Using Content to Drive Traffic to Your Site
In the world of online commerce, a website is a business’s virtual storefront. Most people understand how important a web presence is to a business’s online strategy, but even more important is that a website can’t just exist, it needs to perform. It needs to attract visitors, educate them and turn them into customers.
One of the quickest ways for your website to become obsolete, is to “build it and forget it.” Your website should evolve just as your company does, and one of the most effective tools to keep it current is generating original, quality content.
Repeat After Us: Content is King
In the age of online information, the websites that get the most traffic are those where the content is constantly changing, being added to and improved. Users want and expect to see or learn something new each time they visit your website and they view those websites that do so as more valuable. The kind of relationship that will be built among you and your visitors depends on the content – it will often be a deciding component in whether or not they want to do business with you.
Content is Your SEO Power Tool
Your website’s search engine rankings depend more heavily on content than anything else. For the benefit of their users, search engines try to find the best and most useful content on the Internet, and rank those sites the highest. Frequency is an important identifier for search engines – if your website is considered a consistent source of new information, it boosts your ranking in search results which helps drive more traffic to your website.
Content Deserts = No Traffic
Think about it, would you continue subscribing to or visiting a website that is always the same? No, because there is no longer anything of value. If search engines think your website is outdated, wouldn’t you think your website visitors feel the same? If a visitor comes to your page today and then again next month and nothing has changed, the assumption is that nothing is really happening with your business. If it appears that you are not growing or innovating, they may assume something is wrong with your product or service and discount you altogether. Even simple changes like posting news and announcements show progress and establish credibility.
Producing Quality Content
The goal with content marketing is to drive visitors to your website and keep them there. Ideally visitors should know within seconds what your site is about, what they can do there and why they should take action.The key word to remember with content is quality. A few tips to keep in mind:
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Offer unique content
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Write for humans, not search engines
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Know your audience
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Include evidence when needed
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Know your subject well
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Provide value and educational content that helps others
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Keep content fresh
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Think about content that is shareable and linkable
The sky is the limit on the types of content that you can create. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel or spend exorbitant amounts of time and money. Here are just a few proven ideas to consider:
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eBooks – These are a great way to offer value, establish credibility and share your expertise with visitors. Offer downloadable eBooks on an industry or relevant topic.
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Lists – Human beings inherently love things in list form. Start a blog post, video or eBook with “8 tips for..”
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Infographics – People also love infographics because they are an aesthetically pleasing and easy method of digesting facts, history and data about a certain topic. Encourage people to share on social media.
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White Papers and Reports – Important documents and reports are shared by most of the information related sites.
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How-To’s and Tutorials – Educate visitors and showcase your knowledge at the same time. Create a video or a step-by-step tutorial on how to complete a task.
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