Time to Go Fishing: Content Marketing

Okay everyone, let's hope people are out there building a really nice portfolio of their work. If you have a few pictures, that's a good start, but I'll get onto the next phase of things that will really get you somewhere: content marketing. Seems like it's the latest word in buzz marketing, so I'll make a quick analogy: Your website is basically like a fishing boat and that's it, whereas your content becomes your net or your crab-pots. While you want your fishing boat (website) to be pretty, you also need the content to be interesting and cast a wide net.

So what is content, exactly?

1) Blog Posts: This is where you can really broaden your opportunity to be found online. Consider this: Most contractors want to compete for the same few key phrases such as "hardwood floors," "hardwood refinishing," etc., but people do not always search with those exact phrases. Instead they often search using phrases that answer questions during their online research such as "Why is my floor finish peeling?" or "How often should I refinish my hardwood floors?" The second and final advantage to blogging is how you come across professionally. An intelligently written series of posts sets you apart from every other yahoo in the business that thinks the magic hot button phrase is "over 20 years in the business." I've met a ton of those guys-few really impress me, and customers are thinking the same thing.

2) Hosted Pictures: Your website should house pictures of your work certainly, but you also should post your pictures at places like Pinterest, Houzz and Flickr. These sites will allow you to describe the pictures and add alt tags (an important search item). You would be surprised at how often I've received an email or a phone call from someone searching Google Images who saw a DuraSeal Coffee Brown floor I've done and then wanted to ask questions. Do not rule out Google Images, because it is a big arm in the world of search for what we do. Just make sure the pictures look nice and are descriptive, including the location of the work.

RELATED: My Online Marketing Basics That ANY Contractor Can Do

3) Video: Video is something you could write a book about, but I'll be simple. Video gets indexed WAY faster than written content. This picture is a clip of an article from Search Engine Watch. If you make videos, then just speak clearly and be in the video, or it's going to be really boring to most people.

4) Articles and Guest Posts: Organizations, businesses, and people that regularly generate content such as newspapers, magazines, or bloggers need good content and help with good content. Oftentimes, some may want advertising money in order for you to write for them. That's your choice, but if you are low on budget, then keep searching and someone will eventually welcome your information at no cost. Just make sure it is well-written (but that's a general rule for even your own blog, too).

Those four arenas for content and content distribution will get you considerably farther over time than that annoying guy who wants $500/month to put you first on Google. Hang up on him and start your crusade for generating good content, and it will pay dividends in time. Just be interesting, because quality counts just as much as quantity. Google pays attention to metrics like average time on site when giving you a ranking. I'll get into more specifics next time about things like that, but for now you have a simple plan for phase two.