What kind of news items does Garden Connect deliver to garden centres?

We often get questions about the news items we write for garden centres. How exactly does that work? And how do we ensure that the content is properly indexed by Google? And what can you do with our content? We are happy to explain it to you in this post!

If you have looked at many of the websites of garden centres we work for, you will have seen that a large number of them have news items. For example, it looks like this:

But does every garden centre itself write news items three times a week? No, because that is quite a lot of work. If you assume that each news item contains more than 600 words, that means that you will be writing for 2 hours, then the post must then be checked for spelling, pictures must be included and finally, you must also make a post for social media.

In short: quite a lot of work to do that 3 times a week!
 

News items for every website

That is why we offer all garden centres with a website at Garden Connect a standard series of news items as part of our service. In this way, every garden centre can inform its visitors about trends, activities and relevant things that can be done in the garden during that season.

But how is it possible that many of the Garden Connect customers have the same news items and they do not get a penalty in Google? In the video below, Edwin explains why it is a myth that Google gives penalties for duplicate content:

The news items that we provide are not at all intended to make your garden centre score in Google: they are intended to inform your customers. If you want to score on Google, you have to get started with online marketing and/or content marketing: services that we also offer.
 

But how do you prevent everything from looking alike?

This is the most frequently asked question when we sit down with prospects and rightly so: every store is different and you do not want the same news items as your nearest competitor.

We publish the news items in the Garden Connect Platform well in advance so that you have the time to read and, more importantly, adjust them. We also deliver a social media post and photo with every message: handy!

In this video, we explain exactly why this is important and how you do it in our Platform:

It is always easier to change something that already exists than to write something new. If you add your own photos, brands and products to the news items, it becomes personal. But in the end, you sell pansies in the Spring, just like your competitor. There is no way around that.

Do I have to post your news items?

Of course not, because at Garden Connect you are always in control of your own website. We offer the news items as part of our websites and you decide whether and how you want to use them. It is a convenient service that is being used by over 250 of our 300 customers.

You can also post news items yourself, as you can see in this video:

So, you decide what is placed on your garden centre website, but the news items that we offer help you save time.

Where do you get these news items from?

Our team of content marketers is busy every day with online content creation and trends for home, garden & pets. We often go to events in the Netherlands and abroad, are a member of EFSA and regularly visit suppliers. 

And since we’re a Dutch company working for customers in the UK, Ireland and Canada we also use experienced writers from those countries to help us to create content. The Netherlands is pretty small but the UK and Canada are a lot bigger so we match our content to different parts of the country. By doing that, we assure the news items are provided at the moment it helps you & your customers most.

We also work together with associations like the HTA, GCA and Nurseryland and ensure that information and campaigns they initiate are translated into relevant content. 

This way, we help your customers stay up to date on the latest garden trends, help them find inspiration for their home, information on how to take care of their plants and which activities take place in & around the garden.

Would you like to know more about the news items we produce? Please feel free to contact us at +31 20 700 8250 or email info@gardenconnect.com.