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Content Marketing: Are You Standing Out from the Crowd?

by Paradigmmedia | Feb 24, 2016 | Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization

We’re all familiar with the phrase "Content is King",  but how many of us spend time thinking about our content once we know it’s typo-free and hitting those must-have keywords?

The plain truth is that good content is more important now than it ever was. That’s partly because Google’s algorithms are constantly improving and changing the way in which they identify high-quality sites, but also because consumers are tired of being inundated with uninspired, copy and paste content.

Of course, it’s not just about getting together an excellent copy-writing team – it’s also about planning your marketing strategy. Here are a few tips on how to get started.

What exactly is your brand about?

Your brand ethos should be at the heart of all your content, which means nailing down what your business stands for before you devise a marketing strategy. Who are you targeting with your products or services? What sets you apart from your competitors? Why should your brand inspire trust and loyalty? If you're ever in doubt, come back to these fundamental questions. For more inspiration, try this guide.

Get personal!

It’s important not to neglect the human element when you’re creating content. Users are increasingly seeking online experiences that feel personal and trustworthy. Help your customers put a face to a name by building employee profiles that explain your background and expertise. And don’t be afraid to put your name to a piece of writing – Google Authorship might be dead, but building a personal brand is still a brilliant way to promote your business.

Get blogging

The content that appears on your main site is always going to be your top priority, but don’t shy away from other content streams that will help to bring in users. A sister blog (one that runs alongside your main site and muses on related topics) can seriously boost your rankings and help to attract a loyal reader base. These readers can then potentially be streamed through to your main business site, resulting in new customers.

Choose your social media wisely

Promoting your site through social networks is a huge part of content marketing, but establishing a successful campaign is not as simple as setting up an account and waiting for the followers to roll in. Think about the people you want to reach and which social networks they’re most accessible through. Establish a clear tone of voice for all your social media posts, and be wary of paid adverts or competitions if they’re going to clash with your brand's message.

Stay on your toes

One of the best things you can do to keep users interested is to re-evaluate your content strategy regularly. Look at what your successful competitors are doing to engage with customers, and try to come up with similar strategies of your own. It’s also crucial to reflect modern trends in your output. This means making your content mobile-friendly, and looking into video content and infographics.

Feeling stumped about how to implement or revive your content marketing strategy? Paradigmmedia can help. We offer a range of services including SEO assessment, graphic design and content solutions such as blogging, website content, white papers and brochures. For more information on our content services, visit our site. Search Engine Optimization packages and pricing are available here.

 

 

Product, Offer markup, and Merchant Center

In structured data, a Product describes what the item is. An Offer describes how to buy it: price, currency and availability.

Google's merchant listing guidance requires a name, an image, and an offer with a price and currency. It recommends availability, shipping details, return policy, identifiers and brand. Only pages where a shopper can buy the product are eligible. Google's product structured data page adds that enhancements appear at the discretion of each experience and may change.

Eligibility is not guaranteed display. Google says the same about Merchant Center. Its free listings page states that approval to show products does not guarantee they will be shown. Free listings cover surfaces including Search, Shopping and Gemini, and surface availability can change.

Merchant Center's Diagnostics section lists problems by severity. Fix the ones that stop products from serving first.

One warning for WooCommerce stores. Your theme, an SEO plugin and WooCommerce itself may each print Product markup on the same page. Conflicting blocks send mixed signals. Check how many appear, choose one source of truth, and switch the others off. If you use Google's official WooCommerce extension, it syncs from your product fields, so fix the fields first.

A six-step audit

  1. Select five products. Pick top sellers, high-margin items, products with variations and products customers ask about most.
  2. Reconcile fields and feeds. Fill in the worksheet below for each product.
  3. Validate structured data. Run each product URL through Google's Rich Results Test. Count the Product blocks. Check price, currency and availability.
  4. Check diagnostics. Open Merchant Center Diagnostics and note issues on your five products.
  5. Test variants. Select every variation. Confirm that price, stock, image and SKU change on the page and in the markup.
  6. Review checkout. Confirm that price, shipping cost, taxes and return wording match what the product page promised.

A reusable catalogue-quality worksheet

Copy one table per product. Mark any row where the four sources disagree.

FieldVisible pageWooCommerce fieldStructured dataFeedMatch?
Product name
Price (CAD)
Sale price and dates
Availability
Variant options and SKUs
Brand
GTIN or MPN
Material
Dimensions and weight
Compatibility
Shipping cost and timing
Return terms

Prioritized correction

IssueCustomer impactWhere to fixHow to verify
Price or stock differs between page, markup and feedShopper sees one price and pays another. Listings may be disapproved.Product fields, caching, SEO plugin settings, feed syncWorksheet shows four matching values after the cache is cleared
Shipping and returns missing or vagueShopper cannot judge cost or deadline.WooCommerce shipping zones, Merchant Center shipping settings, returns pageTest checkout to two provinces. Wording matches the page.
Variants share one description or imageShopper cannot tell which size or colour they get.Variations tabSelect each variation and confirm the page and markup change
More than one Product markup blockMixed signals about the same item.Theme, SEO plugin, WooCommerce settingsPage source shows one Product block
Invalid or invented identifiersProduct disapproved.Product fields, feedValues match supplier packaging. Diagnostics clear.
Missing material, size or compatibilityCommon questions stay unanswered.Product description and attributesA stranger can answer your opening question from the page alone

A two-week plan

Week 1. Days one and two: choose five products and fill in the worksheets. Days three and four: gather shipping and returns facts from your own policies, then correct identifiers and fields. Day five: remove duplicate markup.

Week 2. Days six and seven: fix variations. Days eight and nine: validate markup and clear the Diagnostics issues you can. Day ten: run a full test purchase on each product. Then set a calendar reminder to recheck after your first holiday sales week.

BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION

Need help clarifying your shopping cart database to enhance your product pages and improve AI search?

Request a product catalogue and feed audit

Paradigmmedia builds and maintains WooCommerce stores for businesses in Toronto, Calgary and across Canada. No audit can promise placement or sales. A catalogue and feed audit gives you a ranked list of corrections your store can act on before the holidays. Our GEO guide for small businesses explains the wider search context.

Frequently asked questions

Does every AI shopping tool require structured data?

No source says so. Tools gather product information in different ways. Google lists Product and Offer markup to become eligible for its merchant listing experiences. Accurate markup helps machines read your page and gives no guarantee of display.

What should I do if my product has no GTIN?

Leave the field blank and provide the brand and, where the maker (is this marker) or maker)assigns one, the MPN. Never create a number. Google's specification says incorrect GTINs lead to disapproval.

How long should a product description be?

As long as it takes to answer a buyer's questions. WooCommerce's guidance says to aim for completeness and not worry about word count.