If AI had written this article, it would probably start something like: “The importance of original content cannot be overstated.”

But, thankfully, AI did not write this article.

The internet is already overflowing with keyword-stuffed, AI-generated, plagiarism-filled articles. We don’t want to add to it. 

Plus, AI-generated content is boring. It’s unoriginal and, in many cases, unhelpful. 

That’s not to say that AI tools don’t deliver value (especially with respect to ideation and content optimization), but there’s no denying that the future belongs to those who embrace original content. 

In this article, we’ll review everything you need to know about creating original content to increase organic visibility, build authority, and help your brand stand out. We’ll even review where AI comes into play—it might not be where you expect it. 

Ready? Let’s dig in. 

What Is Original Content?

Creating original content involves more than slapping words and concepts onto a page and calling it unique. 

Original content is just that: original. 

You can’t find it anywhere else on the internet. Because it offers fresh perspectives and new insights or helps readers solve problems in innovative ways, it stands out in a sea of unoriginal content that tends to be easier to create. 

Search engines understand that original content adds unique value to users—that’s why they prioritize it in their search engines result pages (SERPs). This jives with our understanding of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as websites must be valuable to be findable. 

But what does original content actually look like? It can take many forms: 

• Blog articles let you convey niche topics or industry insights through the written word. 
• Case studies are an inherently original medium; only you can explain the value someone received from your product or service. 
• White papers and ebooks allow you to express in-depth analysis and research-backed content, often unique to your experience or expertise.
• Videos and podcasts empower you to educate and entertain, often engaging broader audiences through this multimedia-style content. 
• Infographics and visual data are great ways to articulate visual representations or highlight ideas in a unique way. 
• Original research and surveys are powerful ways to demonstrate data-driven content exclusive to your business or niche.
• Interviews and expert opinions let you go straight from the horse’s mouth, showcasing original insights from thought leaders or industry experts.

No matter how you package original content, you have to get eyeballs on it to increase engagement and awareness. And that involves SEO. 

Why Original Content Matters for Organic Visibility

Original content and SEO are like peanut butter and jelly: inextricably linked and complementary. 

We won’t get into the weeds about SEO here (we’ve covered it extensively). However, what you need to know is that original content plays a significant role in on-page SEO.  

On-page SEO involves optimizing the content on a particular web page to drive higher rankings. Google analyzes the content’s value, title tags, meta descriptions, headings and subheadings, URLs, internal links, images, and page speed to determine where it should be placed in SERPs. 

Google rewards original content with higher rankings, just as it penalizes duplicate content with lower rankings. Because duplicate content doesn’t add anything new, Google doesn’t feel a need to place it in front of readers. 

It’s not valuable, the same way fluffy writing isn’t valuable. 

That makes original content a critical ingredient for standing out in a crowded marketplace, as it has the power to improve credibility, gain authority, attract backlinks, and earn higher engagement metrics. 

How to Generate Ideas for Original Content

Are you convinced you need to start creating original content for your brand? Great! The first step is coming up with some ideas. 

We promise it’s actually a lot easier than it sounds. 

Brainstorming original content ideas is very similar to the process you would follow when launching your fintech content marketing strategy. Here are our top tips: 

• Use keyword research tools: Throwing it back to some good ol’ SEO strategies, keyword research can help you identify gaps in your content strategy by highlighting keywords you should try to rank for. This could inspire some original content by giving you the overall theme of the piece. 
• Leverage audience feedback, industry trends, and news: If the conversation around the water cooler is heating up about something you read in industry publications, take note because that could be an idea for original content. 
• Analyze your competition: Explore untapped niches or angles your competitors still need to cover in their content. After all, the only way to know what’s been done before is to get a sense of what’s already out there. 
• Encourage guest contributions: Invite company partners or friends of the industry to contribute articles to your blog, join you for an episode of a podcast, conduct a Q&A on social media, or co-write a thought leadership piece.  

Thankfully, you don’t need to do this alone. AI can be an incredibly helpful sidekick during the content ideation process.

The Role of AI in Content Creation

AI can’t write original content the way humans with a seasoned point of view can. 

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a role to play.

Obviously, we can’t ignore that AI is leaving its mark on marketing, making it easier to generate content quickly and efficiently. Tools like GPT-based writing assistants, AI-powered research tools, and content optimization platforms can accelerate the content creation process from beginning to end.

For example, AI can analyze current trends, customer needs, and market data, enabling teams to quickly develop content that resonates with their audience. This streamlines content creation, allowing fintech companies to maintain an engaging and informative presence across digital channels.

That’s some of what AI can do for you, said by AI itself—ChatGPT generated the paragraph above. Talk about meta. 

Yes, AI is a powerful accelerator of idea generation, drafting, and SEO optimization. But for final, original content? Leave it to the human hand (and mind). 

AI should be used to complement—rather than replace—human input for the best results. Human-led content creation and marketing are not going away anytime soon, and heavy human oversight ensures pieces are creative, personalized, and original.  

In short, effective content creation marries the best of human-led marketing with AI-driven efficiency.

But if you are going to use AI in your content marketing, you need to assume responsibility for ensuring that your content is genuinely original and fresh. Otherwise, you won’t see the results that you’re after. 

Best Practices for Original Content 

Ideating, creating, and distributing original content is not rocket science—but it does require a strategic mindset and methodical approach. Here are some steps you should follow.

1. Develop a Content Plan

As with any strategic marketing effort, starting with a plan gives you a roadway to launch a successful program.

Your original content plan should include: 

• Goals: Start by setting goals and defining what you want to achieve with your original content. Whether it’s growing your brand awareness, driving new lead generation, nurturing existing leads, or educating existing customers, defining what makes your program successful will help you measure and analyze your results.
• Audience background: You must also identify whom your content is for. Outlining a target audience will help you create content that addresses their pain points and generate content ideas tailored to their needs.
• Potential topics and keywords: Use keyword research tools to identify topics with high search volume and match your audience’s interests. It’s also helpful to brainstorm topic ideas to serve as a launching point. 
• Content calendar: Consistent posting is vital to building momentum. Outline a schedule for when and what type of content will be published to get your team on the same page and fill in gaps as needed.

Starting with a plan will make following the next steps much more manageable. 

2. Use Content Creation Tools

AI is just one tool in your content creation tool belt. 

There are tons of tools out there designed to make the process more efficient. Here are a few of our favorites: 

• BuzzSumo or AnswerThePublic are fantastic resources to help you generate ideas and identify trending topics in your niche. You can also use the news section of Google search to find what topics are trending or at the top of your audience’s mind. 
• Grammarly or Hemingway are writing assistants that help you improve readability, grammar, and flow. They provide recommendations and scores that can also guide your overall tone of voice. 
• Yoast or Surfer SEO are SEO tools that make optimizing content for search engines easy. Some SEO tools even offer plugins for your content management system, making it easy to leverage the tool right from where you are already working. 

No matter what tools you use, make sure they seamlessly integrate into your process—otherwise, you’ll be creating more work for yourself. 

3. Prioritize Quality Over Quantity

More is not necessarily better.

Quality will always outweigh quantity in the world of content creation. 

It can be tempting to churn out content like a factory, but if high volume means low quality, you could potentially harm yourself in the long run. 

But how do you know what high quality means for your unique audience?

If your content addresses your audience’s needs and questions, provides value through well-researched articles, guides them through actionable advice, and offers new ways of thinking through a problem, then you can rest assured that your content is high-quality.

Engagement can tell you a lot about how your audience views your content. After all, valuable, easy-to-read pieces receive more comments, likes, shares, and time on page. 

4. Focus on Your Readers

Original content and SEO go hand-in-hand. But don’t get so wrapped up in SEO that you forget about your very real, very human readers. 

Make sure your content is:

• Readable: Use short paragraphs, subheadings, bullet points, and a clear structure to make content easily skimmable and digestible. 
• Engaging: Add visuals like images, infographics, or videos to make the content more interactive and engaging. 
• Accessible: Confirm that your website loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and provides a seamless user experience. 

Organizing your content to make it valuable for humans—not just crawlers and bots—will ensure that it attracts the right kind of attention.

5. Be Mindful of Search Intent

Part of making your content human-first means aligning what you create with what users are searching for.

This requires being mindful of search intent—i.e., knowing why users are searching for a particular keyword or query. 

Search intent generally falls into four categories:

• Informational: Users are looking for answers to their questions.
• Navigational: Users are looking for a specific website or page.
• Transactional: Users are ready to purchase or sign up for a service.
• Commercial: Users are comparing options before making a purchase decision.

It’s helpful to know users’ search intent so you can tailor your original content to match user expectations.

For example, people searching for information generally find the most value from informational blogs or product FAQs, and those making purchase decisions are likely to click on case studies or guides. 

6. Measure the Success of Your Efforts 

You’ll never know what’s working and what’s not until you take a peek under the hood of your content metrics. 

Knowing what the numbers mean—and, more importantly, what success looks like to you—will help you determine where to adjust your content plan moving forward. 

Some metrics you’ll want to keep an eye on include:

• Organic traffic.
• Keyword rankings.
• Time on page.
• Bounce rates.
• Engagement rates on social media.
• Conversion rates.
• Net new leads.
• Total backlinks.

Tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and Semrush are some of the best at tracking content performance. Once you’re up and running on these platforms, you can be confident that you have the insights you need to drive meaningful results. 

7. Regularly Update and Refresh Content

While we’re on the topic of performance, we would be remiss if we didn’t discuss the importance of keeping your content current.

Google considers updated content more valuable than older content. It assumes that content featuring new data, trends, or insights is more helpful than out-of-date content.

Of course, it may not be possible to keep all of your original content up-to-date. For example, an article covering a major news event from 2024 would be tough to update without other relevant news.

Identifying evergreen content opportunities can make this much easier. 

Stand Out in a Crowded Market With CSTMR

If this is your first time creating original content, starting from scratch can be a huge undertaking.

From developing goals, measuring success, and coming up with ideas to drafting consistently valuable content…we wouldn’t blame you if it’s too high a hurdle to overcome on your own. 

Whether you’re struggling with a sudden case of writer’s block, or simply need a partner to bounce ideas off of, CSTMR is ready to help. 

Our fintech content team is standing by to help you brainstorm, develop, and distribute meaningful content that resonates with your audience.

When you’re ready to start, reach out for a free consultation.