You’ve got a great content strategy to drive traffic and engagement. But so do your competitors. Not only do you have to create content, you have to make sure you’re going above and beyond others in your space. This is undeniable if you want people to choose you over other sites in organic search results. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Millions of pieces of content get published daily, and half never even gets seen.

So, I’m here in today’s Content and Coffee to give you three things you can do RIGHT NOW to start improving your content game. If you’re already ranking higher than your competitors, congratulations! Let’s create some breathing room. If not, these tasks can help you close the gap and move up in the ranks.

Let’s get started.

Key in to their keyword strategy

It’s not enough to nail down your own keyword strategy. You need to know how you stack up against your biggest competitors. If they’re ranking at the top of page one for your biggest keyword and you’re toward the bottom, or on page two, that’s a problem worth fixing. Hop onto SearchMetrics and Google Keyword Planner and start crunching some numbers. Find out what keywords your competitors rank highest for and compare how you rank for the same words and phrases.

  • First, research your own site. You’ll want to find out how your keywords are performing as well as learn about any other keywords you’re ranking for outside of that list.
  • Next, investigate your biggest competitor. Uncover their top-performing keywords first. Then see how they rank for any other keywords on your own lists.
  • Look for overlapping keywords and potential for improvement. By comparing your ranking to that of your competitors, you can adjust and improve your keyword strategy. If you already rank higher for your core keywords, keep using them, but consider redirecting efforts where you want to jump up in the search results.

 

Do a little recon

Find out what others are doing in your space. More specifically, take note of what works and what doesn’t. If your competitors tend to stick in a certain realm of topics or styles, branch out and try something new. Offering something readers can’t get elsewhere guarantees an edge, so ask yourself the following questions:

  • Can you do it better? Consider infographics: engaging visuals that everyone is using these days. You can go a step further and make an interactive infographic with elements like CTA buttons and animations. Taking an always-popular concept and applying a new treatment can be all you need to cut through the noise and get ahead.
  • Can you do something different? If everyone is posting graphics, but you don’t see a lot of video blogs (like the one you just watched!), be the first in your space to share that kind of content.

 

Go back in time

Most blogs use the set-it-and-forget-it strategy of writing about a topic once and then checking it off the list. But digging up an old post that did well, dusting it off and rebuilding it for today, whether it’s six months or two years old, can breathe new life into your work.

Look for a post that was highly successful when it first went live, but maybe hasn’t gotten much traction in recent months. If it’s still accurate and relevant, you can:

  • Share it on your social media channels again to reach new readers.
  • Write new, similar content and include links and references to the older piece to give that an SEO boost too.

If the content is a bit rusty, whether the product or services have changed or developments in the industry render the information obsolete or dated, try:

  • Writing a new article on the same topic to make the content current and relevant.
  • Recreating the content in a new format. If you had a successful infographic, for example, expand the concept into a downloadable eBook.

Bonus: The eBook can be placed behind a sign-up wall to help you collect new leads.

For more information on organic search and SEO strategies, check out some of our other content:

Samantha Gordon is the Managing Editor of Brafton.com. With a diverse background writing and editing everything from blogs and whitepapers to romance and sci-fi, Samantha strives for greatness in grammar and quality.