These 5 steps will help you identify topic clusters for your business that improve your search engine visibility and drive traffic to your website.
As search engines adjust their algorithms to be more sophisticated, marketers have the opportunity to structure content strategically to optimize website search rankings. We’ve written in detail about this new reality in our writing for SEO series.
One of the best ways to strategically structure your content is with the topic cluster model, in which broad cornerstone content is contained on pillar pages, and related subtopics are contained in cluster content. Each grouping of subtopics and corresponding pillar page is called a topic cluster.
This structure is intended to build authority and influence for your business in the eyes of search engines and visitors. Effectively using a topic cluster structure is the best way to drive relevant traffic to your website.
First you need to identify your pillar content. HubSpot’s Leslie Ye sums up her philosophy of choosing pillar content, saying, “Ask yourself this: would this page answer every question the reader who searched X keyword had, AND is it broad enough to be an umbrella for 20-30 posts?”
The key takeaway here is that your core topics need to be broad enough to encompass a fair amount of content, narrow enough to allow you to fully address the topic with your content, and, most importantly, they need to be in an area of expertise for your business.
So how do you identify topic clusters strategically? Below are five steps to get you started.
5 steps to identify topic clusters
1) Chart out five to ten primary issues that your target buyer persona faces. You can do this by running interviews, conducting surveys, and researching within online communities like Quora to gather your data.
2) Group each of the issues into broad topic areas.
3) Using keyword research, flesh out each of the core topics with subtopics.
4) Audit your historical content, and map it to align with each of the core topics and surrounding subtopics.
5) Assess where your content makes the strongest cases. Those are your core topics.
This video will teach you how to increase your open rate by discussing email subject line mistakes you should avoid.
Email marketers, this video is for you! On average, office workers receive 121 emails a day. That is a huge amount of emails to scroll through every day. So how do you make your emails stand out from the crowd? Are you making critical email subject line mistakes?
The subject line is the best chance you’ll have to entice readers to open your email. As matter of fact, 47% of email recipients decide whether or not to open an email based on subject line alone. And 69% of email recipients report email as spam based solely on the subject line.
Get to the point.
Let’s not forget that users read 66% of all emails on a smart phone or tablet. That means that your subject lines shouldn’t be more than 35-39 characters (because mobile platforms show fewer subject-line characters than desktops). Sticking to such a short subject can be challenging, so marketers need to make sure they get to the point — and quickly.
What does this mean for all the email marketers out there? Clever and informative subject lines can make an email really stand out in a crowded inbox. But the opposite also holds true; mundane or lack-luster subject lines can send your email straight to the trash file.
Your email subject line can make or break your open rate, so don’t commit these email subject line mistakes.
Video: 5 email subject line mistakes you should avoid
It doesn’t matter what your email says if no one opens it. If your subject line doesn’t persuade recipients to open and engage, the message is lost and so is your opportunity to make a sale. Make sure you are avoiding these common email subject line mistakes and focus on keeping your subject lines short and to the point. Remember, your subject lines are your first impression. Make it a good one.
What other email subject line mistakes have you encountered? What tips do you have for subject lines that work with your readers?
Use these 8 quick tips in your blog posts to improve SEO and help your target audience find your content.
Search engine optimization: It’s a phrase every blog writer looking to grow readership has wrestled with at one time or another. Part science, part art, SEO writing can evade even the most seasoned blogger. You want people searching the internet to find your blog, but you also want readers to enjoy your posts and not feel like they’re written for machines.
Search engines continue to evolve and improve their algorithms to make sure readers are finding exactly what they’re looking for. Never artificially stuff your posts with keywords, links or images. Search engines, like Google, penalize webpages that use sneaky techniques, like keyword stuffing, by demoting or even removing their pages from their indexes.
Ultimately, if you want to improve your SEO, your content needs to be value to your target audience. That should be your priority when planning and producing content like blog posts. But you can also keep these quick tricks in mind to optimize your posts, and thus increase the likelihood internet searchers will find them in the first place.
Infographic: 8 quick tips for blog posts to improve SEO
Using these 8 quick tips will improve SEO and get your blog posts in front of your target audience. Remember, your best bet on moving up on search engine results pages is to create content that readers want to read. Sounds simple, I know, but it can be challenging. Let us know how these tips helped improve your SEO.
Facebook is making lots of changes that will affect businesses’ organic reach. Here’s what you need to know and how it may impact your company.
In our most recent social media news post, we mentioned that Facebook was experimenting with an Explore Feed feature. You may or may not have heard about how this might affect businesses’ ability to achieve organic reach on Facebook.
The social media network claims it is trying to create the best user experience possible. But it might come at a high cost to businesses trying to reach new audiences. Could this be the end of organic reach for businesses on Facebook? Let’s take a look.
What is Facebook’s Explore Feed?
Explore Feed is a new tab on your Facebook homepage that will include recommended content that it thinks you might find interesting. This will include posts, articles, photos and videos from users and other Pages you don’t currently follow.
This separate news feed will only appear when you click on the Explore tab, leaving users’ homepage news feed to content from friends and Pages you already follow.
“We’ve heard from people that they want an easy way to explore relevant content from Pages they haven’t connected with yet,” says Facebook in a statement. “Businesses should be optimistic about the potential for users interested in content like theirs to find their pages through the new Explore Feed.”
What does this mean for your business?
In October, Facebook launched Explore Feed as an experiment in six countries — Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Slovakia, Serbia, Guatemala, and Cambodia. The results showed a massive decline in businesses’ organic reach. Most countries reported a drop of two-thirds within the first 48 hours after Explore launched.
A user’s feed will now only show their friends’ posts and paid posts and advertisements. This is a huge disadvantage for small businesses with limited budgets that have traditionally relied on the organic reach of their Facebook posts to help attract new audiences.
As Mashablesays: “That means Facebook’s main feed is no longer a free playing field for publishers. Instead, it’s a battlefield of ‘pay to play’, where publishers have to pony up the dough to get back into the News Feed.”
What now?
Facebook insists these changes are in direct response to requests from users for an easier way to discover new Pages they aren’t already following. But it means a lot of changes for businesses running a Facebook business page. Companies need to ensure their content is high quality, unique and highly relevant. And more and more companies will have to start dipping into their budgets to boost posts and buy ads.
Important to note
Facebook is also tightening the reigns on Pages and individuals that use engagement bait to attract new followers. What is engagement bait?
“Engagement bait is a tactic to create Facebook posts that goad people into interacting through likes, shares, comments, and other actions in order to artificially boost engagement and get greater reach on News Feed,” says Facebook’s Newsfeed Guidelines. The social network’s new algorithm will demote any posts by individuals or Pages that promote their content through engagement bait.
Fronetics’ takeaway
Despite all of these new changes and their accompanying challenges, we’re not ready to write off Facebook for businesses just yet. The key will be for companies to continue to provide the best content possible through the social media platform to organically engage followers.
Here are our most-viewed blog posts from 2017 about talent, including tips on retaining your top talent and helping turn your employees into brand ambassadors.
The start of the new year brings along a host of resolutions. Finding a new job or advancing in a current position are common new year’s resolutions for individuals. For companies, identifying new strengths and interests within your employees and hiring and retaining great talent are common goals.
We’ve assembled our top 10 talent posts of 2017. We hope these posts help you and/or your company overcome challenges, and achieve your goals for next year.
Top 10 most popular talent posts of 2017
1. Gender Diversity is Not a Women’s Issue: It’s an Economic Issue
Gender diversity is generally viewed as a women’s issue. It is not. Research conducted by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org finds that despite corporate America’s stated commitment to gender diversity, outcomes are not changing. Moreover, the research finds that employees do not believe companies are taking the necessary steps to enact change. Read more.
By calling them “soft skills,” are we shortchanging competencies that are critical for supply chain and procurement professionals to succeed? One of the biggest stories in the world of Supply Chain and Procurement talent over the past few years has been the emerging importance of Soft Skills. As the field has become more strategic — with a greater impact on wider areas of business — professionals in the field have had to become stronger at advocating for it. Read more.
4. Great Supply Chain People Are Getting Harder to Find, But Do Companies Have a Talent Management Issue?
Is the Supply Chain talent gap problem really a talent management problem? This guest post from Argentus explores the so-called “talent deficit” in the field from all angles and perspectives. The fact is, it’s becoming harder for companies for find the talent that they need for these positions as baby boomers retire and the function evolves. Read more.
5. Employee Brand Ambassadors Can Influence B2B Buying Decisions
As peer influence becomes increasingly important in B2B buying decisions, empowering employee brand ambassadors will benefit your bottom line. I’ve written lately about the rise of influencer marketing. It’s a strategy B2B businesses are starting to understand and use to their advantage. But you don’t need a Kardashian or even an important industry professional to get started. Employees are your most natural, ready-made influencers. Read more.
6. Freight Driver Shortage Update: Will 2017 Come to a Head and Cause Issues for Shippers?
Growing woes over a forthcoming capacity crunch are not going away anytime soon. But, the capacity crunch may have a major impact on the freight driver shortage and vice versa. In a sense, fewer drivers mean that capacity will grow tighter. Yet, as capacity shrinks, the incentive for drivers increases. Read more.
7. 3 Ways to Attract Millennial Talent for the Supply Chain
Hoping to draw more millennials to your talent pool? Implementing these three ideas might help win them over. By the year 2020, millennials are estimated to make up a majority of the workforce. In addition, a 2014 study found that 46% of B2B buyers were millennials, and that number is on the rise. This seismic shift in workplace demographics calls for a new approach to attracting and retaining talent. Read more.
8. 3 Questions to Ask before Making a Professional Change and Overcommitting
Thinking of making a professional change? Here are some questions to consider before taking the plunge and overcommitting. We’ve all been asked to take on new projects at work when we’re already completely swamped. In the moment, it can be very hard to say no. And we’ve all jumped on LinkedIn to see what other opportunities are out there. More money, less headaches. The grass is always greener. Read more.
9. Could Liberal Arts Grads Fill the Supply Chain Talent Gap?
Mark Cuban thinks liberal arts grads will be the next in-demand employees. Could they be the answer to the supply chain talent gap? The supply chain talent gap has been called a “perfect storm.” Every report cites doomsday statistics of the impending crisis when, by 2025, 60 million baby boomers will exit the workforce, leaving only 40 million millennials to take their place. Read more.
10. Three Tips for Retaining Your Top Talent
Investing in your top talent and playing an active role in developing their careers will motivate them to stay around. Company loyalty is a thing of the past. In today’s day and age, everyone is looking for the next best thing, and that is true in the workplace as well. But this doesn’t mean that retention of top talent is hopeless. Read more.
