After some lull in terms of the focus put on it, content marketing and creation have seen a recent surge in terms of importance. With new algorithm updates by Google that emphasize various elements of content production that often pertain to quality, more and more people are doubling-down on their commitment to producing quality content for the masses. While it should go without saying, content production should focus on all of the elements that make it good – not just the technical ones that Google and others say makes it good. In order to transform your content from ordinary to extraordinary, we’ve put together a list of a few recommendations for you to consider the next time you produce new content.

Grab Attention with Headlines

The headline is almost always the first element a reader sees when considering whether to read your article, blog post or page. It should go without saying that a few simple words at the beginning of a piece of content couldn’t be more important. You have no doubt noticed the action-oriented headlines that have popped up all over social media in recent years, with websites like Upworthy and many others being notable examples (there are even parody examples of this trend, as documented by sites such as ClickHole – a side-project of The Onion). Pinging for SEO is important – and can still be done – but pinging readers’ attention spans with lots of action words and other calls to action that imply doubt, excitement and other forms of emotion should definitely be the main focus of your headline generation.

Bring in the Multimedia

At every possible opportunity, it only makes sense to incorporate multimedia into your content. Why is this so? Not only do numerous analyses show that individuals are much more likely to engage with and share content that includes multimedia, but it also creates additional opportunities for your content to spread even more (when that corresponding multimedia is created by you). In addition, search engines just love to see websites that utilize a variety of pictures, videos, social media embeds, slideshow presentations, infographics and more. A simple article with no multimedia may explain a concept easily, but it will perform much better when incorporated with various forms of multimedia that really drive the premise of the content home.

Review Your Content Approach

Each piece of content is different, but your overall approach should be standardized enough to apply in almost every situation. For starters, you want to have a captivating introduction. Not only will this be good when pinging for SEO, but it’ll keep your readers hooked long enough for them to get into the meat and potatoes of your content (it’s also an indirect exercise in building trust with the reader). Next, you’ll want to make sure that everything you write is legible yet “human”; your content in most cases shouldn’t adhere to the strictest of language rules, but should instead flow like a conversation. Last but not least, be sure to include various calls to action and links in your content for maximum auxiliary effect (whether that be a purchase, an email subscription or simply a view on another one of your articles).