A recent study carried out by CopyPress.com found that 2013 will truly prove to be a critical year for content marketing as more than 50% of marketers surveyed say that they plan to change their marketing focus to a more content based program in 2013. These findings are consistent with recent changes that have taken place in Google ranking algorithms placing a stronger focus on high quality content versus the overall quantity of content found online.
The 2013 State of Content Marketing Report shows that more than half of marketers are investing $2,000 or more on marketing each month with a primary focus on high quality, sharable, SEO content. Many larger firms are expected to spend well over $5000 per month with the majority of this expenditure being allotted to quality content. Companies are increasingly prioritizing content expenditures for improved visibility online and to reach clients worldwide.
These days, it’s not just internet based businesses that are looking to quality SEO content as a means of increasing ROI. Recent studies show that businesses across a wide range of industries are making the decision to increase their content marketing expenditures; this includes the advertising and public relations, business services, computer, health, retail, education, electronics, travel, food & beverage, and real estate industries. A quick search of Google Trends shows that the term “content marketing” has seen as trend increase of more than 100% since the first Penguin update that came in April 2012.
Content marketing encompasses a diverse range of media opportunities including social posting & sharing, infographics, videos, blog posts, whitepapers, email newsletters and press releases. Each of these SEO content pieces can be tailored to the unique marketing needs and plans of the business to produce optimal ROI. Increases in social media use as well as the additional focus that Google now places on social media shares, likes and retweets has changed the landscape of content creation, posting and sharing online. The internet, once full of blog posts and news articles, is now blossoming with infographics and videos that target a completely different audience than before.
Many brands are taking advantage of social media and leveraging the ability to produce high quality SEO content, in a variety of mediums, that reaches a variety of different consumers and potential viewers. The 2013 State of Content Marketing Report further showed that, while content has always been at the forefront of a “white hat” SEO campaign, actively producing high quality content is the new “key” to making Google happy and to driving quality traffic that produces increased conversions; two things marketers are always on the lookout for.