I spent the last couple weeks doing some research and writing a bit of content, so I figured now would be a pretty good time to discuss my content strategy.  I’ve written around 15 articles to date and while writing about kitchen gadgets hasn’t been incredibly difficult I’m not very pleased with my content to date.  Unfortunately that’s just part of breaking in to a new niche; it takes a little bit of time to find the right groove.

On one of my first Amazon sites I actually went back and rewrote around 25 posts because they just weren’t up to par.  It’s not a fun process, but sometimes that’s just part of it.

Content is King

I have no idea where this saying came from, but I believe it to be 100% true.  Content is king and always will be.  That’s not to say that you can’t throw up a few crappy pages of content, rank it and make some money.  You surely can, and I still make some money off very thin sites.  But it would be nothing short of naive to believe sites like that will last.  Everything you put on your site should be high quality and that’s exactly my intention for The Cool Kitchen.

How to Write Like a Panda

I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t here the phrase “Panda Update.”  If you don’t know much about Google’s Panda Update you can read more here, but there’s really only one thing you need to know: the Panda Update addressed quality.

There are all sorts of on site metrics to measure quality, but it really all starts with your content.  The question becomes what is quality content and how do you create it?  Or, how exactly do you write like a Panda?

(Quick disclaimer.  The content strategy I’m going to discuss pertains to every type of site, but you’re going to see a bit of a slant towards a product oriented site because that’s what The Cool Kitchen is.)

Write Like an Expert

This seems to be one of the most common hurdles for people.  A question I’m starting to see plastered all over the place is, “How can I create quality content about something I don’t know much about?”  I hate to be obvious here, but the only way to write about a subject you don’t know a lot about is to…wait for it…spend time researching that subject.

Sorry, no big secrets here.  If you want to become an expert in a field you actually have to spend time becoming an expert.  Until then you just have to fake it until you make it.

Here’s 5 types of sources I typically go to for information:

1. Manufacturer’s website
2. Competitor’s website
3. The store
4. Third party reviews
5. Amazon reviews (I try not to use this if possible)

Create Unique Content

Let me clarify something real quick.  Original content is not the same as unique content.  As an example, everything in this post that I’m writing is 100% unique.  No where on the internet, or for that matter anywhere else, will you find what I’m writing.  However, it’s unlikely that all my ideas and thoughts are completely original.  If you were to check out SEOmoz or any other SEO or MMO blogs you’ll likely find content that is somewhat similar.  The important thing is that it’s not the same.

Put unique content above the fold.

Keep Affiliate Links to a Minimum

I don’t have a lot of data on this, it’s more or less just how I feel about it.  Personally I try to create at least 40-50% of my content with no affiliate links.  For some niches it’s harder than others.  Take a quick look at my current navbar:

Even though the site is about “kitchen gadgets”, you can see I’ve created some categories for additional support content.  I’ll use this support content to link back to other reviews  on my site without any affiliate links, or to link out to other authority sites.

In addition, I try to keep my affiliate links within the content to a minimum as well.  In the past I’ve had success with 3 affiliate links in a post: (1) picture, (1) in context, (1) buy button.  I won’t be using a buy button for this site, instead I’m going to try something like “Click here for the best deal.”  We’ll see how it goes.

Write for the Reader

User experience.  User experience.  User experience.  Get used to those words because they are extremely important.

Here’s 4 things you can do to increase user experience:

1. Answer their questions.  During your research phase determine your demographic and what they really want to know about the product, then write about it.  Don’t just be a source for information, be THE source.
2. Utilize great media.  Your reader is no longer in the store where they can pick up an item and turn it every which way.  Use pictures, preferably ones you’ve taken (though that’s not always possible), and video (check out Animoto) when applicable.  I have a friend that has increased conversion simply by going to the store and taking a video of a toy with an iPhone.  Sometimes things as simple as Excel charts work great too.  Here’s a neat little tool for creating graphs and charts.
3. Make the information readily available.  Your site should be clean and simple.  I have no idea what the statistics are, but I imagine you have about 5 to 10 seconds (probably less) to keep someone on your site once they click through.  If they can’t find the information they want in that time, they’re gone.
4. Relate to the reader.  Lists and images are great, but one thing that keeps a reader coming back is their ability to relate with you.  Put a face behind your blog and a story.  If you can, weave in a little bit of story into your posts.  It doesn’t have to be every post, but a little bit can go a long way.

Write for Google

Unfortunately if you want to rank well, you’ll need to keep the search engines in mind when creating your content.  Don’t bother with trying to maintain a keyword density of 1-2% or anything like that, but here are a few on page factors I typically try and follow:

• Get your keyword in the post title
• Get your keyword in at least 1 H2 or H3 tag
• Try to underline or bold your keyword once in the article (as long as it doesn’t look hokey)
• Put your keywords in your image alt text
• Utilize multiple variations (long tail) of your keyword throughout your article (as long as it makes sense)

I haven’t covered everything, but if you can adhere to the above and really dish out some quality content you’ll be putting yourself in a position to create an amazing site.

My Content Strategy for Niche Rivalry

Now that you know how to write like a Panda, I figured I’d take a few minutes and discuss some of the specifics of my content strategy for the Niche Rivalry.

Originally my plan wasn’t to try and necessarily rank my home page for “kitchen gadgets”.  But the more research I do the more I believe it will be possible (in time) to rank for that term.  I also stumbled upon the term “cool kitchen gadgets”, hence the name The Cool Kitchen.  So, I will be making it a point to try and mention “kitchen gadgets” and “cool kitchen gadgets” where it makes sense in my content.

How Do I Choose What to Write About?

I’ve been keeping it as simple as possible.  I spent around 4 hours the other day searching through Amazon and other sites and created a list of about 100 products, just based on products I thought were cool.  Right now I’m just choosing them from that list at random, doing some long tail keyword research and some competition analysis and then trying my best to write a high quality post using the guidelines above.

Here’s a screenshot of how I use Niche Chaser (sign up below to get your copy!) to form keyword groups.  I’ll then try to focus creating the content with these keywords in mind, though I don’t force in keywords.

My Content Goals for the First 60 Days

My sites that I’ve created a lot of consistent content for early on have always done better than those that I haven’t.  So my goal for the first 60 days is to write 45 posts and schedule them to publish every other day.  I may spread out the last 15 to every 3rd day.  After that I’ll likely try to post once a week.

At first the majority, if not all, of my posts will just be product reviews.  My main reason for doing this is I’m still trying to figure out the ins and outs of the niche.  It’s a lot easier to find some cool kitchen gadgets and toss up a review than it is to write support posts (at least for me).  Once I feel like I’ve got a decent handle on things I’ll start to mix in more and more posts that don’t contain affiliate links.

So, what do you guys think so far?

Don’t forget to sign up below and receive a copy of Niche Chaser; this is where all my site building begins!

Other Posts in the Niche Rivalry Series

• Niche Rivalry: The Rivalry Begins (12/21/11)
• Niche Rivalry 002: Finding Seed Keywords the Easy Way (12/29/11)
• Niche Rivalry 003: Revealing the Niche (1/2/12)
• Niche Rivalry 004: Site Setup (1/9/12)
• Niche Rivalry 005: How to Write Like a Panda (1/19/12)