If You Want Your Online Business to Succeed

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Top 5 Reasons the "C Word" Should Be Your Priority

If You Want Your Online Business to Succeed

26 Comments

By Luciano (WPN reader) - Fri, 04/24/2009 - 16:38

Congratulations

Thanks for the info. Nice to know how things work...

By Rita (WPN reader) - Sat, 02/07/2009 - 18:44

content is king

I've been adding new content every week for several years. Google seems to appreciate it but I still wish for more visitors to my site which is geared to Baby-Boomer Women.

By Play Online Games (WPN reader) - Tue, 01/13/2009 - 07:15

This is simply great.I

This is simply great.I always love new tips... :)

By Rose Ann (WPN reader) - Tue, 01/13/2009 - 06:06

Nursing board exams

Thanks for your post. I've learned a lot, now I'll do better about the content of my post.. God Bless!!

By David Anttony (WPN reader) - Mon, 01/12/2009 - 00:10

Great content and tips

This is just great - I am always looking at new tips -- I enjoyed reading and also enjoyed the reminder about Social Bookmarks -- not used them a lot on our site so will now review how we use them.

Thanks heaps for this

By Deborah Powell (WPN reader) - Sun, 01/11/2009 - 15:52

Content, Navigation & Purpose - all important factors!

I agree that content is King, in cases where the website requires the "content"...but what if, like my site, (which is a community directory) relies on content being added by others?

In this type of scenario it is more the navigation element, which we have worked very hard to make "user friendly". Also, another factor is creating the right type of information accessible to others visiting the site.

I had a vision to create an all inclusive directory to bring together communities online - wherever in the world people live and play. http://www.OutThere4U.com is a recreational & event directory where people can list and view a vast amount of activities in their community (or others around the world) for FREE.

We had to overcome hurdles to develop something that would appeal to everyone. In doing this, there is also a need to set out parameters and guidelines, and thankfully everyone using the site has followed them, because they appreciate having a FREE platform to "get the word out".

It is about "content".. but this is just one of the many, many elements that need to be taken into consideration. First you have to look at what you are offering - what you want from it, and how it will appeal to your potential customers.

Bringing all these together create the overall end result.

By Ejvind (WPN reader) - Sat, 01/10/2009 - 11:41

Content king or air?

Time and again, I hear that content is king, and that people will find you if your site is important for them, or interesting enough. Well, with the amount of "clutter" in the form of millions of similar sites, it is becoming more a question of who can "shout" the loudest, or spend more money to spread the message that THEY have in fact the best information for you.

As with all marketing, it isn't always the best product that wins, but always the one that has the biggest success in marketing.

Of course I also use marketing, and it helps me to stay ahead of my competitiors - but simply increasing the money spent on ads each time someone enters the market is a problem.

Eventually one of us will cave in and stop doing business. You may say that it is survival of the fittest - but I believe it to be the biggest problem of capitalism. We always have to be better, bigger, faster, smarter than the competition - or we die.

So I believe that content is important, but how you sell it, and who knows about it is even more important.

By Rollins (WPN reader) - Fri, 01/09/2009 - 10:09

Brilliant !!

Great job Chris. Hit the nail right on the head (as usual).

The concept of relevance as far as content is concerned is relative. What is relevant to one person may not necessarily be relevant to another. In the same vein, what "appears" relevant to a search robot may not necessarily be relevant to a human visitor (where a particular website is concerned)

If you plan to acheive 3 and 4 above, it makes sense that you concentrate on providing quality useful material which not only appeals to your niche, but is also interesting and informative. In the end, it's what keeps your readers coming back for more.

Then again, I guess that isn't "Ground Breaking" advice, but it's definitely what brings me back to this site.

Once again, good job Chris. I'm an avid reader of your articles and find them really educational. I have made references to them on countless occasions- I think that further buttresses the point in 2 above.

By Chris Crum - Fri, 01/09/2009 - 10:47

RE: Brilliant!!

Thank you Rollins, I appreciate your references. You are right when you say, "What is relevant to one person may not necessarily be relevant to another."

By Jason McWebmaster (WPN reader) - Fri, 01/09/2009 - 02:39

So what if you have the content?

My site has been generating quality content related to video games for years now. Though we're growing, there are other sites that start up and within a few months have eclipsed our reach by hosting a bunch of content that readers generally would agree is no better than ours.

Clearly, they're doing something outside of just generating quality content, and it's working for them. My theory is that they're generating not only quality content, but the RIGHT quality content. There's a distinction there and I don't think that many of the "content is king" articles really do enough to address that.

From a financial perspective, generating quality content is a losing game unless you're one of the first sites (or one of the largest) to cover something. Given that content is key, how do you find out what content people are looking for?

By Chris Crum - Fri, 01/09/2009 - 09:05

RE: So what if you have the content?

See my responses to previous comments. I didn't mean to imply that quality content is the ONLY thing that matters. Obviously marketing and promotion are going to play factors in your success. Although truly good content will sometimes market itself.
Competition (especially in a huge niche like gaming) is certainly a big factor.

By Press Release Optimization (WPN reader) - Thu, 01/08/2009 - 23:33

Online Public Ralation By SEO PR

Yes, the content is main thing to promote site. But if you just start your online site or sharing information then how to generate traffice of people to your site.

You should use SEO Press Release to create BUZZ around people and you can also use PR for solving people problem and by this manner you can also generate awarenesss and online publicity.

By Laurie Manny (WPN reader) - Thu, 01/08/2009 - 22:42

Content, Content, Relevant Content

So many real estate bloggers ask me what they can do to get to the top of the engines. I keep telling them to write relevant content, and to write to the consumers in their market. I've explained what relevant content is, and that it varies from site to site, but they don't have the discipline to keep the site content relevant. It is more fun to play and build backlinks. I like the top of the engines and plan on having a long stay there. I keep my content relevant and flowing.

Good article, but I have to agree with the above comment, perhaps you should actually explain what relevant content is. Ummmm, maybe not, lets keep it a secret................

By Chris Crum - Fri, 01/09/2009 - 09:01

RE: Content, Content, Relevant Content

As I just responded to that comment, I think it is really just useful material that readers/viewers can take something away from. If the audience gets something out of it, it is quality to at least some extent. Sure there are plenty of variables that go into this...niche, accuracy, timeliness, etc. It's hard to pinpoint one definition, because it will not always be the same. I think the audience itself has a lot to do with it. Are you producing content that is relevant to your target audience?

By Peter IMC (WPN reader) - Thu, 01/08/2009 - 20:34

Good Content,... Most of You Have NO CLUE what that is

Another one of those #%$@!¨&* Content is King articles.

It's so funny that the articles that just talk about the concept never tell HOW to build great content or WHAT great content actually IS.

It never gets any further than: It attracts links.

And these articles often get the comments that agree and basically say nothing.

People, if you knew what great content is, then you wouldn't be writing these articles or be commenting on them.

And if you now think: "Well that means you don't know either" then you´re right.

By Chris Crum - Fri, 01/09/2009 - 08:57

RE: Good Content....

I knew how cliche "content is king" has become when I started the article, but it's still obvious when you surf the Internet that many people are not offering "quality" content.

To define quality content, I think it means content that it is useful to its audience. It provides something the reader/viewer can take with them. Obviously depending on your niche, just what this includes will differ.

By JT (WPN reader) - Thu, 01/08/2009 - 18:45

Quality Content

Thanks for putting that out there. My company, SpectreWriter, provides original content for websites. The SEO team I work with is constantly coaching clients to provide content, and I'm constantly encouraging them towards quality within that content.

The days are long gone when one could just put a bunch of computer-generated garble up and call it Content. But beyond that, the reader is discriminating these days. If you're just putting up cut & paste from other sites you found on Google, that's going to show. Why should they visit your site when they could just go to Google for exactly what they want? They will only do so if you're discriminating. If your articles and content are intelligent, provide wise and concise information, your site will grow.

Many site owners are experts in their field, but are not professional writers. Even those who write well don't often have the time to write the sort of articles that will provide a service to the world and promote their site. That's where companies like mine come in. It's a smart move to hire a wordsmith, a native writer of U.S. English, to write those articles and blog entries for you, and see to it that your site has fresh, quality content on a regular basis.

There's more to SEO and building a popular, profitable site than Content alone, but without quality content, your site has no chance at all.

Thanks, again, for writing on this important aspect. You've led by example; Your quality content is what brought me here in the first place!

All the best,

JT
SpectreWriter.com

By Chris Crum - Fri, 01/09/2009 - 08:54

RE: Quality Content

Thanks for the compliments. It can be hard to find good writers.

By Liz Micik (WPN reader) - Thu, 01/08/2009 - 17:57

If only people believed this

There are two expressions that apply here. The first is "put your money where your mouth is." You start out by saying "everyone knows content is king" but my experience as a freelance content creator, especially over the last half of 2008, is that "everyone gives lip service to the idea that content is king."

The second expression comes from my side of the street. Experienced content producers say back to potential customers "you may want fast turnarounds on excellent quality work for peanuts, but you can only have two out of the three."

Guess which two people are actually paying out nickels and dimes to use on their sites. Thanks for fighting the good fight. We need to defend good work everywhere we can, every way we can.

Liz Micik

By Joe Pulizzi (WPN reader) - Thu, 01/08/2009 - 20:25

The Tide is Changing

Hi Liz...I feel for you, but change is in the air. Marketers are really starting to get that relevant and compelling content is the key to a successful marketing program of the present and future. We just conducted this survey of marketers that you'll find interesting and supports this. Keep the faith. The content marketing revolution is here (finally).

http://www.junta42.com/resources/Content_Marketing_Spending_Points_Up/

By JT (WPN reader) - Thu, 01/08/2009 - 18:55

Money Where Your Mouth Is

Liz,

Thanks for your post. I find the same thing. Clients want fast turn-around on quality posts for peanuts. Unfortunately, all too often they make the mistake of choosing fast and cheap. I see the results spewed all over sites, when the owners have chosen the wrong pair. Some of the authors are nearly illiterate, and all of them are pathetically uninspired. Fast and Cheap gets you a compilation of random Google thefts that demonstrates how little the author understands the subject.

Some think that will do the trick, but it only serves to aggravate and alienate the visitor. Chances are better than average that he won't willingly visit your site again if you short-change him with that sort of "content."

The true professionals amongst Content Providers will take the time to do the research, to have a working understanding of the subjects, and to represent their clients well. That isn't fast or cheap, but it is the quality content that the public is after. When clients have chosen wisely, their sites grow, and the bill they pay to us is a drop in the bucket. One quality page is easily worth 3-5 times as many pages of junk. Now to get the site owners to realize that.

Keep up the good fight!

JT
SpectreWriter.com

By Inexpensive Ghost Writer and Copy Editor (WPN reader) - Thu, 01/08/2009 - 17:43

Re: Content being King

I have been search engine optimizing my own business website since 2003. After a lot of fits and starts of doing different things, I now have my SEO down to a science. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I change a small portion of the content on my home page (one article on ghost writing). My SERPs standing? I have several #1s and what in effect are #1s on Google, under common ghost writer and copy editor search terms.

I don't know much about linking, but have several organic natural one way links to my site, and by changing my content on a steady basis I seem to be keeping my place on Google. I also have good meta tags, and my website is both web bot and user friendly. I don't stuff keywords, and there are plenty of keywords on my home page, plus h1 tags. I do what I can, and it does seem to be working.

By Chris Crum - Fri, 01/09/2009 - 08:51

RE: Content being King

Interesting to not know much about linking and still have SEO down to a science.

By Gerhard Frank (WPN reader) - Thu, 01/08/2009 - 16:49

i like webpronews !

Thanks for the good tipps - best regards from vienna
Geri

By Chef Keem (WPN reader) - Thu, 01/08/2009 - 15:23

Good, solid advice!

In a way, concise, solid advice such as yours is "ground-breaking" every single day. As you said, too many folks try to build their online presence on a tiny sliver of a dream to "make it rich" overnight, without considering the expertise, commitment and work required to be successful in any area of life, including their online activities. Thanks for this post! -Chef Keem

By Chris Crum - Thu, 01/08/2009 - 15:27