, that’s not the main problem. There ARE some businesses that invest heavily into getting targeted search engine traffic and there is nothing wrong in that. So if your website depends on Google traffic, how do you make it Google-updates-proof?

What exactly are Google updates?

On and often Google changes its ranking algorithm to, according to its decision-makers and search engineers at least, provide better results to its users. Fair enough. Google is a company and it constantly has to strive to improve its user experience. So they are better judges of how they want to do it. If businesses depend on their algorithms, that’s that.

The recent Google update is called Penguin and I’m too lazy to figure out why it is called so but the main gist is many websites and blogs have lost their good Google rankings and consequently their traffic has nosedived.

Why does it happen? If all Google wants to do is index better content for its users, why some websites lose traffic?

There might be some genuine cases of grief as there is always some collateral damage when a change takes place for good or for bad, but in most of the cases the websites that lose traffic do so because they are solely generating content for that purpose.

When you generate your content to improve your search engine rankings without paying scant regard to its relevance and quality you are bound to create content according to the current algorithm. This is how it works:

  • You figure out how some websites are getting better rankings by following certain practices
  • You try to replicate those practices and experience good results
  • You apply those practices throughout your business and feel very happy

This mostly happens by producing search engine optimized content. I myself have been providing search engine optimized content to my various clients. People also improve their search engine rankings by getting scores of inbound links but right now they are not the focus of my discussion. Since I provide content, my main focus is talking about Google updates vis-a-vis your content.

So when you produce and publish content just to improve your search engine rankings you are bound to be hit whenever Google changes its algorithm. This is because you and Google both are trying to outsmart each other all the time and since Google is a bigger player in this game, you are the one who is hit the most.

Here are a few things you can do to make your blog or website Google-updates-proof:

  • Publish good quality content for the sake of publishing good quality content: The content that you publish on your website or blog should be targeted towards your visitors. It should provide value to your visitors. It should be well written. Even if you are using keywords important to your business, use them when you really need to use them. Don’t just cram your keywords into every page or blog post you publish.

    Most of the websites that are hit by Google updates have inferior quality content (with a few exceptions that are termed as “collateral damage”). Since when you produce and publish content just to please search engines, consciously or unconsciously you customize your content according to their current algorithms. So naturally when these algorithms change, you lose your advantage.

    On the other hand from the beginning itself if you focus on your readers and if your content is ranked well for its quality it is never going to lose its position (again, with a few exceptions). Producing and publishing quality content takes time and a little bit of money (if you hire a content writer or a blog writer), but it is a lot better than completely going off the search engines radar due to a few algorithm changes.

  • Don’t just depend on Google and other search engines: There are many ways these days you can generate quality traffic to your website. It’s just a matter of changing your mindset. For instance, have you built a noticeable presence on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube? In fact there are many businesses that have bypassed the search engines and are still doing better than those depending on search engine traffic.

    Aside from social media and social networking websites you can also get inbound links from quality websites. Of course, you should also go for paid links if you are not worried about losing your rankings on Google. But a better way would be to write guest articles and guest blog posts on trusted and quality blogs and websites to not only expand your presence but also get quality inbound links.

  • Build a mailing list: E-mail marketing still rocks no matter how much it is maligned by spammers. Build a double opt in e-mail list for yourself so that you can send routing updates to your subscribers. In fact it can be one of the most potent tools in your kitty once you have spent ample amount of time building your list. There are many ways you can build your list but this deserves a different blog post.
  • Have a business blog: It is surprising to know that there are still many businesses who don’t have a blog. A blog doesn’t just attract quality traffic from search engines it is also a good source for repeat traffic. It builds your brand. It helps to establish yourself as an authority. As a brand you can create a vibrant community using its comments section. Simply by becoming an important part of various blogging networks and communities you can get an uninterrupted stream of traffic without having to worry about Google and other search engines.

The main point is, don’t just depend on Google for sustainable business especially these days when multiple tools are available to you. It just doesn’t make sense.

External links on how to survive different Google updates

Why my hourly rate has been a hit among my clients

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Content Writing Hourly Rate

When, around a couple of months ago, I switched to an hourly rate model, although I was sure that it was the right decision, I wasn’t exactly sure how my clients in India would react.

In western countries an hourly rate is the norm so I haven’t had any problem with 90% of my work (less than 10% of my work comes from India). In fact they used to find my previous way of charging – per document and on top of that different rates for different documents like the homepage, other primary pages of the website, articles, blog posts, press releases, etc. – quite confusing and, in many cases, unacceptable.

With the new charging model, per document, and even per project, I am making a lot less than what I used to make, but I have more work, my conversion rate has perhaps doubled, and above everything, I know that for every minute I spend working on a document, I am being paid for that time. It’s a nice feeling.

My conversion rate has almost doubled and I can think of 2 reasons why:

  1. I have started charging an hourly rate so there is no ambiguity — whether I’m working on the homepage, other pages, writing blog posts or even making design changes to an existing website, I’m charging my hourly rate and my clients know that.
  2. Since at the time I made the switch I had no idea on what basis I should charge an advance, I stopped taking an advance

Prior to charging an hourly rate I could never think of not asking for an advance but I really don’t know what happened and suddenly I felt, there was no need.

In this way, there is no financial uncertainty for the client. He or she knows that I’m not going to disappear after taking an advance. It is in my interest to turn in the work in good quality and on time and I’m perfectly fine with that.

And what about if one of these clients don’t pay after I have submitted the work?

Well, I will take it as a part of doing my job. I am getting enough work, so even if a couple of clients don’t pay (such a case, surprisingly, thankfully, happens just once or twice a year) it hardly matters.

I’m enjoying my work more and I’m less insecure. The quality of my work has improved considerably and so has my confidence as a writer.

Another consequence of me switching to an hourly rate is that I have altogether stopped working with content writers. I am doing all the work.

Of course, later on, I will again be outsourcing some of my work but this time I will make sure that the final version that leaves my computer will be mine and not that content writer’s.

And my Indian clients?

Some are fine with the way I charge, and some are not. It has been a mixed reaction. On the other hand, clients of Indian origin who are living abroad have reacted favorably.

Why a blog is important for your small business

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Business blogging

Do you publish a small business blog? As a small business if you don’t have a blog you are losing out on many aspects of online marketing, SEO and social engagement.

Having a small business blog has many advantages. Small businesses normally don’t have big marketing budgets and they have to depend on individual effort in order to survive and thrive. Blogging kills multiple birds (I don’t endorse killing of birds for entertainment and leisure purposes, in fact I loathe such acts) with a single stone. Once you have set up a small business blog and accumulated some high-quality blog posts

  • Your website begins to rank higher on various search engines
  • Search engines index and rank greater number of pages and blog posts from your website
  • Your overall keyword density improves
  • You have useful content to share on your social media and social networking profiles
  • Your followers and friends get more opportunities to promote your links as you publish fresh content regularly
  • You establish yourself as an authority due to the expertise you constantly share through your small business blog
  • Search engines and social media websites begin to regard you as an authority and hence attach more importance to your content
  • You engage your visitors in meaningful conversations and hence improve your recognition and identity and consequently, strengthen your brand

Having a small business blog is easy

You can either set up a business blog under your existing domain name (something like http://yourwebsite.com/blog) or you can have a separate domain name for your blog and put your main website link there. Although there are many free blog hosting services that you can use; I recommend using WordPress for your small business blog because it gives you full control over your blog in terms of layout and content. Besides, you can freely download it and install it on your server. This is more important especially now when online services are randomly shut down by even reputed companies like Google..

Provided you already have a website and you want to host a small business blog under your existing domain name, it doesn’t cost you much. You can either do it on your own, or you can hire somebody who is comfortable installing WordPress blogs. The benefit of hiring someone experienced is that within a couple of hours you are ready to go.

Maintaining a small business blog demands some time and investment

Of course as a business tool a small business blog cannot be 100% free. Either you yourself will have to create content or you’ll need to hire a content writer for that. Initially, in the fit of enthusiasm you can create a few well-written blog posts but eventually you will need to look out for an experienced content writer who can take over your blog and make sure it always has fresh, relevant and useful content.

Rather than quantity focus on quality

For your small business blog it is very important you don’t get swayed by the keyword hoopla and focus on the broad quality of your content. Getting 100s of keyword-centric blog posts may get you lots of traffic, but if that traffic doesn’t convert into business, you are simply wasting your money and effort. Instead, invest on high-quality content that not only ranks higher on search engines and performs better on social media and social networking websites, but also improves your conversion rate.

Besides, these days you can be penalized by search engines like Google for over-using your keywords. So use your keywords whenever they are necessary and don’t needlessly stuff them. Even your content writer must know that. Sometimes people indulge in keyword stuffing unknowingly and if your content writer is doing that, you will need to remind him or her not to do it.

Does having a small business blog actually help you?

It depends on what you’re looking for. If you think your small business blog will immediately increase your business, it may not happen. It is a publishing platform. It helps you build a communication tool that can help you in whichever way you want. There is traffic, and then there is targeted traffic. Targeted traffic to your small business blog will always have a greater conversion rate compared to non-targeted traffic.

The success of your small business blog also hinges upon your clarity of purpose. Do you want to build an audience that will eventually turn into your customers, or do you want to straightaway sell your products and services via your blog posts? To be frank, whether it makes sense or not, on the Internet people are turned off if you are directly trying to sell them. Of course everybody understands that eventually you need to make a living, and nobody resents that. But if you are providing quality content, just provide quality content through your small business blog. Don’t try to trick people into buying your product or service just because they have come to your blog to read your blog posts.

Yes, your small business blog can increase your business. Use it to increase the level of credibility. Use it to develop a strong readership base. Encourage people to subscribe to your e-mail updates and try to engage them as much as possible. Remember that it is the level of engagement and recognition that will eventually encourages them to do business with you, and this you can be easily achieve by publishing a regular small business blog.