User-generated content is every marketer’s secret weapon for driving traffic, boosting sales, and increasing SEO rankings. If you have not yet utilized user-generated content for SEO, then now might be a perfect time to do so.
We live in a content-driven world. Ever since social media came into existence, people have been active on the web more than ever. There is a total number of 1.84 billion daily active Facebook users, with billions of posts uploaded every day—and that is just Facebook. Think about all the other social media networks today where people upload fresh content regularly.
Whatever your customers are posting online related to your business, you can use it to your advantage and gain the upper hand over your competitors. Leveraging user-generated content is a simple yet effective way to boost your SEO rankings in Singapore.
What exactly is user-generated content? How can it benefit your business? Find out here.
A Beginner’s Introduction to User-Generated Content
Sometimes referred to as user-created content (UCC), user-generated content (UGC) is any form of content, such as audio, images, and texts, that users upload on digital platforms like social media and websites. Consumers generate such types of content online to express their sentiments about a product or service.
Thanks to social media, UGC has become much more commonplace. People are using social media and uploading fresh content every day. Because of this, media conglomerates worldwide have begun using UGC for advertising and digital marketing services.
A notable example of utilizing UGC for marketing was in 2005 when the British Broadcasting Corporation became one of the first mainstream mediums to adopt a UGC platform (BBC). In July of the same year, the London Bombings and Buncefield oil depot fire took place, and the BBC received thousands of photos from viewers to broadcast the tragic events.
Photos and videos are just some of the several types of UGC that companies use all the time. Nowadays, UGC comes in many forms, including:
Social media posts
Reviews
Testimonials
Question and answer (Q&A) forums
Blog posts
You can utilize these types of content for SEO and marketing purposes in Singapore. Doing so should help you to connect with your target audience more effectively and raise brand awareness. If done correctly, you can also drive more traffic to your website and improve your SEO rankings.
4 Benefits of User-Generated Content for SEO
1. Generate Buzz and Adopt New Ideas
When it comes to SEO services, creating content can be tricky. You have to produce fresh content regularly to grow an audience and build backlinks. Not only is it challenging and time-consuming, but you might run out of new ideas to spice up your content as well.
Good thing that UGC is an excellent source of fresh content. Social media is the perfect place to generate buzz, adopt new ideas, and encourage potential customers to visit your website.
For example, consider using social media to host a contest where followers and interested users could join. Try encouraging them to create content for your brand and share it on social media. The winner should receive a grand prize for their effort. As a result, your contest should raise awareness, attract potential customers, and indirectly influence your SEO rankings, all thanks to your followers who have produced quality content for your brand.
Another example is when Oreo ran a mystery flavor contest on Instagram in 2019. Here, users would guess the flavor to win 50,000 USD.
2. Establish Relevance and Credibility
Customer reviews and testimonials are perfect for increasing SEO rankings and establishing your relevance and credibility. These types of UGC can help you build trust. Start by encouraging your customers to send a review of your product or service. Try setting up a testimonial page to increase the quantity of organic traffic to your website.
A brilliant example of this strategy is the customer feedback system from shopping platforms like Shopee and Lazada. On these e-commerce platforms, customers can publish their reviews and give ratings with a minor incentive as a reward.
Most importantly, online reviews are ranking factors. Google Reviews can boost your local SEO rankings. Whenever customers submit a review to your Google My Business (GMB) profile, their reviews can show up on your GMB listing each time someone finds your business on Google Search.
3. Reduce Your Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your website without exploring other web pages. A high bounce rate means many visitors might be disappointed with what your website has to offer, so you must prevent this issue from happening at all costs to protect your SEO rankings.
Try to reduce your site’s bounce rate with the help of UGC. But how does it work?
The answer is simple:
Consumers need a reason to trust your business. If they are not exploring other web pages within your website, that means your website could be missing something valuable and trustworthy. In that case, give your visitors a good reason to earn their trust and become more interested in your website by sharing UGC, such as testimonials and reviews. Doing so should help in strengthening your SEO rankings and reducing your bounce rate.
You can share UGC, such as images, videos, and testimonials on your website to leave a long-lasting impression on your visitors and reduce your bounce rate. Website visitors are more likely to explore other web pages, especially if they trust your brand after seeing tons of positive reviews on your site. Remember to add a call to action (CTA) to encourage visitors to navigate entirely through your website.
4. Influence Your SEO Rankings
Search engines like Google optimize websites based on attributes such as backlinks and keywords. Since most customer reviews on websites and social media pages revolve around products, they may also contain keywords and phrases attributed to those very same products, thus influencing the brands’ SEO rankings.
In addition, all of the UGC on social media that mentions your brand can indirectly influence your SEO rankings by helping to drive traffic to your website. That is why you should encourage your customers and social media followers to post a review whenever they purchase from your business.