“Chief editor of the GetGoodRank blog, web analyst, blogger.
Content creation turns into a grueling, routine process. We tell you how to automate your routine, develop a template for creating content, and create competitive content over and over again.”

Content should be comprehensive, accurate and long. By at least, this is what the results of research and observations of search results and user preferences say.

Google prefers content that exceeds 2,000 words (such pages rank higher in search results).

Develop an approach to content creation

To create something bright, exciting and useful, you need time, attitude and inspiration. Break the process down into several simple steps with clear goals for each:

• make a list of the main ideas of the article
• collect expert opinions (3-5)
• find authoritative sources on the topic
• write a draft
• select/compile relevant images
• edit draft
• publishing and distributing content

This is a rough plan. It will be different for everyone. However, you must allocate time for each of the planned stages. This way you will avoid panic and chaos in your approach when deadlines are already running out.

Create a publication schedule

How often do you sit down to write an article at the last minute? To prevent this from happening, set clear goals and deadlines. A simple psychological trick:

indicate the deadlines to the customer, make a post announcement on a social network, confirm the completion of the next order. This gives you additional control.

Putting a little more effort into preparation will make the task of creating content easier and easier to complete the task.

Step 2. Select a theme

This is a sore subject. What should you tell the user about in the next post, how to describe a service/product/company in such a way as to create an irresistible desire to work with you and forget about hundreds of competitors in the search results? But we have already talked about this, there have already been such descriptions, it is no longer interesting. Sound familiar?

The topic of the next material should be a burning question that worries the user. But where to get ideas?

From old content

• We analyze the posts that received the most views, social signals, and comments.
• We analyze the ideas disclosed in the post, study resources on the topic, understand what’s new, how we can supplement the post to help the user solve the issue more effectively and easily.
• Which solutions from the posts are no longer relevant - they can form the basis of warning posts.

Analysis of thematic groups and communities will show what worries users now. Reading groups on the topic of mobile devices, I observed how the moods, preferences and pains of users change: the release of a new device, comparisons with previous versions, manufacturing defects, repairs, software updates.

For example, the current problem of replacing an old device:

The eternal struggle between Android and iOS:

These are all live topics that users are waiting for, and for which they have not yet found worthy content.

Google Keyword Planner and Yandex Wordstat

These are traditional tools for searching and analyzing the relevance of topics for new posts. You can check the relevance and find the most popular content using the BuzzSumo tool, which will give you the most popular articles based on a key request. Using Google Keyword Planner/ in conjunction with BuzzSumo will allow you to avoid misfires and misinterpret user intent from key queries.

After identifying a topic, we check it through a search to understand what has already been written and indexed by search engines on the topic. We open the TOP 10 search results in separate tabs. We carefully review what the TOP sites on the topic offer. We run content from competitors’ websites according to the proposed checklist, determine the value of the content for the user (novelty, relevance, competence, validity, reliability, solution to the problem).

Yes, this is painstaking work, but it will help you not to clone useless content, but to create really useful posts for people. Moreover, this applies to any type of content (be it an article in a blog, a description of a company or a product in a catalog).

Step 3: Determine an effective content structure/type

Analysis of the TOP search results (sites that you opened in browser tabs) will show which type of content, with which structure, ranks better and is liked more by users.

Practical advice. Headings and subheadings often contain main ideas, conclusions, and important information. When analyzing competitors’ pages, be sure to pay attention to what is included in the headlines: numbers, facts, conclusions, forecasts.

To improve the content, you can repeat steps 2-3 for different keywords.

Step 4. Filling the structure

The WebProfits blog recommends not to start writing content right away, but to engage in copy-pasting in the useful sense of the word: copy all interesting ideas, quotes, points of view, graphs, images, statistics and facts into the document, adding your own comments. To structure your data, use color highlighting. Don’t forget to copy the links to quotes and pictures so you don’t have to search for that same site in a panic.

Step 5. The actual writing

Now the brain may simply be overloaded with information. To avoid getting stuck at the last stage, when 80% of the work is already done, start creating content with a fresh mind, preferably the next day.

The brain is amazing. You will be amazed at how many useful edits you will make after a pause: you can easily simplify the structure and cut off unnecessary things. Yes Yes. It is the overload of the brain with information that entails a complex structure, confusing narrative, and chaotic ideas.

• Firstly, you will not lose data if the device loses connection to the Internet.
• Secondly, Text Document It’s easier to share with colleagues for approval, recommendations, and comments.
• Third, you will always have a copy of the document, no matter what happens to the site.

At this stage, do not use images, just make high-quality placeholders - indicate the numbers and names of the images that should be in this place.

Step 6. Content visualization

Even if the text does not require images, try to break up the content with thematic graphics. Here's why: Content with images receives 2x more social signals:

Step 7. Explanatory title

The title is everything. It is this element that attracts 100% of users’ attention. And only in 20% of cases will users become interested and continue reading. This means you can spend your days creating epic content and have your efforts squandered by an empty title.

The problem is that the user views hundreds of headlines a day: news, emails, posts, websites, social media. Therefore, it is important that the headline hooks, attracts, engages and converts.

• create 10-15 headings for a post
• use numbers in the headline (these could be the well-worn and hotly criticized by experts “9 tips...”, but they still work great among users, or the factual headlines “98% of sites in the TOP use...”)
• Brackets also improve the user experience and increase click-through rates by 38%.

Step 8. Publishing and seeding content

Text from a sheet, from a desktop and from mobile screen read differently. Before publishing content, open a test link on different screens to see errors and bugs in displaying content on the device.

Check:

• link functionality
• graphics display
• paragraph size
• formatting - formatting quotes, highlighting keywords, headings and subheadings
• ease of scanning

Even the best content won't produce results if no one sees it. Distribute content in thematic communities, on authoritative thematic sites, invite industry experts to rate and comment on the publication (for information sites), attract customers to discuss and share the content (for commercial sites).

conclusions

Create a structure for each content type. Make your own checklist for checking the quality of the material once.

Make a plan for the required stages of working with the material and allocate time for each of them. Careful preparation will simplify the creation process itself.

Approach the search for new topics from a practical and technical point of view, rather than from a creative point of view. This approach takes more time, but gives better results than working at random.

Before publishing content, check its display on different types devices. This will help avoid user disappointment when the page turns out to be uncomfortable to view on mobile device. Check the functionality of links and videos.

Publishing content on the page is only the initial stage of work. It is important that the content ends up in the right place at the right time. Use social networks, business connections, target audience to distribute content.

To rate content by users, use GetGoodRank. Site analysis will show what users don’t like, and in the report you will get step-by-step recommendations, created specifically for your site.

As already discussed in the previous article, preparing content for a future website is equally necessary for both the customer and the contractor. But recognizing this fact alone is not enough to implement such an approach into your work process. The situations we find ourselves in together with our customers are different, and we also need to respond to them differently. We will analyze typical situations and try to give recommendations on behavior in each specific case.

What to do if: the client does not understand the importance of preparing content

Most often, a client occupying such a position has little idea of ​​the purpose of the site and has absolutely no idea how the development process takes place. The manager must record on paper the stages of creating a website, from jointly defining goals and objectives to testing and publishing the finished product. Each stage described should be explained in detail: what is required and from whom, preferably within what time frame. It is necessary to discuss the purpose and meaning of each step, as well as what the consequences may be if you do not adhere to the chosen scheme. For clarity, you can show one or two unfinished sites so that the customer can see the problem with his own eyes.
If the client is not ready to listen to you, is not ready to agree that the development process developed over years and experience will most likely lead to successful project, then you should think hard about continuing cooperation. It is worth remembering the risks that a studio runs when working with this type of client.
Solution: explain the work process, the purpose of the work stages and the role of everyone in this process. If it doesn’t help, assess your risks and think about refusing to cooperate.

What to do if: the customer cannot collect content

There is no single solution to this problem. Depending on the situation, the manager should be able to offer one of the following options:

The studio may offer to write content for the customer
For small volumes, the studio can use the services of a freelance copywriter, and in the case of regular large orders, it can hire a specialist on staff. It may not be possible to collect all the information in this way, because... it may be too highly specialized. But it’s quite possible to get the main content this way, and even earn a little money.

Determine the types and volumes of missing information and reflect them in the technical specifications and/or in the prototype
It is necessary to agree with the customer on each type of section and present it in the form of content blocks, where each block corresponds to its own type of information (photo, video, text, diagram, graph, table, etc.). The most obvious way to do this is in a prototype, where the customer can see everything with his own eyes. For each block, it is necessary to determine the volumes, their content, minimum, maximum, optimum and record this in the technical specifications. For example, when defining a block of images in a product card, you must indicate that there is a main photo and additional images minimum - one maximum - five, but on average three will be used. When describing, for example, a text section, it is necessary to indicate the estimated volume of text, the presence of photographs, tables and diagrams for the section, and the expected content.
Solution: Write content or part of the content for the customer and describe in detail the structure of the site in the technical specifications, it is advisable to prepare prototypes. If at least one condition is not met, you should assess your risks and think about refusing to cooperate.

What to do if: the client provides low quality content

Not much is required to solve this problem. Professional supervision of all materials received from the customer is required. It must be carried out constantly in any project. Based on this supervision, you need to point out problems to the client, explaining your solutions. If difficulties arise with making adjustments, the studio should be able to make them independently and submit them for approval. Most often, the work will come down to creative processing and rewriting, which is not scary at all. For example, in the case of photographs, the studio may offer to organize a photo shoot if possible. After all, often the customer simply cannot distinguish good from bad, and you can give the client a guideline and justify your decision.
Solution: carry out constant supervision over the customer’s materials, have the opportunity to offer their services in editing materials.

What to do if: the client is very behind on the delivery of content

In this case, it is important for the studio to take the right position - the contract must specify the terms that the studio can actually influence. Those. time for approval and preparation of content should not be included in the overall development period. This is very important because... Even if the studio operates perfectly, any failure to meet a deadline by the customer transfers responsibility to the studio. To speed up the collection of content, you can make it a rule to contact the client once every 1.5-2 weeks to find out how their work is going. An experienced project manager can give his customer a lot useful tips during such communication. After all, most often the problem of missing deadlines for preparing content is an organizational problem.
Solution: The studio needs to remove responsibility for those works that it cannot influence. Periodically find out from the client what the state of his affairs is, offer help and advice.

Results

There is no single solution that can be followed to successfully complete the content preparation stage. There are no identical projects and identical starting conditions. But no matter what, the studio should strive to reduce uncertainty. And one of the most important components of success is the work of a manager. His professionalism, attention to the client, communication skills and experience allow him to create an effective team of studio and client.

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Important!

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OG markup

To pass information to myWidget, you need to add the following to the head element of the HTML code: required meta tags:

• og:image- this tag contains the address of the picture that you want to see in the announcement. It is not necessary to use only those illustrations that you inserted into the material. You can specify absolutely any picture that you consider suitable for this recommendation.
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• og:title- this tag indicates the title of your material.
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For example:

< meta property = "og:title" content = "Olympics opening in Rio"> < meta property = "og:description" content = > < meta property = "og:image" content = >

mywidget markup

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< meta property = "mywidget:title" content = "Olympics opening in Rio"> < meta property = "mywidget:description" content = "Full version of the video from the opening of the Olympics"> < meta property = "mywidget:image" content = "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ru/thumb/2/28/2016_Summer_Olympics_logo.png/250px-2016_Summer_Olympics_logo.png">

Read more about OG tags.