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With a new year approaching, now is an optimal time to take a long, hard look at your online content strategy—and to do everything you can to update and improve it. The good news is, there is much you can do right now to maximize your content success in the months to come. Here are a few best practices and general recommendations.

Preparing Your Content Strategy for 2018

Review all available data.

Look back over all your data and analytics from 2017. Which pieces of content got results? Which pieces of content fell flat? Where were your main sources of referral traffic? Of conversions?

With a full year of data available to you, you can make informed choices about where to focus or where to shift your attention over the coming year.

Select targeted keywords.

One particular thing you can look for in your analytics is a good sense of the keywords you should focus on in the coming months.

See which keywords got you the best results, then use the Keyword Planning tool in AdWords to find some keywords that are related to it. Start keeping track of these, as they can guide you in your upcoming content creation.

Start a list of topics.

Using those targeted keywords, you can begin to brainstorm some general topics and themes for upcoming blogs, press releases, or infographics.

Then, when the time comes for content creation, you’ll immediately have some ideas to start with. For best results, share this list in a collaborative document, and allow your colleagues to chime in with their own comments or ideas.

Rewrite your About content.

The new year brings a clean slate—and a fresh opportunity for branding.

It’s an especially good time to read back over the company bios you have on your website and social media profiles, and to freshen them up for the new year. You don’t want to leave them static and stagnant forever.

Audit your website.

Spend some time reading through your website. Take note of content that you like, but also content that could stand revision or updating.

Especially note any broken links, and either fix or remove them as soon as possible. The same with any broken or slow-loading image files!

Make an editorial calendar.

If you really want to get organized for the coming year, we recommend making an editorial calendar. Plan out all upcoming blog posts. Make a note of when they should be written, which keywords should be used, and which team member is in charge of writing and promoting them.

Include hot-topic press releases in your editorial calendar, too!

Research hashtags.

In sharing branded content through social media, hashtag use is key. Often, these hashtags will align closely with your targeted keywords.

However, you don’t necessarily want to use hashtags that are closely associated with a competitor. See which hashtags your competition uses, and compare it against the hashtags that have fared well for your own branded posts.

Invest in PPC.

Organic content reach is critically important—but it’s most effective when paired with a paid ad strategy.

Make sure to leave some room for this in next year’s marketing budget—and start thinking about your paid ad strategy today!

Get Your Content Ready to Convert

A good content strategy won’t just fall into place. You’ve got to build it, revise it, and fine-tune it on a regular basis. Take this opportunity to do so—and for help, reach out to our team.

Driven2020 has the expertise to help you drive traffic to your website. In the last year, our efforts have produced significant results for a variety of clients around the country after we audited their websites and optimized their online strategies. Are you ready to learn how we can help you build an effective content strategy? Call us today.

 

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