Create content for your Web site. It adds personality and sets you apart from competitors. Here are some content examples:

Industry information
A wealth of free information is available to almost every industry, either through associations or self-promoting practitioners. Much of this information can be helpful to Web site visitors who long to know more about what you sell, the industry you represent or related subjects.

You can usually republish articles, white papers and research results for free. Simply ask the author. You must generally identify the authors or link to the sites where the items originally appeared.

Related hyperlinks
You want to discourage visitors from leaving your site. But you also want to be a resource, helping visitors find other providers of related (though not necessarily competing) information.

A “resources” page is a good tool for this customer service.

Two suggestions: Place the resources page deep within your site so it takes some navigating to find it. That will guard against visitors leaving prematurely. Also, prominently display at the top of your resources page a notice for visitors to bookmark the page. Explain that you frequently update it with new listings and invite visitors to come back week after week.

Newsletters and e-zines
If it’s feasible, create your own periodical, such as an e-zine, that visitors can subscribe to by opting in to a mailing list.

You can also archive previous editions on your Web site, which will provide continuous Web page updates and reasons for visitors to return. Your e-zine encourages subscribers to return to your site every time it arrives in their e-mail inbox.

Free downloads
Offer freebies that visitors can download. These can be computer applets, graphic files or publications. These give a value-added dimension to your Web site. They also simultaneously keep visitors around longer. The longer visitors stay, the more likely you’ll achieve your site’s goal.