Website Content

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Web site owners often ask us what they should include in their site. The answer is simple: deciding what to put on a Web site is a continual process.

How important is content to a Web site?

It's absolutely critical. An interesting analogy can be found in the offline television world. If you look at what's historically been at the heart of TV's popularity you'll find content: relevant, dynamic programming -- news, variety, entertainment, sports, etc. Think about the almost cult-like following shows like Star Trek and Seinfeld have had over the years. When you get 5,000 people going to a convention with pointy ears on, that's powerful content!

On the Web, the role of content is similar in some ways yet quite different in others. Without question, the Internet, in one form or another, will be to the next 20 or so years what television was to the past 40: the venue for mass creative expression and commercial promotion. Given this opportunity, Web content must be entertaining -- meaning it must have a certain level of inherent interest in order to capture and keep a viewer. However, because the Web is fundamentally an informational medium and is highly interactive, the role of content in this venue is unique. It has to inform, educate, enlighten, persuade, and be thoroughly engaging. In this way, I like to think of content as the foundation; a key driver of both commerce and community on the Web.

How often should content be updated on a site?

As often as possible. Fresh content is the name of the game, particularly when it comes to news and other time- sensitive information. With each passing year, people's attention spans are getting shorter and shorter and the demands they place on informational sources are increasing dramatically. Particularly on the Web, people want the most timely, late breaking information and content possible. That's the unique power of the Internet: the ability to provide a virtual real time experience to it's users. The content that we power into sites is updated throughout the day - sometimes as often as every 15 minutes -- to provide this type of experience.
What are the benefits of updated content?

Lots of quality content, updated regularly, transforms your site into a resource- a Web destination where people will return. When your site draws a critical mass of traffic, you can truly start to maximize the revenue opportunities on the Internet - but the first step is having engaging, constantly- refreshed content. Without that, visitors have no reason to come back.

What should Web site owners be offering on their sites?

First and foremost, people want the most timely, late breaking information and content possible. Keeping them on your site is a matter of making the experience as interactive and engaging as possible. In terms of content types, we've found photos and graphics to be extremely popular and rich media content is rapidly gaining popularity as well.

In general, it seems that the pairing of content with broad- based appeal such As top news and financial information or weather, for example, along with very specific and focused
content is a powerful combination. This provides visitors with the 'world-view' they want to keep on top of current events, along with the specific information or perspective they
expect that site to deliver.

Essential to this is knowing your viewers or target, and defining their interests at the most granular level (i.e. mutual funds or Madonna mania), and then to map the content squarely to this focus. The element that will make a particular site a long-term standout from all the other broad-based and vertical portals is the ability to provide quality content that nobody else has.

How can good content improve a site's return on investment?

Given that quality content drives traffic, you can start monetizing all of these eyeballs by selling ad ximpressions, sponsorships or interstitials. The longer someone is engaged on your site, the more they're clicking around, the more opportunity you have to profit. Beyond the power of content to drive traffic and monetize page views is the power of content to support the sales and marketing objectives of your site. You can wrap relevant content around your site's e-commerce initiatives, predisposing viewers to make real-time transactions, or feature content that complements your efforts to drive product or brand awareness.

For example, a company that sells computer chips could feature product reviews or reports on positive market trends from a respected 3rd-party source, increasing the likelihood that the visitor will request more product information or even purchase online. Or you could have a community site, with discussion groups for people who 'parasurf,' featuring an Extreme Sports feed updated daily- your site becomes the definitive resource and hub for this target. And coming full-circle back to the ability to monetize page views, these very granular sites, with highly-filtered audiences, are extremely attractive to advertisers who are using the Web to target more than ever before.

What should Web site owners be doing to improve their sites?

Keep in mind that virtually anything that can be digitized can become content for Web sites, so beyond news and articles there are all sorts of cool content products - photos, games, comics, puzzles, horoscopes, weather forecasts, encyclopedias, calculators, etc. - that enhance the interactivity and uniqueness of your site.

I believe that's the ultimate goal of the site owner or builder -- to create an environment and user experience that is uniquely their own.