SEO : Update Your Virtual Mullet

Seven steps to a content strategy makeover

No. 5: Make Over Your Content Mullets
Just like the ’80s-dated mullet hairstyle, content mullets (incredibly outdated content) give your prospects pause—and not in a good way. Some mullet-suffering companies forget to update their “press” and “conferences” pages, making it look like nothing of significance has happened in years. Other companies showcase old and obviously outdated content (this especially means you if your content contains the words “new media,” “convergence” or “granular”). Remember, prospects notice (and not in a good way) out-of-date “about us” pages, forgotten blogs and dated verbiage. If your site’s content looks so 2005, it’s time for a makeover.

No. 6: Set Your SEO Content Calendar
There’s nothing sadder than an e-commerce company uploading its Valentine’s Day content on Feb. 1—and hoping that it’ll immediately gain top search rankings. New Web pages may take days or months to gain initial positioning, so savvy planning is crucial. Some steps to follow are:

• Create an editorial calendar at least three to six months in advance, outlining the publication date for all content initiatives (new product or service pages, articles, promotional pages, content rewrites/edits, and corporate announcements). Build in additional time for meetings, legal approval and last-second content crises. You know they’ll happen, so you may as well plan for them.
• Post the calendar so everyone can see the topics, deadlines and duties—and confirm copy initiatives with other departments (IT, display advertising, PPC, PR). This is a living document, so you can schedule new copy initiatives as they surface.

No. 7: Experiment With the Latest Content Trends
Just like blue eye shadow or man-purses, Twitter (as well as other new marketing avenues) may not be the best fit for your organization, no matter how well it works for others. But if you are interested in riding the Twitter waves, it could prove be a savvy content accessory. Retailer Zappos has seen tremendous success using Twitter as a “relationship channel,” with 438 of its employees Tweeting it up—as well as its CEO (who has more than 77,700 Twitter followers). Who knows? Creating community in 140 characters or less could be a new way for your company to build brand.

The Payoff
Today, Leung and Chu are happy their site underwent an SEO content strategy makeover. After just five months, conversion rates have increased more than 300 percent and average order volume has increased more than 96 percent. Plus, the partners are seeing a number of top 10 rankings for their main keywords. Seems like a smart SEO content strategy is always in fashion. “Creating a content strategy definitely helped our business,” says Chu. “It’s the smartest thing we could have done."

Heather Lloyd-Martin, owner of SuccessWorks, specializes in SEO copywriting training for marketing departments, freelance writers and ad agencies. She can be reached at heather@seocopywriting.com, or via her site, www.seocopywriting.com.

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