A blog is always a great place to start when it comes to putting together regular, fresh content that keeps the readers coming back for more. The thing is, the average person surfing the web doesn’t want to have to pay to read good content and a recent study in the US seems to back this point up.
And this means that you have to have content on your site that is engaging and speaks directly to the reader to enough of an extent that they stick around and read some more, or even better, contact you directly if you are looking to sell a product or service.
The Hard Facts
A survey conducted by the Digital Advertising Alliance has found that 92% of Americans believe that free content is vital to the overall structure of the Internet. This figure does go against the perceived negative attitudes towards adverts on our screens on a daily basis, and increasingly more intrusive and targeted adverts on social media websites such as Facebook, but it is an interesting one. Less than 10% of people would prefer to have use of an Internet that was completely ad free but in return you would have to pay to access websites, read blogs, articles, watch video content and more.
Even if it means that we have to look at more and more ads on our screens, the feeling is that free content is excellent and it is the main reason we keep coming back to the Internet. More surprisingly still, 70% of those surveyed said that they would prefer the visible ads to be directly targeted at their interests rather than completely random objects, services and products floating on their screens.
As this type of targeted advertising becomes the norm, users will be more likely to wish to choose the types of adverts they see, how they appear and the regularity of them. With information being collected at all times the guessing games of the marketers will become more accurate as their analysis of Internet users across the world becomes more refined.
Free Content to Keep the Reader Wanting More
So with this in mind, how do you keep the attention of a casual user of your website?
Free content is a key tool that allows you to keep things fresh and allows users/customers to remain updated on what you are up to and where you are headed. Having a blog or news posts on your website allows you to do just that whilst slowly building up your brand and reputation as a trusted source of information online.
Create content that is suitable to your vehicle but always ensure it is written in your voice and compels the reader to buy into your idea, whether you are a company looking to sell a specific product or a blogger trying to raise traffic to your site. Every good website will have a route through which they want a user to travel. Make sure that each step has relevant content within it that entices the reader to the next step.
If you have exciting content that is free to read and keeps your readers coming back for more, it looks like they won’t mind the adverts that could soon fill the white spaces on your site.