Original Content Marketing: The Only Way Forward 

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You know original content is important for your business. 

What many folks stumble on is how “original” the content should be. 

Obviously, everyone knows not to run afoul of plagiarism, that kind of thing. 

That said, “not copying something word for word” is setting standards for yourself far too low. 

Yes, you want to create original content to improve your online ranking, sure. 

However, equally as big a benefit to online content (if not bigger) is that you can provide extra value to your customers. 

Not every blog, social media post, or video has to be life-changing for any and all who see it. But, if you can provide a bit of real value, something that can actually help someone, in everything that you do, your original content can really help your business. 

Beyond that, there are some other tips to keep in mind our full-service digital marketing and CMS web design business can share. 

One Question to Ask Before You Publish Your Content 

 

“Is this really what I want to say?” 

That may seem like an odd or even small question to ask. 

But, before you release your content into the wild, so to speak, ask: “Is this absolutely how I want my company to be seen?” 

This doesn’t, of course, mean that you have to spend hours and hours on every tweet. 

Reading it out loud, having it looked over by a colleague, supervisor, co-worker, or someone similar is never, ever a bad idea. 

But, before you post something, ask yourself that question. 

Be real honest about it, too. 

More often than not, I find that there’s something I could change. Whether it’s a tweak to make it more informative, more informal, more formal, or something similar, I usually find there’s some change I could make that makes everything better. 

That, in a very real way, is “the human touch.” 

You might even want to consider taking a break before doing so, too. Work on what you’re going to post, then go to lunch or even work on something else. That way, you can come back to it with a “clean head,” so to speak. 

These little tweaks are what can take a company’s content from “good” to “outstanding.” 

Duplicating “the Right Way” 

 

“This is a great piece of content! Let’s duplicate it over multiple sites.” 

Maybe you’ve thought that. Perhaps someone has suggested it. 

Google, however, is cracking down on it. 

As this article states, “Google uses a predictive method to detect duplicate content based on URL patterns, which could lead to pages being incorrectly identified as duplicates. In order to prevent unnecessary crawling and indexing, Google tries to predict when pages may contain similar or duplicate content based on their URLs.” 

Now, the article goes on to say that “it’s worth noting there’s no penalty or negative ranking signal associated with duplicate content. At most, Google will not index duplicate content, but it won’t reflect negatively on the site overall.” 

That said, you don’t want to create something only to find that Google has refused to index it. 

So, as the article also states, Google “suggests looking for situations where there are real cases of duplicate content and to limit that as much as possible.” 

“But, I have some content I really like and want to get it out there multiple ways,” you might think, “wouldn’t that run afoul of this Google rule?” 

Not really. 

You know what can be “duplicated?” 

Concepts. Themes. 

For example, say that you run a restaurant. Writing a blog about a particular recipe can be a great idea. Duplicating that blog in a bunch of different URLs probably isn’t. 

What is a good idea: making a video about that recipe. 

Putting out a podcast about how you’ve made it, the history of it, that kind of thing. 

That’s not “duplicating” in the way that Google means it. Rather, it’s about getting the most out of what you do best. 

For more in that vein, you can reach our full-service digital marketing and CMS web design company at (888) 477-9540.