Top 3 Tips on How to Improve Your Content: Notes from BrightonSEO

A regular at the UK’s most popular SEO event, BrightonSEO, I was lucky enough to attend the Fringe this year. I saw presentations on a variety of topics, ranging from web analytics and conversion rate optimisation, through to digital PR and search advertising.

Julia Valentine, Head of Marketing

Here are my top three takeaways from the day. I hope it will help other generalist marketers like myself make improvements – or even validate the work you’re doing is worthwhile. We all get imposter syndrome sometimes so it’s important to hear from marketing experts and leaders to remind you that you’re on the right path!

How to use audio and visual media to level up your content strategy 

In his session, Azeem Digital emphasised the importance of setting up top conversion paths in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). This is reportedly easier to set up than in GA4 than in Universal Analytics (UA), so all marketers can take advantage of this right away. It will make it a lot easier to decide what content to make more of or what to retire on your website.

Another GA4 feature to take advantage of is Events, which includes measuring video engagement and scroll depth. Azeem suggested this is particularly useful for companies serving more than one regional market, as it’s easy to compare audience preferences. When you know what a particular market wants, make your content relevant for them. If you know your French audience isn’t watching your videos, remove videos from their experience of the page. If you know your German market likes long-form content (indicated by scroll depth), don’t skimp on information on the pages you show that audience.

Azeem also gave us some tips for social media. My highlight was the use of audio tweets, a recent feature, and one Azeem has noticed gets a lot of traction. He uses them to promote his podcasts, using an image that looks like it’ll play a video to gain yet more attention. Interestingly, landing pages that include video tend to convert better too – worth a test!

Azeem also gave us some tips for social media. My highlight was the use of audio tweets, a recent feature, and one Azeem has noticed gets a lot of traction. He uses them to promote his podcasts, using an image that looks like it’ll play a video to gain yet more attention. Interestingly, landing pages that include video tend to convert better too – worth a test!“How to use audio and visual media to level up your content strategy” Azeem Ahmad at BrightonSEO

“How to use audio and visual media to level up your content strategy” Azeem Ahmad at BrightonSEO

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Capture people’s attention in the first line of your social media posts, for example, with a quote. People are tempted to make their posts longer, but most of your audience will still only read the first line. And importantly, make time to amplify and engage with feedback on social media.

Telling a story with data 

Agata Adamiak of Business Ahead gave a helpful overview of how more people within your business can take advantage of GA4. This included both users and stakeholders receiving the outputs you generate from GA4.

Agata recommended using website design strategies for dashboard design. Consider your stakeholder groups and how they will use your data. Do they just want an overview? Or are they looking at what pages to optimise next?

Data storytelling was another great presentation, by Eda Salihoglu of Kaizen. She recommended starting presentations with a story to get attention. Set the scene with relevant information to make your presentation more relatable. It might be something to do with how the weather has affected the market, for example. In your story, highlight both conflict and improvements in performance, and always end with a positive outlook.

Shorten your reports wherever possible and include recent insights or ongoing trends. Always finish with one key takeaway or action (as opposed to multiple). For example, how will this information help your stakeholder lower acquisition costs, or what action can you take to improve the website that will shorten the sales cycle?

Crafting web pages to convert AND rank well 

Here was another session prioritising good user experience – this was a common theme throughout the conference. Eden Bidani of CAPE recommended organising the structure of your page so that it is intuitive and easy to scan. People read differently on paper than they do online. They tend to scan web pages rather than reading every word – in fact, only 16% read the whole page.

“How to craft web pages so they convert AND rank crazy good” Eden Bidani at BrightonSEO

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To make sure your audience takes away your key messages, highlight essential information at the top of the page (the top 10-25% of the page). Another clever tactic Eden referenced is one used frequently on recipe websites. If your post is long form, help your reader by giving them a link in the hero to skip to where they should go if they’re searching for a specific answer to their question. If they’ve got to your site through your page coming to the top of search for your question, congratulations! The next step is to keep them on your page and/or website by giving them what they want straight away.

Finally, when you’re reviewing how engaging your content is, read it aloud to yourself once you’re finished with it. Eden promised it’d cut your editing time in half! And most importantly, use the voice of the customer. For all customer interviews, try to get hold of transcripts, so you can understand how they position pain points in their own words. Use those as keywords in your content.

My top three takeaways from BrightonSEO 

After a busy day and extra activities surrounding the event, such as Netwalking and a beach clean up, I took away three top takeaways from BrightonSEO. None of the points are new. But they’re worth repeating, as it can be easy to forget what should be a priority.

Prioritise user experience – if you’re not putting your users first, they’ll soon lose interest in your business

Grab your users’ attention straight away – otherwise all your efforts in creating content will go to waste, as they won’t get past the first line

Tell stories – this is the fastest way to engage your audience, no matter the type of content 

In summary, the key to success when it comes to your online content is putting your reader first. Using the voice of the customer will make this simple, as your content will become more directly relevant and, therefore, interesting to your audience. By increasing engagement, you’ll increase your site authority and conversion rates. The tricky part is changing your habits to make time to get started!

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