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11 Comments

First Attempt at Content Marketing

Yesterday when searching for "javascript crop image aspect ratio" I noticed all the top hits were links to Stack Overflow.

Combining the page views of the first couple Stack Overflow links shown as Google results almost hit 100K. So I figure maybe if I write an article on cropping images with JavaScript to fit a certain aspect ratio it might just top the results? And offer a more straightforward solution for developers using that search query.

I wrote a quick 3 minute tutorial yesterday morning and posted it online mid afternoon. It outlines clearly how to crop images to fit a certain aspect ratio and the reader receives a nice ready to use code snippet and demo at the end.

Then I highlight the challenges awaiting the reader if they would want to extend this further and offer them Doka as a possible solution.

It's currently ranking #1 for those exact search terms 🎉

Now I'm not sure if this is temporary (because it's only been online for such a short while) or if it's permanent, but either way it should result in some very specific organic traffic.

You can find the article below: https://pqina.nl/blog/cropping-images-to-an-aspect-ratio-with-javascript/

  1. 2

    Thanks for sharing your experience in content marketing :)
    The question is how your article affected your sales or at least the amount of your visitors?
    Thanks!

    1. 1

      Certainly. I find selling web components is about creating awareness so that when the time comes devs need an image cropper they think of my product. Maybe this article will generate more immediate sales as devs are actively looking for a solution, I’ll update when I know more.

  2. 2

    Hello, the content ranked because the domain name is having some backlinks (and has gained Google's trust). If you should buy a domain name today, and write the content tomorrow then submit to the Google search engine, I doubt if it is going to get crawl the next day. And actually, the keyword is so less competitive. So it ranked because:

    1. The keyword is less competitive. You shouldn't expect the same for "JavaScript Loops" keyword.
    2. Your domain age and the authority (backlinks).
    3. It's like you host Doka.js there before moving to doka.photo, so some traffic has been sent to it (I also visit then, you have a nice project!). And I guess, it's from here that you get the backlinks, you may not build them yourself.
    1. 1

      Awesome. Thanks so much for for this info, every interesting. Luckily for me I’m looking for devs using these specific queries so I’m happy to catch those.

      1. 1

        Yes, it's better you write more content on these stuff. I'm very sure you are going to rank for them easily, but you may not get many traffic because many people aren't searching for it (that's why it is low competitive). Good luck!

  3. 2

    Google will boost new content to see how it does and then depending on results will rank you accordingly.

    1. 1

      I was afraid that I might be cheering to soon :D Curious to see what happens in a week time. Do you have any experience with this?

  4. 2

    Also #1 on Google and DuckDuckGo for me. Probably because it's a really good article providing real value to people searching for that exact thing, for free.

    I really like posts like these, concrete, usefull and practical, thanks for sharing!

    1. 1

      Thanks Will, so glad to hear that, I find it tricky to balance the commercial aspect with the offering-something-useful aspect of it, it seems in this article the balance is good.

  5. 1

    Great article Rik, I hope it does well!

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