As shifts and changes in the way we search the Internet have developed over the years, the importance of quality content, for a website’s standing both in the eyes of users and the increasingly organic search engines, has grown.

Content really is king when it comes to engaging the user. A company’s customers won’t return to a site if its content is boring or pitted with grammatical hiccups and spelling errors. Well-written content will not only encourage a site’s visitors to make a purchase; customers are far more likely to return if they have engaged with what they read.

Content – providing the best means for a company to develop its online presence

Quality website content lets customers know that a site is to be trusted. It provides transparency – conveying a business’ attitudes, its aims and hopes. Just like the aesthetic makeup of a site’s visual design, content gives an otherwise faceless company a measure of personality and a means to engage.

There’s a reason why content has taken over brand management as one of the top considerations when it comes to the components of a business’ marketing strategy; producing great content means working towards pushing a company brand – one that will stay with customers and spread naturally through an ever-increasing client base.

How does content engage customers?

While there are a number of other SEO strategies that will aid a website in climbing the ranks of the search engine results, if a website’s content is not up to scratch then the company’s reputation and brand interpretation could be at stake. In regards to content, there are a variety of ways in which a company can speak to its customers.

Web copy

Making up the bulk of a website’s text, web copy is designed to convey information on the products and services a business has to offer, as well as points such as company history, core values and what separates the firm from its competitors – what makes it unique and worth the investment of a customer’s time and money.

Of course, the best web copy is concise, in light of the fact that studies have shown how users’ attention spans can be relatively short when browsing the web. Internet users will quickly click away from a site and explore other options if what they’re looking for is not easily accessible. This means the writing style is often simple and engaging, and blocks of text are broken up into sub headings that make the text much less daunting and more digestible.

More importantly from an SEO perspective, web copy is written in such a way that makes use of all the relevant keywords to draw in an audience from the search engines while remaining informative. As always, quality is key; pulling an audience towards a site is great, but if users don’t equate to sales, it’s wasted traffic.

Blog and news writing

The benefits of a company website that also acts as a regular source of news for its industry are numerous. In the long run, having a regularly updated news blog greatly improves a site’s standing in the results of search engines by letting them know that the site is relevant to its field and is kept up-to-date.

Quality news stories are well-researched and written with the company’s industry in mind, working to draw traffic towards a site by discussing current industry affairs.

While a news blog will establish a company as a major force within its field, one of the chief benefits is audience engagement. Moderated comment fields can encourage customer interaction and garner insightful discussions, and knowing that the site is regularly updated with news will mean users have an added reason to return regularly.

Social networking, another key component of modern business strategies, can complement a news blog by linking to each story as it’s published, potentially increasing traffic.

Article writing

Articles form another major component in content-driven SEO packages, and for good reason. The distribution of articles across the net proves to the wider industry that a company knows what it’s talking about, and is in a position to advise others on a variety of topics. Articles also work to bolster a website’s links profile by setting up backlinks with quality online sources – invaluable as part of a smart SEO plan.

As with web copy, articles should take a broad view on the topic while remaining accessible, friendly and informative.

It goes without saying that remaining on top of customer needs is essential to business – evidenced perhaps most poignantly today by the fact that all of the rising commercial stars of the 21st Century primarily connect with users online. Companies like digital film site Netflix and big retailers such as Amazon continue to grow – while top names on the high street drop away.

Here at Pressroom, we provide quality content to help our clients connect and engage with their customers, allowing companies in any industry rise above the competition.

Richard Bell

Richard has a First in English Literature and Creative Writing, and has experience writing fiction and short stories (which he has published both online and in magazines).