In this book chapter, McCoy maintains that marketers can achieve their web traffic and sales goals by publishing content that provides useful information, answers questions and is truly engaging. To illustrate these points the author presents a brief history of internet content culture, Google’s role in the evolution of quality content, and discusses the main features of good online writing demonstrated by contemporary content leaders including AirBnB, Medium and LinkedIn. Each of these examples underscore the content concepts of audience awareness, SEO tactics including keyword relevance and page authority, and the importance of storytelling.
As an aspiring content marketer with web design and coding skills I am no stranger to the basics of keyword search and SEO. In spite of my skills, I have had difficulty driving traffic to my personal which generates revenue through click advertising. According to McCoy my content strategy would fall under black hat SEO where I drive traffic to my site with click baited titles and stories with little substance. At work I contribute to the department blog which does have steady traffic and positions itself as a thought leader in the online teaching and learning space. The difference in both blog’s awareness of audience, depth and messaging are clear. The department blog answers relevant questions for the online teaching and learning audience and leaves visitors with valuable strategies and takeaways they can apply to their own online teaching. Following graduation from the MSC program, I will be able to clarify my content mission, evaluate my audience and generate content which informs and provides value to visitors.
LO6: Create and deliver elegant messages appropriate to audience, purpose, and context.