As the name implies, the feature ‘recommends’ SEO optimizations and opportunities that it determines are relevant for your website. 

GSC is a staple SEO tool that’s pretty much universally used by digital marketers trying to improve search rankings on Google. It gives you an inside view into how Google views your website, including if key web pages are indexed or not. 

The new feature promises to provide site owners with effective SEO recommendations to improve their experience marketing through Google’s search engine. 

For example, if you haven’t uploaded your XML sitemap to GSC, the Recommendations feature will remind you. 

It also provides helpful recommendations for:

1. Trending keywords in your niche 
2. Rich results (like featured snippets and knowledge bars) 
3. Using structured data 
4. Getting rid of indexing errors 

These are only a few recommendations that the tool can spit out, and it’s bound to evolve over time. 

However, it’s crucial to note that the feature is still experimental at the moment. 

While some site owners will already see recommendations popping up on their GSC dashboard, it will take several months for the feature to completely roll out. 

So, there’s no reason to panic if you don’t see the feature yet; just remain patient. 

There’s quite a bit to unpack here, so stay tuned to learn more about the Recommendations feature. 

The Basics of the Recommendations Feature 

When asked about the purpose of the feature, Google notes “The data was already available to you on Search Console, but now we’re helping to make it more accessible by providing direct recommendations.”

This means that instead of digging through GSC to gain insights and discover opportunities, the platform will streamline that information through the Recommendations feature. 

Google’s hope is that this will save users time and brain power, as they won’t have to brainstorm ways to improve their SEO. 

A noticeable plus is that GSC’s data is straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Rather than dealing with data from a third-party tool, you’re getting SEO recommendations straight from Google. 

The Recommendations feature will appear in the Overview tab, but it’s important to remember that it’s still in the experimental phase. 

Here’s the example photo Google provided on its website:

As you can see, the SEO recommendations appear at the very top of the Overview report. 

In the photo, the recommendations deal with indexing, using structured data to qualify for rich results, and an update on a relevant keyword. The feature also notifies the user that GSC only shows 35% of their performance data and provides a link for bulk exporting the rest of it. 

It’s meant to be a helpful feature that streamlines SEO tactics for users, saving them the time and headaches involved with strategizing. 

Google says there are three types of recommendations you can see, which are:

• Issues. These are problems affecting your performance on Google’s SERPs (search engine results pages). It could be an indexing error, a crawling error, a lack of structured data, or about a million other things. 

• Opportunities. These are chances for you to improve your traffic or boost your rankings. An example would be notifying you about trending keywords in your industry that you can use to create thought leader content. 

• Configuration. Lastly, the tool will make suggestions for improving technical factors like loading speed and site architecture.

Since the tool is still in its experimental phase, Google may choose to add new types of recommendations in the future. For now, the tool will notify you if there are any problems that need fixing, golden opportunities for traffic, or technical factors in need of configuration.

Stipulations 

You should know that Google won’t always provide recommendations. 

This means if you don’t see any suggestions, it could be that Google simply has nothing to recommend (you could have picture-perfect SEO that doesn’t need improving). 

Another crucial factor to note is some recommendations will have expiration dates. 

Google promises it will update recommendations regularly so that it always provides site owners with accurate, up-to-date SEO advice. 

Whenever a recommendation expires, it simply won’t appear anymore. 

This makes sense, as keywords fall in and out of popularity, and opportunities for things like backlinks and guest posts won’t stick around forever. 

That’s why the team at Google chose to make the Recommendations feature time-sensitive, knowing full well that most SEO tactics aren’t evergreen (meaning they stay fresh forever). 

How is This Feature Useful for SEOs?

Now that you’re familiar with how the feature works, what can it do for you?

In other words, how will the Recommendations feature improve your SEO strategy?

Here’s a look at the top ways you can use the feature to enjoy a better performance on Google Search. 

Save time 

Just like Google said, all the data used to make recommendations can already be found in GSC, it’s just streamlined. 

As a result, the feature is a great way to save time. 

For example, the Overview report is the default on GSC, meaning it’s always your starting point. This is where the Recommendations feature lives, and it provides you with a rapid series of recommendations to speed things up. 

Let’s say you discover that you have an indexing error and an opportunity to target a trending keyword through the Recommendations feature. 

To find this data manually, you’d have to A) pull up the Index Coverage Report and B) do research on relevant keywords. 

Learn more about what Google wants 

The insights found in GSC are from Google itself, so you’ll get to know what it likes to see in SEO campaigns. 

This will help you better appeal to Google’s search algorithms to achieve better rankings. 

The more you understand Google, the easier it will be to reign over your competitors from the #1-ranked organic position. 

Quickly identify trends and opportunities 

It can take a while to uncover trending keywords and content opportunities, but the Recommendations feature negates that. 

Instead, you’ll be able to instantly know if there are any relevant trends you can target, and the tool will provide plenty of other opportunities to boost your rankings. 

Making the Most of the Feature

Like any SEO tool, it’s only as powerful as the one wielding it. Since the feature is in its infancy, we’ve yet to see how useful it actually is during a real SEO campaign. 

However, it’s undeniably convenient and time-saving, so keep an eye on your Overview report to see if you have any recommendations to peep. 

Do you need help forming a comprehensive SEO strategy for your website?

HOTH X, our managed SEO service, is the answer to your prayers. We’ll put your SEO on autopilot so you can focus on other things while you reach the top of the rankings, so don’t wait to get in touch.    

The post Google Adds Recommendations Feature to Search Console appeared first on The HOTH.

This is why it becomes difficult to scale your content creation efforts as your business grows, even if you have a large team of in-house creators. There’s only so much high-quality content you can churn out, and it comes at a cost. 

So, how do the big brands do it?

They use content syndication to keep banking off what they’ve already created!

Think about popularly syndicated TV shows like Friends or The Office: how much do you think they made off just one episode?

We can’t provide an answer yet because the number is still growing. 

Both shows are still in syndication and continue to earn money for the creators, staff, and cast each time an episode airs (or when you watch them on a streaming platform like Netflix). 

The good news?

You can start syndicating your own content, regardless of your business’s current size or influence, to mimic their success. Read on to learn how. 

What is Content Syndication?

Despite the fancy word, content syndication is simply republishing existing pieces of content on third-party websites or platforms. 

It’s an excellent way to extend your brand’s reach, exposing your content to new audiences who probably wouldn’t have discovered it otherwise. 

Brands love syndication because it solves the aforementioned ‘scaling problem’ with content creation. Instead of having to produce an original piece of content every time you want to generate traffic or brand awareness, you can let your ‘greatest hits’ do some of the heavy lifting for you. 

After all, why only stick with the original influx of traffic for a truly rockstar piece of content?

A better strategy is to promote your painstakingly-produced content to the high heavens to reap as many rewards from it as possible! 

A content syndication example: NerdWallet 

Don’t just take our word for it – major industry players online have been using content syndication to dominate their respective fields for many years now. 

A perfect example is personal finance giant NerdWallet. 

Trust us when we say they have a truly outstanding SEO strategy, as it’s the one marketing channel they’ve used to dominate their corner of the finance market. 

We’ve already provided 7 great SEO ideas from NerdWallet in the past because of this, and their dominance has only grown in the years since. 

Let’s take a quick look at their stats on Ahrefs (an industry-leading platform for revealing any website’s SEO metrics):

Here’s a quick breakdown of these numbers to put them in context:

• They have an absurdly high Domain Rating of 90 (which refers to the strength of their backlink profile/ranking power). 
• They’re ranking for millions of personal finance keywords (3.7 million). 
• They see 19.1 million organic visitors each month, which is astronomically high. 

For a quick comparison, here’s the Ahrefs profile of one of their top competitors in the personal finance space, MoneyCrashers:

As you can see, the numbers, while still incredibly impressive by SEO standards, are far less impressive than NerdWallet’s. 

The reason for their success?

They have an extremely robust content syndication strategy thanks to their partnership with The Associated Press (AP) – a giant not-for-profit news distribution agency. The AP distributes NerdWallet’s articles to a whopping 1,650 media outlets, including giants like The New York Times and The Washington Post. 

This consistently floods NerdWallet with super-powerful backlinks and tons of referral traffic (both of which are amazing for SEO and business in general). 

They’re definitely not alone, as other major brands like TV Guide, ValuePenguin, and The Penny Hoarder employ similar content syndication strategies to elevate their brands.   

What are the Benefits of Content Syndication?

Content syndication is something any business can start using, whether you’re a medium-sized business or a super-small blogging site (even solo operations can syndicate).

Here’s a look at the top reasons why content syndication is worth your time.

Generate high-quality backlinks

One of the most obvious benefits of syndication is to build backlinks for your website. Backlinks are a massive ranking factor for search engines, so it’s important to generate links from high-quality websites – and syndication is a great way to do that. 

If you partner with a reliable and experienced marketing agency or PR firm, you can get your content syndicated on hundreds or even thousands of trusted media and news outlets. This will work wonders for your performance on search engines, which is why SEOs love content syndication. 

Don’t forget to double-check that each syndicated piece has a link back to a specific page on your website (the pages that you want to rank better). 

Syndication is mutually beneficial 

It’s always great when you can build a link while helping out another website owner in the process, and content syndication is an example of this. 

Why is that?

It’s because A) you get to generate a backlink and reach a wider audience, and B) the reporter/website owner gets to share high-quality content on their website with very little effort involved. 

Speaking of that, website owners love to share syndicated content because it allows them to populate their blogs with content without having to create it themselves. This is especially beneficial for smaller websites that lack writers or the budget to hire freelancers to create original content. 

More organic traffic for your website

While traffic generation isn’t a primary goal when syndicating content, it is an added benefit. 

Since each syndicated article will contain a link back to your website, users may decide to check out more of your content for further reading. 

Also, the more outlets your content appears on, the more likely it is for this to occur. The increased brand awareness can also cause some online users to begin to recognize your brand, causing them to eventually visit your website – and maybe even make a purchase/leave their contact information. 

It’s highly cost-effective

Creating a new piece of content requires a large time and resource investment. For example, even if you want to create a simple blog post, you have to:

1. Do online research to discover a relevant topic to write about. 
2. Develop an outline for yourself or a writer to use.
3. Write the piece yourself or hire a writer online (which is an expense). 
4. Review the draft to ensure accuracy, quality, and SEO-friendliness. 
5. Add images, links, and any other types of media (like an embedded video). 
6. Publish the content through your CMS. 

Instead of going through all that trouble, you could syndicate a blog you’ve already created to generate backlinks and qualified leads. 

In some instances, syndicating just one blog post can result in 100 backlinks. Compare that to paying for one link at a time, and the cost-effectiveness of content syndication becomes crystal clear.   

It builds brand awareness and expands your online reach

Your online reach will only stretch so far if you only publish original content on your website, even if every piece is ranking #1 on Google. 

There will still be large sections of your target audience that won’t experience your brand if you stick to this route. 

Think back to the NerdWallet example, where their articles were distributed to 1,650 outlets across the internet. 

That’s a massive online reach that they wouldn’t have built without the aid of content syndication. 

Potential Drawbacks of Content Syndication

While we’ve been gushing over the advantages of content syndication so far, that’s not to say that there aren’t potential drawbacks. 

In particular, there are two major considerations to keep in mind when thinking about syndicating your content, which are:

• Duplicate content. There’s a right and a wrong way to syndicate your content. If you don’t mark it as a syndicated piece in your HTML markup, Google will consider it a duplication of the original piece on your website, which will wreak SEO havoc. To ensure this doesn’t happen, every syndicated piece on an external website must have a canonical tag. This signifies to Google that the piece is a syndicated article, so it won’t count as duplicate content. 

• Syndicated pieces outranking the original. This is where syndicated content can backfire in a sense. It is entirely possible for a syndicated article to outrank the original piece, in turn driving the lion’s share of organic traffic to the other website instead of yours. Canonical tags and backlinks can mitigate this issue, as you’ll still receive some SEO benefits. Also, the syndicated pieces will still raise brand awareness, which is a plus. 

How Do You Syndicate Content??

Alright, now let’s dive into how you can make content syndication a reality for your business. 

It’s important to note that you need outstanding content for it to be worthy of syndication. Assemble your ‘greatest hits’ from your website by analyzing each page’s metrics. Check for the content that received the most:

1. Traffic 
2. Engagement 
3. Conversions 
4. Comments 

Also, you can syndicate any type of content you’ve produced, not just blog posts. You can also syndicate videos, infographics, and podcasts – just to name a few. 

There are two primary ways to syndicate your content, which are:

1. The free way 
2. The paid way 

Here’s how to do both. 

Free content syndication strategies 

Going with the free route requires more time and effort, but it allows for greater control and can be highly effective when done right. Here are some effective free strategies to consider. 

Catch the attention of websites that syndicate content 

Syndicate networks exist, and they’re constantly on the hunt for popular content to distribute to their platforms. 

You can capitalize on these networks by creating a landing page for content syndication. To get extra cheeky, you can title the page ‘Steal My Content, Please.’ This page will provide other bloggers, guest post leads, and businesses in your niche with a way to contact you for content syndication. 

This is a great way to catch the eyes of potential syndicate networks. 

Syndicate existing content with larger publications

Your best-performing content doesn’t have to stick with its original format. For instance, if you’ve got a super popular blog, why not repurpose it into a video and an infographic, too? That way, you’ll have three pieces of content ready for syndication instead of just one. 

Also, target high-authority websites that have larger audiences in your field. Videos and infographics are especially effective content types for this due to how shareable they both are. 

You can use our free SEO audit tool to determine the authority level of different websites (and peep at their overall SEO performance). 

Look for websites with grades of B or above (A+ is preferred). 

Prowly also comes in handy in this regard. It’s a digital PR tool that connects you with thousands of journalists and media outlets in your industry. 

For example, let’s say your website operates in the tech space, and you’re looking for larger publications to target for syndication. 

A quick search on Prowly provides us with the top 100 technology outlets in the US, which is enormously helpful for narrowing your search. 

Target niche audiences with smaller publications

Smaller publications are also desirable targets for syndication since they appeal to niche audiences.

They’re also great places to syndicate some of your older/more average content (that’s still quality). 

Try to target media sites and news outlets that have similar audiences as yours and are on the same level authority-wise. 

It’s worth taking this extra step because niche audiences are more likely to explore your other content and eventually become customers. 

The proof?

According to research, 60% of users return to niche websites within a month due to their specialized content, and niche websites boast 45% higher conversion rates than regular websites. 

Pros of the Free Route	Cons of the Free Route:
Greater control: You have more control over where your content is published and how it’s presented. Relationship building: You can foster valuable relationships with other bloggers and influencers in your niche.	Time-consuming: It takes time and effort to find the right partners and pitch your content effectively. No guarantees: There’s no guarantee that your content will be accepted or reach your target audience.

How to find syndication partners 

Besides using Prowly and our free SEO tools, there are plenty of other ways to discover syndication partners online. 

For example, you can leverage your existing network by engaging with fellow bloggers, publications, and influencers in your niche. 

Don’t be shy about making appearances, either. 

Rather than sticking to email outreach, don’t hesitate to participate in podcasts and webinars whenever possible. Also, stay active in relevant online communities like social media groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. 

BuzzSumo is another invaluable resource for finding syndication partners. It lets you view which articles are being shared the most on social media.

Google search operators are also a huge help in this regard. Wrapping words in quotations signals to Google that you only want to view results that contain those keywords. 

Therefore, searching for things like “originally appeared on” and “syndicated content” will help you find syndication partners. 

Here’s a quick example for the tech industry. 

Voila! We can now see a list of websites publishing syndicated articles in the technology field. 

The paid route

Don’t feel like spending hours searching for syndication partners and conducting outreach?

Then, it’s time to make like your favorite video game and pay-to-win. 

Paid content syndication is where you pay a flat fee or invest in advertising for the privilege of syndicating your content on third-party websites/platforms. 

Here’s how it works: 

Cost: You pay a fee, usually based on a cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-impression (CPM) model, to have your content displayed on relevant websites.

Platforms: Popular paid syndication platforms include Outbrain, Taboola, and Zemanta. They connect content creators with publishers who are looking to fill ad space with quality content.

Format: Your content often appears as a recommended article or sponsored content alongside other editorial content on the publisher’s website.

Here’s an example of an infographic that lets the audience know it’s sponsored:

Targeting: Your content can target specific demographics, interests, or behaviors to reach your desired audience.

Tracking: Paid syndication platforms offer detailed analytics and reporting, allowing you to track the performance of your syndicated content and measure its impact.

Pros of the Paid Route:	Cons of the Paid Route:
Faster and easier: The service handles the outreach and placement process, saving you time and effort. Wider reach: Your content can be syndicated to major publications and websites that may be difficult to access through organic means. Guaranteed results: Many services offer performance guarantees, ensuring your content reaches a certain number of impressions or clicks.	Cost: Paid syndication can be expensive, especially if you’re targeting high-authority websites. Less control: You may have less control over where your content is published and how it’s presented. SEO Impact: While paid syndication can drive traffic, the links from these platforms are often marked as “sponsored content” and don’t directly boost your SEO.

In our opinion, paid content syndication is most valuable when used in tandem with organic syndication efforts. 

All in all, paid syndication is a strong option for businesses looking to quickly increase their reach and drive traffic to their website.

Which is the right strategy for you?

Since you’re familiar with both syndication options now, which one should you choose?

The decision is up to you, but our advice boils down to this:

How much free time do you have available?

If the answer is a lot, then the free route can bear fruit for you, and you’ll save money in the process. If you’re like most businesses, you likely don’t have much time to spare (unless you’re an Elon Musk-style workaholic). In that case, paid syndication is the way to go due to how much time it will save. 

Let’s Wrap it Up

To summarize, content syndication is your ticket to scaling your brand’s online reach. It enables you to keep generating value out of content you’ve already created, and it’s an amazing way to generate backlinks and referral traffic.  

Don’t want to do the hard work but still want to yield the benefits of content syndication? 

That’s why you have us.

HOTH Syndication allows you to syndicate your content on the same sites as the big players for a fraction of the price.

When you syndicate your content with us, you’ll get your content and backlinks published on over 300+ authentic, high DA (domain authority) news sites. 

Also, don’t wait to sign up for free and schedule a call with one of our experts today to learn more!       

The post Content Syndication Strategy: How to Promote Your Content Like the Big Brands appeared first on The HOTH.

With 2.49 billion monthly users, YouTube is the second-most popular social media channel, and it’s the second-most visited website in the world. 

Yet, all that popularity means there’s a boatload of competition for every audience. 

To say the platform is oversaturated is an understatement, and you need a way to improve your visibility if you want anyone to see your videos. 

Using Semrush for your YouTube channel is one of the best ways to:

• Find topic ideas that matter to your target audience 
• Analyze competitors so that your videos stand out 
• Improve your YouTube SEO so that your videos rank for relevant searches 

You’ll also be able to track your video’s performance on YouTube’s internal ranking system to ensure you’re getting the results you want. 

In this article, we’ll teach you how to use Semrush to improve your YouTube SEO for better rankings and more views – so stick around to learn more. 

What’s YouTube SEO?

While YouTube is a video sharing platform, it’s also a search engine, and its algorithm shares some similarities with Google. 

So, if you’ve ever run a search engine optimization (SEO) campaign on Google before, you’ll feel right at home. 

Just like Google, YouTube uses a series of ranking factors to determine which videos A) most closely match the user’s search intent and B) come from trusted, high-quality creators. 

The good news is YouTube has far fewer ranking factors than Google, which is thought to have over 200. 

Here’s a look at the most important ranking factors in YouTube’s search algorithm:

• Relevance. The keywords you use in your video titles, descriptions, and tags let the algorithm know what your video is about. It matches this information with user searches to display videos that align with what the user is looking for (an example would be a user searching for ‘funny cats’ and videos that contain that keyword in the title, description, and tags showing up). 

• Intent. The algorithm also wants to satisfy the user’s search intent, which refers to the type of video they’re looking for. For example, if a user searches for ‘best drones 2024,’ YouTube will bring up drone review videos – as it’s clear they’re looking for drone reviews and product comparisons (you can learn more about the different types of search intent in our LearningHub). 

• Engagement. Videos that receive lots of engagement receive priority in YouTube’s search rankings. That means the more likes, comments, and shares a video has – the more likely it is to rank higher in YouTube’s search results (and recommended videos). 

• Quality. Lastly, YouTube wants to rank high-quality videos at the top of its results. Certain signals signify that a creator makes quality content, such as consistent viewership, a strong subscriber base, and positive engagement. 

Using Semrush for Better YouTube SEO 

Now that you’re familiar with YouTube’s search algorithm let’s learn how you can use Semrush’s tools to propel your videos to the top of the search results.

In particular, we’re going to use two tools you can find in Semrush’s App Store, which are:

1. Keyword Analytics for YouTube 
2. Rank Tracker for YouTube 

Both of these tools are built from the ground up to work with YouTube’s ranking system, and they’ll be your secret weapons for outranking competitors. 

Conduct YouTube keyword research to brainstorm topic ideas 

Beginner YouTubers often make the mistake of creating whatever they want and hoping there’s an audience for it. 

While that approach works for passionate content creators who aren’t concerned with generating millions of views, it’s not very effective for marketing purposes. 

That’s why we’re going to use Keyword Analytics for YouTube to uncover relevant topic ideas that your audience is searching for right now. 

The tool is completely free to try, and it’s split into three functionalities:

• Keyword research. This tool helps you find keywords that matter to your target audience. 
• Fast-growing keywords. Uncover emerging trends and the keywords that are growing the most. 
• Top videos. Find the most popular videos on YouTube, including the most popular videos for your keywords. 

All three functions are useful, but we’ll stick with keyword research for now. 

Simply enter a broad term related to your niche, and the tool will provide a list of popular, relevant keywords (including their weekly search volume). 

More importantly, you can see each keyword’s competitive rate, which represents the level of competition (and how hard it will be to rank for the keyword). 

Ideally, you want to find keywords that have decent weekly search volume and relatively low competitive rates. 

In the example provided, you could base a video around the keyword ‘Investing for Beginners’ since it has a few weekly searches and a low competitive rate.  

Track keyword rankings to master YouTube SEO 

Without a way to track your video’s keyword rankings on YouTube, you’re effectively shooting in the dark. 

That’s where Rank Tracker for YouTube comes into the picture. It’s the quickest and easiest way to track the search rankings for your videos. 

You can import your keywords from YouTube Studio or Semrush’s Keyword Manager into the tool.

Once that’s done, the tool’s Overview tab will show you:

• The average ranking for each video 
• A pie chart representing keyword distribution for ‘top 3,’ ‘top 10,’ and ‘top 20’ rankings
• Keywords that have gained rankings, lost rankings, or stayed the same 

Also, the Keywords tab lets you view all the keywords you targeted for specific videos. 

Rank Tracker is your homebase for monitoring your YouTube SEO efforts. If your videos aren’t gaining traction, it’s a sign you need to go back to the drawing board and try something different. 

Try Semrush for Better YouTube SEO and Google Campaigns 

That’s how you can use two tools from Semrush to improve your visibility on YouTube. 

Videos are more popular than articles, and they drive more engagement, which is why video advertising is a must for businesses today. 

Besides the tools for YouTube, Semrush’s offerings will take your Google SEO campaigns to the next level – so don’t wait to try out our exclusive extended 14-day free trial of Semrush Pro.  

The standard free trial only lasts 7 days, so be sure to go through our special link to enjoy an extra week of Semrush’s exceptional tools for free.   

The post How to Use Semrush for Your YouTube Channel appeared first on The HOTH.

Yet, consistently releasing high-quality content is necessary to compete with other online businesses, both on search engines and social media platforms. 

Ever since the official launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, AI content tools have taken the marketing world by storm. 

Alt tag: A meme of the Terminator talking about generating content. 

While AI-powered tools have been around for quite a while (Grammarly has been out for 10+ years), this new wave of generative AI tools has some truly impressive capabilities. 

For instance, AI tools can now generate the following types of content from scratch and free of plagiarism (for the most part):

• Long-form blog posts
• Landing pages
• Emails and Slack messages
• Social media posts 
• Product descriptions 
• Poems and short stories 
• Song lyrics 
• Video scripts 
• Other types of text-based content 

As you can imagine, this makes the content creation process far easier and less expensive. 

Or does it?

The fact is that AI content creation tools are still in their infancy, and there are still a lot of kinks to work out. 

Plagiarism and inaccuracies can still creep into content that’s completely AI-generated, so it’s unwise to let AI completely take the wheel. 

It’s also unclear how Google views content created by AI (considering its E-E-A-T algorithm that values original content demonstrating first-hand experiences). 

Moreover, some AI content tools work better than others, so it’s worth being choosy. 

We’re counting down the top AI content tools for generating blog posts and images, so read on to learn which tools are worthy of your time and money. 

Understanding How Modern AI Content Tools Work 

The AI tools of today look a heck of a lot different than the AI writers of yesteryear. 

As stated before, Grammarly has been around for ages, but it’s a proofreading/suggestion tool that lacks generative capabilities. 

Where Grammarly can suggest ways to rearrange or rewrite existing sentences, modern AI tools like ChatGPT and Copymatic take things to the next level. 

What’s the difference?

Large language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP) have made it possible for AIs to comprehend and write human language in virtually every tone (professional, informal, conversational, etc.). 

Besides that, a form of machine learning called deep learning enabled AIs to continue to learn from every interaction they made with users, which means the AIs could educate themselves beyond their training data. 

These are the three components that comprise AI-powered content creation tools, and they’re why these modern tools vastly outshine their previous counterparts. 

Thanks to deep learning, LLMs, and NLP, users can hold entire conversations with chatbots like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot. 

Users can also prompt these chatbots to create text-based content like blogs, poems, essays, and product descriptions. 

They’re also invaluable tools for brainstorming, as you can ask a chatbot to generate topic ideas, title suggestions, and entire paragraphs. 

Using AI to create images 

In addition to writing original text-based content, there are also tools capable of generating images from text prompts written in natural language. 

OpenAI’s DALL-E made serious waves online after its release, and its image-generation capabilities became an instant hit on social media (you probably remember your friends generating images of themselves as astronauts or rockstars). 

At first, these tools were separate from chatbots and text-based content creation tools, but that’s starting to change.  

ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users can now access DALL-E 3 within the chatbot, meaning they can generate images and text content in one location. 

Google’s Gemini shows incredible promise in this area as well due to its multimodal capabilities. 

What’s multimodal AI?

It’s an AI that can not only understand natural human language but can also process audio and use computer vision. 

As a result, the Gemini AI can understand voice and image-based prompts in addition to text prompts, as demonstrated by this demo video. 

Image generation is especially useful for small and medium-sized businesses that lack the in-house capability to create graphics and take original photos. 

Using an AI image generator can save you the cost of subscribing to a stock photo library, and you won’t have to spend hours trying to hunt down copyright-free images. 

Having said that, AI image generators take some getting used to, as you’ll need to perfect the prompting process to yield the best results. Even then, the generated images can look pretty funky (like people that have extra limbs or six fingers). 

Top Factors to Look for in AI Content Creation Tools 

If you’re going to invest in a generative AI tool, it needs to check all the boxes for you. 

For example, if you constantly use programs like Microsoft Teams and Excel in your daily operations, you’ll want an AI tool that integrates with them for a seamless workflow. 

Or if your entire team will use the AI, selecting a user-friendly program will make your life a lot easier. 

Here are the top features to look for in an AI-powered content generation tool. 

A cutting-edge LLM with current training data 

Not every AI content tool uses the same language model, which is definitely something to keep in mind when considering your options. 

Ideally, you should opt for a tool that uses a state-of-the-art LLM like OpenAI’s GPT-4 or Anthropic’s Claude 2. 

These are two of the most advanced language models around today, and they generate the best results. 

If you go with a tool that uses a subpar language model, you’ll receive low-quality results that likely contain plagiarism. 

Also, certain LLMs are able to access the internet through Google Search, including GPT-4 and Google’s BARD. These LLMs have an edge over others because they’re able to generate content based on the most accurate, up-to-date information. 

LLMs that aren’t able to access the internet are limited to their training data, which may or may not be outdated. 

GPT-3 famously had this problem during ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022, as it was only trained on online data up to September 2021. Now that GPT-4 has internet access via Google Search, the chatbot no longer has that problem. 

Existing tool integrations 

As stated previously, you’ll want to find a tool that integrates with your existing workflows. 

Otherwise, you’ll have to constantly click back and forth between applications when creating content, which is both time-consuming and inefficient (for instance, it’s much easier to make a mistake when rapidly switching between programs). 

That’s why it’s worth finding an AI content creation program that meshes well with your current toolset. 

ChatGPT features an API that enables users to integrate it with any application that allows API access. 

Other AI content tools, like Jasper, connect with Zapier to enable thousands of app integrations. 

That’ll make it far easier to introduce an AI-powered tool into your content creation process since you won’t have to keep switching between applications like a maniac. 

For example, if you like to draft blogs in Google Docs, finding an AI writer that integrates with it will make your life a lot easier. You’ll be able to generate and rewrite text within Google Docs until it’s perfect, and then you can import it straight into your CMS. 

That certainly beats generating text within the content tool, copying and pasting it into Google Docs, reformatting it, and then importing it to your CMS. 

This is only one example of how third-party app integrations will help simplify your content creation process, which is why it’s worth including them in your list of must-have features. 

No, don’t say that! Control over outputs 

What’s your brand voice like? Is it fun and informal, or are you staunchly professional?

Whatever the case may be, you’ll need an AI content tool that offers complete control over the outputs to ensure you wind up with the right tone for your brand. 

Some AI writing tools lack customizability, meaning that you’re stuck with whatever tone the AI feels like spitting out at the time. 

The best AI writing assistants give you the option to alter the AI’s voice, tone, word choice, and language. 

The best tools also provide multiple results for each prompt, giving you a few options instead of just one. 

This variety will make it easier to generate content that aligns with your brand’s values and tone, which is a plus. 

If you choose a generic tool with little customizability, your content will come off as very generic and static. 

Also, if your business is international, AI content tools that can write in several different languages come in very handy. 

So easy a caveman could do it: User-friendliness

An AI tool can have the most advanced and awe-inspiring features in the world, but if you can’t figure out how to use them, it may as well be a weather widget. 

The complexity of a user interface is always something to consider with any software tool, regardless if it’s AI-powered or not. 

If you’re able to give an AI content tool a test drive, you’ll get to see first-hand whether it’s easy to use or convoluted. 

Third-party reviews are great, but what a tech writer views as intuitive may be complex to some. That’s why a free trial or demo is the best way to judge the user-friendliness of an AI content tool, as everyone’s needs vary. 

Also, think about how others at your organization will respond to the tool. 

If multiple content writers and marketers will use the program, then it’s wise to let them check things out before you make a final decision. 

The good news is most AI content tools are pretty straightforward, so it shouldn’t take you and your team too long to get the hang of things. 

Spend money to make money: Affordability  

It’s crucial not to get too distracted by all the fancy features and capabilities of an AI content generation tool. 

The eye is often bigger than the belly … or the wallet, in this case. 

Knowing your budget beforehand will help you remain grounded when prospecting generative AI programs. 

Check each tool’s subscription plan to see if it’s more affordable to pay an annual sum instead of monthly installments. 

Also, pay close attention to the features associated with each pricing tier. 

While a tool’s premium tier may be out of your league, you may be able to get everything you need (and remain within your budget) with one of the lower tiers. 

Some tools also have free versions, albeit with limited features and access, but can still be a great deal regardless. 

For example, higher pricing tiers are usually for larger companies, so small businesses and websites can easily meet their needs with the standard and free options. 

Robo Wordsmiths: The Top 5 AI Content Tools Worth Considering

There are countless AI tools you can use for content creation out there, and new ones pop up every single day. 

As a result, trying to find a suitable AI content tool for your needs can quickly become a daunting task. 

The good news?

We’ve already done the hard part for you and narrowed things down to the top 5 AI content creation tools available today. 

These tools feature state-of-the-art LLMs, intuitive user interfaces, many customizable options, and dozens of positive reviews from satisfied customers. 

Yet, even the best generative AI tools still make occasional hiccups, which is why you shouldn’t blindly post whatever they spit out. 

You’ll need to designate at least one person to fact-check the content that you generate (and ensure that it’s truly plagiarism-free). 

It’s also wise to have at least one team member capable of adding their own two cents to your generated content – preferably an SME (subject matter expert) on whatever topic you’re discussing. 

That’ll help you appeal to Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines, which will improve the chances of better SERP rankings (and that Google won’t devalue your content due to it being auto-generated). 

Having said that, here’s a look at the 5 best AI-powered tools for content creation. 

#1: Copymatic 

No matter the type of content you want to generate, Copymatic is bound to have an existing tool made for it. 

Copymatic features 82 AI-powered content creation tools that cover everything from blog posts to job descriptions, YouTube tags, and newsletters. 

There’s also a state-of-the-art image generator, so you’ll be able to create original images for your content. 

A subscription to Copymatic also grants you access to CopyChat, a super smart chatbot akin to ChatGPT. 

Users can generate content and images straight from the CopyChat interface, and it has access to Google Search data to ensure all generated results are accurate and up to date. 

There are also lots of brainstorming tools that will help your human writers overcome writer’s block and improve the quality of their writing. 

For example, there are tools for:

• SEO keyword ideas (great for streamlining keyword research) 
• Blog ideas 
• Blog outlines
• Blog titles 
• Content rewriter (good for reimagining awkwardly written sentences) 
• Talking points (if you aren’t sure what to say about each subheading) 

Copymatic’s interface is effortless to use, and there are lots of customizable options. Users can tweak the AI’s tone of voice and language – and the tool generates multiple original results at a time. 

Pricing-wise, Copymatic’s Pro version runs at $19 per month and features access to all 82 tools. However, you only get one user seat. If you need more seats, the Team plan ($32 per month) has 5 user seats, and the Enterprise plan ($66 per month) features 25 user seats. 

#2: Descript 

Descript is a tad different from the other tools on this list, as it’s more of a content editor than a generative AI tool. 

However, it earns a spot on this list as it’s extremely helpful if you produce videos or podcasts. 

It greatly simplifies the video editing process by doing things like automatically identifying the best takes and removing unnecessary words from scripts. Descript also contains a massive stock library of images, GIFs, videos, sound effects, and music tracks that you can use in your content. 

Another impressive AI-powered feature is the ability to achieve studio-quality sound with a single click – which is super useful if you’ve been trying to achieve better sound (but lack the time to work on it) for your podcasts and videos. 

There are also AI stock voices you can use for voice overs, and you can also create a shockingly accurate clone of your own voice. 

If you’ve been winging your video content by shooting and editing on iPhones, using Descript will provide a much-needed quality boost. You can add green screen effects, improve image and sound quality, and access a ton of stock media. 

The best part?

You can use Descript for free for up to 1 hour per month. Other plans include the Creator plan for $12 per month (10 hours of usage) and the Pro plan for $24 per month (30 hours of usage). 

#3: ChatGPT 

The world’s most famous chatbot has come a long way since its original inception. 

Now powered by an extremely robust LLM (GPT-4), ChatGPT also has access to Google Search, and you can integrate it with thousands of applications. 

ChatGPT excels at generating lists, titles, and content ideas. 

As far as generating entire pieces of content from scratch, it’s still very hit-and-miss. 

You’ll have to do quite a bit of prompting and editing to wind up with a suitable piece of content, and even then, it’ll still lack original insights and first-hand experiences – two things that are very important to Google. 

Yet, it’s impossible to deny how handy ChatGPT can be for curing writer’s block in a pinch. 

Let’s say you’re having a hard time coming up with keyword ideas to research. 

All you have to do is ask ChatGPT to generate some relevant keywords for you (via its access to Google Search), and you’ll have a long list of keywords to vet through other tools (like our free keyword planner). 

#4: Lately 

Do you create lots of long-form, thought leader-style blog posts?

If so, you can get a lot out of a tool like Lately. 

It’s an AI-powered tool that takes existing blog posts and generates tons of new social media posts from it. 

This will save you the hassle of creating separate social media posts that touch on the same topics as your primary blog. 

Simply enter one of your blog posts into the tool, and you’ll have literally dozens of social media posts to work with. 

The best part?

Since the tool draws from your original work, the AI has an easier time replicating your unique brand voice. 

The downside of that is you’ll need lots of original content that exemplifies your brand’s voice and values to use Lately. So, if you’re in the market for tools that will generate content from scratch, you’re better off with a tool like Copymatic. 

Another drawback is how pricey the tool is, as plans start at $49 per month and run up to $199 per month (based on how many social channels you want to use). 

#5: Canva 

While you may have used Canva to design your resume, it also offers a pretty savvy AI image generator that anyone can use. 

There’s even a free version that, while offering limited designs, is still an inexpensive way to create original images for your content. 

If you’re already using Canva Pro for your business, you’ll be able to access the full version of the AI image generator, and it boasts some impressive capabilities. 

In fact, Canva’s AI image generator offers more customizable options than other mainstream image generators, which is why it makes the list. 

Its Magic Studio features make it effortless to produce stunning original images that will enhance your content and make it more visually appealing to your readers. 

Despite offering limited designs, the free version of Canva’s AI image generator is a game changer for smaller websites and companies. 

Canva Pro runs at $14.99 per month, which is still pretty affordable. 

In Summary: How Effective are AI-Powered Content Tools?

Those are our picks for the best AI content generation tools available right now. 

There’s no doubt that AI tools can be enormously helpful with the content creation process, but they’re still not a suitable substitute for human writers and editors. 

The solution?

You can achieve the best of both worlds by combining state-of-the-art AI content tools with a team of expert writers, editors, and fact-checkers. 

That’s precisely what we provide with AI Content Plus, our AI services that still feature human content creators to ensure accuracy, authenticity, and quality. 

Our AI-and-human-powered services are the best way to release top-quality content at scale, so don’t wait to sign up for AI Content Plus today.    

The post Man vs. Machine: Ranking the Top AI Content Tools for 2024 appeared first on The HOTH.

You’re a brand new blogger, and you just got done writing your first handful of posts. 

Incredibly proud of your accomplishment, you check your analytics after a week to see how many adoring fans viewed your post and left insightful comments. 

Your heart drops a little as you realize that not a single person has read one of your posts. 

At this rate, you won’t be able to quit your day job and retire to Bora Bora anytime soon. 

This is a common occurrence for new bloggers, and it serves as a bit of a reality check. 

Creating content takes a lot of work, and if you want to make any money, you need to know how to monetize your blog properly. 

In addition, the best monetization strategies only work if you consistently generate lots of targeted traffic. 

The good news is that you’ve just identified your two main problems: A) no monetization strategy and B) no way to generate lots of organic visitors from your target audience. 

At The HOTH, we have the remedy for both. 

We’re search engine optimization (SEO) experts, which is the best way to drive lots of vetted traffic to your blog. Not only that, but we’re here to teach you the most effective ways to earn money blogging, so stay tuned. 

Generate Targeted Traffic with SEO 

Why is SEO so effective at driving traffic to your blog?

While it’s a bit cliche to mention at this point, it’s still true that 93% of web experiences begin on a search engine. 

Anytime users are looking for the answer to a question, want to find a product, or want to educate themselves – they take to search engines like Google and Bing (you’ve likely done the same). 

Whenever they reach the search results pages (SERPs), the #1 result generates the most clicks BY FAR. As this graph illustrates, the number of clicks for positions #2 – #10 is significantly lower, and it only gets worse from there. 

That’s why businesses compete so hard to obtain the #1 spot for their most relevant keywords (the search terms related to their products and services). 

As a blogger, your goal is to rank as high as possible on the SERPs for keywords related to your niche.

To find which keywords to target, you can use our free keyword planner tool. 

It’ll let you know which keywords your audience is searching for the most which you should use to inform your content strategy. 

What do we mean by that?

Well, if you notice that your audience is searching for a particular keyword, it’s a sign that they want a piece of content surrounding it. As such, whenever you publish a blog post on said topic, you know that your audience will want to read it. This is called matching search intent. 

SEO encompasses a lot more than we can fit in this article, though, so be sure to learn more from our guides on Technical SEO and On-Page SEO. 

With a proper SEO strategy in place, you’ll generate enough traffic for the following monetization strategies to work their magic. 

Show Me the Money! 

Now that our mini-SEO crash course is complete, it’s time to learn the most effective strategies for monetizing your blog. 

After all, you probably didn’t start a blog strictly as a hobby. 

No, you want to start a lucrative side hustle or earn full-time income, so let’s learn how. 

Senator, we run ads 

A great way to start generating revenue from your blog is to allow advertisers to take up space on your website. 

There are many digital ad networks that you can leverage to run targeted ads on your blog, which can be profitable. 

Google AdSense is the most popular of these networks, but there are a few requirements to become eligible. As long as you treat your blog like a professional business, you shouldn’t have trouble qualifying, even if your blog is relatively new. 

While display ads are an excellent way for new blogs to start earning a few dollars, they do affect your user experience, so don’t go too crazy. 

Affiliate marketing programs 

Becoming an affiliate is arguably the best way to profit from your blog, given that your niche has a desirable (and profitable) affiliate program. 

When you become an affiliate of a specific business, you’ll receive an official referral link. 

From there, you can promote their products on your blog using said link, and you’ll receive a cut of the profits. 

Not bad, right?

Also, Amazon Associates is a MASSIVE affiliate program, and since their website sells virtually everything, the chances are high that you’ll be able to promote something that falls within your niche.

Pro tip: Always hit your affiliate links with a nofollow or sponsored tag, as this is in accordance with Google’s guidelines. 

Selling digital products and services 

Are you the GOAT SME (subject matter expert) in your field?

Then, you should write an in-depth eBook and sell it to your readers. 

Or you can offer virtual coaching/consulting services, which are both excellent ways to make money. 

The best part?

There are no percentages here, as you get to keep 100% of the profits. 

Oh, and how could we forget the mother of online monetization, online courses?

Piecing together an online course in your area of expertise can be extremely profitable as long as your curriculum provides real value. 

Platforms like Udemy are great for developing online courses if you don’t have the resources yourself. 

Creating a paid community 

This tactic is for blogs that already have established followings, as it’s not a good idea for brand-new blogs to create a paid section right off the bat. 

Yet, if you have a loyal following of readers, you can offer paid membership where they gain access to exclusive perks like:

• One-on-one sessions with you 
• Additional videos and educational resources
• Unique newsletters packed with insider info 
• Webinars, workshops, and reports 

Earn Your First Dollar Blogging Today 

Now that you know multiple ways to earn money from your blog, what are you waiting for?

Start running a few tasteful ads, become an affiliate, and start drafting an eBook so you can transform organic visitors into dollars in your bank account. 

If you need expert help setting up a killer, SEO-friendly blog, don’t wait to check out HOTH X, our renowned managed SEO services.      

The post The Best Ways to Monetize Your Blog (Pumped-Up by SEO)  appeared first on The HOTH.

This reinforces the need for search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns so that your content can reach the top of the SERPs (search engine results pages). 

Yet, one of the biggest challenges with SEO is how often it changes. 

Thanks to constant Google algorithm updates and newly emerging search trends, SEO tactics fall in and out of favor all the time. 

If you don’t routinely optimize web content, holding onto top SERP rankings will be next to impossible.

In the current era, recent developments like the prevalence of AI chatbots, E-E-A-T, and slower indexing times are drastically changing the way SEO works – and you need to keep up with them if you want your content to continue to rank. 

However, some tried-and-true optimization tactics have yet to go out of style, like conducting targeted keyword research and creating excellent content that provides value to your audience. 

There’s a lot to know about optimizing web content, which is why we put together this comprehensive guide containing 5 steps to optimize any piece of content to perfection. 

Along the way, you’ll learn how SEO and content optimization has changed in recent years, so stay tuned to get the scoop on the latest developments. 

Why is Optimizing Web Content Necessary?

What does it mean to ‘optimize’ a blog post, video, or web page?

Optimization involves making enhancements to a piece of content with a specific goal in mind, which is usually to improve its performance on search engines like Google. 

Higher SERP rankings aren’t the only reason you may want to optimize your content, as you can also optimize for higher conversions, click-through rates, and a better overall user experience. 

It all depends on what your primary business objectives are, such as increasing revenue or improving brand awareness. 

Also, routine optimization is a necessity due to the ever-changing nature of SEO. 

Unless a piece of content is evergreen (meaning that it continues to stay fresh & relevant for readers), you’ll need to update it with new information periodically. 

Not only does this ensure that your readers always receive the most accurate, up-to-date information, it makes your content eligible to remain on Google’s SERPs. 

Since Google only wants to provide its users with the highest quality, most accurate information, its crawlers only rank content that’s relevant and recent. 

Give underperforming content a second chance

Another reason to optimize your web content is to tweak and improve an existing piece of content that isn’t as performing as well in the search results as you’d hoped. 

It takes a lot of time and money to produce high-quality content, so it’s worth doing what you can to optimize a post that doesn’t meet your expectations. 

After all, it could be something simple like an indexing error that caused your content to disappear from the SERPs. 

Once you rule out technical issues like noindex tags, indexing errors, and duplicate content – it’s time to take a cold, hard look at the content you produced. 

Ask yourself the following questions to help determine the root cause of the issue:

• Are you targeting keywords that have decent search volume and relatively low keyword difficulty scores?
• Does the piece feature a readable format with keyword-rich headings (H1, H2, H3, H4, etc.)?
• Were you able to provide unique insights about the topic derived from your own personal experience and expertise?
• Do your title tag and meta description accurately reflect the topic you explore in the content?
• Is the piece of content more than 700 words? 

If you answered no to any of these questions, then you’ve definitely got some optimization to do. 

The good news is that if you’re able to fix whatever’s holding your content back, you’ll enjoy higher SERP rankings and increased online visibility. 

How Has Content Optimization Changed in Recent Years?

In a field that’s known for constant changes, the last few years have been especially ripe with new developments affecting SEO.

AI chatbots took over the world while Google released back-to-back updates to their algorithm and Quality Rater Guidelines – just to name a few changes. 

Here’s a look at the latest SEO developments you should keep in mind when optimizing web content.

Link Spam Update 

In December 2022, Google released their latest Link Spam Update, which used a souped-up SpamBrain (their AI-based spam prevention system) to negate the effect of paid backlinks on SERP rankings. 

While paying for backlinks was always against Google’s guidelines, it was standard practice for many SEO experts – even those who favored white-hat techniques. 

The update’s effects were drastic on websites that used paid or unnatural backlinks, as many site owners reported significant ranking drops.

Going forward, website owners must focus on strictly organic link-building techniques, such as guest posting, link insertions, and relationship-building. 

E-E-A-T (Quality Rater Guidelines update)

Around the same time the Link Spam Update rolled out, Google updated its Quality Rater Guidelines. 

Most notably, they added an extra E to their famous acronym, E-A-T (expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness).

The additional E stands for experience, which means websites and reviews that display first-hand experience and knowledge of topics are favored by Google’s quality raters. 

To ensure your content remains at the top of the SERPs, optimize your content by including anecdotes, real stories, and first-hand accounts that reflect your knowledge on a topic. 

The AI revolution 

AI chatbots were already taking over the world at the beginning of 2023, and it’s only been gaining momentum since. 

The entire internet has long been buzzing about ChatGPT, AI image generators, and AI content creation software.

Bing famously integrated ChatGPT into its search engine, which is already changing the way users approach search engines. 

While traditional SEO still works for now, it’s bound to change quite a bit in the near future. 

In the meantime, you can use powerful AI tools to make optimizing web content a lot easier. Tools like Copymatic will enable you to automatically generate blog posts, landing pages, and even entire websites. 

Chatbots can provide quick answers to any questions you may have while creating content – saving you the need to browse multiple web pages. 

Reduced crawling and indexing 

In order to reduce their impact on the environment, Google significantly reduced the amount of crawling and indexing it does to discover new websites. 

Their thinking is that excessive crawling and indexing powered by non-renewable sources is contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. 

Not only that, but Google plans to neutralize its carbon footprint entirely by 2030, and reduced crawling/indexing is a part of that plan. 

What does this mean for SEO?

It means that crawling and indexing your new web pages will take even longer than before (it was already a lengthy process). 

While search engines like Bing and Yandex have incorporated IndexNow (an open-source protocol that enables instant indexing for participating search engines), Google has yet to implement such a solution. 

That means it’s more important than ever for site owners to publish high-quality content, seek out high-authority backlinks, and grow their social media presence to speed up the indexing process. 

Pro tip: The indexing process can be especially slow for link-building tactics like guest posting, so incorporate some link insertions into the mix. That’s because a link insertion involves adding one of your backlinks to an existing piece of content that’s already in Google’s index. 

5 Steps to Optimize Web Content 

Now that you’re up to speed on what’s new with SEO, it’s time to look at the most effective content optimization techniques to help you reach the top of the SERPs. 

Bear in mind that we’re only going to cover on-page optimizations, so if you’re interested in diagnosing and repairing technical issues, check out our in-depth technical SEO checklist instead. 

If you have a piece of content that’s underperforming due to on-page reasons (or if you’re creating a new piece from scratch), follow these 5 steps to optimize it for SEO fully. 

Step #1: Targeted keyword research 

The keywords that you target will make or break your SERP rankings, so you need to be smart about the ones you choose. 

Researching keywords is how you uncover topics relevant to your target audience, which will guide your entire content strategy. 

It’s more important than ever to find topics that are not only relevant to your audience but also cater to your expertise and first-hand experiences. 

Google’s algorithm is extremely adept at finding content that’s irrelevant or out of place, so you shouldn’t pursue a keyword simply because it has a lot of search volume. 

For example, if a website that sells car parts starts publishing trendy food recipes, it’ll stand out as irrelevant to Google. 

To find keywords to target, you can use our free keyword planner tool. 

It’ll provide essential keyword metrics like search volume, CPC, keyword difficulty, and current search trends.

Look for keywords that reflect your expertise, have high search volume, low keyword difficulty, and an upward search trend. 

Step #2: Proper keyword placement 

A mistake beginner SEOs make is to overuse their keywords, which stands out to Google as keyword spam. 

You want to use your keywords organically and in a few key locations, including:

• The title tag and meta description 
• Headings (especially H1 tag) 
• In the alt text for any images 
• Organically several times throughout the piece (including common variations) 
• In the first 100 words of the content 

If one of your blogs is underperforming on search engines, confirm that your target keyword appears in these areas. 

If they do and you still aren’t making any progress, it could be that you’re targeting the wrong keywords (in which case you’d need to refer back to step #1). 

Step #3: Use relevant and engaging visuals 

It’s been common knowledge for a while now that blogs featuring visuals perform better in the search, improve dwell time, generate more backlinks, and make posts easier to digest. 

That’s especially true if the visuals you use serve as supplementary aids to your content. 

Infographics, videos, and relevant images/illustrations are all great examples of visuals that make blogs more SEO-friendly. 

However, you should stray away from irrelevant images, even if they are visually stunning. 

Unless an image is able to add something or relate to the post’s subject matter, you shouldn’t use it. 

Also, every image that you use needs alt text (containing your target keyword) that describes what the image displays. This is helpful for users that are visually impaired, and alt text enables search engine crawler bots to know what the image shows (and how it relates to your content). 

Step #4: Use inbound and outbound links 

Your goal is to keep users engaged in your content loop for as long as possible, and the best way to do that is to interlink to related posts on your website. 

Using internal links is a great way to improve your dwell time and user experience, as you can direct readers from one post to another (or to a product/landing page) by using inbound links. 

As an added bonus, internal links help search engine crawler bots understand the structure of your website, which leads to better indexing. 

Whenever you’re creating a new post or optimizing an existing one, create a list of related content that you want to link to within it. 

Also, outbound links to authoritative sources (like research papers, government agencies, and educational institutions) will improve your SEO – so use them whenever possible. 

Step #5: Provide real value to your audience 

This last step is the most important, and it’s the least likely to go out of style. 

Above all else, you should do your very best to provide value to your target audience. 

That means publishing how-to’s and ultimate guides covering skills they want to acquire, keeping them up-to-date with the latest developments in your industry, and providing some good old-fashioned entertainment. 

As long as you do that (and ensure no technical SEO issues are holding you back), nothing can stand in your way of becoming a valued thought leader in your field. 

Concluding Thoughts: How to Optimize Web Content 

SEO has changed a lot in recent years, and it will only continue to change going forward – especially with the advent of intelligent AI chatbots. 

For now, creating as much value for your audience as you can through your content is still the way to go. 

Do you need expert help developing an airtight SEO strategy for your business?

Then don’t wait to check out HOTH X, our managed SEO services, and HOTH Web Copy, our enormously effective content creation service.

The post 5 Steps to Optimize Web Content Like an SEO Expert appeared first on The HOTH.

Why is it so popular?

Besides the novelty appeal of chatting with a superintelligent AI, ChatGPT has proven to be an extremely versatile tool capable of copywriting, content creation, writing code and solving problems, and even writing college essays that receive passing grades. 

SEOs have also discovered a new capability of the powerful tool – using ChatGPT for keyword research. 

With the right ChatGPT prompts, it will help you brainstorm new keyword ideas, uncover related keywords, categorize queries by search intent, and so much more. 

While you shouldn’t rely on ChatGPT to handle your entire keyword strategy (it does still have some noticeable limitations, like not being able to access key SEO metrics), it is an excellent addition to your usual set of keyword research tools. 

In particular, ChatGPT can help you think outside the box and target specific keywords that you would have never found otherwise. 

It also makes generating keyword lists a total breeze, as it can organize & categorize your lists any way that you want. 

However, you need to know the proper way to use ChatGPT for keyword research – as using weak or vague prompts can lead to some wonky results. 

That’s why we put together this special guide for conducting proper ChatGPT keyword research, so read on to learn how you can use the powerful AI tool for higher search rankings. 

How Does ChatGPT Approach Keyword Research?

First, it’s crucial to understand a few things about ChatGPT, particularly what it does and doesn’t have access to. 

When it first came out, OpenAI’s ChatGPT did not have access to the internet and had only received training for online data up to September 2021. 

However, as of March 2023, ChatGPT can now access the internet in some cases. 

That means that it’s now capable of producing insights on the latest trends and events, including which keywords are trending on search engines. 

That’s great news for SEOs, as the keyword information you receive from ChatGPT is up to date. 

The catch?

ChatGPT DOES NOT have access to crucial keyword metrics like search volume & keyword difficulty – which is why other keyword tools are still essential. 

Where the program truly shines is its ability to automatically generate lists of relevant keywords, organize those lists, and uncover related keywords. 

Additionally, you can use ChatGPT’s keyword research techniques for any industry or niche, and they’ll still work. 

Here’s a look at the keyword search functions ChatGPT excels at the most. 

Brainstorming keyword ideas 

ChatGPT is at its best when brainstorming relevant keyword ideas for your core audience. 

Not only that, but traditional keyword research tools like Ahrefs often have dozens of sites (often ones larger than yours with better domain authority) competing for the exact same keywords. 

What’s great about ChatGPT is it’ll provide you with unique and largely unused keywords that still hold relevance to your target audience, which can provide you with a massive advantage. 

That’s because these types of target keywords will have next to no competition, so if they have a decent search volume – you’ll be the only game in town. 

The trick is to get creative with your prompting. 

For instance, if you want to get a comprehensive overview of a topic close to your target audience, you could write a prompt like this:

If you were writing a book on artificial intelligence, what would your chapter layout be? 

While this isn’t an exact list of keywords per se, it’s a high-quality breakdown of the most important aspects of artificial intelligence and contains some great ideas for content and long-tail keywords. 

You can also get more specific with your approach by asking for keywords outright:

Generate 15 keywords for artificial intelligence. 

This type of prompt is excellent for uncovering related queries for a seed keyword, which can help you think outside the box when building keyword lists. 

In the example above, all 15 keywords are directly related to artificial intelligence, and upon further vetting, you’ll be able to use them in your content for better search rankings.  

The alphabet soup method 

A classic keyword research method is to use the autocomplete feature on Google Search. 

Whenever you start to type a phrase related to your niche into Google’s search bar, its autocomplete feature will pop out a number of keywords that it thinks you’re about to type. 

This is a goldmine for SEOs, as these are real keywords that your audience types into Google on a regular basis. 

Well, you can replicate the same technique using ChatGPT. 

By entering a prompt similar to this:

Show me a list of keywords that include the term ‘artificial intelligence,’ and the next letter starts with b.

Alt tag: A screenshot of ChatGPT generating a list of keywords.

As you can see, we now have a list of unique keywords to vet using other research tools, and it only took a few seconds to create. 

The keywords you find using ChatGPT will also inform your content strategy, which will spice up your content marketing efforts. 

For instance, by plugging the keyword ‘blockchain and artificial intelligence’ into our free Google keyword planner tool from The HOTH, we can see that it has a decent search volume and is on an upward trend. 

That means creating a blog post or video centered around the keyword has the potential to bring in lots of organic traffic. 

Now we have a desirable keyword and a content topic to work on, and it only took a few minutes of prompting ChatGPT to uncover it. 

Using questions to find keywords 

Another tactic you can use to uncover keyword ideas is to get ChatGPT to generate a list of questions related to a search query. 

That will help you find common questions asked by search engine users that are directly related to your products and services. 

All you need to do is write a prompt like this:

Generate a list of questions about search engine optimization. 

These questions are all excellent content topics and long-tail keyword ideas. 

Of course, before you incorporate them into your SEO strategy, you’ll need to vet them through other keyword research tools. 

If you’ve been drawing a blank on topics to blog about for your website, using this technique is a goldmine for uncovering relevant questions to base blog posts around. 

For example, the question, “How can website owners optimize their content for search engines?” is an excellent title for a blog post, video, or even an infographic. 

These questions also provide clues for specific keywords that you can target – especially if you continue to prompt ChatGPT about them. 

Question 7 can easily be converted into the keyword ‘keyword research best practices,’ which has a high search volume and is currently trending – making it an excellent candidate for creating content. 

To take it a step further, ChatGPT can provide a list of related keywords that you can use in the piece you create: 

Now you’ve got 10 strong related keywords to use in your new post. 

Generating keyword ideas based on buyer personas 

Another way to use ChatGPT for keyword research ideas is to use your buyer personas (also called customer avatars). 

What are those?

Buyer personas are detailed profiles of your typical customers, including shopping habits, age, occupation, hobbies, and more. 

The idea is to build a customer profile based on your existing customer base by analyzing your data and demographics. 

Ideally, you’ll wind up with the perfect fictional representation of one of your customers, which you can use to enhance your digital marketing strategies – including keyword research. 

Also, you can use ChatGPT’s powers to discover keyword ideas that your buyer personas search for online.

You can even get the chatbot to tell you which types of buyer personas are interested in your niche focus. 

Here’s an example:

Now we have six examples of personas that are interested in artificial intelligence products, which is great news if you haven’t created a customer avatar yet. 

Continuing to prompt ChatGPT (peeling back the onion) 

Another perk of ChatGPT is that you can continue to ask further questions based on previous prompts. 

With that in mind, we can use this feature to get the program to tell us common questions these buyer personas would have about AI. 

Now we’ve got some specific questions each buyer persona would ask, which is a goldmine for coming up with content ideas. 

Yet, our ultimate goal here is to develop a list of keywords for each persona, so let’s continue prompting ChatGPT. 

And voila, we have a convenient table listing A) our buyer personas, B) their common questions, and C) a list of keywords/long-tail keywords to target in your content. 

It’s this type of continued prompting that makes ChatGPT such a powerful tool for keyword research. In just a few minutes, you can compile a super-useful table like the one you see above for your keyword strategy. 

Classifying and Categorizing Keywords 

Another way you can use ChatGPT for keyword research is to have it classify and categorize your keywords based on different factors. 

For instance, knowing the search intent behind every keyword you target is essential, but that’s not always easy. 

There are times when you won’t be sure what the intent is behind a keyword, which is where ChatGPT comes into the picture. 

You can get the chatbot to classify keywords based on search intent in a convenient table, which makes categorizing your keywords a total breeze. 

Let’s use the 10 related keywords we had ChatGPT generate for the seed phrase keyword research best practices:

Now you know the intent behind each keyword, which will let you know where to place them in your sales funnel. 

For the example given, the intent is all informational/navigational, which are great keywords for attracting prospects at the top of your sales funnel (TOFU). 

That’s not the only way that the chatbot can categorize your keywords, though. 

Here’s what it generated for us when we asked it how else it could categorize our list of keywords:

And with that simple prompt, the chatbot categorized our keywords based on the aspects of SEO that they pertain to the most – which is useful if you aren’t sure what each keyword means. 

Extract Keywords from Competitor Content

Do you have a competitor that consistently outranks you in the SERPs?

If so, then one of the best things you can do is analyze the keywords they’re targeting, as well as how they use them throughout their content. 

Yet, it can be a bit tricky pinpointing the exact keywords a competitor uses in a piece of content, but ChatGPT makes it easier than ever. 

As an example, we entered a few paragraphs from our blog post on Bard AI and asked the chatbot what the primary keywords were: 

These are some of the viable keywords found throughout the text sample, and you can use this tactic to uncover your competitor’s keyword strategies. 

Reverse-engineering competitor content like this is a great way to find ways to outdo and ultimately outrank their content. Don’t forget about this technique when using ChatGPT for keyword research. 

Wrapping Up: Using ChatGPT for Your Keyword Research 

To summarize, while ChatGPT doesn’t contain up-to-date SEO metrics like search volume and keyword difficulty – it is an immensely powerful tool for brainstorming keyword ideas, categorizing, and uncovering keywords from competitors. 

As long as you use ChatGPT in tandem with other keyword research tools, you’ll buff up your SEO strategy in a big way. 

In particular, using ChatGPT for your keyword research will help you save tons of time while generating and organizing lists of keywords. 

Do you need help conducting successful keyword research at your company?

Then don’t wait to check out HOTH X, our managed SEO services (including rigorous keyword research). If you’re a newer website, our managed content packages are your ticket to building brand awareness & generating more traffic, leads, and sales – so don’t wait to try us out today.      

We also offer HOTH AI Content Plus where we leverage AI tools for you to help you get amazing content without sacrificing quality.

The post Using ChatGPT for Keyword Research: What SEOs Need to Know appeared first on The HOTH.

Without a well-designed homepage, your website will never perform as well as it should.   

The remaining article will look at what makes a great website homepage content and the best practices to ensure you take full advantage of this valuable virtual real estate. 

Ready to learn?

What Is A Website Homepage?

Think of your home page as the starting point on a potential customer‘s journey.  

When they type in your domain name, your home page is the default page that loads in their browser.   

Most homepages contain important information and facts about your business.

In fact, 64% of the website visitors want to see the company’s contact information on the homepage.

Although it’s typical to have a navigation bar to lead visitors to other pages on your website, a call to action (CTA) is also vital to success. 

Additionally, here are a few tips for improving the functionality of a killer homepage:

• Keep your website design fresh, simple, and unique
• Make it mobile-friendly
• Social media buttons for easy sharing
• Showcase your products and services
• Consider your page load speed
• Keep your homepage organized
• Content is vital to success
• Consider your color scheme
• Use relevant, targeted keywords

A well-designed homepage must hit your website visitors‘ pain points and show that you know how to help them. 

For example, 36% of customers click on logos to reach the homepage, so a well-designed website should have a clickable logo that sends users back to the homepage. 

Unless you can solve their problem, potential customers will never make a purchase. 

You solve their pain points by addressing:

• The problem or challenge your target customer is suffering from
• Asking what they need and giving it to them
• Asking questions that lead to answers
• Providing clear, simple solutions that can be digested while scrolling

What are the Benefits of Having a Homepage?

Some web experts describe your website’s homepage as the “welcome mat” of a nice home, inviting potential customers inside.  

The more inviting the mat, the more potential customers enter. 

Remember, when visitors first land on your site, they have no idea what they will find inside.  

A well-designed, bright, bold homepage with well-written web content (including testimonials) will convince them to enter because it makes a fantastic first impression.

Here are a few benefits to having a knock-out homepage:

• Online presence 
• Increased SEO efforts
• Increased credibility
• Content marketing expansion 
• Boost in advertising

Here’s the thing about most internet searchers and website visitors; they aren’t interested in what you do so much as what you can do for them. 

Putting several excellent benefits your services or products provide front-and-center is vital on your homepage.  

A short list of some of your top benefits that are easy to read, engaging, and compelling will go far in converting visitors to customers. 

What Should Your Homepage Content Contain?

Several sections are essential when crafting an engaging, inviting, and persuasive homepage. 

A digital marketing content strategy is critical for the success of any website, let alone a homepage. 

Some elements of a website’s homepage are more vital than others, but all are necessary to get the highest conversion rates, time-on-page, and CTR.  

They include:

• The Opening header
• Subheadline
• Call to Action (CTA)
• Supporting Image
• Benefits
• Social proof
• Navigation
• Content offer
• Features
• Resources
• Success Indicators such as case studies

More than anything, your homepage content makes that critical first impression on a new visitor. 

You have about 10 to 20 seconds to do this, so getting your homepage content strategy right is critical. 

If a visitor lands on your website and isn’t wowed, impressed, or intrigued by what they see, you’ve lost the race before they even fired the starting gun. 

Methods to ensure a high-quality homepage:

It’s highly unusual for a first-time visitor to a website’s home page to make a purchase. That’s why having a link to your resources is vital. 

That gives your visitors relevant information and, more importantly, improves their time on the page.. 

Here are some methods to make sure you have high-quality homepage content:

• Ensure your website can load quickly
• Use an introductory video to grab their attention
• Highlight your most engaging content to engage searchers
• Give visitors an excellent mobile experience (Google may penalize you if you don’t)
• Use a heat map tool to see exactly where searchers are looking on your website

Providing excellent resources also helps you establish credibility as an expert in your market or industry and improves your homepage user experience. 

Additionally, there’s no denying that potential customers like getting free stuff, especially when it’s something that can help them solve a problem, learn something new, or simply make them laugh. 

An e-book, white paper, how-to guide, free trial, contest, checklist, whatever. If it’s free and fits their current need, it should be on your homepage and ready to download.

How do I write my website’s homepage content?

Within moments of landing on your homepage, visitors already have a generalized first impression of your business. 

Your homepage content needs to give them a clear understanding of who you are and what you do. 

You also want to invite them to explore; if they don’t like what they see, you’ll get a high bounce rate. 

If, however, you wish to write your homepage content yourself, here are some excellent tips for doing it:

1. Star with a “Hero Message.” This bit of content is a “hook” message that gets people to pay attention. It should be short, specific, and instantly understood.
2. Write about what your potential customers want to know, learn, hear, etc. Remember, it’s not about your company; it’s about them, their wants, needs, desires, etc.,
3. Write short, concise, easy-to-digest bits of information rather than long-form info that takes too much time to digest.
4. Explain, in laymen’s terms, how you solve your customers’ problems and pain points.
5. Provide proof that what you say you can do, you can do.

Website’s Homepage Headline and Subheadline

Your homepage headline must be clear, concise, and simple. 

If a visitor needs to stop and think, your headline has failed.

For example, LifeHacker has a website headline we love; “Do Everything Better.” 

It’s short, super-easy to understand, and gets its point across instantly. 

Here are a few excellent tips to craft an excellent headline that works well:

• Make your headline unique, something that’s not been done before.
• Be very specific with the words, phrases, and terms.
• Give away something useful. People love free things. 
• Use adjectives that grab people’s attention.
• Always state the obvious. Don’t make people work to figure out what your headline is saying.
• Don’t be afraid to use emotionally-packed words.

Nearly as important as the website headline, the sub-headline should discuss a common pain point that your products or services solve. 

It should also describe how your product or service will improve a visitor’s life. 

A Primary Call to Action (CTA) is Fundamental to your Website Homepage Content

One of the primary goals of your website’s homepage is to move potential customers further down the sales funnel.    

One of the best ways to do that is with a call to action or CTA. As the name suggests, a CTA should compel a visitor to take action in a specific way. 

Ideally, a CTA  should be 4-5 words maximum, which is not a lot of word real estate. 

Some of the best homepage CTAs are used frequently, including:

• Try TheHOTH for Free
• Click to Make an Appointment
• Sign Up Today
• Download Our Free eBook
• Create Your Free Profile

Your call to action should be in a different font and color and be bold to make it stand out on your homepage. 

An Eye Catching Supporting Image Grabs Potential Customers’ Attention

Research shows that about 65% of the general population learns visually. 

That means, to retain information, 65% of people need to see it. 

It also means that a supporting image is critical on your website’s homepage. A supporting video isn’t a bad idea, either.  

Think about your supporting image as the front page of a menu at a fine dining establishment. 

When you see that picture, your mouth starts watering, and your brain starts thinking about all the yummy food you’re about to eat. 

That’s some powerful stuff, we think you’ll agree, and it’s why your homepage needs a high-quality supporting image front and center. 

Here are a few tips for picking the right images for your homepage content:

• Pick a high-quality hero image
• Keep your images relevant
• Showcase real people if you can
• Optimize for an SEO homepage design
• Choose the correct file type

Social Proof and Testimonials are Gold for a Website Homepage

Social proof is today’s “word of mouth” advertising and a necessity on every successful homepage. 

You can scream from the mountaintop how wonderful your services or products are, and some people might believe you. But, if you have several customer testimonials and include their pictures, many more people will believe what you’re saying. 

Here are a few suggestions for gathering social proof:

• Here are a few tips for getting social proof:
• Use endorsements
• Display your reviews and testimonials
• Give your customers incentives for writing reviews
• Create surveys or case studies and share the results

This last essential element for your website’s homepage is similar to social proof but even

more powerful. 

Awards, accolades, and recognition by famous people or celebrities all show web searchers that, hey, this business has it going on! 

Maido, one of the top 50 restaurants in the world, lets visitors know it right on their homepage. 

Social proof can sometimes be more powerful than testimonials, but a good mix is best.

Homepage Navigation Reduces Bounce Rate Significantly

Navigation is essential on your homepage to reduce its bounce rate, the number of people who click on your home page but never click on another page afterward. 

Like a well-drawn map, your home page should give visitors a straightforward menu they can use to go to any other page they desire. 

It should be well structured, easy to find, and even easier to use. 

Well-designed navigation will keep your bounce rate to a minimum and ensure visitors see more than just your homepage. 

Final Thoughts

Like the display window of a department store, your website homepage has a very specific purpose; draw customers inside where you can charm them with your wares and convert them into customers.

Need some expert advice? 

We got you! 

Book a call today!

The post How To Make an Unforgettable First Impression with Your Website’s Homepage Content appeared first on The HOTH.

With that said, let’s discuss some of the different types of infographics you can use in your content strategy right now!

Ready to begin? Let’s go!

What Information Should an Infographic Include?

Infographics are a great way to simplify length or complex data.   

You want your audience to be presented with visually appealing images. 

You want your readers to understand what they are looking at right away. 

That’s why it’s always best to include descriptive titles and subheadings. 

Additionally, infographics should include the following:

• Good graphics 
• Valuable information
• Relevant and current data

Here are some other key components to great infographics:

• Do keyword research
• Your target topic
• Informative statistics
• A bold and appropriate color scheme (check out the color wheel for guidance)
• Attention-grabbing graphics
• Keep your infographic organized in a sequential story
• Specially format your facts

What Colors Should an Infographic Include?

Infographics should be a part of your content marketing, as it is the fourth most used type of content marketing.

In fact, infographics and other visual content can increase website traffic by up to 12%. That’s one reason why 65% of businesses use infographics for marketing purposes. 

With that said, a monochromatic color palette is best for infographic designs, especially if it reflects your brand. 

Here is some information you may want to know before designing your infographic:

• Color or hue
• Value (lightness and darkness)
• Tint
• Shade
• Tone

What are the 8 Different Types of Infographics?

As you begin to learn how to make data visualization infographics for your brand, you’ll soon realize that certain types of infographics can help communicate different types of data and information to your target audience. 

Not only do infographics boost your organic traffic, but they can also boost your SEO efforts and increase your online presence on different social media platforms. 

For example, comparison infographics can help your audience understand different aspects of different products or services. 

Here are 8 different types of infographics you can use in your content marketing strategy: 

Statistical infographics

If your relevant niche uses visualization survey results to present data from multiple sources or back up an argument with data, then you may want to consider creating a statistical infographic. 

A statistical infographic uses your data as the main focus. The layout and visuals can help you tell your story with your data results.    

Your storytelling can include charts, icons, images, and eye-catching fonts. 

Here are some tips for creating statistical infographics:

• Pick a relevant template that matches your topic
• Customize your icons and charts to match your data
• Pick icons that reflect the themes of your statistics (for example, if your statistic is relevant to time, you could add a clock)
• Place the icon next to your important statistic to emphasize the importance of it
• Choose font styles and colors that are easy to read and match your color scheme 

Informational infographics

An informational infographic template is one of the best infographics for clearly expressing your message or communicating a new idea or concept. It helps to give an overview of a topic.

An informational infographic is divided into sections with detailed headers, numbering each section can help your infographic design flow better. 

Most infographic designers agree that people tend to like infographics with numbers placed in the titles. 

Here are a few informational infographic tips: 

• Do your research
• Use visuals that match your message
• Make it memorable for your audience

Timeline infographics

Timeline infographics are great for visualizing the history of something or expressing important dates of events, such as a project timeline. 

Because people tend to make sense of time, a visual with a timeline format can help create a clear picture of different timeframes. 

Visuals such as lines, icons, pictures, and labels can all help to highlight and explain points easier. 

Here are a few tips for making a timeline infographic:

• Choose a timeline infographic template 
• Create the framework for your timeline
• Add dates, text, and images
• Use color, fonts, and decorative graphics

Process infographics

A process infographic is a great template design if your goal is to:

• Break down super complex information
• Provide summary steps of a process
• Help your audience visualize a procedure

It would be best to use process infographic templates to help you explain different phases of a clinical trial or explore difficult concepts for the average person. 

Here are some tips for creating a process infographic:

• Know your story
• Gather clean, easy-to-explain data
• Consider your headlines
• Keep it simple

Geographic or map infographics 

A geographical or map infographic is the best choice if you want to present demographic data or display location-based information. 

The reason for choosing a map infographic for this type of graphic design is as follows:

1. Because it helps illustrate trends in a specific location
2. Helps you share visual stories of a place
3. Communicates survey results or product statistics based on location

Here are a few tips for creating a map infographic:

• Choose a geographic infographic template
• Understand the usage of maps in geographical terms
• Use different types of charts
• Using icons in your geographic infographic template

Comparison infographics

The comparison infographic is a popular infographic style that you see in many blogs, social media posts, and even emails. 

It’s commonly used to help provide clarity when deciding between two different products or services. 

It’s a good idea to use this visual element style if you want to:

• Encourage your audience to see different perspectives
• Compare pros and cons
• Show similarities or differences
• Display information in chronological order

List infographics

Studies suggest that the human brain loves lists.

Another study also suggests that the human brain is known to release dopamine when you achieve goals. 

Because dopamine improves attention, memory, and motivation, achieving any goal with visual representation can have positive results. 

With that said, infographics that are created in to-do list format can be a great choice for:

• Sharing a collection of tips
• Supporting an idea or a topic with points
• To summarize your presentation

Resume infographics

An infographic resume or sometimes referred to as a visual resume can help job seekers gain employment by showing their skills and experience in visual format. 

A resume infographic is often used when:

• Someone wants to set themselves apart from other potential employees
• Catch the eye of a recruiter and leave a good impression
• Showcase specific sections of your resume such as certain skills, projects you’ve been a part of, and teams you’ve worked with

How Do You Make an Infographic?

The first thing you should focus on is how your template looks in a visual way. You should pick one that is appropriate for the data that you are representing. 

The important part is to pick a template that specifically works with the type of data set you are trying to display. But, more on that later. 

If you are choosing to use PowerPoint rather than a browser design platform, then a quick Google search will give you a list of free templates for you to choose from.

Here are a few examples:

Side-by-side comparison infographic

Side-by-side comparison infographic templates can help prove your point of view by comparison. 

This type of design can help explain the key differences between two competing concepts. 

Flowchart Infographic

A flowchart infographic template design is good for presenting new workflows to your team members or your organization. 

This style of design helps describe a process that may work across your industry.

Graph-based infographic

A graph-based tool is great for content creators who plan on publishing a high volume of data visualization and statistical information. 

This is a great template to use for expert-level audiences as well. 

Image-heavy infographic

Lastly, image-heavy infographics templates help you design content that reveals trends and information rather than just numbers and figures. 

This type of design is particularly popular among content creators. 

Here are some tips for creating your infographic:

• Identify the audience for your infographic 
• Collect your content and data early on
• Cite your sources
• Customize your infographic
• Include footers, headers, and relevant font colors and sizes
• Include your logo and sources 
• Add an embed code and social media button so it can be easily shareable

Best Infographic Design Tools

If you aren’t someone who creates infographics on a professional level, using Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator may not be the best choice. 

Especially since programs like Photoshop and Powerpoint have a heavy learning curve and Adobe products aren’t cheap. 

Not only does it take a while to learn the programs, but you may not have the technical hardware to run the programs such as a good graphics card or graphic drawing tablet. 

If you’re just beginning to design your own infographics with little to no graphic design background, here are the top content marketing tools that make infographic creation easy:

Visme

Creating an infographic with Visme is fairly simple. 

You use customizable content blocks and edit them in the infographic section. 

It’s a neat addition to the software because you’re able to adjust different pieces of content without changing the entire project around. 

Visme is a great program because not only can you create professional-looking infographics, but you can make almost any other design. 

Features it offers:

• Visual assets
• Templates
• Data visualization
• Brand kit
• Text and fonts
• Content block library
• Easy vertical adjuster
• Team collaboration

Venngage

Venngage is a good tool to try out. They got started with offering infographic designs but have slowly expanded their templates. 

Here are a few features their website offers:

• Visual assets
• Templates
• Data visualization
• Brand kit
• Text and fonts
• Team collaboration

Canva

Canva is an all-in-one high-quality content creation tool. It’s actually considered by many to be one of the best infographic tools available right now. 

Infographics aren’t the only template they offer, they offer social media post creation, video creation, animation, and even banner design. 

Canva is one of my personal favorites and can be used by beginners and pros alike. 

Features Canva offers:

• Visual assets
• Templates (but you can also create your own)
• In-depth design details
• Text and fonts
• Team collaboration

Piktochart

Piktochart is an awesome tool that is geared towards mostly infographic creation and design. 

Unlike many tools on this list, Piktochart is more similar to Visme as to what they offer businesses. 

Other tools can sometimes be for more blogging and social media purposes, but Piktochart has been a long-standing favorite for infographic creation and is often up to date with popular graphic design trends. 

Features Piktochart offers:

• Visual Assets
• Data Visualization
• Text
• Adjustable Content Blocks
• Design Components

Snappa

Snappa has a colorful and unique approach to designs and offers mostly social media graphics, however, there are some infographic designs and it might be worth trying out if the above tools aren’t giving you what you’re looking for. 

Features it offers:

• Visual Assets
• Data Visualization
• Text
• Background Remover
• Buffer Integration

Infogram

Infogram is mostly used for data visualization. Their key offers are about charts and elements to visualize any type of content. Apart from vertical infographics, they also offer social media templates. 

Features it offers:

• Visual Assets
• Data Visualization
• Text
•  Interactivity
• Elements

That’s All Folks!

Understanding the types of infographics can help increase your brand awareness, SEO efforts, online visibility and so much more!

And The HOTH now offers infographics as part of your HOTH X managed SEO campaign. 

In fact, the majority of marketers are expected to rely heavily on visual content in 2022. 

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The post Types of Infographics appeared first on The HOTH.

If not, you should be, as infographics improve reading comprehension by 50%, and content with visuals increases information retention by 78%. 

That’s a big deal, especially if you’re in the ever-competitive B2B marketing space – where influencing key decision-makers with insightful content is a must. 

In fact, many marketers are using infographics as part of their content marketing for how effective they are at conveying information. If you’re in the B2B space, leveraging infographic design is a must in order to stay competitive. 

It’s not just B2B companies either, as infographics work wonders in nearly every industry, including healthcare, education, government, and every type of business. 

Infographics are also invaluable for SEO tactics like building backlinks. 

There are many different types of infographics, and you’ll need to determine which will work best for your needs. For example, if link-building is your goal, an infographic containing statistics related to your field is a great idea – as other bloggers in your industry will want to link back to it. 

If you’ve never created an infographic before, you may not know where to start. Read on to learn about the most popular infographics examples to get your creative juices flowing. 

What Makes an Effective Infographic?

An infographic combines visual design elements with essential information like statistics, figures, maps, tutorials, and more. They’re fun and engaging ways to visualize (and skim) vital information. 

Infographics have been around forever, with the earliest examples being maps, star atlases, and rock art. 

It’s proof that humans have long been visual learners, as we can retain 65% of visual information instead of only 10% of what we hear. 

In a nutshell, the goal of an infographic is always to ‘show’ rather than ‘tell.’ Any way you can convey a piece of information visually (through an illustration, chart, or graph) will have more power than writing it as text. 

These visuals will make complex information more digestible and help retain your reader’s attention. 

That’s why the best infographics use clever graphic design techniques like an appealing color palette, graphs, pie charts, and other visual elements (which can increase readership by 80%). 

In fact, the proper use of color in infographics makes readers 80% more motivated to read the content. For example, a step-by-step guide infographic will be easier to digest if each step has bright colors, bold text, and a helpful illustration. 

Developing infographics for your content 

While infographics have countless benefits, they don’t create themselves. Instead, creating a beautiful infographic takes quite a bit of time and effort. 

You should treat creating infographics just as you would a blog post, whitepaper, or eBook. 

If you don’t have an in-house graphic designer, you may want to hire one specializing in infographics. There are also infographic makers out there, such as Canva, which makes developing infographics easier for the layperson. Canva even has infographic templates you can customize to create something original. 

Like any marketing strategy, you’ll want to consider your target audience‘s needs and business goals before putting an infographic together. 

For example, what type of content is your target audience looking for? 

Do they want to know how to do something, learn eye-opening statistics, or how to get somewhere?

Knowing this will help you determine which type of infographic will work best for your audience. The next step is to determine how the infographic will help you meet your business goals. 

Your infographic should contain highly desirable information for your target audience if you want more traffic. If you’re going to increase conversions, your infographics should cover the benefits of your product and how it will solve customer pain points. 

10 Infographics Examples to Spark Your Creativity 

Now that you have your audience and goals in mind, you need to settle on a type of infographic to create. There are many different types of infographics out there, so it can seem a bit overwhelming at first. 

Yet, these 10 infographics examples cover just about everything, from timelines to comparisons and more. Without further ado, here are some of the best infographics examples you can use for data visualization. 

#10: Comparison infographics 

Do you want to show how your product is superior to a traditional version? If so, a comparison infographic is what you want. 

It’s where you use graphic elements to compare the similarities and differences between two things. It doesn’t have to be a product comparison, either. You can compare careers, financial institutions, and just about anything else. 

Comparison infographics work best for:

• Increasing conversions by showing how your product or service beats the competition 
• Gaining B2B leads by illustrating how one process compares to another 
• Generating traffic by educating readers with an apt comparison of two ideas 

The most popular comparison infographic templates feature multi-column layouts, which is ideal for comparing two things. Conversely, there are also comparison chart infographics, which use a visual table for comparisons. 

Which type should you choose?

As a rule of thumb, the multi-column layout works best when comparing two things. The table layout works great when comparing multiple items, such as the signup rates for different SaaS platforms. 

#9: Statistical infographics 

Eye-opening statistics and digital marketing go hand-in-hand. There’s no better way to convince a prospect of something than by sharing a relevant statistic that proves your point (we did it in this article multiple times). 

Yet, if you have a lot of statistics to share, typing them out as vanilla text is a sure-fire way to bore your audience and lose readership. 

That’s where statistical infographics save the day. Fun colors, typography, graphic icons, and relevant illustrations will make digesting statistics far easier. 

You can focus on a single study or include a ton of relevant statistics relating to your subject matter. 

Statistical infographics are great for:

• Convincing customers of the effectiveness of a product or service
• Educating readers on essential topics 
• Building links by generating backlinks from other bloggers eager to share your statistics
• Building customer trust by sharing accurate, reliable information 

Your prospects will appreciate being able to learn lots of vital stats and figures about their niche in one convenient location. If you’re in the B2B field, statistical infographics can help you build trust with your leads, as 52% of B2B decision-makers say they’re definitely more likely to buy from a brand once they’ve read their content. 

#8: Timeline infographics

Do you want to take your potential customers on a journey? Then the timeline infographic is the perfect format for you. 

A timeline infographic will convey the passage of time to show how things have changed or how one thing leads to another. 

Timeline examples include:

• Illustrating the steps of your buyer’s journey 
• Educating readers on your company history
• Illustrating how a certain product or service works (if it takes time to start working, such as a weight-loss supplement)  
• How to do something (i.e., steps to take care of your cat)
• Displaying a timeline for a project 

As you can see, you can do a lot with a timeline infographic. You can use them to educate customers, build trust, and increase sales. They should be your go-to if you want to convey the passage of time. 

#7: Process infographics 

If your goal is to convey how a process works to your readers, you need a process infographic template. 

Process infographics make heavy use of flowcharts and diagrams to present information. They’re great for step-by-step breakdowns of how to complete a task, such as how to close down your property at night. 

For this reason, process infographics are great for training employees. If there’s a task that your staff struggles with, such as forgetting essential steps in closing down at night – a process infographic can be the remedy. 

They can also help simplify decision-making, which is advantageous for B2B companies. You can use a process infographic to let decision-makers know how smooth your operation is, convincing them to try out your service. 

Process infographics shine at educating and informing readers, so bear that in mind when considering them. 

#6: Informational infographics

If you need to break down a complex concept to your audience, then an informational infographic is just what the doctor ordered. 

An informational infographic uses a mix of typography and visual elements to summarize a topic in a fun and engaging way.

These types of infographics tend to rely more on text than others, so they need an appealing color scheme and helpful visuals to break up the information. 

Also, it’s pretty common for an informational infographic to be a standalone piece of content. Instead of adding it to a blog post or whitepaper, you can simply let your infographic do all the talking for you. 

We’ve done this plenty of times at The HOTH, like with this example of 10 Common Local SEO Mistakes that you can use for design inspiration. As you can see, the infographic is the entirety of the content, and it uses a mix of colors, graphics, and text to convey its message. 

Thanks to the quality of our own infographic, it was able to generate 3 dofollow backlinks from other bloggers in our niche. It also concisely lays out common local SEO mistakes, which is helpful information for our target audience. 

#5: Geographic or map-based infographics 

Map infographics are excellent tools for conveying location-based statistics, such as the percentage of homeowners in Georgia based on age demographics. 

You can also highlight geographic trends or provide a travel guide for a specific state or region. 

If you want to convey information to your prospects that have to do with a specific location, an infographic is one of the most engaging ways to do so. 

Your color scheme will matter here more than others, as you’ll want to make heavy use of bright colors on your map to make it stand out. The more visually appealing that you can make your map, the more likely viewers are to engage with it and share it on social media. 

#4: Interactive infographics 

If you have the ability, creating interactive infographics adds extra layers of intrigue and personalization to your content. 

What kind of interactivity can you use?

You can develop just about anything with a talented graphic designer by your side. There are moving infographics that use animations and videos based on user interactions. 

There are also clickable sections that display information whenever a user interacts with them. 

Some infographics even have search bars and filters that users can manipulate to see specific types of information. 

Of course, creating an interactive infographic will take more time, money, and effort than a static one, but the results can be worth it. Consider these quick statistics as proof:

• 88% of marketers say that interactive content has helped differentiate their brand
• 79% say that utilizing interactive content improves message retention
• A majority of marketers say that going interactive is the best way to repackage existing content 

So if you’re looking for a way to increase your engagement and retention, creating an interactive infographic will help you achieve both. 

#3: Anatomical infographics 

Sometimes you want to give customers a visual representation of one of your products so they can see how all its components work together.

That’s what anatomical infographics are perfect for, and you can use them in virtually every type of industry. 

To visualize how they work, think about Anatomy class in school. Instead of breaking down the components of the body, you explain the components of:

• A product 
• A service
• A recipe 
• Your organization 

An anatomical infographic will help your prospects easily visualize a complex process or product, thanks to the clever use of brand colors, illustrations, and typography. 

#2: Infographic resume 

Are you looking for a way to stand out from the crowd when applying to a coveted position? Then you should make use of a visual resume or infographic resume. 

Just as infographics spruce up dull blog posts, whitepapers, and eBooks – so too can they enhance career resumes. 

Instead of going for the traditional text format, you can include fun illustrations of yourself and your unique skills. 

These types of resumes tend to work best for positions that value creativity and innovative thinking. An infographic resume can transform your education, skills, and work experience into a stunning visual story of what you bring to the table as an employee. 

#1: Hierarchical infographics

Lastly, you can use infographics to lay out a hierarchy. These types of infographics often take the shape of a pyramid for this reason. 

You can use a hierarchical infographic to:

• Break down the employee structure at your organization 
• List your products in order of quality, price, and effectiveness 
• Educate readers on a hierarchical process at your company 

If you’re onboarding new employees, a helpful infographic going over the hierarchy at your company can be a big help. Also, don’t forget to use colors and illustrations to make your hierarchical infographics as appealing as possible. 

The Importance of Infographics in SEO 

If you’re engaging in a content marketing/SEO campaign, you’re missing out on a massive secret weapon if you don’t use infographics. 

They’re the fourth most common type of content found in digital marketing strategies, and it’s not hard to see why. 

The first and most apparent is how an infographic enhances content and makes it more digestible. If you’ve got a lot of complex information to cover, including just one infographic can make a massive difference to the amount of traffic you generate with the post. 

Infographics for link-building 

Earlier in the post, we mentioned that one of our infographics was able to generate 3 backlinks for us. That was no mistake, as it was one of our goals all along. 

Infographics are backlink-generating powerhouses due to their tendency to go viral. 

That’s why you should create infographics for this very reason. If you want to boost your domain authority significantly, building a robust backlink profile is the way to do it. The ‘link juice’ that you generate from backlinks can grant you a noticeable boost to your search engine rankings. 

To create an infographic that generates backlinks, ask yourself what other bloggers in your space are looking for the most. 

Do they need science-backed statistics to help sell their products, or would an anatomical breakdown of a product provide more value?

You’ll want to do some research to pinpoint which type of infographic would work best for your needs. 

Concluding Thoughts: Infographics Examples 

By now, you should have a better understanding of the effectiveness of infographics. You should also have a sense of which types of infographics will work best for your content. 

We covered 10 common infographics examples, but that doesn’t mean that’s everything an infographic can do. 

In fact, there are countless ways you can use the infographic format to convey information, so don’t limit yourself to this list. 

Do you not have the time to come up with ideas for infographics? If so, don’t wait to check out HOTH Blogger, our professional blogging service where we write engaging posts that you can transform into infographics.   

The post Popular Infographics Examples to Inspire Your Creativity appeared first on The HOTH.