Improve your content - boost ad sales

Content is king. Whether advertising on a news and information website, a personal blog or within the local attractions section of a tourist destination travelogue, the right content and the right ad can greatly impact advertisers' bottom lines. But first, you have to find the content.

by Kristina Knight

According to a recent study from the Pew Internet and American Life project, 28% of Internet users tag or categorize their favorite content. 7% say they tag photos, news stories and blog posts every day. These popular content forms are fair game because users want to be able to find and share their favorites fast. With more than a quarter of the online population bookmarking things, this is another way for online marketers to compliment their efforts in paid search, display and video ads.

The key is the content. Whether creating original content or use an existing blog or website, the content has to make sense to the consumer base or it will miss the mark. So first determine what categories your products and services fall into and then cross-reference that category against the content of blog, news and information hubs.

If you decide to create your own content, make sure it is easy to read. Use bulleted lists, bold fonts and other attention grabbers. Also, make sure the content is engaging. Don't simply list product sales. Talk about the products, how they can be used and why consumers should use them.

Optimize the content with keywords so that search engines place the copy higher in results listings, and place ads for products next to the entries related to that product. Update the content daily so that readers are drawn back to the site often. Finally, make it simple for users to tag the content by placing tag buttons on the content pages.