3 Reasons why Content is Still King

Home
>
Copywriting
>
3 Reasons why Content is Still King

3 Reasons why Content is Still King

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 prospective customers arrive at your site, they like to 'dig deep'. They look for all the information they can find before they feel confident enough to commit to that purchase. Whether you are selling banking, subscriptions, noodles or digitals cameras, people want to know what they are buying.

If you don't give them all the information they need, they'll find someone else who does. Perhaps they'll try epinions.com, consumerguide.com or mouthshut.com. Or maybe they'll just do a search on Google.

The point is, if they can't find the information they want on your site, they'll try somewhere else. And as soon as they leave your site, the chances of their returning is fairly slim.

And that's very bad news for your conversion rates.

2. Content differentiates you from your competitors

What differentiates 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 differentiate your products or services from theirs. You may have some marginal distinctions, new offers or price deals. 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.

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 your competition.

Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author, speaker and advocat of good writing. You can access all his archived newsletter articles on copywriting and writing for the web at his Excess Voice site. You'll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his Freelance Writing Success site.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Atty. Gen. Mukasey collapses during speech (AP)

AP - Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the no-nonsense ally in President Bush's war on terror, was hospitalized Thursday after he collapsed during a late-night speech and lost consciousness.

Aides: Obama plans to nominate Clinton (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving, a new milestone for a former first lady and a convergence of two political forces who contested mightily for the presidency.

Most Asian markets rebound after Wall Street rout (AP)

AP - Most Asian markets rebounded Friday after days of sharp declines in stocks around the world as investors scooped up battered financial and technology shares.

Dems delay auto bailout vote, seek plan from Big 3 (AP)

AP - The $25 billion rescue plan for the auto industry, desperately sought by Detroit's beleaguered Big Three, collapsed Thursday as Congress drew the line at one more bailout and Democrats said they wouldn't even consider it until the companies produced a convincing plan for rebuilding their once-mighty industry.

China says 19,000 students died in May earthquake (AP)

AP - China acknowledged Friday for the first time that more than 19,000 schoolchildren were among the dead in the massive earthquake that struck Sichuan province in May.

Judge orders release of five terror suspects at Guantanamo (AP)

AP - A federal judge on Thursday ordered the release of five Algerians held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the continued detention of a sixth in a major blow to the Bush administration's strategy to keep terror suspects locked up without charges.

Report: Records search on Joe the Plumber improper (AP)

AP - An agency director improperly used state computers to find personal information on "Joe the Plumber," a government watchdog said in a report released Thursday.

Dr Pepper to deliver on its free-soda promise (AP)

AP - Dr Pepper is making good on its promise of free soda now that the release of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" is a reality.

Cell phone in man's chest pocket stops bullet (AP)

AP - A man says his cell phone saved his life. A stray .45-caliber bullet hit R.J. Richard's chest while he was mowing the lawn Â— hitting so hard he thought it was a stone kicked out by his tractor. He pulled out the phone. It fell apart.

Steelers defense controls Bengals in 27-10 win (AP)

AP - Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers know exactly how to beat the Cincinnati Bengals Â— with or without Chad Ocho Cinco.

Recovery from crisis seen slow (Reuters)

Reuters - Signs of distress in the global economy mounted, with shares in U.S. bank Citigroup Inc plunging on fears about its future, oil prices falling and the future of U.S. automakers hanging in the balance.

Obama on track to name Clinton as top diplomat (Reuters)

Reuters - Retired Marine Gen. James Jones emerged as a leading contender for White House national security adviser as President-elect Barack Obama worked on Thursday to assemble his foreign policy team.

Democrats demand Big 3 offer survival plan (Reuters)

Reuters - Democratic congressional leaders, seeking to salvage a bailout of the Big Three automakers, demanded executives provide a business survival plan in exchange for their support of up to $25 billion in loans.

Baghdad locked down for U.S. troop pact protest (Reuters)

Reuters - Iraqi forces shut streets in Baghdad and placed snipers on rooftops on Friday before a protest by followers of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr against a pact allowing U.S. troops to remain for three more years.

Citigroup eyes options including merger (Reuters)

Reuters - Citigroup Inc lost more than one-quarter of its market value on growing worries over whether it has enough capital to withstand billions of dollars of potential losses and despite new support from its largest individual investor.

Verizon staff had unauthorized access to Obama's cell (Reuters)

Reuters - Verizon Wireless said on Thursday that some employees had gained unauthorized access and viewed a personal cell phone account held by President-elect Barack Obama that is now inactive.

Attorney General Mukasey vital signs strong after collapse (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey was "conscious, conversant and alert" at a local Washington hospital after collapsing while delivering a national security speech at a hotel, the U.S. Justice Department said late on Thursday.

Bush takes financial reform agenda to APEC forum (Reuters)

Reuters - George W. Bush makes his last scheduled trip abroad as U.S. president on Friday, heading to an Asia-Pacific summit where he will seek support for global financial reform and hold talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program.

UN raises DR Congo troop numbers to 20,000 (AFP)

AFP - The UN Security Council approved an extra 3,000 peacekeeping troops to help end conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where fresh fighting erupted earlier in the day.

Military 'only solution' to piracy, says tanker firm (AFP)

AFP - A more aggressive military approach is the only answer to an escalation of piracy off Somalia, the world's biggest oil tanker company said Friday.

3 Reasons why Content is Still King

Copywriting Copywriting