There are many different kinds of people out there

who might be interested in your products, services, or content.

But, as great as your content might be,

one type of content does not satisfy everyone's needs.

It's important to consider multiple ways to provide value.

Not only do people appreciate the various forms the

content can take, search engines will look for them too.

Let's consider the different forms a content can take and think about how

you might be able to apply your own products and services to each one.

You can provide content in the written word and it can range

from a twitter size tweak to e-books or much larger downloadable tomes.

The words you write should naturally contain the search terms

that people you use because they represent the content that their

looking for and whether you're publishing blog posts, research findings,

news letters, status updates or anything else that users can read.

It must be valuable.

It shouldn't be purely about selling.

It should be about allowing potential customers to make

informed decisions because they trust you and your content.

Your content can be visual from pictures and screenshots to videos and screencasts.

It could also be animated and funny or detailed and serious.

It could be full of data like an infographic, informative like

a presentation on SlideShare, or the wireframe of a web site design.

It can represent the work you've done like websites and logos or the work you admire.

Like curating great designs on Pinterest.

But search engines must have textural clues about the visuals that you provide.

So, be clear about what they represent when you

add captions, link to it or even name the file.

Your content may be downloadable as well.

And while it might include text and visual aspects, it might take the form of PDFs,

pod casts, songs from your new album, or

code for your friends to try on their site.

When you offer content that users can

take with them, it's especially important to prepare

users for it such as listing details on

the file size, file type, and it's contents.

Why is this download valuable?

How can it benefit them?

How can they go about using it?

And how can they find more downloads like this one?

Offering a variety of content types is

ideal for appealing to larger groups of people.

Web designers know that their potential clients

don't all respond to the same information.

Some need to know what sites you've worked on.

Some need to know what your skills are.

Others need to know that you understand their needs,

and others just wanna know how much it's gonna cost.

Understanding your target market can prepare you to create the various

types of content it takes to influence the people searching for you.

Google, Bing and other search engines have been

expanding the range of content types for years now.

So in addition to website results, users will see other

applicable types like images, places, videos, social updates, news, and more.

Ensure that your content shows up in all the spots it

should, by describing it accurately, and by using the appropriate key words.

In addition to offering a range of content types, You

should also get in the habit of updating your content regularly.

When sites launch and then never make any changes,

search engines might assume that the content is stale.

Google calls it freshness.

But the measure of a page's SEO value is definitely related to its age.

In fact there are many time related variables

that can impact the SEO value of a page.

For example, the age of the page, how often the page is updated,

how much the page is updated, especially the important parts of the page.

The number and type of links on the page, especially

to fresh sites and how long users view the page,

so if age is a factor does this mean that

your page starts loosing value as soon as you publish it.

No, of course not.

Content is still king, so you should focus on creating as much of it as you can.

And if you can regularly create more pages

on your site each month or year, ensure that

the existing pages link to the new pages, then

this will maintain the overall freshness of your site.

This is why many people recommend starting a blog.

Especially for businesses, or individuals looking to broaden their customer base.

Blogs in particular are very SEO-friendly.

The templates upon which most blogs are built are

full of code that's been validated and optimized for SEO.

Creating content through blogs, social networks, news letters

or other regularly scheduled pieces not only improves the

freshness of your site but it gives you

an excuse to update and expand upon your content.

In the end, great content is great content.

And if users continue to find it and share it, it will

get seen no matter how many other competitive pieces of content appear.

Do a search.

Especially for a topic related to the technical field.

And you'll see some results from blogs that Are

a month, a year, maybe even a few years old.

While they might not be brand new,

they're still fresh, because they represent quality content.

And their value is very clear and applicable to the people who find it.