Your competitors are cut-throat and will do whatever they can to reach the coveted top position in Google. However, you can play the game too; this is how to outrank your competition.

Phase 1: Discover your Competitors

The first, essential, step to outranking your competition is to understand what you’ll be up against.

Use terms, which define the photography industry, to search the web as to whom ranks well, in Google, for the targeted terms. Browse the sidebar, in Google, to see which businesses advertise using Google Adwords. Spy on your competition in social media platforms to see who the major players are in your market are.

Collect and compile the information you’ve gathered into an easily referenced spreadsheet. Include additional information, in your spreadsheet, about your competitors such as their Google rank, Page Rank, inbound links, social media profiles, advertising budget and main keywords.

Tools such as SpyFu, Google Keyword Tool, Google Toolbar, Market Samurai and Twitter Search are fantastic for gather a massive amount of information on your competitors.

Phase 2: Create a solid USP, Mission, Culture and Website

The next action, to outrank your competitors, is to optimize your web presence and business practices.

A unique selling point is what defines your products or services; it explains what makes your offerings different from the competitors. The USP is your chance to declare what you don’t like about your competitors and why your product is the obvious choice for customers. Your USP should also reflect your company culture and share a human side to your business; this lets people create an emotional connection which they may not receive from your competitors.

Secondly, take a look at your mission statement and overall company culture to see if the two are aligned. Companies rarely act as how they have outlined themselves in their mission statement. Make sure that your company is remarkable from the inside out; develop a culture which trickles down from your employees to the customers. Reinforce your mission statement with examples of your company culture at work.

Finally, optimize your website for search engines and copywriting. Avoid industry terms which are rarely used by your end-user: the customer. Speak with human vocabulary. Test and improve your website navigation, design and copywriting to reflect everything that your customer desires; focus on the benefits, not just the features.

Creating a solid foundation for your business is absolutely crucial to ensure that you stand out from the competition and that any further actions will have the greatest return on investment.

Phase 3: Develop a Content Marketing Strategy

Content marketing is the use of multimedia to create a substantial web presence in various mediums and channels on the web. In basic terms, it’s using blogging, article marketing, social media interaction, video production, podcasting and any other form of media to improve your website ranking in search engines and give your community something to share on social media.

Content marketing is the future of the web. An advertising campaign, today, will only run as long as you can continue to pay for its budget. However, content creation is a long-term strategy because every piece of content you create, for the web, becomes indexed in search engines, gives your community something to share on social media and boosts your presence in search engines like Google.

Content creation, alone, is not enough to outrank your competitors; a robust strategy is required to tip past your competitors and snag their search engine rankings. A strategy is a publication schedule which gives you insight as to the type of content you will be creating, publishing and how it all interconnects to give users the ability to explore deep into your website.

A content marketing strategy will be the culmination of feedback and research, from your community, to deliver content which will be attractive to targeted leads. The content created, for your website, will be used to draw in interested leads, supply valuable information which displays expertise in your industry and stimulates them to take further action to either buy or subscribe to your business.

Strategic content creation and publication will create additional web pages indexed within Google; these will be additional entry paths for customers to find your business. Likewise, your content will be picked up and shared within social media circles which results in additional brand awareness and website traffic.

Phase 4: Become an Authority in Social Media

Social media is a channel for community interaction that few businesses utilize and even fewer fully pull out the potential. Social media is a revolution for business; it has given the power back to the customer but equally so to the small business owner.

Social media allow you to create one-to-one connections with your community and customers. Your competition may have a social media presence but it’s rare they fully understand the platform to improve their business. You can use social media to gain an edge against your competition and utilize the power of the channel to help your business increase its rank in Google.

Google has begun to use social media interaction as a factor for search engine rankings. Google’s initiative, since its beginning, has been to provide its users with the optimal web experience. In recent years, social media have been on the rise, with web users, which made Google aware of its overall effect on the same web experience it seeks to improve. Your own social media interaction, with your community, can result in a greater opportunity to build your authority and rank in the search engine giant.

Content you create and share on social media is rapidly indexed and viewed. Community interaction through blog commenting keeps search engines active on your website and alerts them to how authoritative your site is based on its high amount of activity.

Use social media to connect with your community; each connection creates a new opportunity to find brand ambassadors which may result in these active community members writing about your business on their websites and sharing your brand within their communities.

Phase 5: Capitalize with Online Advertising and Marketing

Lead the charge in brand awareness while online businesses pull back from advertising. In down economies, the first item cut from a business’ budget is advertising and marketing. Your competitor’s lack of marketing funds creates a wide open road for you to take charge and set yourself out in front of the industry.

Capitalize on business with online advertising channels like Google Adwords, banners, contextual ads, social media marketing and more. The decrease in spending, from competitors, will lower your costs; this bonus can be your advantage. Use every channel to reach your market; don’t eliminate advertising because it requires a budget.

Likewise, expand your reach by using new channels to sell your products and services. Sign up for Amazon and sell your products on their platform, start an affiliate program to turn your customers into salespeople, develop niche websites to offer your services, use EBay to reach huge market segments; there are hundreds of these types of platforms out there waiting for you.

Summary and Conclusion

To summarize what you have learned in this article: Learn from your competition and research to create a solid brand which can be transferred into various mediums through content marketing, social media interaction and online advertising.

Every action your business takes, as a whole, creates a cumulative effect. Content you publish can be shared on social media which, in turn, builds your traffic and authority, so your next piece is more widely accepted and shared. A continual display of expertise and value, to your community, will give you the edge to surpass your competition in Google; it’s a marathon so be ready to be in it for the long run.

The post How to Outrank Your Competition in Google appeared first on Wordpress for Photographers.

However, trying to skim by with the bare minimum will not do it; a short, 400 word blog post will not have an impact in a niche community. There are thousands of bloggers aiming to become ‘top dog’ in a niche; you have to stand out from the rest by creating compelling, passionate content.

This article will share the fundamentals to creating blog posts that capture your readers and pulls them into your community.

It Starts with an Idea

The idea and focus of your content is everything. Compelling content is very similar to a great product. Content solves a need in its consumer, provides entertainment value and has a great price. Content, in many ways, is your connection to the world when you are not active on the web. Content represents your brand.

Every piece of content can be compelling depending on the audience and angle you present the information. However, your content will fail to make an impact if the subject matter isn’t interesting.

Begin generating ideas for your blog content by examining the world around you:

• Discover what people enjoy by visiting popular blogs and browsing through the archives.
• Ask your readers for the type of content they would love to see.
• Spend time brainstorming topics that interest you.

As noted, every idea can become a compelling blog post but only if your readers want it. Find out the compelling, passionate, controversial topics that people read and form your own ideas that will become your future blog posts.

The Information is Everything

Learn as much information about a subject once settled on the topic of your blog post.

There are two elements of gathering the best information for your blog topic:

• Research
• Implementation

Research is a breeze with the web. A search query for your blog topic will present thousands of results that you can use to reinforce the information provided in your blog post. Additionally, research gives you the insight to take your blog post content to the next level through implementation.

Implementation is the application of the information you have learned. Implementing the information you plan to convey, in your blog post, will give you an edge in your content creation. Your research will reveal new opportunities that may not have been covered with bloggers in your niche. Pull from your own experience and knowledge to craft compelling blog posts that none can replicate.

Gather every bit of information you can on a topic. Aim to create a definitive reference for those that read your blog posts. A compelling blog post that answers the questions of its readers, shares a unique angle and has subtle elements of entertainment is what truly makes incredible content.

Your Voice adds a Connection

A highly detailed blog post is very informational but lacks character. Anyone with a connection to the web can create extremely detailed blog posts, but it’s the unique voice you add to a post that makes it stand out and creates a compelling read.

The voice of your blog post comes in the form of your writing style, examinations and feedback on the topic and your personal stance on the overall topic. Your voice is what adds flavor to an otherwise dry, white-paper style blog post. The little elements that reveal your voice (and brand) are culled out when you create posts through a stream of conscious writing.

Stream of conscious writing forces you to convey information based on what you remember. The flow of your writing will result in omission of elements that may not necessarily add to the overall value of the post. On the flip side, you may need to reinforce your information with additional editing and research.

In all, writing naturally adds voice to your writing that doesn’t seem forced. You will develop your blog post based on information that truly matters and avoid the minutia that research-only writing creates. The addition of your voice helps your readers connect because it forms a story arch and elements for people to feel connected.

A Call-to-Action Builds Participation

The term ‘compelling’ does not need to end at the engagement when people read your blog post. In fact, a truly engaging blog post will create a form of community interaction. The interaction of your community can come as a form of blog commenting, social media sharing, purchasing a product and much more.

The path to creating a complete, compelling blog post is to include a call-to-action. A call-to-action is a direct message that tells people exactly what you want them to do. Your call-to-action is direct and aims to make the reader do one task of your choice.

Common examples of a call-to-action include:

• “Click here to learn more”
• “Leave a comment below”
• “Share this post on Twitter”

The call-to-action is the final element of creating a compelling blog post on your end. Afterward, it’s up to your community to engage.

The Network is the Secret Key

The final element of creating compelling blog posts are the network interactions you build from sharing your content on social media platforms. The distribution of your content will have a great reach if you tap into a strong following. Your content will take on a viral effect if your network helps to spread the message.

Social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and StumbleUpon offer the greatest opportunity to get your content found. A single tweet, fan page update or stumble is all that your content needs to be put in front of thousands of people. The viral effect comes from an authoritative member of your niche community sharing your link; their level of trust signifies, to their followers, that your content is worthwhile and should be given a view.

Build your network with the same level of passion as you put into your content creation and blog building. At the end of the day, it’s your network that will ultimately decide if your blog post is compelling. Your network is the deciding factor that gets people interested in what you have to offer. Every person that lands on your content will be an opportunity to create engagement and share your expertise.

Conclusion

In this article, you’ve learned the foundations of creating compelling blog posts. The dedication and passion you put into creating content will have a considerable amount of influence on how well it’s shared on the web along with the overall impact it has for your brand. A single post can lead to your online success; strive to create a compelling post that puts you on the map using the tactics described in this article.

The post How to Create a Compelling Blog Post appeared first on Wordpress for Photographers.