SEO experts agree that one of the most important aspects of search engine optimization is writing great content. Great content naturally includes an appropriate number of keywords per page and keeps your reader engaged. Great content compels readers to link to you from their own sites, thereby increasing the number of inbound links to your page and increasing your exposure to other potential customers. Finally, great content is simply useful. It gives your readers the information they’re looking for and allows them to build trust in your competence. So how do you go about writing great content? Here are 8 tips:

1. Relevance. The key to great content is relevance. Pick a topic and stick with it. If this means that you need another article or another blog post in order to address a topic related to, but not exactly like, the topic you’re addressing, then so be it. But don’t ramble and don’t introduce too many ideas on one page.

2. Proofread. The number one way to make readers question your professionalism is to show them that you can’t write, so double-check for spelling and grammatical errors. You don’t want readers looking for another site to visit simply because your writing was not up to par.

3. Usefulness. There is no point in publishing optimized content that isn’t useful. As mentioned above, the point of great content is to help readers build trust in your abilities and to give them the information that they’re looking for. Useless content is a waste of your time and wastes the time of your potential customers who won’t think twice about researching a competitor who will give them the information they’re looking for.

4. Provide Answers. Sit down and think of all the questions that a potential customer might ask you. Start at the very beginning, pretending you’re a customer who knows absolutely nothing about your business and is just starting to research whatever it is that you’re selling. Then write content that answers those questions. Be sure to avoid using jargon. Write in terms that the average visitor will understand.

5. Make the Answer Easy to Find. If visitors to your site can’t easily find pricing information, shipping information, or any other pertinent information quickly and easily, you can count on losing their business. Any information that a visitor might need should be readily available without requiring a hunt.

6. Descriptions. Make sure you include lots of information about how to use each of your products. Also include in-depth descriptions. If you don’t offer these suggestions and descriptions, and your competitor does, your competitor will get the business of the person who just clicked away from your site. Picking up the phone to ask for details is considered a waste of time, so don’t make your potential customers have to do extra work that they don’t want to do. Give them all the info they need.

7. Unique Content. Slideshows, interactive games, photo galleries, and top ten lists are all great ways to engage readers and compel them to link to your from their own sites. The key is to continue to make this content relevant. If the content isn’t relevant, then visitors will not only question your professionalism, but your ability to stay focused on their needs.

8. Readability. Most internet searchers scan sites rather than reading everything on a page, so your content should be laid out in a way that lends itself to scanning. Short paragraphs, bullets, numbers, and subheadings are great ways to break up the content into manageable pieces. If your content is too hard to digest, visitors will leave as quickly as they came.

Make sure your content is relevant, engaging, and well organized. You’ll be on your way to turning your visitors into clients rather than folks who just click by for awhile before heading somewhere else.

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