Why Is Quality Content So Important for My Website?

Quality content is important for every website, especially if you have a small business or association and you want to attract a loyal audience. Maybe you’ve heard of attraction marketing or content marketing?  Quality content attracts search engines and it also attracts prospective customers and clients who are looking for what you have to offer.

You may think of content as writing blog articles, but it can be much more than that. If you offer online courses or webinars, how-to guides, eBooks, podcasts, videos, quizzes, discussion guides, and more, all of these can be part of your content strategy. Your content strategy may start with a few dedicated keywords or phrases to drive traffic to your website. Don’t fret about how many times you use the keyword. Just remember that rich content is valuable because it helps people. It’s not so much about quantitity as it is about quality.

Why does quality content rank on search engines?

Quality content ranks on search engines like Google because it shows E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust). You may have heard of content farms which are known as low-quality websites that churn out thousands of pages of content to make money using advertising. Google put a stop to this through their Panda algorithm update. Search engine algorithms are going to continue to evolve, but if you focus on quality content that helps your audience, you’ll never go wrong.

Another tip to keep your content quality is to stay away from duplicated content or anything that may hint at plagiarism, which can also harm your search rankings. There are tools like CopyScape that can help you identify problems so you can resolve them.

6 Reasons that Quality Content Will Perform Better on Your Website Over Time

What makes quality content and why is it so critical to driving traffic and search engine optimization? Here’s six reasons that explain why:

1. Educational Content Shows Your Expertise and Experience

Content is critical for your website because it gives readers something they didn’t have before: knowledge. Many of your website’s visitors read your content because they need an answer or they want to learn more about what you know and the goods or services you provide.

Providing them with information lends to the cause, and sometimes, these readers will stick around.  It could include a series of live webinar trainings to help your audience better understand specific topics in your industry.

It could also be an eBook that explains in greater depth your personal and professional experience with healthcare. Carlton Neurofeedback Center has a great example of an eBook that illustrates this point.

2. Entertaining Content Engages Your Visitors’ Senses

Readers like to be engaged and a good way to do that is to engage more than one sense. You don’t have to make them laugh, but you can make an appeal that they can’t resist. A short explainer video is a good example of a piece of content that is more entertaining by virtue of its format, which makes a complicated topic easier to digest and understand.

Considering the usefulness of audio-forward content from podcasts and video content through videos or interviews can fulfill this need. Even including original illustrations or photos you took embedded within your blog content can break up long sections of words and make the content you write more interesting.

Sometimes, personalized quizzes can be used on websites as a lead magnet, which can encourage visitors to sign up to receive mail or texts from you. This means that you are able to give personalized recommendations based on your visitors’ responses to certain questions.  Sparked a book by Jonathan Fields offers an assessment or quiz to find out what kind of “sparketype” you are. You can see how irresistible filling out a quiz like that can be if you’re simultaneously interested in how to make work more fulfilling.

3. Quality Content Naturally Boosts SEO

Quality content is critical for your website because it increases the probability that what you have to say will be found by more people searching on the search engines. If you are writing about a topic on your expertise with authority and originality, chances are your point of view is going to shine through. Maybe you’re a local Alexandria, Virginia lawyer specializing in probate law. It follows then that writing a how-to article about what documents to gather to start the process of having a will drawn up is going to be more trustworthy than if the same content appeared written by an anonymous author elsewhere.

Optimizing content for your blog is a natural function of creating content your audience would find valuable. If your audience are specialists in fundraising, then a page listing an upcoming annual conference with all the speakers and session descriptions will rank well.

Writing rich content that is helpful will naturally incorporate your best keywords if it is done well. You can get even more strategic with your content marketing strategy by creating an anchor piece of content on your website, then pushing traffic to it by way of social media, newsletters, media interviews and ads. A combined approach can enhance how well your content attracts organic traffic from prospective customers and clients over time.

4. Quality Content Includes Internal Links

Great content includes internal links to guide readers along to other portions of your website. An internal linking strategy helps visitors act on multiple calls to action on your website. They can learn more, add themselves to your contact list, purchase a good or services, register themselves for an event, or even set up a consultation with you.

Internal links give visitors choices and help them navigate through everything you have to offer.

5. Quality Content Includes Some External Links

Often quality content will offer external links to credible sources.  If you quote a statistic or insert a quote from another thought leader in your industry, be sure to add a link that references back where you found that source. Be discriminating when you pick external links, so they reflect well on you and the advice you are sharing.

Another way you can use external links is by properly sourcing images, especially those that may be available to use by attribution. Just as with internal links, you shouldn’t stuff external links into your content. Just use them naturally for best results!

6. Quality Content with a Point of View Heightens Credibility

Quality content increases credibility and your reputation over time. Not only the words you write but also the photos, videos, links and other novel forms of content you choose can boost your credibility. People see how aligned you are with what you are doing and know that you are the real deal.

Having a point of view is another way to boost your credibility and makes you more human. What is unique about how you approach what you do and why is something the AI content generators can’t mimic well.  When high-authority websites link back to you, such as when you’re interviewed on a podcast or news story, that can also help you, too.

Search engines take consistent, rich content as a sign of credibility.

Need a Source for Quality Content But Not Sure How to Start?

As you can see, good content is necessary for your website’s success. When it comes to effective content marketing, rich content is really the only answer. Whether you are creating content on your own or working with a third party, quality content should always be at the core of your business.

If you keep an eye on helping others with valuable information as opposed to selling to them, you will be rewarded with more conversions. Consumers of today are savvier than ever, which is why quality content is so critical to your website! If you need a content partner and web developer who can help you with a smart strategy, call us at (703) 370-7433 to learn more how we can help.