We’ve all become a little bit disillusioned by the black and white animals Google keeps introducing us to. First Panda, then Penguin, the search engine giant appears to be on a mission to keep us on our toes when it comes to our online marketing techniques. What has been established from both of these algorithm updates is the ever-increasing need for strong content.

Google is showing more and more favour towards content marketing strategies and as a result most of the online world has embarked upon a course of press releases, blogs and articles. How then is it possible to stand out from the crowd?

Editorials have a number of benefits, and best of all, they’re not as common as other forms of content. Here’s how they can boost your campaign:

• The links you gain are significantly more valuable. The Penguin update targeted those who simply buy authoritative backlinks. Creating well written editorials and distributing them through highly respected sites creates a new page with an automatic PageRank of 0, however the authority of the site passes through making it an effective way of building up authoritative links naturally whilst keeping within Google’s guidelines.

• You’ll also rank for much longer. Whilst press releases are an effective way of dominating the search engines for a short period of time, editorials have the ability to sit at the top of the results for much longer. This makes them a really effective way of boosting your brand awareness online.

• Automatically pushing down any possible negative content, editorials are therefore one of the most effective reputation management tools.

• Another way they achieve this is through the actual content of course. Proving to prospective customers that you are an expert in your field is invaluable. Editorials also give you the opportunity to promote your products or your particular view on a current industry topic. Well written and researched editorials are also a great way of demonstrating that you take your own web presence seriously, hopefully inspiring others to lend their trust in you as well.

The best advice for those thinking seriously about the benefits of editorials to their SEO campaign, would be to start by focusing on where they want their piece to appear. This will naturally depend on budget, but also the nature and locality of their consumer base. Once this has been established, the real work can begin!

Attached Images:

•  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: sxc.hu

SEO Positive is one of the country’s leading digital marketing agencies, specialising in SEO, PPC account management and copywriting services.