It's been a while since we did a content marketing news roundup, so we're coming back with it this month! We got a roundup of great content marketing and inbound marketing news articles for you, including 30 business blogging tips and the complete list of Google's ranking factors. There's something here for everyone.
Google's 200 Ranking Factors: The Complete List - Backlinko - A big thanks to Brian Dean for this one! This is one of the most comprehensive lists and explanations we've come across when it comes to search engine rankings. We even learned a thing or two from this list, such as using a geographic ending such as .fr or .in can help you rank for that particular country, although it does not help for global rankings.
Why Partnering with a Content Marketing Agency Can Lead to a Better Business Blog - DigitalSherpa - A content marketing agency has a lot of offer a small or medium-sized business that at least has a business blog, but might want to try white papers, case studies, and other longer forms of content to market their business. An agency has the resources and expertise in place to get your business blog (or content marketing strategy) started right and to keep it going with the commitment necessary to make the strategy and effort successful.
20 Enlightening Pearls of Wisdom from Marketing Experts [SlideShare] - HubSpot - Want some tips on how to be a better marketer? Need a breath of fresh air on how to think about marketing? These 20 'enlightening pearls' are as refreshing as the visuals they come with.
Don't Waste Your Time on a Business Blog: 30+ Tips for Doing it Right - Business2Community - This is an incredible list of business blogging tips, and it includes several that we haven't covered in our own posts offering tips. Two of these include using excerpts for SEO value (not sure if all blogging platforms have an easy way to do this) and focusing on structure of the post, which includes an introduction, middle, and conclusion.
7 Lessons from 7 Years of Blogging - Small Business Search Marketing - Seven years of blogging is a long time! Can you imagine your business blog being seven years old, and what could be accomplished in that time? This posts has seven awesome lessons from all that time and experience. The toughest lesson here is that no one is going to read your business blog for several months. It is serious commitment, and one that does not see results overnight.
9 Questions to Help you Prioritize Your Content Creation - Content Marketing Institute - One of the most common challenges for businesses engaging in content marketing is creating enough content. So, when there's not enough time and/or not enough people to create content, how do you decide the content that you will spend your time and resources on? This article comes with a genius template that you can share within your company to determine needs, time, where it fits in the sales funnel etc.
Lead Generation Poses Biggest Challenge for B2Bs - eMarketer - No surprises here, as over 60 percent of B2B companies cite lead generation as their biggest challenge for the year. This is about the same as last year, and coming in second is the challenge of reaching more of your target audience. Content marketing, as it fits into all this, is the second most popular way for B2Bs to generate leads.
Related Links:
How the Buying Process Affects Your Content Marketing
Importance of Content Marketing: The 2012 Digital Influencer Report