If you don’t have a website, there’s no telling how many customers you’re missing out on. One of the first things that people do when considering a business is Google it, and if nothing shows up, they’re likely to move on to another company high in the search results.

If you do have a website, how can you compete with other businesses? What can you do to make sure that your target audience finds you online and decides to stay and keep coming back?

The answer? Web content. Web content serves three very important functions in growing your business.

1. Web content helps people find you online.

When someone types a term into Google, the algorithm searches the web and tries to identify the most relevant content for the search term. The more relevant you make your content, the more likely it is that your website will rank high in the Google search results.

Keywords, meta descriptions, and headings are all important, and they may have at one time been enough to get your website noticed online. But after you’re up and running, you have to keep working on your website content to ensure you stay relevant and rank higher.

The key to getting your website to rank is to deliver high-quality organic content. The better your content is, the higher your site will rank. To keep your status, you might keep your website updated and produce new content regularly.

Google and other search engines change their algorithms regularly, which means you have to continually monitor your site’s performance, keeping the content fresh and making changes when needed to ensure you stay relevant online.

2. Web content helps you connect with customers.

After someone finds you online, the best way to make them stick around and come back, again and again, is to engage them. Why should they choose your website and company over your competitors? Why should your brand matter to them?

Everyone who comes to your website has a goal. Maybe they’re comparing prices or looking for a new product or want a specific piece of information. Your content not only needs to help them meet their goals, but it also has to do it better than your competitors to convert visitors to customers.

Ideally, your visitors’ goals will align with the goals of the brand, but this isn’t always possible. That’s why it helps to focus on your target audience. What kind of people are you hoping to draw to your site? Who are you creating content for?

Talk about your business and your goals on the about us page, but focus the rest of the content on your customer. Give them the videos, photos, and blog posts they need to find value in your business. Try to not only meet their goals but exceed them.

Remember, people are searching online for things that pique their interests and help them meet their own objectives. If your website aligns with their goals, more people will come, and your webpage and brand will become even more popular.

3. Web content builds trust.

So, now you’ve got people to come to your website by narrowing down your target audience and delivering them content that adds value to their lives. But your goal should be more than just attracting as many people to your site as you can. You should strive to make existing customers come back and recommend you to their friends. Building brand loyalty is huge for online sales, and the best way to do it is to build trust.

How can you build trust between your customers and your business? You guessed it – web content. It’s much, much harder to attract new customers than it is to retain one, so work to get a sense of who your customers are and nurture the relationship in a way they will respond to.

Use blog posts to address issues that are central to the brand, complete with how-to videos and suggestions for how to use your product or service. Doing so makes your website more of a resource instead of a store and keeps people coming back again and again.

If people come to your website and are impressed by what they see, they’ll use it as a source for trusted, honest information. Be consistent across your website and all web platforms to build credibility and engage with customers. If they feel they can trust you, they’ll become loyal customers who are more likely to recommend you to their friends and family.

Final Words

As you can see, web content is essential to building your brand’s online presence and an important part of growing your business and taking it to the next level. But you can’t just put together a hastily written blog post and hope that people are going to like it enough to come back for more. A proper web content strategy requires a lot of planning, time, and attention. It’s an ongoing process, and if navigated properly, it can get your business to the top of the search results.

The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of Thomas Fleishel and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that these statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct.