A lot of business owners rely on link building to develop their website's reputation and authority through the search engines.
What some tend to overlook is the fact that websites gain authority through visitors, and not through backlinks alone.
A website's authority is partly determined by users that stay on your website to get the information they need.
Google knows how many visitors you have, and it also knows how long they stay on your site.
If your website has both of these factors, then you may be an authority figure online.
Let's take a look at some of the reasons why you need lots of good quality content for your website.
Good content means visitors spend time on your website.
Providing interesting and informative content that's credible in the eyes of your readers means visitors will absorb every last drop of information you have to offer.
If you are an authority figure in their eyes they will visit you first, not your competitor, and not the first website in a search.
Returning visitors who spend time on your website are also good things in Google's eyes as this proves you to be an authority.
They will in turn reward you with higher rankings.
Good content means steady traffic.
When you write good content for your website, people will come back when they are in search of related information.
There's also the chance your readers will share your content with people they know, also posting it as a reference within their own websites.
This means more traffic for your website.
The more traffic you have, the longer visitors stay on your site, the more of an authority Google thinks you are.
The secret to great content The secret to writing great content is consistency.
Readers value a website not because of the quality of information provided but also how it is written.
Here are a few tips to maintain the attention of your reader: Write your topic in a conversational manner.
Readers love it when they feel like you're actually talking to them when delivering the information they need.
Keep it simple.
Avoid the technical jargon as much as possible.
Write from the point of view of the layman, so people who don't know technical terms won't feel they are being condescended to.
Write from experience.
Or at least, make it sound like it is by interviewing someone with actual experience, or researching your topic well.
This assures your reader you know what you're doing.
All in all, lots of great content is the best possible thing you can do for your website's SEO results.
Combine with a good internal linking structure, a strategic on and off-page optimisation plan, and you're well on your way to getting to the top spot.