There are certain things that every website needs in order to be successful. Search engine optimization is as much an art as it is a science, and there are a lot of pieces that go into the equation of making a successful website. Backlinks, keywords, meta tags, file structure, every single part of your website comes into play. The one part that I think is most important, and the thing that will set you apart from your competition, is your content.

The content of your website is something that you need to constantly be working on. You should never get to a certain point and think that it is ok to stop. There are always places to improve, and I have listed a few things below that you should always be working on.

1. Relevance – Make sure that each page of your website stays on track. People (and search engines) don’t like a lot of different topics on one single page. You want each page or blog post to be easily readable and you will want to stick to one subject. The goal is to make sure that each page or blog post is relevant to the topic you are writing about, otherwise people will not stick around to read it.

2. Interest – You need to figure out what your target audience is, and more importantly figure out what their interests are. Don’t start off by trying to cater to everybody. Start out with a niche group of people, get them reading, then think about expanding your topics. You can’t build off visitors you don’t have, however.

3. Sharing – This is probably the most neglected part of any website. You need to make your website easy to share. In the age of social media people want to be able to share a blog post they like or a website they find interesting with the click of a button. Make sure you have these available to your visitors or else they will be less inclined to share your content with other people. Word of mouth is the strongest promoter there is.

4. Keep it simple – Nobody wants to read a giant wall of text. Along with being relevant, you want to be concise. If you have too much text you run the risk of losing your audience’s attention.

5. Keep updating – If you are not constantly updating your website then there is no reason for visitors to come back. You want to keep your audience engaged by giving them a reason to keep visiting your website. By providing consistent updates you have a better shot at repeat visitors, especially if they find your content of interest.

Now, I’m not saying you should be neglecting the other aspects of search engine optimization. Your ultimate goal should be to have a plan in place and to act according to that plan. However, if there is one thing you should pay special importance to it’s your content. You need to give people a reason to come to your website, and content is the key.