Business websites: Why focusing on content is critical

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A customer typically decides within seconds of landing on a business website whether or not he or she plans to linger on the site to explore more.

If the content is appealing, a visitor may stick around, however, if the content shown doesn't immediately grasp attention, he or she will likely bounce right off the page.

For business owners bounce rates are a big concern because this means visitors aren't staying on the site nearly long enough to consider making a purchase, never mind even exploring what the company has to offer. First impressions are critical and, for business websites, this is especially important because it takes mere seconds for a visitor to navigate to a new page if they do not find a page appealing. Possibly to a direct competitor who may gain a new customer.

Design and a user-friendly interface are important attributes for any site, but significant attention should also be given to content. Offering solid content is the key to business website success. While a site may be beautiful in appearance, design and built with SEO in mind, none of that will matter if the content itself is lacking. The content should always be reader-focused (in other words, avoid keyword stuffing, etc. and other techniques that interrupts the article's natural flow).
Content mistakes some businesses make include:

Lack of information

Web visitors are often deterred by vague content. A site that promotes a product, but doesn't offer a lot of information beyond what is being sold isn't likely going to convince consumers the product or service is worth buying. It is important to include plenty of detail when trying to sell. Content should also be helpful in nature, or else it won't hold interest for a Web visitor. And while descriptions and detail are important, the content needs to go beyond pure promotion. This doesn't cut it these days, put the focus on the reader, not the company.

Focuses on pure promotion 

Speaking of promotion, while a business’ end goal is to make sales, marketers have quickly learned today’s approaches need to be very different from those of yesteryear. Marketing is no longer a one-way stream of advertisements. Today’s marketing is a two-way street and consumers and B2Bs want interaction and to be engaged.

That being said, a website should contain a variety of interesting information. In addition to product information, businesses can add informative articles, how-to’s, blog posts or other types of interesting pieces. This content can be augmented by photos, infographics or video. Offering a variety of helpful and interesting information is the one of the keys to content success. 

Contains outdated information

It is highly unlikely to get visitors to return to a site that is never updated. While some information is timeless and always useful, for the business website it is important to make regular updates to maintain visitor interest. Businesses can’t simply toss up information and leave it with the intention of being static. Evergreen content is OK, but there should be a regular stream of it. This doesn’t mean daily, but even a few times a month can make a difference. Set a feasible and doable schedule and stick to it.

Site contains errors

There is a high probability customers are going to be very quickly turned off by a business page full of errors or mistakes. Errors could be typos, grammar or just plain carelessness. Even a few minor typos looks bad. Customers are typically quick to notice mistakes; be sure to proofread everything before publishing.  If a company doesn't care enough to present itself professionally with a good quality website, this isn't a strong endorsement for the quality of products or services.

Lacks contact information

To be taken seriously, a business will want to create a customer-friendly persona that is available for contact. Just because doing business on the Web doesn't contain in-person interaction doesn't mean there should be a lack of personalization. Successful business websites include email addresses, telephone numbers and perhaps even an online chat feature where customers can immediately contact a customer representative if desired. If there is an actual business location (i.e. not working from a personal home), a physical address is useful as well, as it adds credibility.

Content is one of the most important aspects of a business website. Business websites that lack in content are likely going to find themselves lacking in conversions as well. By avoiding the above-mentioned mistakes, companies will be better equipped to run a successful online presence.