Tweet

Content – The first major SEO strategy

Guest post by: Sue Cooper

Article Overview: The best way to convey the importance of rich content on the web is by comparing it to a regular brick and mortar business (or real life business as some call it). When it comes to any “real-life” business, it always comes down to two things - quality and location.

Content – The first major SEO strategy

The best way to convey the importance of rich content on the web is by comparing it to a regular brick and mortar business (or real life business as some call it). When it comes to any "real-life" business, it always comes down to two things:

Quality: The quality of the product or service a company sells can have a great impact on the way people perceive it. And this is especially true in the long run, since most businesses will show a great amount of sales on the first days of business only because people want to try new things. However, customers will keep coming only if they know they will get a quality product or service.

But nonetheless, when it comes to physical businesses, there is one aspect that can be far more important for its sales.

Location: Contrary to what many people think, a business doesn't always need to provide the best quality in its products or services as long as there is not much competition nearby and most importantly, as long as it is located in the right place. This is because if a business is located in a very transited area, people are bound to run across it and may prefer to buy from such business regardless of the quality (as long as it is acceptable), than to go out if their way (and waste time) in order to get a better product.

This is why for so many companies, location is always their top priority and why the saying "Build it and they will come" has become so known among business people.

But going for success online demands a complete change of paradigm and a different approach altogether. Online, most entrepreneurs think that it is all about selling; when the truth is that it is all about content.

Let's take a deeper look into this.

The Internet is one of the most important things to happen to the world in modern history, but if you think about it, its usefulness lies not in that we can now buy things from anywhere in the world (this is important but not crucial), but in that we can find information about almost anything.

The Internet is all about knowledge

When people go online, they search for information, for solutions to their problems. Even when they are not searching for anything in particular people still prefer to look for information. For everyone, the Internet is a searching tool where they go for research and to find information of the highest value that can help them with very specific needs, be it a problem they want to solve, an idea they want to complement with more information and a variety of other things.

And here is where the opportunity presents itself for any business trying to be successful online. Such opportunity does not reside in location, and not even in advertising (not in the long run at least), but in providing potential customers with trustworthy and helpful information that pleases them and at the same time makes search engines happy.

Because the truth is that even if advertising on the web can be very effective, it will only be so as long as you keep paying for it. The moment you stop paying for ads, you will stop getting results. This is a dependence situation every company wants to avoid, especially if it is a small business. And this is precisely what can be achieved by providing valuable and keyword-rich content. With this kind of content not only will your readership will be satisfied, but search engines will rank your website higher and higher every time.

Why is content so important as compared to writing a sales pitch?

There are many reasons why providing content is far more effective than just going for a sales pitch, here are some of them:

No brand: Unless you are one the "big names" in your business sector, most likely you still have no brand recognition at all, which makes your chances of making a sale out of the blue near zero. First you need to establish some kind of connection with your prospects and only then (after you build trust and credibility) go for the sale.

No perceived experience: No matter how knowledgeable you are about your business, for any prospective buyer coming to your website, you are just a newbie, and a stranger. Therefore you need to build your credibility first and sell afterwards.

Of course there are many more, but for these reasons alone, you should not make sales your first priority. The priority of your online business not only when starting out, but at all times should be to have a website full of useful and helpful information that can help you be perceived by all your readers as an expert in your field. This in turn will build your credibility and your brand since people who arrive to your site and find something useful will start to trust you and to see your business not as a business, but as a useful companion.

Create a bond with your prospective customers

Remember that online, people buy from those they like, know and trust. A bond has to be established first before any attempt to sell anything. That is why for online business owners, the focus has to change from being an entrepreneur to become an "infopreneur" instead. Provide your visitors with the information they are seeking and making the sale will prove to be very easy afterwards.

Now, the best and fastest way to be recognised as an expert in your field is to be very specific in the topics you offer information about. The web offers a wide array of topics so trying to be everything for everyone will only lose you potential customers. Offer information on as many topics as your business is related to, but be very specific when offering that information. Don't spread yourself too thin or you will lose business instead of gaining it.

That said, once you start focusing on offering valuable, targeted content to your readers you will be in a position of tremendous advantage in order to make a sale. However, don't forget that your customers are not the only ones you need to keep happy, search engines are just as important. And since they are part of the equation, you need to keep your content not only full of valuable information, but also SEO compliant in order to achieve better positions on search engines.

In the long run, the valuable information you offer your readers and potential customers, paired with a smart keyword-rich page layout that compels search engines to prioritise your website will bring you a steady flow of sales, a great amount of followers and a growing business.

Related Articles
  Content Strategy: Your Online Site
  Content Strategy: The Key to Developing Effective Content
  7 Reasons Why Your Small Business Must Have A Content Management Strategy
  Are You Putting The "Content-Cart" Before The "Traffic-Driving Horse"?
  Search Engine Optimisation - The Top Ten Ranking Guide
  Crafting Your Email Marketing Campaign
  Preparing for 2008
  Proven Marketing Strategies For Content Distribution
  To Blog or Not to Blog… Blogging Made Easy (Part 2)
  ••••••>Get Me On Top Free SEO Tip of the Day: Refrain from Duplication of Content When Performing SEO Techniques
  Google Panda Update – How It Affects Search Engine Optimisation
  Four Auto Responder Marketing Ideas to Improve Your Online Business
  SEO Strategy
  Internet Marketing Strategy – Top Tips
  What the Heck is a Content Strategy Plan?
  U.S. TV Networks: This InterWeb Thing is Not a Fad
  ••••••>Creative Titles Creation for Great SEO
  How to manage Duplicate content issues for your website ?
  Five Steps to an Intuitive Website
  Top 5 Reasons Your Search Engine Rankings Dropped

Article Tags: copywriting, keyword research
Referred by: http://www.searchengineworkshops.com



Related Forum Posts
Re: Meta Tags - [quote="ChrisH":tzc1bohg]I'm just curious what you all think -- - How important do you think meta tags are? If the content is keyword optimized and they are being used correctly (as per Google's current instructions) how important are meta tags?? Chris[/quote:tzc1bohg] Metatags were very important 10 years ago. Now, search engines are smarter... There are 2 very important things on your page: 1/ Page title: make sure to place some keywords in your title (avoid title like "welcome to my website, great information resource". You are wasting prime keyword real estate. 2/ Content. Content. Content. Content. Content. Oh, did I mention content?? Your content as to mention your main keywords several times. 3/ <h> and <b> tags are very important too. They tell search engines you emphasize these keywords.
Re: Best looking social networking site? - Hi Kevin [quote:3h76yt08]With so many social networking sites to pick and choose from, what influences your decision to join a particilar site? Is it just your friends, the content, people using it or looks??[/quote:3h76yt08] For me, the most essential criteria in selecting a Social Networking Site is its Content followed closely by popularity- in terms of daily visitors. Then comes the Content followed by the Friends and looks. Most of do social networking to attract traffic to their website(s) and as such the Content and Popularity of the site are important. btw, the list doesn't have digg or netscape or del.is.us which are the top social media sites.
Re: The Best Method for Online Marketing - we must choose the most suitable one to use.. there are so many diffrent strategy here.. 1. Start with a web promotion plan and an effective web design and development strategy. 2. Get ranked at the top in major search engines, and practice good Search Optimization Techniques. 3. Learn to use Email Marketing Effectively. 4. Dominate your marketing niche with affiliate, reseller, and associate programs. 5. Request an analysis from an Internet marketing coach or Internet marketing consultant. 6. Build a responsive opt-in email list. 7. Publish articles or get listed in news stories. 8. Write and publish online press releases. 9. Facilitate and run contests and giveaways via your web site. 10. Blog and interact with your visitors.
Internet Users Hbk http://www.internetscamsanonymous.com - Current site for sale of our handbook as a Clickbank product Welcome any and all feedback: Sale page Content Handbook Content Pricing Too Big Considering braking it to 2 volumes: Avoiding Scams Online and Doing Business Online and maybe ad 3rd volume related internet technology Kind of like selling preventive medicine!! Thank you in advance for your interest and comments
Re: Do Women Play the Stock Market? - Hi Aneshia, [quote="AneshiaYS":1lz5khur]I implement a strategy for risk management[/quote:1lz5khur] I'm glad to read this. I think it's the most important part of investing. "Diversify" and have a clear "exit strategy" - ah yes, but "following it" is the hard part and if you have a strategy to induce your clients to follow the strategy, I should think it would be an excellent service.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to Find a Niche and Make Money Online

Designing Employee-Enhancing Training Programs

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.