It wasn’t that long ago that having a website for your print company “put you on the map.” It wasn’t a necessity; it was a luxury, and one that signified you had made it as a printer.
Today, however, the tables have turned. You can easily create a website in only a few minutes from your choice of a variety of different vendors. And because websites are being cranked out at record speed (380 every minute, in fact), it begs the question:
“How can my website impact my audience and not get lost in the internet jungle out there?”
Many might answer that question with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While you are on the right track with that answer, the best SEO is born out of one vital thing: content.
Why Content Makes All the Difference
Content offers your print buyers a reason to return to your website beyond just placing an order.
It’s the crucial ingredient for the success of your print website, and yet, one of the most overlooked in its importance.
Recently, we covered five things content does for your business, but in case you missed it, here’s a little refresher for you.
Content increases the number of pages on your website.
The more pages you provide that are connected to your website, the more chances your content and your business has to be crawled by a search query.
That means one thing for you: higher rankings.
Content provides value to your audience and to search engines.
The two most important things in your online life are covered when you focus on your content strategy for your print and marketing business.
First, your customers. When you offer weekly, monthly, and quarterly tips, tricks, and how-tos (i.e., relevant content), you prove that you’re the right printer for them and give them a reason to continually seek you out for your expertise.
Second, the search engines, as in Google, Bing, etc. The goal of your content is to write for humans, and these days when you write for humans, the search engines take notice too. Your human-friendly frequently updated, relevant content helps make your website shine a little brighter across all search engines.
Relevant content decreases your bounce rate.
How do search engines know they’ve answered your search query correctly, and you found what you’re looking for?
You stick around on a website. Visitors linger on a website when they’ve found (and are interested in) the new content that’s continually being offered.
Now, think of all of those websites that act as informational-only landing pages. They tell the name and address of the company and the products they sell, but they don’t offer you a way to do anything else online like design a project, learn tips, find resources, or place an order. Why would you come back to a site like that? More than likely, you’d bounce right off of it and head over to print company that answers the questions you’re asking.
Content builds credibility and trust with your audience.
Imagine you have a new prospect; we’ll call her Mary.
Mary has started a new marketing position at a local bank and has been put in charge of creating some print materials for the office. The previous person in her position left her with a list of printers in her area, but she’s not familiar with any of them. So, what does she do? She Googles them.
Printer One looks like they work out of a garage or maybe a basement based on the way their website looks. Printer 2 looks professional, but the website is just a dressed-up order form. The last one, Printer 3, is filled with links to relevant articles, print and design tips, sales and marketing white papers, and more.
Since Mary knows she’ll be back to reference Printer 3’s site often, she bookmarks it. Then, she checks out the printer on social media as well and is impressed at their continual presence online. Mary likes what she sees and can tell Printer 3 is a credible expert in the print industry and is ready to place her order.
It’s important to realize that your online visitors don’t get the luxury of using all of their senses to determine if you are credible, operate with integrity, and have their best interest in mind. They depend on your content to prove that.
Content helps you stand out among the competition.
From Mary’s perspective, it was obvious that the printer to do business with was the one that answered her questions through valuable content and allowed her to order online, design online, and more.
So, while websites can be a dime a dozen, the content on your website is what will set you apart from your competition.
Don’t go through all of the hard work of putting together a website and then forget the most essential piece: content.
Next week, we’ll explore the question: Is all content created equal? You’ll learn what types of content your website needs to be relevant to your audience.
