A Content Marketing Strategy That Works In The Age of AI Slop

What Does A Good Content Marketing Strategy Look Like?

A content marketing strategy is a bit like a marriage: it requires commitment if it’s going to succeed.

But that’s just one aspect of it.

It also needs to be grounded on something authentic, something you believe in.

That could be a product you sell or a service you offer.

But just as one-in-three marriages end in divorce, plenty of content strategies don’t end up working.

Most of the time this is because they’re not thought out properly.

Or they’re poorly executed.

Usually, it’s a combination of both.

The strategy might chase keywords instead of topics or the content might lack an authentic voice or is mind-numbingly boring.

Both of these things are anathema to conversions.

The copy should be punchy, full of life, and get the reader to take action – or, at least, make them remember you.

The point is this:

the quality of the content you publish matters a lot more than most people think.

And AI Is Not Going To Solve Your Problems

AI is pitched as the solution to everything at the moment. From content to handling calls and streamlining your workforce.

I like AI, it’s useful.

But like a hammer or a drill, it’s merely a tool.

It doesn’t have any creative abilities, and its output, left in its raw form, is derivative and unoriginal.

Remember: LLMs are trained on the open web and other people’s IP and original thinking.

People know this too, and they can spot AI content a mile off.

The SERPs are inundated with AI slop.

Upwards of 64% of all content on Google is now AI-generated.

Most agencies use the same stack of tools, the same approaches to keyword and topic generation, and the same tools for “optimizing” the content once it’s ready to publish.

This is why everything looks the same online.

LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude have made it even worse because now even the actual copy is the same too.

Originality, Thought Leadership & Authenticity is The New SEO

Brands that invest in quality content are seeing massive shifts in engagement from their audience.

And the reason is simple: quality content is in short supply but the demand for it has never been higher.

Think about it:

Your potential client is looking for a solution to their problem and they hop on Google to do some research and find a potential solution.

They’ll check the first few results first.

Nowadays, most of what they’ll find is the same, derivative article spewed out by an LLM like ChatGPT or Claude and pumped with backlinks.

It’s SEO-optimized, it might even have links.

It has all the semantic keywords. It’s been run through Surfer SEO.

And guess what? It reads like sh*t.

So the user (your potential client / lead) bounces back to search to look at the next page. It looks and reads the same.

It’s boring.

They bounce back to the SERPs again.

Then they land on your page… and immediately something feels different.

The content hits differently, it has a voice – it speaks to them. The page answers their query, of course, but it does it in an authentic way.

It doesn’t feel generic.

They can tell it was written by a human for a human.

They actually read the content because it’s not dull.

The copy draws them down the page, captivates them, until…

They reach your CTA, and because you’ve done your job, there’s a better than good chance they’ll convert.

This is the difference between good content and AI content.

Between content that converts and engages, and content that’s simply designed to rank in search engines.

You need to do all of these things: rank, engage and convert.

Brands that work with us succeed because our content marketing focuses on three, core pillars:

• Thought leadership
• Helping their audience (potential clients / leads) solve problems
• Unique, memorable content

Modern SEO is more than just ranking for keywords.

It’s about solving problems and enlightening your readers, about becoming the go-to resource for your ideal customer and/or client.

It’s not about respinning what’s already out there; this is the mistake nearly all brands, large and small, make when they approach content.

Your content needs to contribute towards information gain; it needs to add something to the mix and this is why having your own data / insights / thoughts / ideas is key.

If you can do this you’re already way ahead of your competitors.

The good news is that this approach is cheaper and requires less on-going maintenance going forwards.

Have you ever tried to audit a site with 3000+ posts?

It’s not fun.

And in nearly every case, only about 10% of those posts generate any meaningful traffic.

The rest is just a waste of your site’s crawl budget.

By focussing on quality over quantity, you keep your costs lower and your conversions and engagement rates go up.

You spread your site’s authority more evenly across all of your content, and best of all updating and maintaining posts is much, much easier.

This is our go-to strategy for all of our clients, and it is how we helped OllieWP quickly become one of the most popular block editor themes in the WordPress community.

If you want to do the same for your brand, get in touch – this is what we do.