- \n
- Content marketing is highly prevalent in just about every industry, making it hard to cut through the noise.<\/li>\n
- Publishing frequent and helpful content<\/a> will help you gain (or at least maintain) search visibility, even in a saturated market<\/li>\n
- While it may seem like an escalating cold war, investment in content marketing does not have to break the budget<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What Is Content Saturation?<\/h2>\n
To start, let\u2019s define what we\u2019re talking about with the term content saturation. It describes a phenomenon wherein content is abundant on a topic. It occurs when you develop high-quality content, but it seems near impossible to rank high on search engines.<\/p>\n
Why Did Content Marketing Saturation Occur?<\/h2>\n
Content marketing<\/a>\u00a0was once a small fraction of a company\u2019s marketing efforts. A decade ago, brands were still in traditional outbound models, using advertising to win over customers. Then inbound marketing exploded, and businesses began to realize the power of content. Now, we\u2019ve hit content marketing saturation.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look at some stats:<\/p>\n
- \n
- WordPress, the most popular content management system (CMS), reports that users produce\u00a070 million new posts a month<\/a>.<\/li>\n
- 91 percent of B2B marketers<\/a>\u00a0use content marketing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n ![\"Cmi](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cmi-91.png\")
Image:\u00a0CMI<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n - \n
- Companies still rate content creation as the\u00a0top investment in marketing for 2021<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n ![\"CMI](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/CMI-investing.png\")
Image:\u00a0CMI<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n - \n
- Blog production increased from 2019 to 2020<\/a>, according to SEMrush.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n ![\"Semrush](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/semrush-production.png\")
Image:\u00a0SEMrush<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n These statistics prove that content is everywhere, and companies will continue to invest in and leverage it to reach marketing goals.<\/p>\n
So, how did we get here?<\/em><\/p>\n
Businesses Realized the Value and Ramped up Production<\/h3>\n
The path became crowded because businesses realized that\u00a0content marketing ROI<\/a>\u00a0was greater than the return on investment from ads. They saw results in search traffic and started feeding buyers more content. Also, consumption of content before making a buying decision keeps increasing. Businesses need more content and have become publishing machines as a result.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean that the content isn\u2019t high-quality and educational, or that it doesn’t illustrate thought leadership. Proliferation, however, leads to saturation.<\/p>\n
Brands Want to Win the Ranking Game<\/h3>\n
The shift to research online by buyers also fueled the boon. Further, even though Google has highly sophisticated algorithms to deliver the best answer to a searcher\u2019s query, low-quality content still ranks well sometimes. Often it\u2019s a replication of another post. Content is now less unique because businesses recognize they can basically \u201ctemplate\u201d content.<\/p>\n
Google, of course, states it wants only high-quality content at the top of its results. They look at lots of things to decide ranking. Yet, we can all agree that top-ranking posts for certain keywords are garbage.<\/p>\n
Almost every industry is facing content marketing saturation. If you want to know to what extent, you can take steps to figure this out.<\/p>\n
Steps to Evaluate Your Industry\u2019s Content Marketing Saturation<\/h2>\n
There are several steps you can take to discern where your industry is with content marketing. Analyzing these areas can help you reach a determination.<\/p>\n
Simply looking up the Domain Authority for you and your competition is overly simplistic! We help lesser DA websites gain on larger DA competitors all the time!<\/p>\n
But here are some evaluation techniques we use to determine how hard we’re gonna have to work:<\/p>\n
SEO Competition<\/h3>\n
SEO is a fundamental of content marketing. You\u2019re writing content to get found on Google (although please write for humans first, search engines second).<\/p>\n
With most\u00a0SEO strategies<\/a>, you have a list of target keywords related to your industry and audience. Every keyword has a competitive score. The number is somewhere between zero and one. The closer to one, the higher the competition.<\/p>\n
If most of your keywords are close to or at one, many companies are writing about that keyword. It\u2019s a clear indication of saturation.<\/p>\n
Emerging Keywords Metrics Spike<\/h3>\n
Another aspect of SEO that\u2019s critical for saturation evaluation is looking at emerging or trending keyword metrics. In many SEO platforms, you can find emerging keywords related to your topics. Google Trends also provides this information.<\/p>\n
If you track these emerging keywords and start to see high peaks in volume, that indicates your audience wants to know about the topic.<\/p>\n
Now compare that with competition scores. Hopefully, you started creating content at the beginning of the emergence, but as others flood the internet, it will be harder to maintain rankings.<\/p>\n
Social Media Shares Are Declining<\/h3>\n
Social media shares are somewhat of a vanity metric, but they can offer critical insights. The reality is that people share content a lot of the time because it\u2019s relevant or interesting. If your audience keeps seeing the same types of content, they\u2019ll share it less. Track this metric to determine if shares are declining.<\/p>\n
Saturation isn\u2019t the only reason for fewer shares. Your content may just not be enticing, but you should still consider it as a potential sign of saturation. And while social media sharing is driving less traffic to websites overall, it is still helpful to compare your social shares with your competition, especially when considering how often you publish<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Competitive Research<\/h3>\n
If you want to understand the depths of content saturation for your industry, look no further than your competition. You can have direct and indirect competition in content marketing. Direct competitors are those businesses that do what you do.<\/p>\n
But publications, association, and organizations that write about your industry are types of indirect competition as well.<\/p>\n
Keeping a close eye on the content from all your “content competitors” will immediately tell you the topics’ saturation level. Continually assess what they are writing about and its quality. If you want to understand the exact content you\u2019re up against, this is an important activity.<\/p>\n
At this point, you\u2019ve likely concluded saturation is a challenge for your industry. The exception would be a very new or niche business. So, what can you do about it? You\u2019re not going to stop creating content! You just have to do it smarter, better, and more strategically.<\/p>\n
How to Counter Content Marketing Saturation<\/h2>\n
If you want to stand out from the crowd, rank well, and provide quality content to your audience, follow these best practices.<\/p>\n
Write 10X Content<\/h3>\n
10X content<\/a> is content that’s 10 times better than what\u2019s currently ranking well organically. “Better” usually means it needs to be more in-depth, is longer, has high readability scores, and delivers real takeaways. It also must follow all SEO best practices and use a format that makes it easy to read or scan.<\/p>\n
Provide a New Angle<\/h3>\n
There\u2019s always a different angle on a topic if you get creative. While content on a subject may be prolific, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s a lost cause. You have to present new information, which could include:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Examples and case studies specific to your company that support your angle.<\/li>\n
- Original research, which is a great way to lift your brand\u2019s thought leadership, as well. Survey your industry on key areas to develop a unique perspective.<\/li>\n
- Taking a controversial point of view (this doesn\u2019t mean being offensive; rather, take a stand that\u2019s revolutionary but true to your brand). To illustrate this, think about the world of cybersecurity and all the content available. However, much of it focuses on technology, tools, and approaches. It rarely ever focuses on the real problem\u2014the people and their shortcomings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Insider tip: I like to point to other people’s content and include my different point of view. Or embed someone else’s video or research as a service to my readers. Curating other people’s content is still an effective way to add value to your audience. (See my 199 digital marketing stats<\/a> as an example.)<\/p>\n
Get Niche<\/h3>\n
Within your broad audience, you should have segments. By segmenting your audience, you can offer more personalized content and appeal more to them. This requires having very specific buying personas and a deep understanding of their challenges and motivations.<\/p>\n
For example, if your audience is healthcare, that\u2019s very broad. Each role in healthcare has different ways they may use your software. Get specific with those roles. Talk to doctors, administrators, procurement, and any other decision-maker very intimately. A great blog title could be Everything Hospital Administrators Need to Know About Patient Experience Metrics.<\/p>\n
Connect with Your Audience<\/h3>\n
- Blog production increased from 2019 to 2020<\/a>, according to SEMrush.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- 91 percent of B2B marketers<\/a>\u00a0use content marketing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- While it may seem like an escalating cold war, investment in content marketing does not have to break the budget<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n