We all are aware of the importance of website content.
A 2021 Forbes article recommends that marketers designate 25% to 30% from your budgets to content marketing.
Although this number could change for different industries or countries, it is a good portion of the overall budget.
You can also gauge the degree of interest in content creation and content marketing by the number of articles, advertisements and posts related to content creation and marketing services that you see online.
It all sounds great, but I’ve heard that some companies are considering reducing their budget allocations for 2023 due to less than expected performance.
I would like to examine why content may not work and why it may happen in some countries but not others.
What is quality content?
All website owners believe that they have good quality content on their sites.
But when you’re allocating a quarter of your marketing budget, it better be great.
In Google Search Central, Google staff wrote:
“Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information, we want to guide Google users to the highest quality content, a principle exemplified in our quality ranking guidelines.
Professional publishers provide the lion’s share of quality content that benefits users, and we want to encourage their success.”
When SEO professionals hear “quality content”, they think of “EAT” and focus primarily on that. But Google’s John Mueller does shared a definition of content quality which encompasses EAT and even goes beyond this single concept.
The more popular a content topic is, the more content about that same topic exists on the web.
When you think you have quality content written by an industry professional, but its performance isn’t meeting your expectations, you may need to re-examine your content creation approach and strategy.
Why is no one finding my content?
When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), you need to find good content by ranking well in search results.
If your content isn’t generating organic traffic, it may simply not be visible in search results; does not rank high for relevant search queries.
Your content may be too generic in terms of the information it contains.
You might think it’s good content, but if there are 10 other pages with more content or different information, your page might not be in the top 10. Maybe Google thinks people are looking for specific types of information when they use certain queries, which differs from what you offer.
If your content is different from what Google shows at the top of search results, the chance of your page being visible in search results decreases.
Have you checked what appears in the search results to see if the topic of your content is a good fit?
For example, when I searched for “wooden spoon”, the search results were filled with shopping sites and images. When I searched for “tiling”, I found the definition of tiling, how-to guides and videos in the search results.
Search results for “ceramic material” include pages with definitions and general “what is” content.
If your shiny article doesn’t have the right elements or fit the searcher’s context, you may never be seen.
Search results vary
Please note that search result profiles may vary from country to country.
If your content works well in one country but not in the other, this could be the reason. And that’s why it’s important to review the search engine results pages (SERPs) for various queries in each target market.
In the example below for a specific model of Dewalt tool, several listings for the brand appear in search results in Australia, which may be driving traffic and sales.
This same query in the UK returns a very different set of search results.
The ad block is followed by a set of videos reviewing the tool, followed by People Also Ask. The brand page for this product is well below the fold.
In this case, reports may indicate that the UK product content is not working well.
Especially in the UK, the brand may want to create videos and make sure they answer the questions people have about their products.
By the way, good content doesn’t rank well by itself.
Google and all major search engines use several ranking factors in addition to text. Overall site health, including page speed and user experience, and other content such as images and videos affect overall performance.
Also, the page load speed it could be very different from one country to another.
Make sure the user experience of your site is good in all target countries and that it loads quickly, providing a valuable user experience.
Who is the audience?
Since you’re creating content in hopes of bringing more traffic, conversions, and revenue to your site, it’s essential to consider your target audience. If your content doesn’t resonate with your audience, it won’t convert, even when it’s at the top of search results.
I often see website owners wanting to target keywords with high search volume or they decide to add certain content to match what their competitors have on their websites.
Unless you just want traffic from nobody, this might not be the right approach for your content creation.
As for the quality of the content, it should be highly relevant to both your business and your target audience.
Consider the different markets
Certain content on your site performing poorly in one country compared to other countries may be due to different audience interests between markets.
Research local interests in a given market, edit your local page or add additional information to your main content that connects with a local audience.
Every market is different, with some consumers requiring more specifications and information before they are ready to buy.
What is the goal (conversion) of the content?
When you allocate 25-30% of your marketing budget, the content must convert and meet your business goals, or your content budget may be reduced next year.
The big question for underperforming content is whether it was actually designed to drive the expected conversions.
Depending on the companies and websites, the different conversion metrics change.
Sales are usually the number one goal of an e-commerce site, while the goal of a non-profit organization’s website is usually to increase general awareness, leading to an increase in membership or donations.
If you have a DIY store website, you would want your floor tools page to show up in the search results for “floor scrapers”. If you run an art website, you would want Gustave Caillebotte’s “Floor Scrapers” page to show up in search results.
The content of these sites should not be the same at all.
Global mindset, global goals
Due to some business reasons, your company may have different targets for some target countries. If this is the case, you need to consider several conversion points and flows when creating content.
conclusion
As you prepare for 2023, I strongly suggest that you evaluate your content for each market through the global lens I described above.
As budgets tighten and every dollar counts, it will be critical to ensure existing and new content engages readers, but it must also connect with Google.
Eliminating ambiguity and presenting context within your content is critical to future success, as with the floor scraper example.
If you’re only sending expertly written text, you may be missing out on important opportunities that require videos, photos, or something as simple as answering the audience’s question.
Google is radically changing the search results ecosystem to better connect with the searcher by presenting content options that match the intent of the query, presented by websites that load quickly and provide a great user experience.
More resources:
Featured image: ESB Professional/Shutterstock
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