I’m someone who truly understand the value of SEO content. It’s done wonders for my business over the years. It revived my last employer’s business when it was floundering. And it’s helped many of my clients to get more of the customers they want.
Yet so many businesses I talk to don’t use it. And I hear the same objections and excuses all the time.
Why you’re not using SEO content
If you’re on the fence about creating content, this article should help to counter any objections you may have, with some of the worthwhile benefits you can expect.
It’s too expensive
If you think the price you’ve been quoted for content is too expensive, you may not understand the value proposition it offers.
Good content is expensive for a reason. That’s because it takes a long time to research credibly and optimise properly. And you need that. Publishing content with lazy research from dubious sources won’t win you any favour or show you know what you’re talking about.
If you want to see what my content creation process looks like, you can read about it here >>.
SEO content is an investment in your business — it’s designed to create returns.
And, in the process, it:
- Builds a valuable resource of information for your customers
- Improves your website’s SEO performance
- Attracts new visitors and warm leads to your website.
You’re happy with your current strategy
You already have a strategy that’s working to generate leads. Maybe this is advertising, cold calling, social media marketing, a referral scheme or something else. So why would you complicate things by introducing something else to the mix?
First, since when did it hurt to have more avenues for prospects to find you and buy from you?
Second, by not creating content, you’re not fulfilling the needs of your audience.
Blog content is a valuable resource for prospects who need information. The more articles you create and the more issues you cover, the more valuable that resource becomes — and not just for your prospects. If you’re able to solve their problems and answer their questions, you’ll be the one they trust and turn to when they need help.
Finally, if your competitors are creating content, by not doing so yourself you’re putting your business at a disadvantage. Because when your prospects are looking for information, they won’t be finding it from you. And when they need help, you won’t be the first business they call.
Content doesn’t take away from what you’re already doing — it adds to it and gives you an even greater chance of success.
Content takes too long to deliver results
It’s true that content is a slow-burn. And it could take months of consistent effort before you see any results.
If you’ve been used to the snappy returns of advertising, it’s no wonder you can’t quite see the logic of content as an alternative.
If advertising is working for you, why would you change that? And why would you wait for content to rank on its own, when you could just buy your website a place in the listings?
Well, advertising has its limitations and SEO content marketing could serve your business better.
Let’s look at a comparison of the two.
? Advertising sells. It has one function — and that’s it.
? SEO content is multifunctional. It can do amazing things for your business behind the scenes, such as:
- Attracting new visitors to your website
- Creating awareness of your brand
- Building an audience of warm leads
- Demonstrating your knowledge and expertise
- Showing your authority in your industry
- Inspiring confidence and trust in your brand
- Promoting your brand values
- Converting visitors into subscribers and buyers.
*****
? Advertising goes out to people. You can spend a small fortune trying to pick up customers by advertising in different places and on different platforms.
? SEO content brings the people to you. Because it’s valuable to them, your customers actively look for SEO content. And instead of you reaching out to them, they come to you.
*****
? Advertising is an expense. When the money stops, the adverts stop. And aside from any money you might have made, you’ll have nothing else to show for it.
? SEO content is an investment. It can stay on your website for as long as it’s relevant and helpful, and it can keep attracting visitors to your site for months and years after it’s published. If it does start to date, you can often revive it by updating the information.
*****
? Advertising can be ignored. Customers actively filter out advertising — whether that’s naturally or using tools like ad blockers, skip options and delete buttons.
? SEO content is sought out. People look it up to solve their problems, answer their questions, find inspiration and learn new things. And it’s self-promoting, because once people find a great piece of content, they often feel compelled to share it.
You don’t have any ideas for content
Sure, ideas are important for creating great content. But you don’t have to come up with them yourself. You can hire a content strategist for that.
A similar and equally common objection is that you think your industry is too boring for content. This isn’t true. There’s always something your audience wants to read about. And when it’s written with interest and enthusiasm, it should create the same reaction in your reader.
You don’t have time to think about content
You’re running a business and you’re not a writer, so why would you want to spend time thinking about content?
If you have a business to run, there will always be more important things for you to be doing. And they’ll be things you do more expertly than writing — which is why it makes sense to hire someone.
If you hire a content strategist, you won’t have to think about your content.
Your content strategist will look at your audience and research what they’re looking for. They’ll then plan a programme of content for you that meets the needs of your audience and draws them in. And some will even write it for you, too. So all you’ll need to do is upload it to your blog.
You’re planning to create your own content
Businesses that say this rarely do. There’s always something more pressing to be done. And the content you planned to create either gets shelved or abandoned part way through.
There are various reasons for this, but here are a few of the ones I’ve heard:
- You haven’t had time
- You can’t find the right employee to write it
- You’re struggling to come up with ideas
- You wrote one article and didn’t see any results
- You don’t really see the point any more.
First, when you’re running a business, time will always be an issue and writing content will never be a priority. So, if you take this approach with your content, you’re almost certain to fail.
Second, not just anyone can write SEO content — because it’s not just about writing. You need someone who can do the customer research, the subject research and the optimisation side. These are things an SEO content writer specialises in.
Third, the likelihood of you seeing results from a couple of sporadically created articles is close to zero. Writing and publishing effective content needs to be done regularly and consistently, which takes commitment. If you can’t make that commitment, hire a content writer who can.
You’re unsure of the writer’s skill level
You’ve found a content writer who you think can do the job, but you’re still not sure.
If the content writer’s portfolio hasn’t convinced you, you could always ask them to send you a more relevant example. And if you’re still not sure, you can ask them to do a paid sample. That’s a sample article you pay for — not a freebie.
You think the writer won’t understand your business
It’s true, your content writer may never understand your business as well as you do, but this can be less of a problem and more of an advantage.
Hiring a generalist copywriter
Generalist content writers are versatile chameleons who write for all kinds of businesses, on all sorts of weird and wonderful subjects. We’re used to starting close to zero and picking things up quickly.
Are we going to understand your business as well as you do?
No. But often, we don’t need to — or at least, not as deeply.
This is because we’re writing for your audience — and, chances are, they don’t understand your business as well as you do either.
In many cases, this is a benefit. Creating content from your audience’s point of view means we’ll research it in more detail, provide more explanation where necessary and answer all the right questions.
But if you think you need someone who knows your industry better from the start, you can look at hiring a niche copywriter instead.
Hiring a niche copywriter
Niche copywriters are industry specialists who write for clients/customers in your industry every day.
Some industries benefit from hiring niche copywriters because they have a head start when understanding all the complexities. It’s also beneficial if your audience has a better knowledge and understanding of your industry than the average person.
Industries where a niche copywriter can really help include:
- Finance
- Health
- Religious/spiritual
- Technical/scientific
- Industrial/engineering.
You had a bad experience with another writer
There are good and bad people in every profession — writers included. But just because one writer let you down, doesn’t mean we’re all going to.
Many of the problems that arise are due to communication issues and are caused by a lack of clarity in the working relationship. The clients knew what they were expecting and the writer knew what was needed — but the two things didn’t match.
Before you work with a content writer, you both need to be clear about:
- Why you’re creating the content
- Who you’ll be targeting
- What you’re working towards.
You’ll also need to manage your expectations, because SEO content marketing is a slow burner and you won’t see results overnight.
I have debunked a lot of the common myths and misconceptions around content in this article. If you want to learn more about how it works and what it can achieve for your business, be sure to have a read.
Having second thoughts about SEO content?
Have you heard yourself making excuses like this? Or have you been against SEO content marketing because you’d dismissed it without really understanding the benefits?
If you’ve changed your mind and feel ready to explore the possibility of working with a content writer, maybe I can help. I’m a content writer and strategist with 10+ years’ experience of writing articles that rank, attract and convert leads. You can find out more by visiting my SEO Content Writing page or by getting in touch.
Alternatively, here are some other articles I’ve written that might give you more food for thought.
The benefits of blogging for your business >>
Practical ways to demonstrate Expertise, Authority and Trust >>