The Ultimate Secret Weapon for Running a Successful Business Isn’t What You Think It Is

If you’re anything like me, you’re obsessed with your business. Absolutely obsessed. If they made Wheaties in the shape of your product or service, that would be breakfast Every. Single. Day. 

And listen, I’m right there with you. I eat, sleep, and breathe marketing and copywriting. So that’s why I have to ask you a very important question.

Are you just as obsessed with your website?

That’s what I thought. 

Look, technology is hard, but your website is your company’s most important marketing tool. The content that’s on it is your most valuable employee.

These days, virtually every stage of the buying process happens online, and that’s not surprising. Think about how much time you spend online. And you’re not alone. Apple’s Screentime feature told me I’m clocking about 3 hours scrolling my phone each day (and that’s down from last week).

Since we’re all spending so much time scrolling through the pages of the Internet, it’s a no-brainer that the content on your website is your ultimate secret weapon. It’s the most direct and authentic form of communication between your business and your clients and customers. 

But why should you invest time and resources into content writing? 

You may think that your services and products sell themselves. Ideally they do, but you still need a strong organic relationship with consumers. And your website’s content–things like articles, videos, infographics, and how-to’s–is the through-line to your customers. 

This makes content writing essential to your business objectives. 

If you’re frustrated by writing content, you’re not alone here–we’re still in the Wild West years of the Internet and, trust me, everyone gets confused and overwhelmed at one point or another. 

Partly, it’s because the rules of Internet search engines (well, let’s face it, I’m talking about Google) keep changing year after year. But one thing that doesn’t change, EVER, is the value of content.

So, giddy up, partner, let’s break down content writing and the three ways it can change your business...for good.

Fantastic content writing is the single best way to increase your site traffic.

My guess is that your website has a handful of pages tailored to your brand, your products, and your services–and that’s good! But you’ve got to make sure that people visiting your site aren’t overwhelmed by in-your-face pop-ups and marketing widgets before they understand who you are and what you stand for.

The best way to show someone who you are–give them a wealth of information they can dive into that proves you know your stuff. Focusing on content writing allows you to show off your expertise and leadership on the topics familiar to your field. 

Most topics have thousands, if not millions, of low-quality, cookie-cutter blog entries written about them that few people will ever share on Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, or any of the social media networks.

No matter what industry you’re in, your blog should be where the experts in your niche come for news, guidance, and inspiration. And the content should be good enough that they will share it online.

The importance of share-ability will be explained in the next section, but for now, let’s just say that it’s, well, VERY IMPORTANT. Great content can motivate people browsing online to bookmark your site, sign up for your email newsletter, follow your social media pages, and share your posts all within just a few minutes.

Prove yourself to be an expert through fantastic written content, and you will drive your website traffic up, up, up.

Great content writing improves your SEO.

Search Engine Optimization is one of the secret weapons for online success. There’s a phrase that’s often repeated: “The best SEO is great content.” And it’s true.

To simplify things, SEO is about making search engines (hint, hint, Google) like your website. And not just *like* it, but *like it, like it.*

Google determines the value of your website based on two criteria--the relevance of your page (based on high-volume keywords) and the authority of your site (how many trustworthy links point to your page).

Both of these factors depend almost entirely on great content.

Great content has two important jobs: 1) getting people to come to your website - with both organic traffic (clicks from people’s natural Google searches) and referral traffic (clicks from social media and email links); and 2) getting people to stay on your website - the longer people stay on your site the more likely they are to become clients and the better it is for your web metrics.

Here are some other ways great content writing helps with SEO:

• Great content makes your website visible in search engine results pages (SERPS). When people Google the magic keywords relevant to your business, don’t you want your company’s website on the first page of results?
• Great content is likely to earn you links from reputable sources. SEO experts estimate that organic links from high-authority sites make up about 40% of your website ranking through searches. This is why it’s crucial to have content good enough that a site like Forbes, or thousands of others, mention your company and, just as importantly, link to your website.
• Experts also say “social media is the future of SEO,” which underscores the importance of having shareable content. Increasingly, social media shares are factoring directly into Google rankings.

Great Content Strengthens Your Brand and Builds Relationships

Great content writing on your company’s website, especially in the form of a blog, is important for establishing your business as a leading voice in your field. People like brands to be approachable. They also love getting a peek behind the curtain because at the end of the day we’re all just a teeny, tiny bit curious. A blog can be an excellent way to connect with your customers. 

And that’s not a mere suggestion. Here’s proof of that strategy working online today:

~ Whole Foods uses its blog to be responsive to consumers by not only answering their questions but providing useful tips from a large field of diverse voices. Seriously, check out the Whole Foods blog - it will blow your mind how many well-written informative, interesting posts there are.

~ Southwest Airline’s blog, Nuts About Southwest, is a textbook example of a company that uses its blog to strengthen the relationship its brand has with its customers. This isn’t just the digital version of one of those boring in-flight magazines - this is a legit entertaining read. It’s also an instructive example of how to mix up your blog with different kinds of content, including videos, infographics, polls, surveys, and more. 

So there you have it...the importance of great content writing in your business plans and why it can be the ultimate secret weapon for business success. It’s the single best way to influence how Google determines your Page Rank, which determines how likely your website is to pop up in search engine page results (SERPS). 

In fact, Google, which is notoriously tight-lipped on how its ever-changing algorithm works, has openly stated that content is one of the top three ranking factors in organic searches. 

But beyond improving your SEO and increasing your traffic, producing quality content on a regular basis allows you to build relationships with consumers. I think we can agree that this is one of the most important aspects of building a brand and running a business. 

We know writing great content takes a lot of time and a lot of mental energy. It’s intimidating and easier to push to the bottom of the to-do list each day. If you’re tired of it hanging over your head each day, we would love to get you on a content marketing schedule that brings eyeballs to your website and customers to your brand. Shoot me a DM to learn more about how we can help!