What legal marketers should know about Google’s ‘helpful content’ algorithm update

March 9, 2023

Google recently launched a “helpful content” update to its search algorithm to prioritize unique and thorough content for its users. In addition, it will now automatically identify content that seems to have little value, low added value or is otherwise not particularly helpful. When Google identifies what it considers deficient pages and websites, it automatically moves them to the bottom of the search results. Think of it as a way for the search engine to separate the wheat from the chaff in the infinite web of information (and misinformation) that is the internet. 

For those in legal marketing and thought leadership, the update could mean fewer users will see your content if it’s not up to snuff. Cue the panic amongst content creators and SEO marketers.

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What AEC firms need to know about Google’s ‘helpful content’ algorithm update

November 30, 2022

Google recently launched a ‘helpful content’ update to its search algorithm to prioritize unique and thorough content for its users. Conversely, it will automatically identify content that seems to have little value, low added value or is otherwise not particularly helpful to those performing the searches. When it identifies what it considers deficient pages and websites, it automatically moves them to the bottom of the search results. Think of it as a way for the search engine to separate the wheat from the chaff in the infinite web of information (and misinformation) that is the internet. 

For those in the architecture, engineering and construction industries, particularly those that partake in B2B marketing and thought leadership, the update could mean fewer users will see your content if it’s not up to snuff. Cue the panic amongst content creators and SEO marketers.

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9 mistakes marketers should avoid when interviewing architects, engineers and construction pros for thought leadership content

March 10, 2022

So you read our guide on improving your subject-matter-expert interviewing skills and now you think you’re ready to rock your next thought leadership interview. If you follow our advice, you probably are. But even though you know what you should do, you also need to know what you should not do to get the best, juiciest, most innovative ideas and quotes from the architect, engineer or construction pro you’re speaking with.

A good interviewer knows how to get their subject talking without getting in their way. But there’s a lot more to being a good interviewer than just being a good listener. Do you think Oprah showed up to the vineyard to interview Meghan and Harry empty-handed? 

The answer is no: the queen of interviews definitely spent hours with her team arming herself with background information and a hefty list of questions designed to pull out those jaw-dropping soundbites that plastered headlines for weeks afterward.

I can’t teach you to be Oprah, but I can help you optimize your interviewing strategy by avoiding these nine mistakes.

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Content marketers: 7 ways to improve your subject-matter-expert interviews

July 12, 2017

Get the information you need to create persuasive, insightful content by conducting better interviews

I’ll let you in on a little-known secret that sets great content marketers apart from the good ones. It’s not the writing. It’s not video production skills. It’s not even research.

Don’t get me wrong — those are important. But the real secret sauce? Conducting great interviews.

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How to address your AEC prospects’ sales objections with great content

March 14, 2017

How to address your AEC prospects’ sales objections with great content

Think back to your firm’s last major client project. Now consider the process of winning that contract in the first place. That journey can be almost as complicated and drawn out as the construction project itself.

In a perfect world, your business development team would love nothing more than smooth sailing from start to finish — question-free sales calls, a straightforward proposal presentation and full agreement across the board with no objections or back-and-forth whatsoever from the prospective client.

Alas, life isn’t an episode of “Friends” where all your problems are solved and loose ends tied up in just 22 minutes to the sound of a laugh track.

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9 ways AEC firms are missing the mark with content marketing

March 9, 2017

9 ways AEC firms are missing the mark with content marketing

Content marketing isn’t going away anytime soon, especially in B2B markets that have a  lengthy procurement process (*cough cough* AEC).

A recent survey by HubSpot showed the number-one challenge for B2B marketers (with 65 percent of respondents) is generating traffic and leads. That’s because only good content marketing can help. In fact, the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProf’s collaborative research report found that in 2016, 85 percent of companies who reported better content marketing over the last year upped their content creation while 72 percent attributed success to strategy development. There’s hope for you, too.

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Why your AEC firm’s business development team should be using your content (and 5 ways to do it)

March 2, 2017

Why your AEC firm’s business development team should be using your content (and 5 ways to do it)

So your firm is producing useful, educational, client-centric content. Or maybe you’re just exploring content marketing and wondering if you should incorporate it into your firm’s strategy.

No matter where you are on the spectrum, you must ask a crucial question: What is the business development team doing with our content?

Your marketing team’s blog posts, e-books and white papers can’t live in a vacuum. By using a balance of inbound and outbound tactics, your business development team can leverage your content to win more contracts — and they should.

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Why AEC firms need content marketing [infographic]

February 28, 2017

In the world of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), getting leads isn’t as simple as an a flashy sign near the checkout register. If you’re in the AEC industry, you know better than anyone that B2B clients take their good ol’ time making a hiring hüpfburg mit rutsche kaufen decision — that’s because it’s a big deal. Because buyers these days take their time searching information and educating themselves before talking to your business development team, content marketing is more crucial than ever.

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Why the most successful AEC firms combine online and offline marketing

February 23, 2017

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The internet has changed the game for how architecture, engineering and construction firms grow their business.

Inbound marketing, which “pulls” clients in by educating and solving their problems online, has stolen the spotlight from the traditional “push” tactics of outbound marketing (think: trade shows, advertisements, cold calls, direct mail).

So does that mean outbound marketing is dead and gone? I think not.

For AEC firms, the key to success is achieving a balance between inbound and outbound, a strategic blend of online and offline marketing.

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