|
|
|
25 Ways To Add Quality Content To Your Website - Part
2
By Robin Nobles
© 2006
In the first article, I said that "Quality
matters when it comes to content, and it matters when it comes to
links."
And I listed 12 different ways to add quality content to your website.
If you missed part one, you can find it here.
Let's continue with more ideas for ways to build
quality content for your Web site.
- Content
that solves a problem. Why do people visit the Web? To look for information or to comparison
shop. If
you can solve problems for your visitors, you're giving them just what they're
looking for online. For example, let's say that you sell Oriental rugs.
Your potential customer might be looking for decorating ideas for her office.
Her
office is very small, and she's trying to think of a way to add color. Most
of the wall space is taken up with windows and metal bookcases. You've created
a series of content that shows pictures of problems/solutions that your oriental
rugs have solved, including one with an Oriental runner. Not only does the
content have pictures, it also has text describing each problem and the
corresponding solution. Your potential customer found your page in the search
engine results.
- Historical
data. Let's say
that you sell steel pipes. What's the history of steel pipes?
Creating a page outlining its history is quite appropriate. In
fact, taking
it a step further, creating pages
that
compare steel to copper and other types of piping; what causes rust;
how strong is steel; how valuable steel piping really is (how steel
piping
is used in
almost every building, etc.); how long will steel last; and on and
on and on will create a whole section of extremely valuable content
to a Web
site. Here's
the catch. Is this valuable to the target audience of the steel pipe
company? Think of one target audience: vocational education classes
all over the
US. This
would be a great resource for them. If they linked to this site, all
of them being .edu's, wouldn't this be a great link popularity
builder for the site? Think about that for a minute. We're talking
about quality content and quality link building. Another example
of historical data
would be a hotel
on St. Simons
Island. The hotel could certainly provide historical data about the
island on
its Web site as well as tour information, etc. How could a site that
sells mustang parts use this strategy? A site that sells wedding
dresses?
- Interviews the easiest
way of building content yet! Interview an expert in your industry.
Send the expert a list of questions
and let the
expert answer in
his/her own words. Don't change any of the expert's answers, except to
correct misspellings or grammatical errors. Always be upfront with the
expert, and
always maintain the integrity of the article and yourself. Write a series
of interview articles, and highlight them on the main page of your site.
- Seasonal
articles. Is your industry "seasonal" in any respect? If
so, seasonal articles are always extremely popular.
- Statistics.
Offering stats on
your site is also another way of adding content to a Web site.
If the stats aren't your own, always indicate where you're getting
them. Quote the source! How could financial or mortgage sites use
this strategy?
- An
advice column. This can be used for a dating site, or
it can be used for other sites as well. How could an SEO site
use this strategy? How
could a
decorating site? What
about a plastic surgery site?
- Winners
of the month. Let's
say you have a site where you sell cut flowers. Get your Web audience
to send in pictures of bouquets and arrangements they've made
with your flowers. Post the pictures online. Pick a winner of the
month,
and have
that winner's
picture posted on the main page of your site. Give the
winner a $25 gift
certificate.
- Using
the flower example,
create video tutorials for creating flower arrangements.
Make sure you sell all of the
materials they'll
need to create the flower arrangements they can make
if they follow the video tutorials.
- Again
with the flower example,
have customers send in an outline of
how they created their flower arrangement,
the
materials they used, as well as the picture. Provide
this information on
your
Web site.
Link to all
of those materials in your online store. Be creative.
Can you do something similar with your own Web site
in your
own industry?
What
if you had
a costume site? An art site? Give it a few twists and
use it on a hunting or fishing
site.
- Send
out a monthly newsletter offering your own
tips, tips from customers, sale items, holiday ideas, the winner
of the
month, etc.
Encourage
readers to post their ideas to the blog. Post past
newsletters
on your site for
more content.
- A
biography about someone's
life, if it relates to your industry. You can see how
this would work well if you
have a Civil War site or a used book store.
- News
events pertaining to
your particular industry.
- Community-related
page, if
this is a local Web site. For example, you could discuss local restaurants,
little
league
baseball,
school openings, etc., on community-related pages
or a blog.
We've only just
begun with ideas. It all depends on the industry
you're in and the
products or services you sell. Put your creativity
hat on and brainstorm.
In
Conclusion . . .
Remember to think "quality" when it comes to creating
content. These ideas should help get you started.
And think about this
point as well. If you start creating quality
content, what is certain to follow? Quality links.
Sites
will begin linking
to
your content,
because you're doing
what you should be doing: giving your customers what they want to see when they
visit your Web site. They want to see new and exciting "quality" information
that's updated on a constant basis. You become the trusted source
of that information.
Don't try to take the easy way out. Success isn't dished out
in soup lines. Success comes with hard work.
About the
Author:
|
|
|
