Content creation is the key to any successful digital marketing campaign, and businesses must constantly churn out relevant content to their intended audiences. However, our minds aren’t perfect enough to produce the perfect content in the most creative way to deliver it. Sooner or later, we’ll end up recycling old ideas, writing stale content, and losing creativity in how we write and publish content.
Content marketing is hard work, and many companies struggle to produce content, let alone engage in content consistently. If their content can’t reach and engage their target audience, they’ll only be wasting time and resources with their marketing campaign.
But fear not, for many companies still have successful marketing campaigns. We can learn from their successes and use some of their content marketing strategies on our own, and potentially benefit from their success.
My Favorite Content Marketing Examples That Drive Resul
Content Silos – BrightEdge
A content silo is a structured way to organize website content for better SEO and user experience. It groups related topics into layers, starting with a broad overview at the top and breaking down into more detailed subtopics below.
For example, a top-level page might answer “What is SEO?” Below that, subcategories like “On-Page SEO” and “Off-Page SEO” provide more detail. Each of these can be further divided—On-Page SEO could include topics like keyword research and alt tags, while Off-Page SEO might cover backlinks, influencer marketing, and social media.
How BrightEdge Structures Content Silos
- Logical Hierarchy: Content is categorized into primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. For example, a top-level page might focus on SEO, with subcategories like On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO.
- Keyword-Driven Approach: Using tools like BrightEdge Data Cube and Google Keyword Planner, BrightEdge identifies high-performing head terms and related keyword groupings to form the foundation of each silo.
- User Experience (UX) Optimization: URLs are structured clearly (e.g., yourdomain.com/blog/seo/offpage/social-media-strategy) to help users and search engines understand the context of the content.
- Internal Linking Strategy: Links within the silo encourage users to explore related topics, keeping them engaged and moving them closer to conversion.
The results?
- Higher Rankings: By aligning content with high-performing keywords, BrightEdge achieves better search visibility.
- Increased Engagement: Well-organized content keeps users on the site longer, improving bounce rates and dwell time.
- Stronger Brand Authority: A deep content hierarchy signals expertise, making BrightEdge a trusted source in content marketing and SEO.
- Improved Conversions: By guiding users through related content, BrightEdge helps move them naturally through the sales funnel.
Skyscraper Technique 2.0 – Backlinko
Brian Dean, the Backlinko company’s founder, dropped “Skyscraper Technique 2.0”—a follow-up to his original SEO playbook. But this time, he’s making it clear: backlinks alone won’t get you to the top. Using the Skyscraper Technique 2.0, he increased the organic traffic by 652% in seven days.
The Skyscraper Technique 2.0 is an advanced content strategy designed to improve organic traffic and rankings by fully aligning with user intent. A prime real-life example of its success is his “SEO Checklist” post. Initially a strong performer, the post later experienced a decline in search engine visibility, prompting Dean to revamp it using this technique. But what did Brian Dean do?
Identified User Intent
- He analyzed the first page of Google’s search engine results for “SEO checklist” to understand what prospective customers were searching for.
- He discovered that users expected a detailed checklist rather than a case study or self-promotional content.
Satisfied User Intent
Dean restructured and enriched his content to provide valuable content that matched what users were looking for:
- Covered SEO basics for beginners.
- Reformatted the post into a checklist-style layout to improve user experience.
- Expanded sections to include technical SEO, link building, keyword research, and other content marketing examples.
- Ensured the checklist was up-to-date by prominently featuring “2018″ (the year in which he posted the content).
Optimized for UX Signals
Dean focused on engaging users by enhancing the post’s user experience:
- Maximized Dwell Time: Embedded video content to keep users on the page longer (video content marketing examples).
- Increased Organic CTR: Included a table of contents to generate site links in search results.
- Reduced Bounce Rate: Used short paragraphs, engaging written content, clear H2 and H3 subheaders, and practical marketing examples to inspire.
So, what are the results?
- Organic traffic to the page skyrocketed by 652.1% in just 7 days.
- Rankings improved from #11 to #5, maintaining stability for 4+ months.
- A new post following the same content strategy climbed to #1 in Google within weeks.
Applying the Skyscraper Technique to Modern Content Marketing
Dean’s approach aligns with the rise of social media platforms, influencer marketing, and interactive content marketing examples. Brands today must embrace video content, short video interviews, and funny content to keep their audience engaged. By leveraging video editing software, brands can create viral videos that resonate with their intended audience and reinforce their brand image.
For instance:
- Brands like Netflix, a market leader in the streaming service industry, create interactive content to engage potential customers.
- Many companies use YouTube channels to showcase customer stories, company-published insights, and other festival attendees’ experiences to maintain a strong brand voice.
By focusing on creating blog posts, leveraging user-generated content, and drawing inspiration from the best content marketing examples, brands can keep their creative juices flowing and stay ahead of relevant events.
If you want to implement this strategy, start by optimizing your landing page and blog covers with data-driven insights and real-world examples.
Pillar Cluster Model – HubSpot
You might not know it but HubSpot blogs got a complete revamp—not just on the surface but behind the scenes, too. Sure, the new homepage design, click-to-tweet buttons, and video modules make things look sleek. But the real game-changer? Topic clusters.
What Changed?
- Instead of chasing individual long-tail keywords, they grouped related blog posts around core topics.
- They reorganized tens of thousands of blog posts across the Marketing, Sales, and Service Blogs using this model.
Search has evolved, and the way people find information has changed. The old approach wasn’t cutting it anymore. So, they rebuilt their blog structure to match modern search behavior.
Before the Implementation
Before implementing the topic clusters, their blog was all over the place. That’s why their SEO expert, Matthew Barby, introduced the concept, explaining that as search engines evolved, so did the way people searched. With the rise of voice search on Siri, Alexa, Google Home, and Cortana, users were asking questions in a more natural, conversational way.
Did you know that 20% of Google searches on mobile and Android devices now happen via voice search? On top of that, Google’s algorithms have gotten smarter, using machine learning to understand intent rather than just matching exact keywords. In short, their blog was a mess.
After the Implementation
To organize the blog more effectively, they adopted the topic cluster model. Instead of writing blog posts to rank for individual long-tail keywords, they grouped under pillar pages—broad overviews of a topic that link to more in-depth, related posts.
For example, under “Instagram Marketing,” the pillar page covers the basics, while supporting posts like “The Anatomy of a Perfect Instagram Profile” and “How to Use Instagram Stories” dive into specifics. Each post links back to the pillar page and sometimes to each other—helping boost rankings across the entire cluster.
This approach strengthens SEO, improves user experience, and ensures our content isn’t competing with itself. The project, led by Leslie Ye, Brittany Chin, and Victor Pan, took months of hard work—and it’s still ongoing.
The Outcome? Gradual, Consistent, and Encouraging Growth
HubSpot began to notice improvements in the search rankings for several keywords across the HubSpot Blogs they’re monitoring. They’re seeing positive month-over-month growth in the number of keywords ranking on Google’s first page, with hundreds more keywords approaching the second and third pages — and we can only anticipate their continued growth moving forward.
Other Few Examples
Start with Guest Posting – Buffer
Buffer is a social management tool that many content marketers use to publish content on different social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, and more. Their current success can be attributed to their content marketing strategy, where they relied on guest blogging for their initial growth and then writing high-quality and shareable content on their blog.
They initially focused on posting content on high-visibility sites and then relying on the author byline to channel traffic back to their site. So naturally, their site also contained high-quality content to show their visitors more things to read. This strategy allowed them to get their first 100,000 customers after only 9 months of running the campaign.
Writing What the Audience Wants – AARP
You write for your target audience and convert visits to sales, but you can have difficulty thinking of new topics to churn out after writing so many articles. A good workaround here that still lets you have relevant content is writing based on what your audience proposes.
AARP The Magazine’s content marketing strategy is focused on generating relevant content that their readers propose, allowing them to produce engaging content instead of writing stagnant articles. Their readers tell them what to write through email marketing campaigns, social media posts or comments, and classic mail, and then they use the topic that resonates with them the most.
AARP The Magazine is currently America’s leading consumer magazine in the first half of 2020 and has reached about 20 million households.
Employing Pillar Topics – Moz
Moz is a household name in SEO and digital marketing, packed with tools and insights to help brands stand out online. Their blog isn’t just another SEO resource—it’s a goldmine of best practices, search trends, and data-backed strategies.
If you’re new to SEO or a seasoned pro, there’s always something useful. Moz doesn’t just drop knowledge; they guide readers toward their tools like Moz Pro and MozBar with smart, strategic calls to action.
They also structure their content using the topic cluster method—think pillar topics surrounded by related deep dives. This setup, seen in “The SEO’s Guide to Content Marketing,” signals to search engines that Moz means business.
Need the latest on Google’s algorithm or practical SEO tips? Moz keeps the bar high with consistently useful, well-researched content.
Provide Data-Backed Information – Atlasassian
Atlassian is all about collaboration, offering tools for software, IT, and business teams. But it’s not just about the software—they use blog articles to position themselves as workplace productivity experts.
Take their post, Left Brain vs. Right Brain: Fact or Fiction? It delivers research-backed insights in a way that’s easy to digest, complete with practical tips for work settings. The “fact or fiction” angle naturally grabs attention, whether readers find it through the blog, a newsletter, or social media.
But it’s not just a catchy title—this topic pulls serious traffic. According to Semrush, the post brings in 10.4K organic visits from U.S. Google searches each month. Atlassian has likely fine-tuned its SEO strategy to make sure it ranks well for relevant searches.
Want the same kind of reach? Focus on topics that interest your audience and get plenty of search traffic. Then, craft content that’s built to rank. More visibility means more engaged readers—without paying for every click.
Start the Best Content Marketing Campaigns Now
If you’re running out of creative ideas for your content marketing strategy, then you can take a look at the best content marketing examples we mentioned and see what will fit your company best. If you need help executing some of these strategies, especially those geared toward content creation, you can look for a reliable SEO agency to help you write articles that will convert to sales.
FAQs about Content Marketing
What is the most popular content marketing?
Blogging remains a widely used content marketing strategy that allows businesses to share valuable information, improve search engine rankings, and engage audiences. Other popular methods include social media posts, videos, podcasts, and infographics, each catering to different audience preferences and platforms.
How does content marketing work?
Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable, relevant content to attract and engage a target audience. By addressing their needs and interests, businesses build trust and credibility, leading to increased brand awareness and customer loyalty. This method ultimately drives profitable customer actions without overtly promoting products or services.
What is one of the main goals of content marketing?
One primary goal of content marketing is to build and nurture relationships with potential and existing customers. By consistently thinking of content ideas and implementing them, you can establish more credibility, trust, and authority to encourage customer loyalty. This strategy also supports lead generation and conversion efforts.
Which is not an example of content marketing?
Traditional advertising methods like TV commercials or banner ads are not considered content marketing. Content marketing focuses on delivering valuable, relevant content to engage audiences, while traditional advertising often interrupts the audience’s experience with promotional messages.
What is the best use of content marketing?
The best use of content marketing is to provide informative and engaging content. You should have a better understanding of your target audience’s needs and interests. This approach positions your brand as a trusted resource, fosters customer relationships, and encourages organic sharing to increase brand visibility and growth.
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