Information. It’s the principal reason that people use the Internet. Information or background is a search aim in itself and is also becoming a significant part of how people make a purchase decision. The ease of comparison, the utility of simply switching between sites for differing information means that our route to purchase online is becoming more complex and more convoluted.
Information is great for search engines too. It ticks all the boxes in terms of SEO and gives keyword density, relevance and all the other good stuff that search engines look for when deciding how to rank results. But information structured with search engines and SEO in mind is also, almost by definition, good for users as well. An excellent example of just how extensive and highly informative content can benefit both robot and human visitors and generate links is the destination guide pages recently implemented by eco-responsible travel company, Pura Aventura.
The depth of information on these destination pages doesn’t conflict with the design, as each relevant potential search topic is either tabbed or linked to a more detailed exposition, so the copy, while being dense and informative, doesn’t scroll down forever and sits well within the established site design and feel.  Apart from a general overview of the destination, there are descriptions of the geography, geology, wildlife and cultural highlights. There’s advice on travel arrangements, health concerns, what to pack and photos of the destination. The section concerning the Galapagos Islands even describes how to combat seasickness (boat being the only way to get there).
The content expands beyond just the obvious and basic “sales related” information and moves towards being a genuinely authoritative resource on each of the given destinations. It’s this power and authority that keeps human visitors on the site and keeps them coming back. It’s that same power and authority that impresses the search engines and helps to generate backlinks, which in turn further reinforces the perceived authority of the page or the site as whole, and that feeds back into the SEO campaign improving rankings even more.  It’s a virtuous circle and no matter what your starting point, information is what any visitor – be they human or a search engine spider – craves! Satisfy that demand and you will generate links and improve your SEO as well as giving your customers a genuinely rewarding experience.
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