At the beginning of a new relationship with a client, Coral Luck of Ricemedia makes sure to demonstrate the value they can offer to a client. Rather than promising them to be at the top of the first page within four months, Coral believes it’s much better to get quick wins by repurposing existing content.
When analysing a new client, Coral makes sure to look at the client’s content before they signed up and determine what content has performed well and what can be improved. As she begins to optimise the content, it can be quite difficult to stay within the client’s tone however she explains she finds it easier when given guidelines by the client.
Coral explains it’s much easier to get content higher that’s already on Google’s Index and already has authority rather than wait for a new blog post to appear. She also advises when you make any changes to on-site content to always make sure you re-index it.
Once your content is optimised, it’s important to look at the opportunities to repurpose it such as turning it into a newsletter, looking at featured snippet opportunities so for example what phrases you are ranking for and whether you could boost them up as well as sending it as outreach.
How to Repurpose Existing Content Transcript:
Ken: You’re talking about one of my favorite topics today, which is repurposing content. There’s such an investment made in content that you really need to squeeze every last piece of value-add. So, tell me, what’s your approach to that?
Coral: So, when a new clients signs, it’s really important that we show the value that we hold as an agency, and it’s really easy to get carried away with your 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month strategy, but that doesn’t show the results that you want and that’s what’s gonna bring in the trust. So we always think, “What can we do now without pestering the client as much?” Because you’d like to help them, not hinder them, and how can we make those changes?
So, it’s looking at blogs that they’ve done before they’ve even signed with you, maybe content that you’ve already done for them if they’re a longstanding client, and just reusing it as much as you can, because when you have an on-page piece or a blog that you’ve just used once, it’s like having a top that you buy, wearing it once, and then it just sits in your wardrobe. You wanna make as much out of the clothes you already have rather than spending loads of money on new clothes.
Ken: Yeah. And particularly when you start a new project, all eyes are on you. They’re looking for you to make an impact, and it seems like a really clever shortcut to say, “Right, okay. Let’s look at what they’ve got and see how we can polish this.”
Coral: Yeah. And it’s so much easier to get content to rank higher that Google’s already taken notice of. It was already indexed and it’s already got the authority behind it, why not make a point of that rather than wait for a new blog post or a PDF to start making its appearance?
Ken: All right. So, that really is a good tip because what you’re doing is you’re looking at what’s already established on Google so that when you make the changes, it’s gonna have an immediate effect.
Coral: Yeah.
I think the one thing that’s difficult when you’re trying to optimise existing content is staying within the client’s tone, but as long as you guys are clear with each other and you’ve got your guidelines, it’s easy enough, really.
Ken: Okay. And let me take you back a little bit. In terms of pitching for that business, how do you try and persuade the client, like, yeah, you’ve got what it takes?
Coral: It’s kind of just showing them. I think saying, “We’re going to get you to page one in four months,” never works. Everybody here knows that. So it’s just being really open and honest with what you want to do, as well. When you say, “Actually, you’ve got this, and this is already a really great piece of content,” you’re kind of rubbing their back and helping them.
Ken: You’re congratulating them.
Coral: Yeah. And then you can show them, through working together…because it’s a working relationship, as well. You need them to help you to do your job just as much as they need you to help bring the money in, really.
Ken: Right. Okay. So, Coral, the very first thing you’re doing is coming in and having as major an impact as you can, and hopefully, that goes well, and then, what sort of way do you then proceed after that?
Coral: So everything we do, we track, because you want to make sure that you can report back, and you use it alongside the new content that you’re gonna make. Even if it’s a note on Google Analytics, something as simple as that, so you can say, “We did X, Y, and Z, and we’ve seen an increase of X, Y, and Z,” or…because showing the work.
Ken: Okay. So, let’s say I’ve done a 2,000 word blog post or whatever, and I’m thinking, “Right. Okay, that went down well.” What other things should I be thinking about repurposing that for?
Coral: So, turning it into a newsletter, saying, “Hey, have you seen this?” Looking at your future snippet opportunities, as well, like what phrases are you ranking for, can you boost them up? Sending it as outreach, as well, to the media. Can you have a spin on that that can get into the headlines and get links back? Two thousand words for a blog post is great, as well, so you could even change that into a PDF and gate it to get your leads from that way.
Ken: Okay. And so how would you, say, take that content and send it to the press, for instance? What would you be doing in terms of doing that?
Coral: So, we had a really interesting one with a recent client. He’s actually in the talk today. They had a massive piece about patch management, and that’s everywhere, so we just turned it into why is patch management necessary and then outreached to their wholesalers that they target, so those trade magazines. I think we got about 20 different pieces of coverage and there were about 19 live links in there, which is great. So…
Ken: And tell me, what is patch management?
Coral: So, it’s when you have to patch vulnerabilities in a computer – just making sure they’re secure and safe.
Ken: Oh, right. Right. Right. Right.
Coral: Yeah, it’s crazy. So, software update stuff, so…
Ken: Right. And something like that, and even though it’s already published in the site, you can take that out there.
Coral: Yeah. And then, you’ve got your linkable asset as well there, so you can say, “We got this from this blog. For more information, visit this blog,” and I think we had about three goal conversions from it just within the month. It was great.
Ken: Oh, okay. So, that media surge, that’s another real benefit…
Coral: Yeah.
Ken: …that your client can see. It’s not easy, though, to pull off.
Coral: No. No. That one takes a little longer than other tactics, but it’s worth doing if you can find the right hook.
Ken: Right. Okay. And can you give me any ideas of new projects? Something that you’ve started from scratch with a client.
Coral: Yeah. So, we’d wanted to boost a key term for one of our hair and beauty clients. They sell their SkinCeuticals product, so we did a massive blog post about that. What is SkinCeuticals? Why is it X, Y, and Z? It didn’t really have any takeoff, and I’m thinking, “Why? Why is this?” So we went and then did a newsletter, tied it in with Mother’s Day, and said, “This. Get your mum some face stuff, because wrinkles,” and then took snippets of it, put it on their social, outreached it to different magazines, got some coverage there, and then re-optimised it for featured snippets. We managed to rank above Amazon for, like, two days. It went after that, but it was the best two days of my life.
Ken: I can believe. But there’s a great lesson in there. So, it’s not just successful content that you repurpose, it’s stuff that maybe bottomed out a little bit.
Coral: Google’s so, frustrating as well. So you think, “Why isn’t this working?” I think sometimes you get it into your head that it has to be structured X, Y, and Z, but if you try it and a different way and it works, then…
Whenever you change any on-site content, always make sure you reindex it on search console because it just tells Google that that’s a priority, and that’s how you see the results. We did it for one of our own blog posts at Ricemedia, and we’d seen a featured snippet within about five hours. It was great. So, I think that’s really important, and remembering that it’s not just about quick wins. I always worry when I say to clients, like, “Let’s have a look at what you’ve got,” that we’re saying we’re not gonna do anything new. We will, but we need to do what’s gonna work now, and do it alongside. It’s that relationship.
Ken: And that’s a magic word in the client’s head, “quick wins,” and of course, it’s magic for the agency, as well, if you can pull that off.
Coral: Yeah. And it just helps balance that relationship because you’re also saying, “That piece of content you did before you signed with us is great, but we can make it better,” so you’re not making them feel like they don’t know what they’re talking about, which can happen quite a lot, because they’ve hired us for a reason. If they knew SEO, then they’d do it themselves.
Ken: Right. Okay. So if there’s someone sitting at home, and they’ve done this 3,000 word blog post, and they’re wondering, “Well, how do I repurpose that?” What would be the major tip that you would give them?
Coral: Have a look at what your competitors are doing, as well. If they’ve got something similar, what have they done, and have they done anything better? Look at where it’s ranking at the minute and then just walk away from it, have a think, and then come back a couple of minutes later. Will it work for a newsletter? Are there some future snippets you can gain from it? Are there some keywords that you’ve probably not thought of that you can target? Just having that break from it, and then thinking about all your options, and then just remembering that if one doesn’t work, another one will.
Ken: Right, okay. And tell me, where do you get your inspiration from?
Coral: So, we’ve got a really great creative team at Rice. Everybody sits down every Tuesday, and we’ll talk about different tactics, and we do brainwaves to try and push things. We all just bounce off each other, so… And also, just reading what other agencies are doing and thinking, “That’s a great tip.”
Majestic is a really great tool that we use in-house. The Topic section is really important because [inaudible 00:09:07] you can find out what your competitors are doing. It’s not even competitors you’d think of, and then you can find out some really great tactics and then repurpose them yourself. So it’s definitely something that we rely on a lot in-house.
Ken: One of the things that I think about that is that you can never predict all the topics that you’re going to get, and sitting down with clients and showing them the topics from which they get links is often a real surprise to them. So, I think that’s one of the most creative things that you can do with Majestic, is to dig into the topics, because it gives you such a wide, wide view of things, and also, a ton of ideas, in terms of, “Oh, I can use that.”
Coral: Ideas are great because then you’ll think, “Actually, we’ve already got something that’s similar to this, so let’s rejig it and make it cater to both parties,” and it’s great.
Ken: That’s terrific. Thank you so much, Coral, for coming along, and good luck with your presentation today.
Coral: Thank you.
Ken: Okay.
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- How to Repurpose Existing Content - May 21, 2019