Back in the late nineties, the phrase ‘Content is King’ was repeated and repeated and repeated by site owners and marketers alike. The belief was that the more content you had, the greater the number of visitors you would attract. Of course, the content had to be well written, relevant and easy to find. Many sites built very successful businesses as a result.

And then something happened.

Big money from venture capitalists burst onto the scene. Suddenly nobody was talking about content. (Where’s the big investment return on ‘content’?) Instead the attention went to businesses that came up with some kind of unique ‘technology solution’.

Then the dotcom bubble burst.

And here we are.

Is content still important? I think so. People don’t talk about it as earnestly as they once did, but I think that original thinking was very sound.

Here are three reasons why you should be creating more content on your site:

1. Content increases conversion rates by keeping prospects on your site.

When people arrive at your site, they want to see something fresh when they drop by. If you page is static and never changes, they will stop showing up. To day’s web sites are about people. What they are interested in and what they can learn and do. Adding content to your site keep the visitors interested.

If you don’t give them the information they need, they’ll find someone else who does.

The point is, if they can’t find something worhtwhile on your site, why would they even want to come back again?

And that’s very bad news for you.

2. Content allows what makes you you shine through

What makes your noodle site from every other noodle site? Most businesses have a number of direct competitors and all too often there is very little to truly make your products or services stand out. You may think you have something unique but at the end of the day, a noodle is a noodle.

So how do you differentiate your site? You do it with content. You make your site an absolute magnet for anyone who is serious about cooking pasta. You provide the best recipes, you deliver the best advice, you seek out the most interesting and useful facts about noodles.

When you do that, your products may not be that different from anyone else’s, but your site is. It has become different because it becomes known for being the number one resource for cooking great pasta. And when people come for the content, they see everything else on your site!

3. Content is great for search engines and inbound links

Here’s something we already know. The search engines love content, especially when it is substantial, updated and relevant.

So do your homework and make sure your content pages have SEO-friendly titles, headlines and body text.

In addition to being attractive to search engines, great content also attracts inbound links. The better the information, the more the number of sites that will want to link to you.

In conclusion…

Creating great content for your site, and newsletters, is still a very smart thing to do. It’s good for your customers, good for your conversion rates, perfect for search engines and does a great job of separating your site from the herd.

Filed under: Copywriting

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