With thrift, timeliness and page 1 of a Google search as my goal, I started applying the soothing balm of online optimization to my own neglected website.

The entire process helped me realize that if you don’t check in with your business every now and again, you can begin to lose track of what you do best, why you do it, and who you do it for. I became a writer because I loved to generate ideas, help companies find fuller expression with language, and to give readers a more engaging experience. Instead I was writing for a content mill, juggling projects that didn’t energize me and getting stressed out about things I didn’t feel passion for.

Content Audit

Now, I audit my content at least once per year, and I encourage my clients to do the same. Keeping track of what I have written, where it is displayed and following its online statistics with Google Analytics has kept me in the driver’s seat of my own career, and has allowed me to have a better grasp of how my writing is helping my clients.

And I’m on page 1 of Google. Boo ya.

If you don’t know exactly what you have online, what it’s doing for you, and who is reading it, why even bother to have it up? Hire a content manager and get back on track.

Why? Because it’s reckoning time. The internet isn’t a little kid anymore—it’s a recent college grad waking up and smelling the coffee. Online sales, ROI, content management, quality web content and keywords that convert are what matter. And what does that spell? It spells quality content. You need it to survive in today’s internet marketing world.

Kevin Cesarz’s recent post highlights one of the most annoying and ineffective types of online content: banter content. You might be excited that you have a new website, but no one else is. The only place to mention this is in a blog post or press release—not in the main content of your site.

What does this mean?

It means that users want a functional site that is easy to navigate and is full of useful information. You know it’s good when no one notices the effort you put into it. At best you can hope for someone to be on your website for 3 minutes—and that’s if you have an engaging website. Understanding this is understanding internet marketing. So, what can you do to make the best use of that time?

Provide your users with easy access to your information and services/products. A good website takes advantage of simplicity of design and delivery. Have clear, concise writing that is organized in easily digestible formats, such as bullet points, calls to action, short paragraphs and clickable content.

Keep it simple and give your users what they want.

In nearly every case, little or no attention is given to meta data, ROR sitemaps, Online indexing sites, html title and headliner tags or even keyword-rich content. These are the kinds of companies that can really benefit from a modest investment in content management. That’s where I come in. Copywriting is more than billboard advertisements and direct mail postcards: it is about generating quality content that sells your products and services. Often times that means getting search engines to give more value to your site.

It’s no secret that the companies that are thriving right now have taken content and online media into their own hands. They have entered the content stream and have become self publishers and archivers of their own content. This makes them searchable, organized and authoritative in the online sphere. The first step toward achieving this savvy is strong copywriting.

If you find yourself on the 3rd, 4th or 5th page of a Google search in your keyword market, consider hiring a copywriter who specializes in online media and SEO tactics to take a look at your code. You’ll be amazed how a few changes can make all the difference.

About Jake Kulju

Jake Kulju is an author, poet and creative copywriter.

Jake Kulju writes articles, reviews, web content and media materials that engage readers. Jake provides effective and compelling copywriting services for dozens of publications ranging from green design web sites to consumer magazines, trade journals to copywriting material for marketing projects.

The reason content matters is simple: well-structured content guides your users’ experience. Online success comes from being a curator of your content. Quality content sells.

The first three steps Jake takes with clients who want to increase their online sales:

• Keyword analysis and optimization.
• Online content structure & meta data analysis.
• Calls to action.

Your users notice when you have done the footwork. The internet today is primarily a search tool and a shopping tool. As a marketing copywriter, Jake knows how to make you stand out.