"Content is King" is an old phrase that the Movie/TV/Video industry uses but it is very true for websites too. In the early days of the web, SEO people used to be able to "trick" search engines into making websites rank high but those days are over. Search Engines like Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. quickly became savvy of these "tricks" and now sites that use these tricks will actually nose dive into the depths of the "nobody will ever find your site" if you use these "tricks".
These days a website climbs it's way up the ranking ladder because of it's content. Thoughtful, interesting and informative articles (text), beautiful pictures and even interesting video are the three major aspects of "content" that will rank a website well in search engine algorithms. Beautiful design and ease of use may help a user navigate and use a website but to be able to view and use a website that website needs to be found!
Do not overlook "content" for your website... actually, you should consider it FIRST and allocate resources to make sure your site is interesting once people land on it. I moved a page from the #46 position in a Google search to the #1, #2 and #3 position in a Google search, read about this SEO Case Study.
If your business is very interested in Professional Content Marketing, you can also visit my website, iLiveCreative.com which specializes in content marketing or review the basic services below.
Content Marketing Costs
- Writing (text)
- 500 words (which is about 3 large paragraphs): basic level - $20, pro level $75
- 1000 words: basic level - $30, pro level - $150
- 1250 - 1500 words: basic level - $50, pro level - $175
- Pictures
- Stock Photos: Images (and or graphics) will be purchased AND licensed to be used legally on your site. Images will be professional level. Note that this is NOT actual photography of your specific business but rather professional stock images that will relate to the content being created.
- Each image: $20 (fixed) this includes a.) our professional eye and b.) the time it takes to find the perfect image. If you would like to get your own Stock Photos, please see Stock Photography Help.
- Suggested: 2 per 500 words
- Photography: Much different than "Stock Images", actual photography of you, your place of business, etc. will make your website feel more "realistic" and specifically show what you have to offer. Stock Photos can be great in many situations but they are "stock" so may not fit your website perfectly and... other websites may be using the same picture(s).
- Every situation and client is different so please contact me so we can discuss your needs. In general I charge $100 - $300 an hour + transportation fees for photography services which includes management of the images and basic image coloring. More on my Professional Photography page. Or, if you need to take your own photos, here are some quick and simple tips for website photography.
- Video: because we are extremely "up front" with our clients, here is the "down and dirty". Video costs a decent amount of money to produce and most the time does NOT generate the views and or engagement you desire. "Why?" you ask... because most videos suck! All kinds of marketing firms and video production people will try to sell you on the great benefits videos has but the reality is... Content is King! If the video is boring, nobody is going to watch it, i.e. a waste of money. Since I have a long history in the entertainment, film and video industry, we can consult, see if video is for you and come up with something interesting that people are actually going to enjoy AND benefit your website.
- Especially for video, every situation and client is different so please contact me so we can discuss your needs and desires. More on my Video Production page
- Stock Photos: Images (and or graphics) will be purchased AND licensed to be used legally on your site. Images will be professional level. Note that this is NOT actual photography of your specific business but rather professional stock images that will relate to the content being created.
Adding the actual content to your site
- If your website is a Static site
- There are many benefits Static Websites have over CMS Websites but the main disadvantage is that a client must ask his/her developer to add content. In my experience even when a client has a CMS Website, most of the time clients don't want to bother with this aspect of their business and ask a developer to add the content anyway... so, the CMS type website doesn't have that great of an advantage.
- A skilled developer can quickly add content to a Static Website (for an hourly charge). Most "quick" updates can be done in 15 min. (of course depending on the amount and how much "styling" the client desires).
- If your website is a CMS site (WordPress, Drupal, Backdrop)
- These type of sites must be "set-up" to allow "other users" (besides the owner) to enter the back-end and allow addition of content.
- "Set-Up" of User Permissions: (Note: this is a one time set-up cost. Once completed does not need to be set-up again. Although some minor tweaking in the future may be required) Set-up back-end system on website to "allow" and set "specific permissions" for "other" people to log-in and add content: 1 hour (at current rate)
- User Creation: Create "user" and set permissions (using #1 above): 15 min. (at current rate)
TheDreamChest.com recommends:
For a page to get a very good "quality level" in Google, the current recommendations are 1000+ words on a page. The Google bot will like the 1000+ words but real humans like to see pictures too so we also suggest 4+ images for a 1000-1500 word page. If you just need basic content on your page with "ok" quality in Google, 500 words plus 1 image is fine.
