How To Start An Internet Business ? Content, Content, Content

When it comes to e-commerce, the time-tested cliché is, "Content is king." In this case, the cliché is correct.

Content

For the purpose of this article, content is defined as pages of text on your site. Content is often broken down into two categories, primary pages and information pages. Primary pages are the core of a site, to wit, the home, FAQ, site map, about us, contact us and service or product pages. Information pages are additional pages that support the primary pages, explain your service or product and answer questions. Primary pages convert visitors while information pages generate traffic.

Primary Pages

Preparing content for your primary pages must be done carefully. You should have a list of keywords you want to highlight for each page. Using these keywords, content should be written clearly and concisely. Do not sacrifice the flow of your text in an effort to maximize the placement of keywords. While this common mistake can lead to quicker search engine rankings, it can damage your conversion rates and give visitors the wrong impression of your business. Traffic is useless if it can't be converted to money. Focus on converting the visitor into a customer.

Information Pages

Information pages serve a number of functions. First, they explain and support your primary pages. Second, they build credibility by providing evidence of your extensive knowledge and expertise. Unlike primary pages, information pages can be written with more of an eye to keyword manipulation.

Information pages also form a critical platform for promoting your site. The pages should be written in such a way as to be easily converted into articles. The articles should be submitted to directories for publication with a byline including a link to your site. As the articles are published, the byline will dramatically increase the link count of your site. The higher the number of links to your site, the higher you move in the rankings.

Information Page Subjects

If information pages are so important, how do you come up with topics? There are three methods.

The first step is to review your product or service. Pages should be created providing explanations for the most simple to complex elements of whatever you are promoting. Make sure to cover basic items. For a real estate agent site, topics should include 1) how to buy a house, 2) how the process works from beginning to end; 3) how escrow works and so forth. Never assume your prospect understands some element of your product or service. Once these pages are created, the site should be significantly bigger and, thus, more attractive to search engines.

The next step is to review the results of the keyword research conducted when you decided to build a site. Looking down the list of keywords, focus on keywords with less than 1,000 searches a month. Every one of these keywords is a potential topic. Because there are few monthly searches, competition for rankings under each keyword phrase is probably low. As you site gains links, the various information pages will move up into top rankings. If you have 50 information pages each producing 100 clicks a month, they will produce 5,000 free clicks a month. Assume a conversion rate of 1/100 and you have 50 sales. As more pages are added, the figures will continue to rise.

Finally, forums are an excellent place to find topics. Forums are sites where people gather to discuss issues related to a particular subject. The discussions typically start when someone posts a question. Each question is a potential topic for a page on your site. Make sure to focus on posts with lots of replies, as the number of replies reflects the amount of interest in the topic. To find relevant forums, simply search for "forum + subject" on any search engine.

In Closing

Google, Yahoo and MSN frequently change the algorithms each uses to produce rankings. Such changes can blow holes in search engine optimization strategies. Continually adding relevant content to your site is just about the only method to smoothly ride these fluctuations. After all, content is king.

Halstatt Pires is with http://www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing and advertising company comprised of a search engine optimization specialist providing meta tag optimization services and Internet marketing consultant providing internet marketing solutions through integrated design and programming services.

---

How To Turn Any Product You Sell In To Residual Income

The concept of this is for you to offer a... Read More

Building eCommerce Websites That Work - Part 1

You want to succeed at eCommerce? Welcome to a very... Read More

Online Payments Make It Easy For Your Customers To Buy

In the last column we discussed the process of credit... Read More

Eleven Things You Must Know About A Drop Shipping Directory And Its Company

1. Balance - You want to find a directory rich... Read More

The Essential Christmas Web-store Makeover

Ten great tips to turn online holiday shoppers into eager... Read More

How Measuring Key Performance Indicators Can Improve E-Commerce Strategy - Part Three

The first article of this series discussed page views per... Read More

Does Your Shopping Cart Have a Squeaky Wheel?

Have you ever gone grocery shopping just before a holiday?... Read More

Something new in e-commerce: the Echo System Build

How four partners build and manage an exclusive art posters... Read More

Intranet Portals ? Search and Taxonomies

Knowledge Management for beginnersKnowledge Management (KM) can be defined simply... Read More

10 Second Internet Person, sound familiar?

Some people do not understand the Internet idea of online... Read More

Make That 3 Billion

My previous article I wrote called "One Point Two Billion"... Read More

How To Start An Internet Business ? Site Layout

The fourth step of how to start an Internet business... Read More

Effective Management Of Your Customer Services

With a third party merchant account you will have a... Read More

Tell Them Whats in The Can!

What does 'the can' mean? Well, its literal meaning relates... Read More

Dont give up on your business!

Summer must be when many work at home Mom start... Read More

Pitfalls of Doing Big International Brokerage Business Online

Nothing has helped international brokerage business more than the internet:... Read More

How Do You Make Money Online?

If you learn how other people make money online, I... Read More

Managing Project Risks and Issues

Inherent (or Business) RiskInherent Risk is the risk that exists... Read More

7 Suggestions for an i-Mom Friendly Web Site (e-commerce news and statistics)

The Internet began as a male dominated medium, but those... Read More

Free Competition Analysis for E-Commerce Startup

For anyone who has completed research regarding e-commerce, there are... Read More

Accept Credit Cards Online Without A Merchant Account

It is often assumed if you want to accept credit... Read More

PayPal Powered

Three years ago I was doing some work for a... Read More

Working With Drop Shippers

Drop Shippers, the manufacturers or distributors who are willing to... Read More

Getting Started in ECommerce - Part One

In 2004, Enquiro.com conducted a study of the search behaviors... Read More

How Measuring Key Performance Indicators Can Improve E-Commerce Strategy - Part Two

Why time spent on your site is importantAll websites regardless... Read More

Implications Of E-Commerce For Tax Legislation

As e-commerce develops ambiguities in the current tax code in... Read More

Selling Online for Newbies

If you are interested in selling online, it is quite... Read More

How To Find the Best Merchant Account For Your Business

What a great idea! Start accepting credit cards and watch... Read More

Online Shoppers Say They?ll Buy from Small and Large E-Businesses Alike

As the holiday shopping season begins in earnest, consumers say... Read More

What is SSL (the little padlock)?

SSL ("Secured Socket Layer") is a protocol used to... Read More

Credit Card Processing - 7 Things You Need to Know Before Opening an Online Merchant Account

When considering opening an online merchant account to accept credit... Read More

Two Pillars of a Successful Web Site

For a web site to get close to fulfilling its... Read More

Shopping Cart Usability

Usable Shopping Carts Increase SalesE-commerce has been around since 1993... Read More