Top view of two business people working on a strategy.GETTY

There are few businesses these days that don’t have a website. Consumers expect them to. Prospective customers will just keep moving if they don’t find a website link in an internet search.

There are more than 1.8 billion websites online, although that number changes by the second. Fewer than 200 million are active, which is still a hefty number to compete with. If your business has one of them, how will people find you? Moreover, what will make them stay?

Website content triggers search engine rankings, which in turn increase traffic to your website. Getting visitors through your company’s online front door is just the first step, though. Content is the critical factor in achieving success on multiple fronts. Here are three ways website content done right can do right for your business.

Website Content Gets You Found

When someone types a query into a search engine, the engine’s algorithms reach out and find relevant content. The more relevant the content, and the more of it the engine finds, the higher a website will appear in search results. Simple, right?

When you launched your company’s website, you might have spent considerable time incorporating keywords, title tags and meta descriptions in an effort to get search engines to discover your shiny new online presence. The challenge lies in continuing that work long after the initial launch.

The more organic your content is to a query, the higher your website will rank. Perhaps you did everything right when you launched, but if you don’t keep your website content up-to-date, you will fall out of favor with search engines quickly.

In their quest to produce the most pertinent results for queriers, search engines constantly change their algorithms. In 2020, Google ran more than 600,000 algorithm experiments, which resulted in more than 4,500 changes to its search feature.

Website content produced for SEO isn’t just a one-and-done proposition. There are too many moving parts, from how people are querying a topic to the algorithms search engines are running at any given time. Your website content must be always fresh, responsive to current events and queries, and in step with the algorithms of the day.

Website Content Makes You Relevant to Customers

Once a visitor finds your website online, the next step is to get them through that online front door. You can do that by engaging potential customers with website content that makes your brand matter to them.

Your website visitors will have goals when they arrive. They may be exploring products or services to solve their problems. Or maybe they’ve been saving to buy something they don’t need but have been wanting for a long time. Your content needs to address whatever goals they have if you want to convert a prospect to a customer.

Notice that I said your brand needs to address the customer’s goals—not the goals of your business plan. Of course, it’s impossible to align your brand with everyone’s goals every time, so focus on the target audience to whom your content will be germane.

Leave the story of your brand on the “about us” page. The balance of your content—web pages, blog posts, videos, photos—should tell the story of people like them who arrived with goals and left with having them met or exceeded.

Most of the time, customers are not querying your brand. They’re querying their own objectives. If your website content is relevant to those goals, your brand will rank high in search results. And that will bring customers through the door.  

Website Content Generates Sales

Attracting prospective customers to your website is a must to get a bigger slice of the market pie. However, neglecting to use website content to make existing customers loyal to your brand is a missed opportunity.

Studies have shown that acquiring a new customer costs five times more than retaining an existing one. It just makes sense to use website content to nurture current customers by remaining relevant to them long after they make that first purchase.

Website content can establish your brand’s credibility with customers who prefer to do business with someone they trust. You can instill trust using blog posts that confront customer concerns with solutions and how-to videos that make your website a resource, not just a checkout lane.

Content reinforces messaging customers are hearing from your company’s sales teams, social media and paid advertising. Consistent messaging builds credibility and trust, and those will keep existing customers coming back for more.

That same website content will form the foundation for brand credibility with prospective customers as well. Their initial purpose may be based on achieving a single goal. If they’re delighted with your brand, they’ll return to your website content to see what other problems your offerings can solve for them.

A carefully planned and well-executed website content strategy doesn’t just happen. It requires constant attention and nimble pivoting as queries and search algorithms change. Do it well, and you’ll watch your business rise to the top.

Source: www.forbes.com