#SEOChat Opens a World of Possibilities
On September 29th, 2016, I participated in my first Twitter Chat on the topic of increasing SEO, Search Engine Optimization, with the conversation being led by Emily Christopher (@emily_C27). I was exposed to users in the local community (fellow UF students) as well as users from around the country and what I realized was how similar standards for quality work can be.
We started the conversation off with a simple question, “What‘s the meaning of gated content?” For those who aren’t familiar with gated content, it’s content requiring user information before gaining access (i.e. asking for an email). There are pros and cons to gated content, which we delved in deeper later on in the conversation but one major con is the decrease in user engagement. Many users are turned off when they’re asked to provide information and will seek an alternative source rather. With that being said, my argument for gated content was the higher quality of users that are willing to go through the extra step for gated content.
Before thinking about whether or not to gate my content, I always ask myself “Is the quality of my work high enough to justify gating it? Will users leave satisfied afterwards?” There’s something to be said for having a core audience who are actively engaged in your content as opposed to a large audience that is inactive and fail to contribute anything of substance.
Would you rather have a small, but engaged audience or a larger audience that actively responsive? From the interactions I received based off my tweet, people seem to lean more towards quality, highlighted by @NicoleBlack414’s tweet of “quality always>quantity.” Although I agree with that sentiment, I will admit it’s difficult to not get caught up on what my followers count is or how many likes did this post receive or whether people are commenting on my content. It’s difficult to manage and in my perspective, by gating your content, you’re making a conscious decision valuing quality over quantity.
Moving onto landing pages, we discussed what helps contribute to a successful landing page and leads into your gated content. Personally speaking, I like minimalistic designs because less is more for me. Others have agreed when we’re overloaded with information and visuals on a site, we’re immediately turned off and will go elsewhere. Putting in the effort to make sure your social media profiles and website are up to snuff, a level of professionalism as opposed to something from amateur hour, can make all the difference.
If you can optimize your content and profiles for increased visibility, a world of possibility opens up as your platform.
