Long-form content works!
From acing the art of lead-generation to getting into the good books of search engines, long-form content is definitely ruling the way for effective search engine visibility.
Why?
In a scenario where 70% of online users prefer QUALITY over quantity, short pieces of content are not enough to satiate their thirst for valuable information. The conversion process through your sales funnel is tricky. Short-form content does not seem to build a high engagement level that can drive more sales-ready prospects into the conversion funnel.
So how do you boost conversions for your website?
The answer is – high-quality long-form content. Let’s see how.
Long-Form Content Helps Boost Your Search Engine Visibility
Get Yourself to the Top Search Engine Rankings
All these days you have known that high quality, well-optimised content with authority backlinks can help you get better search engine rankings. But content length!! Sounds startling?
Studies suggest that the length of content has a direct correlation with search engine ranking. More the content length, the higher is your ranking on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).
As per the above graph, the search engine rankings tend to get better as the content length increases. This is because readers and search engines value content that is in-depth and covers the topic comprehensively. This helps build your credibility in the subject matter – something that Google likes more – ‘authority.’
Needless to say, better search engine rankings give your brand greater visibility, bringing in higher organic traffic – the key objective of effective content marketing.
Long-Form Content is Easy to Promote
Long-form content provides a great opportunity to build engaging campaigns and also, experiment with a wide variety of ads. When you are trying to build a loyal audience base, it is crucial to improve your brand visibility in a manner that you always remain at the top of their minds.
And promoting rich long-form content holds more power than blog posts to create a compelling impact on your audience. That’s because a 10,000-words beast covering diverse aspects of a topic in an all-inclusive manner drives more reader engagement. And when your audience loves reading your post and finds it value-adding, they will be excited to share it more. The result – greater visibility online!
Enjoy Greater Success on Social Media – More Shares!
Trust us! Long-form content is an excellent choice for your social media success too.
How?
As Kevin Delaney stated, the editor of Quartz, there are hundreds of articles and blog posts similar to yours. So, as a business, one of the best ways you can stand out with your content is experimenting with short bites or publishing long-form content. According to him, the relationship between your content length and success on social media creates a “V” shape, as shown below:
The analysis by Delaney sends out the message clear and out – long-form content can drive better social media success than any 500-words blog post.
Another key aspect of long-form content is that it increases social media sharing. Studies suggest that long-form content, ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 words, gets more shares than short-form content.
The bulk of information and detailed analysis that goes in long-form content is likely to persuade readers to share it. Integrating social media buttons into the post makes it more shareable as people will like to share things on social media that they perceive to be trustworthy.
So, your post gets viral, promising you greater visibility online.
Better Link Building with Long-Form Content
Have you been fighting really hard with getting quality backlinks and positioning yourself at the top of the search engines? We’ll tell you a simple secret to address the challenge – long-form content!
Research indicates that long-form content stands higher potential of getting high-authority, quality backlinks, playing a vital role in increasing search engine rankings, and visibility.
Below is a graphical representation from Hubspot, highlighting the relationship between the length of content and backlinks:
So, why long-form content gets more backlinks?
The answer is simple – it provides more comprehensive information that holds immense value to the readers. With such data-rich content rolled up onto your sleeves, it is more likely to come into the good books of Link Creators. They find your content to be relevant and important for their audience base, and will, therefore, link to it.
More the number of quality backlinks you have higher will be your page ranking. That is because search engines consider websites or posts with more backlinks credible enough to offer high-value.
Creating High-Quality Long-Form Content – Ideas for You
Decide on Your Goals
Just because writing long-form content is the trend today doesn’t mean you have to follow it blindly. To achieve success with long-form content marketing, it is imperative to have a definitive plan in place. Set your goals. Determine why you want. Do you wish to connect with your target audience? Build a powerful brand image? Generate more leads?
Whatever goals you set, your strategy must include actionable steps and effective monitoring to measure your success.
Whether You Want the Content to be Gated or Ungated?
Since it would be a whopping 8,000-10,000 word post or even more, it is important to determine whether you want it to be gated or ungated.
Gated content is where your readers have to provide their email address or other data to download your content fully. It brings some advantages to you, such as gathering email addresses or other vital information of your prospects who are interested in the content. These can later be targeted for other marketing campaigns.
However, you also stand the risk of losing out on your prospects as many people will not be interested in providing their details. In that case, ungated content – one that is open, free, and sharable – holds more value.
This depends on what goals you have set.
Pick a Trending and Unique Topic to Write Upon
Not sure which topic you should be writing about? Check out what’s trending in your forte. Succumb to Google to find out what various online users are looking for. What kind of target audience you have and which subjects intrigue them more? Know what your competitors are doing. Scouring through such minute details can help you pick a good topic.
Do Not Just Shoot for the Word Count
This is one of the biggest blunders you should avoid when writing long-form content. Remember, your objective is to provide an astounding reading experience and value to your target audience. The content should fulfil their intent. Only and only if the topic is broad enough that you can take a detailed approach to write about it.
Write Great Content
It all ends up in writing fantastic content that is relevant, well-optimised, engaging, and actionable. Of course, great writing style, language, tone, and correct English matter. But you have to make it marketable too.
Add catchy images, graphs, or infographics to make the content engaging. Add social media buttons to promote sharing on various platforms. Powerful Call-to-Actions are a must. Make sure the content is well-linked both internally and to external sites.
Get Set Go!
Now that you have created an awesome piece of long-form content, kickstart promoting it on different platforms and boost your search engine visibility remarkably.
Not sure how to write high-quality, long-form content? Rank One Content has a decade of experience brainstorming and crafting superlative long-form content that is unique, engaging, and helps augment your brand visibility.
Contact us to transform your business with the unfathomed power of long-form content.