I just read “Rise to the Top: 9 Steps to getting your website noticed,” in February’s The Costco Connection. I need to ramp up my marketing at least threefold and thought I could find good tips. I was disappointed to learn all 9 steps involved Search Engine Optimization or SEO. Adding interesting content wasn’t among them.

SEO might get potential clients to find your website, but interesting content makes them want to stay or come back. Without compelling content, you’ve arrived at the ferry dock but you’re bound to miss the boat.

With millions of websites and blogs vying for your attention, you need to give people reasons to stay, learn more about you, and come back often.

I’m as guilty of this as anyone. I am busy writing articles, case studies, and press releases for several clients and haven’t spent time beefing up my own site. Two ways I’ve chosen to add more content to my site in 2011:

1. Add a blog.

2. Write case studies about my business.

 

Launching a blog is as hard as you make it. As you can tell, my blog is bare bones, sporting a basic theme. It lacks the bells and whistles great blogs have. But I will add them – later. I’m picky, and have been looking at themes for a while. I decided to stop wasting time choosing a theme and jump into adding content instead. WordPress lets you do this instantly.

The hurdle I had is the same one many companies struggle with: What do I write about? Everyone else writes about public relations, marketing, sales, business development, freelance writing or (fill in the blank). What do I have to offer, I heard myself complaining recently to a PR specialist who was asking the same question.

But I remembered two things:

• 1) My universe is a lot smaller than the entire web, and my outlook is different: I’m a journalists who no longer works at a newspaper but supplies compelling content to companies, and offers PR or public relations services with a journalistic bent.
•  2) Look at the success my writer friend Carol Tice has with her blog Make a Living Writing, taking it from nothing to a top 10 writer site in two years. There are hundreds of books and blogs on freelance writing. Carol’s twist is how to actually make money doing it.

Writing Case Studies is an easy way to add content.

Case Studies allow you to share stories about how you help others. They illustrate problems you’ve solved and solutions you offer. They aren’t lists, or brochures but stories with beginnings, middles and ends. They give background, walk you through problems and show you how others have used a service or product to save time, money or work faster.

And they just aren’t for high tech companies. I’ve written case studies for a foster care nonprofit, a retailer, architectural firms, a marketing research firm and several service providers, which you can find on my case studies page. Next week, you’ll find two new ones about my writing business.

How are you making your website one visitors want to come back to?