While search engines use hundreds of signals to determine how any particular web page should rank for a given search phrase query, all of those signals feed into two primary measures: relevance and authority. Relevance is principally determined by content and other site-wide or on-page factors. For example, on a search for information about a specific breed of dog, a page devoted to that breed would typically be deemed more relevant than a page about dogs in general. The most fundamental element for on-site optimization is high-quality original content. MORE >>

The proliferation of the Internet has transformed the way we create, publish and distribute content. Think about the pre-Internet era when companies were at the mercy of content publishers for distribution of content, and where consumers had very few options and meager resources for information gathering. So how does one handle this information overload and how do B2B marketers compete to stay on the top of search results, in this continuous flood of content that will only increase by the day? So what exactly is content curation? Curate, don’t spam. MORE >>

New research from Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, and demand-generation agency Bulldog Solutions confirms that even high-performing marketers struggle to consistently produce compelling content. wrote recently about the value of developing buyer personas , giving the example of how they can help shape content to make it more relevant to prospective buyers. If you produce content for CIOs under the assumption that all CIOs are the same, your white papers, reports, case studies and other content are not going to be relevant to any of them. MORE >>

Whereas I’m far from a power user, I have unlocked a few badges (sadly, one of my first was the “Jetsetter” badge that is given for checking in at 5 airports), and I’m in strong contention for the Mayorship of Eloqua. However, it’s not clear that there is any relevant parallel of this in the business to business environment. As a B2B marketer, especially one selling to very small businesses that are owner-run and not adopters of technology, this (theoretically) makes available a highly targeted data set. The motivation to do this is startlingly small. MORE >>

As marketers, we know that the best way to generate quality leads for our businesses is by creating great content.  A strong content marketing strategy offers informational and educational materials to interested readers, allowing them to learn more about your industry, your company, and your product or service, and hopefully become prospective customers.  But while it is extremely important, having a good content strategy isn’t always easy.  Here are 7 reasons your content strategy might not be generating leads as effectively as it should be. MORE >>