All Hail Content!
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Why do so many webmasters seem to forget the most important thing that every website needs? Or maybe they take it for granted. Well, customers need it in order to make an informed purchase, and search engines need it to know how to rank your website. Keep reading to learn what it is, and how to incorporate it into your website.
You have your website set up, with all the anchor tags and ads and headers and the various SEO tricks that you’ve learned will give you a high ranking in the SERPs. And you’re seeing a lot of people visiting your website, but you’re not getting the conversions you expect. What’s going on? Could something be missing?
Yes indeed, and that something might be so basic you’ll hit yourself on the head when you realize it. Bring up your website and look at it with the eyes of a visitor. When you or anyone goes online to search for something, the first thing they’re looking for is information. They’re not looking for ads, or links to other things, or pretty pictures, except as a means to an end. And that end is finding content.
Don’t think content is important? When was the last time you made a major purchase? Do you remember what you did? No doubt you spent a lot of time researching the item and comparing it with similar items, finding out everything you could about it until you were comfortable with your decision. Well, doing something online, particularly e-commerce, is just like that. In fact, you have more hurdles to overcome than a brick-and-mortar retailer.
Think about it. Your customer doesn’t have the actual product in front of them; at best, you’re giving them a picture of the product. And you’re asking them to trust you with their credit card information. If they’re at all Net-savvy, they’ve probably heard about the risks of identity theft. You want to make them as comfortable as possible, and the only way you can do that – since you can’t actually stand there and hold their hand – is by giving them as much information as possible.
There’s another reason to make sure your website provides a content-rich environment. You want to rank high in the SERPs. Well, everybody knows that search engines love content. If you have lots of content, then the search engines have plenty of material to index. That means they’ll get a true idea of what your site is all about, and be able to give you an honest organic ranking in the SERPs. That means your site will turn up high whenever someone is looking for exactly what you’re offering – and this relevance can lead to more conversions.
Next: What is Content, and How Much is Enough? >>
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