Part of the
You Can Learn Web Success Techniques series.
By Ken Brown
Editor, YouCanLearnSeries.com
Updated: December 4, 2004
Fresh Content - Number 1 Key to Internet Success
Are you looking for the Holy Grail of Internet success? Would you like to know
what drives the web and causes some companies to fail and others to grow
exponentially each year? Why does one site get visited once and nobody ever
comes back and yet others continue to be visited over and over by the same
people? This article will answer that question.
What sites do you visit on a regular basis? We all have been told about a
really fantastic site, a must see, we go there once, maybe twice and never
return. Why don't we go back? Easy answer, nothing has changed. The second time
we went there it had the same material that was there the first time.
The internet is the place we go to get information. This is why this is called
the information age. Back in the 1800's it could take a year before information
was disseminated across the country. Today, information is exchanged in a
fraction of that time. As a web business person you are responsible to provide
accurate and timely information on a recurring basis.
Do you ever go to a website like Dilbert? Scott Adams has created a fortune
with his comic strip character and has made it available on the internet. You
can go there everyday and see Scott Adam's latest creation. Everyday it changes
and everyday you get the opportunity to laugh again at the antics of the
"pointy haired boss" and his team of characters. Now, would you keep going back
if Scott Adams stopped writing his comic strip? Probably not. Because it is the
newness of the information that you seek.
Granted he could repackage it in different ways so you would keep going back.
But did you notice, he wouldn't be keeping it the same. It would appear to be
fresh new content. That is the number one key to Internet success. Keep your
website growing and hopping with fresh new content.
Where Do You Get Fresh New Content?
Where do you get new content? That is a tough question that is not always easy
to answer. I am in the computer industry where there is something new happening
constantly. Just when I think I have a clue about what is going on in the
industry, somebody creates a new product or Microsoft changes their operating
system and I am back to square one, relearning everything.
Not every industry is like that, but most industries have something new
happening that is worth telling their customers about. My daughter and her
husband run a recording studio, Apocalypse Cow,
in the Chicagoland area. They are constantly finding new things to put on their
website. Where do they get the content?
There is always something new and fun happening at the recording studio. Who is
in recording this month? Have they purchased new equipment to improve the
studio? What kind of music is being played? How are the bands that they record
doing on the music charts? Who is new in the studio? What are the bands that
have recorded previously with Apocalypse Cow doing? Are they recording new
music or reworking old favorites?
How can you relate that to your industry and market? Have you hired someone new
to help your customers? Tell us about it. Have you purchased new equipment or
new software that will enhance your ability to service your clients and users?
Tell us about it. Have you done something to make industry news, tell us about
it. Some people have pets or children doing interesting things. Tell us what is
interesting and keep telling us every month.
Keep Your Clients out of Jail
Is there a new product on the market that will save your customer's money,
increase productivity, or decrease costs? Has there been a switch in the
industry to something new that is important your clients be made aware of? This
is so important in the accounting industry, where congress changes the laws
every year. You better make sure your clients know about a change in the tax
law before they go to jail.
Every industry has things changing regularly. Your industry is no different. I
love gardening and every season something new is happening. You need to be
planting, weeding, enjoying or harvesting throughout the year. Tell me what I
should be doing today. Content is King.
You can put up little calculators and useful software tools that your customers
can use to get information they need to make a buying decision. For example,
when the mortgage rates were falling in early 2004, I would go to a website
that showed today's current rate. That site also had calculators that allowed
me to determine the cost of the loan, cost per month and what would occur if I
paid extra each month on top of my standard principal and interest amount.
Is there something you can add to your website that would improve your
customer's experience? And provide a reason to bring your customers back
tomorrow and the next day.
If you are adding important new information to your website, it is relevant, it
adds value to your industry and it is accurate other good things will happen.
If I visit a site that has important information, I might link to it so my
customers will enjoy that information also. Eventually, your content will be
picked up by the search engines and people will type in their keywords and will
be directed to your site for the information. New content and relevant content
drives traffic to your site. If a lot of people link to you then you are
considered an expert or leader in the industry and your value in the search
engines go up.
If you are considered an expert, then people want to buy from you, use your
services and pretty much help your business to grow. New, fresh content can
make exciting things happen for you and your company.
The Three Most Important Facets of Internet Marketing
So the three most important facets of internet marketing are, provide fresh new
content, provide fresh new content and provide fresh new content. Where do you
get the fresh new content? Look around you. It is in the people you hire, the
customers you service, the products you sell and the knowledge you have spent
the last few years generating in your industry.
If you are still having trouble writing up the fresh new content, then maybe I
can help you for a small fee. Send me an email at webmaster [at]
youcanlearnseries.com describing your content needs and maybe I can write for
you each month.
Lesson 2:
Keys To Web Page Design
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