You’ve created a lot of content for your website, but is it the right content?

According to MOZ, 50-80 percent of online searches are informational, meaning more than likely your prospect is at the top of the funnel and not even close to narrowing to a brand or product/service. For brand marketers, this means that a significant portion of your content needs to focus on helping prospects identify a problem instead of promoting your product as a solution.

Here’s a relatable example: After running, you notice your ankle feels a bit tender. When you turn to Google, you’re not searching for top orthopedic surgeons or even a doctor by name, nor are you likely to click on any such content within the search results. At this point, you’re information gathering and trying to assess what the problem may be and if a simple ice pack will do.

When creating content for prospective customers, consider their search intent of getting top level information. Brainstorm topics that position you as a resource without selling. For example, a hardwood flooring company may develop content such as:

• Which flooring is right for you?
• Trends in flooring
• Update or replace?

The copy itself can be lightly branded by citing an expert source from your company or hyperlinking to a more in-depth article within your website. If you’d like to take it a step further without being too invasive, incorporate ways to capture their email address (think a blog or newsletter subscribe button in the sidebar or bottom of the article) so you can eventually target more specific content to them based on their pattern of clicks or shares.

By creating the right content, you’ll meet your prospective customers where they are in their search process and position your company for a future sale.