7 reasons why your content isn't converting

7 reasons why your content isn't converting

It's easy to get disheartened when you spend hours creating and sharing content that doesn't get the attention you believe it deserves. If this sounds like you, here are a few reasons why your hard work may not be delivering the ROI you want to see.

1. Your messaging is confusing

The best content has a clear message and is structured to instantly capture the attention of the intended audience. In addition to ensuring that every paragraph is constructed of strong sentences that hold a reader's attention, keep your content as straightforward as possible by getting to the point quickly.

2. You aren't leveraging calls to action

Every piece of content needs a strong CTA that effectively guides your reader through a structured journey. Whether you want your reader to click a link, sign up to your email marketing list or make a purchase, your content needs to be designed in a way that centralises this objective. Make sure to keep it relevant and you can add more than one throughout the piece if you can but remember to keep it subtle.

3. You're neglecting design

Successful content is complemented with top quality graphics, illustrations or imagery that reflects both the topic being discussed and the wider brand values. The fact of the matter is that your message won't cut through the noise if it isn't presented in a way that will capture attention for the right reasons.

Always ensure that your design team is kept in the loop with regard to the performance and strategic goals of every piece of content. Failure to do this will result in confusing or disjointed content that won't perform well.

4. Your marketing brain has taken over

Your content needs to be written for your audience, which means removing all traces of marketing jargon that simply doesn't translate. For example, it can be easy to shoehorn a list of benefits into a promotional article, but unless you are also explaining how and why they will make a positive difference to your customer's life, it won't create an impact and you risk losing their interest completely.

5. It isn't pitched towards the right audience

The structure and level of detail incorporated into your content must always be informed by the audience you want to engage with it. If you are writing for an already knowledgeable audience, it can be tempting to cover the basics for search engine optimisation (SEO) and ranking purposes, but in doing so, you are likely to lose your intended audience very early on.

By shifting your focus and ensuring that every decision is made with your audience in mind, you will find that your bounce rate lowers and your conversions increase because you will be offering something of value.

6. It's too long

There are obviously situations where long-form content is necessary i.e. if you’re sharing things such as comprehensive guides and walkthroughs etc. Google loves this type of content, long form content can allow you to help build credibility and over time it will contribute towards building improved rankings for the target keywords you’ve crafted your content around. When it comes to topical blog posts its best to keep them short and snappy, get to the point. Illustrate them and break them up into smaller sections, readers love this as its easy to digest.

 When it comes to content for social media things are somewhat different, generally, audiences value content that is concise and to the point, so anything that won't keep your reader engaged should be removed during the editing process.

7. It needs to be optimised

If your content isn't thoroughly optimised, it isn't going to achieve optimal levels of visibility and your audience won't know that it exists. If your organic traffic metrics are low, this could be a sign that you need a better optimisation strategy.

The optimisation process should cover everything from building authoritative backlinks and keeping your page loading time as low as possible to utilising titles, headings and keywords in ways that will boost your SERP rankings for key terms and phrases.

Rob Mason - Head Of Content at TIDAL

https://tidal.digital/

#Content #Optimisation #DigitalMarketing