How to Create A Converting Sponsored Article?
Sponsored articles are a form of promotion that can help you directly attract new customers and support SEO for your website. However, these objectives can’t be achieved with mediocre content. The texts need to be well thought out. How to write a quality sponsored article? What is of key importance? Keep reading!
Table of contents:
- How To Write A Converting Sponsored Article?
- Tailor the topic to the keyword
- Take care of the subject matter
- Tailor topics to the website content
- Attract readers with the title
- Benefit from a lead
- Place links in the body
- Tailor your language to the target group
- Use the impersonal form
- Choose an appealing content structure
- Don’t overuse promotional content
- How To Write A Converting Sponsored Article – Takeaway
How To Write A Converting Sponsored Article?
Even a top-quality sponsored article won’t bring you desired results and redirects if it’s published on a website that isn’t visited by anyone.
Content published on an unpopular site can positively affect your visibility in Google, but it’s definitely more profitable to kill two birds with one stone. Select links from a valuable platform that will support SEO and at the same time allow you to reach the target group.
Nevertheless, these objectives can’t be achieved with mediocre content. How to create a converting sponsored article and what to pay particular attention to?
Tailor the topic to the keyword
As it’s been already mentioned, sponsored articles can not only encourage users to visit your website but also support the SEO process. Thus, don’t forget about keywords – they’re the cornerstone you should always start with.
Do you need any help with topic ideas? Take advantage of answerthepublic.com that suggests which topics are worth focusing on once you enter a particular phrase. These keyword and topic recommendations are based on Google autocompletion displayed when you start entering a given query into the search box.
You can also benefit from keyword planners such as Google Ads, keywordtool.io, or SEMrush.
First and foremost, apply the most relevant keyword in the title and the upper part of the content (preferably in the first 50-100 words, e.g. in a lead). Remember to stay natural. Keywords should be naturally and smartly applied in the text without taking up too much of it. If the entry is supposed to meet marketing objectives, it needs to be pleasant to read. Keyword stuffing isn’t the best solution.
To learn more about keywords, go to our entry: Keywords – 10 useful tools supporting keyword research.
Take care of the subject matter
Recipients expect that your content will provide them with answers to nagging questions and they’ll access information that’s of interest to them. Therefore, focus on specifics and show how your product or service can help solve the reader’s problem.
Try not to deviate from the topic, don’t discuss unnecessary issues, and avoid making the content unnaturally long. The point is not to make the text as long as possible (frequently selected topics don’t require or even recommend lengthy entries), but to answer the question.
Statistics, appealing facts, useful tips, and findings of the independently conducted research are worth their weight in gold. They make the text more attractive and encourage social media or blog users to share it as a valuable source of information.
Tailor topics to the website content
Let’s imagine that you opened a business with a new, unique attraction for children in your hometown – a website dedicated to that city is an ideal platform for the publication of a sponsored article.
Such websites can be easily accessed via Linkhouse – focus on the ones with verified Google Analytics data and big traffic.
In the offer details, you’ll see information about the requirements that the article must meet. This will give you the basic guidelines needed to create the entry.
Attract readers with the title
If you want to make sure that users select your text from other entries shown on the landing page, take care of an appropriate title that will appeal to both readers and search engine robots.
Let’s continue with the above example of your hometown and attractions for children. Even though the article is published on the official city website, it’s still worth mentioning the name of the city as such pages don’t always contain solely local news. A title like “a long-awaited attraction for children in <city name> is open! See where” is an ideal solution.
The title doesn’t have to include all key information – it can be a question or a number. Just make sure that it’s attractive and catches users’ eye.
Decide on the final version of the title at the very end – select a few options and choose the best one. Consult other people – would they be interested in such content?
Benefit from a lead
The first sentence of an entry may determine whether the content will appeal to users or not. Introduce readers to the text in a unique way – inform them what to expect in subsequent parts. Users shouldn’t learn answers to questions asked in the title already in the lead. Also, remember that this part isn’t supposed to be longer than 2-3 sentences.
An exemplary, attractive lead:
There are 16 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Poland and 6 other ones are waiting to be nominated. Find out where they are and how much you need to pay to visit them.
Place links in the body
An entry introduction, contrary to the body, isn’t the finest location for link building. Benefit from CTAs to inform users about things they may expect from a given site.
Anchors (links hidden under the text or graphic element) are another method of applying links in the content. Nevertheless, remember that too many anchors may be considered as an attempt to manipulate the Google ranking which won’t bring you any benefits. Therefore, ensure link diversification.
Avoid placing links in the summary of the entry. Putting it in the main body increases the chances of attracting users’ interest and is more beneficial SEO-wise.
Tailor your language to the target group
When creating any type of content, you should think about the target group, meaning people that are supposed to be addressees. Teenagers need a completely different language than entrepreneurs. In the first case, it’s acceptable to use colloquial language, whereas the latter one may require industry vocabulary.
Of course, it’s also advisable to take into account the platform where the entry is going to be published. If it’s an industry website related to your activity, a specialized text may be a recipe for success. However, if the content is going to be published on a city portal, then you need to approach the subject a bit differently – the use of specialized vocabulary could significantly narrow down the potential target group.
Use the impersonal form
In the case of sponsored articles, it’s best not to address recipients directly. Instead, it’s much better to use the impersonal form. Try to avoid phrases like “do you remember”, “have you ever used” or “pay attention to”. These will work ideally in blog entries.
Choose an appealing content structure
Users won’t be interested in blocks of text. If you want to encourage people to read your entry, create an appealing content structure.
Introduce titles, leads, headers (usually H2 and H3). Write short paragraphs, benefit from bullet points, bold the most important pieces of information. Charts, graphics, and other elements that could potentially catch users’ eyes are also a good idea.
End the text with a short takeaway with the most relevant conclusions.
Don’t overuse promotional content
A sponsored article doesn’t mean that the entire content should sing praises to a particular product or service. Such an approach can quickly deter readers from going through the entire entry – intrusive advertisement won’t bring the desired results. On the other hand, substantive content that solves the user’s problem and indicates that your product or service is what the reader is looking for is certainly going to be perceived more positively.
How To Write A Converting Article? The Takeaway
The creation of sponsored articles should be well-thought-out and based on a previously determined strategy. If you’re waiting for satisfactory results, take your time to find the right platform for the publication and prepare texts that will not only attract users but also support your SEO.
If you want to dig into the subject, go to our entry: Sponsored articles and SEO.