If you believe the rhetoric from Google reps, you probably believe that content is really important for online success. Many online marketing courses skip right over the subject. Yes, you need content, but why? Well, let’s take a closer look at content and why we need it.

Content For Your Website

First and foremost, you need content for your website. This content is very important because visitors to your website will judge you based on the quality of the content. If you throw up something with no thought whatsoever, it can turn potential clients away.

It doesn’t matter if you have an e-commerce site or a consulting business, the content on your site is an opportunity to stand out and capture attention from your visitors. If you think an “About” page doesn’t matter, you’re wrong. People love to find out who’s behind the website. Creating a unique “About” page is an opportunity to showcase your unique brand.

Content For Products

If you run an e-commerce site, do you use the same boring descriptions everyone else does? If you do, you’re missing another opportunity. Be creative. Be original. Be funny. Be something other than just like everyone else.

Do you create information products? Do you create sales pages for affiliate products? If you do, I hope you know that creating crappy, run-of-the-mill products is not a long-term strategy. You need to create mind-blowing content that will keep your customers coming back time and time again.

Content For Email Marketing

If you don’t have an email marketing program, you’re missing out on yet another opportunity. Email marketing is consistently regarded as one of the most profitable methods for businesses.

If you spend the time to create value through your email marketing campaign, you will consistently get repeat business. If you run a half-ass, spammy email campaign, you could possibly destroy your reputation.

Content For Search Engine Optimization

Not everyone performs SEO, but if you have an online business, it can definitely help you. If you’re gonna do SEO the right way, you need content. Content is important for article marketing so you can obtain backlinks. The more backlinks you can get, the more free traffic you’ll end up getting from search engines.

Content For Guest Posting

A common method for gaining visitors to your website, building your authority, SEO, and attracting more customers is guest posting. Guest posting is writing an article and posting it on another website, so you can provide value for their readers and potentially direct some of those readers to your website.

You don’t have to guest post online, you can write articles for magazines, professional journals or newspapers. Of course, you want to maximize exposure for your brand, but regardless of where you post the content, you need to create amazing, unique content that showcases your talent.

Additional Content

In addition to the areas above, you probably need even more content, depending on the depth of your marketing model. If you use social media, you need content. Yes, social media is more about connecting and being a part of the conversation, but you need to bring something unique to the conversation. If you have nothing to talk about, social media is probably not for you.

If you want to be a part of the 21st Century, you might want to create videos as part of your marketing campaigns. That means, more content, more ideas, more opportunities for connecting with your market.

There are different types of businesses and different needs for content. Whatever your business model is, it’s pretty clear that you’ll need some sort of content. Slick sales pages might give you short-term success but a high-quality, consistent message is essential for building a long-term successful business.

What Is Good Content?

This is a question that really deserves an answer more than a few paragraphs. Hell, people have written books on the subject and even that doesn’t do it justice.

In a lot of ways, good content is subjective. It’s hard to pinpoint what makes content good because there are a lot of different scenarios, circumstances, topics, etc. But, there are a few principles that always seem to dominate when it comes to good content.

Solve problems. If you know your market well, you know what problems they face. Good content solves those problems. If they want to know how to get visitors to their website, show them how to get more visitors. Teach them a new technique. Help them solve their problem.

Add value. Does your content provide value for the reader? Are you giving them information that they don’t already know? Is your content unique or is it regurgitated info that everyone else has written about? Be original and provide value.

Be entertaining. Writing is different on the internet compared to a professional journal. Attention spans are short and you need to get to the point AND be entertaining. Humor helps. Interesting stories help. A unique writing style helps. Find some of your favorite articles and take a look at why you like them so much. Then, implement those techniques into your writing style.

Be original. Sometimes, we get so caught up in what everyone else is doing, we forget to think about new and innovative ways of doing things. If you want to stand out, be unique. Develop your own methods and show people why they’re better. Become known as an innovator and this will provide a HUGE boost for your business.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to content. It’s very clear that content really is king, even if the search engine results don’t always reflect that. In the long run, your business will benefit from high-quality content, a consistent brand message, and a solid reputation.