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In our business (Web Development and SEO), believe it or not, we’re still often asked the question “How much content should I put on my website”, to which we usually respond “As much information as it will take to inform and persuade your site users that your product or service is right for them”. Which usually means, everything you’ve got, plus some well written marketing content that you probably don’t even have.

Of course, that almost always results in “Well, I don’t want my competitors to have all of this information, I can’t put it right out there on my website; especially not my pricing!”

Don’t sacrifice marketing for fear of competition!

Rest assured, if you’ve ever printed it on a piece of paper, it’s in your competition’s hands. Just as, you likely have their content in yours. So, why would you sacrifice your opportunity to convince your site visitors that your product is right, and earn their business?

According to Tatsuya Nakagawa in a post on Anita Campbell’s Small Business Trends Blog; Five Essential Online Trends for Small Business corporate buyers expect full detail of products to be on your website. It’s no longer something you should even consider, it’s an expectation. Check out the full article for more good information.

Content generated solely for the sake of making yourself (or your boss) feel better, or content generated solely for search engine rankings, would be a waste of time and resources. However, content that can answer questions, solve problems, or make your consumer’s life a little easier, will defintely go a long way to sell your product or service and help your site perform better in the search engines.

We (The Karcher Group) do 2 or 3 seminars on search engine marketing a year. Our next one is coming up in Columbus, Ohio on October 23rd at a great facility called the Platform Lab. It’s an IT testing and training facility near downtown Columbus. A very cool place.

So, if you’ve just gotten into the search marketing industry, or have been charged with optimizing and promoting either your own site, or your company’s site; this is a great way to start learning about SEO and PPC.

We’ve been doing these seminars for several years now and have had great response to them. The attendees regularly comment that it’s more than worth the money, and more importantly their time. We’ve made it very affordable, because our primary goal is to educate the market on Search. There are too many companies spending time and money in all the wrong places trying to optimize their sites.

Anita Campbell will be joining us from Small Business Trends, to discuss Blogging and Social Media, which was one of the favorite sessions at our last seminar.

So, if you’re interested in learning about SEO or PPC, or just want to come meet some great people, come see us at Search Engine Marketing Made Simple Columbus in October.