Content is king on the web. Why else would someone visit your website? A lack of time, skill and simple interest compel some organizations to seek alternative content sources just so they can concentrate on other pursuits.
Fresh, relevant content will get you ranked higher in search engines. Google is looking to make the web a more user-friendly place. The key to all of this is: Are you adding value to the visitors to your website? Also important: Is it in your voice? Is it original?
Tips On Creating Shareable Content
Do your readers like the article? Then they will share it. If readers share your content across social networks, that is a signal to Google of the quality of your content.
You’ll want to keep your website free of R.O.T. (Redundant, Outdated, and Trivial), so let’s find some content!
Hiring a writer is a great way to get website content. The process may be as simple as handing over an assignment and making a payment. If your needs are large enough, you might find it beneficial to hire someone on staff.
Try your hand at content curation. Content curation is still a popular method of populating a website. Question: are you adding value. This can help build pages and pages of useful content with current events, videos, podcasts, infographics, and more. But beware, Matt Cutts from Google warns you from making it automatic, using something like Really Simple Syndication (RSS) technology, without any “value add”. The key, from Google’s point of view is being thoughtful, not automatic.
Have your web development agency write it. This is most likely an add-on service to your development project. Talk with your agency’s CSR (customer service representative). Ask if they offer regular content updates, in your persona. This type of content is original, relevant and easy to add to your website.
Get into guest blogging. Asking a guest to contribute to your website is a favorite content creation method. Avid bloggers can supply well-written text that is relevant to your website’s subject. All your guest blogger may want is a simple backlink.
Rewrite PLR content. PLR (Private Label Rights) is “a license where the author sells most or all of the intellectual property rights to their work. The license is defined by the author of the work and has no legal definition.” (from Wikipedia) PLR content generally has a terrible reputation, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely useless. Beware of duplicate content issues! It might be better to use PLR content as a topic template or an outline. You might not be a writer, but if you are a reasonable editor, you can then revise it to your own standards.
Get content from article directories. Article directories store thousands of content pieces on a huge array of topics. Like with PLR content, the quality at these places varies, but with a little digging, you can find some well-written articles that are free to use on websites and in newsletters. Also, don’t forget to check if what you find is duplicate content. Be aware that content from article directories might hurt your website’s SEO with penalties from Google based on their Penguin algorithm.
Let your visitors write your content. User-generated content is one of the most common ways to get “hands-off” content on any blog, forum or site that invites and encourages visitor interaction. Obviously you might need to act as a moderator to supervise what is posted. This strategy may work rather well with question and answer-type websites, product review sites, and similar genres.
If all else fails, learn to write it yourself. You already know your topic! Take a class at a local college, it may help you improve your “voice” on a subject dear to your heart. Helpful hint: some people just aren’t writers, but they can talk endlessly on a subject. Write a quick outline, then try dictating into your computer’s microphone and use some transcribing software to do the writing for you. Then run it past someone to do the editing for you.
Each one of these resources gives you the opportunity to create something that your website visitors will appreciate. Get creative and give them a try!