Content marketing has become a crucial component of most companies’ marketing efforts. According to Content Marketing Institute, more than 83% of B2B and 77% of B2C companies are creating more content in 2016 compared to 2015.

But, the tools making it possible for you to build a loyal audience can be very dangerous. If you use them without knowing what you’re doing, you could end up destroying the thing you worked so hard to build. Content marketing is definitely something you don’t want to do on a whim.

Here are five content marketing mistakes that can cause great problems.

Mistake #1: You Don’t Optimize Your Content for Search Engines

Long ago, keyword stuffing was the best way to get traffic. As a result, content was poorly-written, bland and boring. Since then, Google has been fine-tuning its algorithm and its predictions have become highly sophisticated and very educated. Nowadays, if you over-optimize your website, you run the risk of being penalized.

Dima Midon, the founder at TrafficBox, a Digital Marketing Agency, considers that, completely ignoring SEO in your content marketing strategy is a surefire way to lose targeted traffic. While it’s true that search engines got smarter, they still need some hints.

How to Fix It: Before creating new content, do a bit of digging to determine what keywords searchers use in order to find information about a specific topic. Try to include those keywords naturally in your content and only when is relevant to your audience.

Mistake #2: You Don’t Have a Content Distribution Strategy

The thing about content marketing is that is not just about creating content – you also have to share your work with others in order to reach a wider audience. Unfortunately, content distribution is often overlooked or, in some cases, completely ignored.

Some marketers argue that you should spend as much time promoting and distributing your content as you do writing it. Truth be told, one tweet is not going to cut it. Nor is it one single email sent once a month or a single Facebook post a week. If you want to get serious about content marketing, you need to start paying more attention to content distribution. If you need help in these areas, a great option is hiring a marketing company.

How to Fix It: One of the best content marketing tactics is to build and email list. Even today, email marketing is the best channel for reaching out the largest part of your audience. Every time you publish a new article, send an email to your list.

Mistake #3: You Are Not Consistent

How would you feel if, every once in a while, your favorite TV show would stop running just because the producers were too busy and they forgot to create a new episode. You wouldn’t be too happy about it, would you?

If you are going to invest in content marketing, then you need to be consistent. You can’t publish on your blog for a couple of months and then completely ignore it for the next few weeks. You should know a nearshore software development model to grow your website properly.

How to Fix It: The best way to be consistent is to create a content calendar. Find the best days of the week and the best hours to publish and share your content and stick to the schedule.

Mistake #4: Your Headlines Are a Bore

Here’s the harsh reality of content marketing: if you can’t hypnotize readers with awesome headlines, you will lose them. Even if you write amazing content that your readers would love, you won’t attract too many visitors if your headlines are boring.

According to Copyblogger.com, 8 out of 10 people will read the headline, but only 2 out of 10 will read the content. Headlines hold a great power and they can determine the success of your articles.

How to Fix It: What makes a good headline and how can you write one? Here are five key elements you should include in your headlines to make them effective:

  • Curiosity
  • Urgency
  • Relevancy
  • Value
  • Emotion

Mistake #5: You Ignore Conversions and Analytics

Content marketing is both an art and a science. It takes creativity to craft engaging copy, but you also need a scientific approach to measure and analyze your performance.

Getting a lot of traffic and tons of shares can feel pretty good, but they are all in vain if no one is converting. Smart marketers know not to ignore conversion metrics and use a number of tools to understand what’s working and what not.

How to Fix It: Pay close attention to everything on your website, from traffic numbers and email open rates to traffic shares. Look at the best converting topics and try to understand what was it about them that made people click. Constantly tweak and improve your content and your website to offer visitors a flawless experience.

Are you making any of these content marketing mistakes? Let’s discuss and you can contact seo toronto company for effective solutions according to your business needs.