Why Content Really Matters

Let’s start today’s lesson out with a very important fact- a new visitor to your website decides if they like you in an average of 2.3 seconds. For reference, that’s about the time it takes you to scratch your nose, read a text message or crack open a bottle of water.

Now granted, part of your visitor’s browsing decisions go back to the motorcycle example from the last chapter; having a good looking, modern website certainly plays a factor. But the reader’s eye is initially looking for three very specific things-

•  Relevant images to their search query
•  An easy navigation structure/layout
•  Smart text that captures their interest

If the first two things are present on your website, then you’ll likely dodge that despicable 3 second bounce rate that drives all of us mad.  But without good, clean content to draw the user in and give them faith in your domain, they will never make it past the homepage either way.

That’s why content really matters.

Then again, we’ve only scratched the surface.  Think about the last time you bought ANYTHING online.  What was it on the page that turned you into a buyer?  If you’re like 92.6% of people that carry smartphones in their pockets, it was one of three things that sold you-

•  The item’s description (or a sales/squeeze page)
•  A well-written email or online advertisement
•  The confirmation from other buyers’ reviews

And guess what? All of those things are different forms of content marketing. So do me a favor. Forget everything you’ve ever been taught about content for your website for a moment and focus on this one statement- words really do matter.

Now, you’ve probably noticed that iWriter has several different categories of writers for you to choose from, so you may be wondering why I’d offer beginner writers if amazing content is the only real goal.  We will get to that a little bit later but for now, I just wanted to add-

•  Your sales pages need PHENOMENAL content
•  Your homepage needs AMAZING content
•  Your description pages need GREAT content
•  Your blogs and FAQ need VERY GOOD content
•  Your directory articles need OKAY content

The reason this is so important is that you are essentially optimizing your website for two very different things- potential customers and the search engines. And let’s face it; you may not have a massive content marketing budget at your disposal, but that doesn’t mean you can’t consistently rank well and convert with a solid strategy. That means you should find some of our top rated writers for your core pages and then roll the dice with an inexperienced writer on blogs and other content. But remember, if even a standard writer delivers a poorly-written article to you, then you have the right to completely reject it or request some edits to be made.

That’s exactly why we have numerous skill-levels of talent on iWriter.  If you’re smart, you’ll utilize them all.

Since I already touched on the subject, let’s talk a little more about search optimization before we move on.

For years, I’ve relied on organic SEO to deliver the vast majority of my traffic to my various products and ventures.  I do use paid ads from time to time for certain items, but it is NEVER a substitute for optimizing your pages for what people are actively searching for.  Because no matter how many clicks you manage to acquire from outside sources, they’ll still end up going right back to the 2.3 second rule if there’s not quality content in place.

So know this- the site with the best core content almost always wins. It is true with big retailers like Wal-Mart and Amazon. It’s true for internet marketing products and squeeze pages. It’s even true for news sites and blogs because we all search for very specific things online.

For example, Google.com has featured the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button on their homepage for over 15 years now- but how often do you actually click on it for a random search?

I think I’ve maybe clicked it a dozen times in my life- mostly just out of curiosity. The point is that quality content not only impresses your readers and turns them into loyal customers, but it’s also the main way your website gets found organically in the first place. So the more you have written using keywords that people are actively searching for, the more you’ll be found on a daily basis.