The need for content has ushered in an entirely new industry of online publishers devoted to buying and selling content online. One of the leaders in this new field is Associated Content: http://www.associatedcontent.com , a cross between MySpace and Wikipedia.

If we ignore pornography and socializing (which are, arguably, of little value to most business owners online), Internet use can be broken down into three basic categories: Searching, Shopping, and Content Viewing. Content Viewing commands more hours of Internet use than Searching and Shopping put together!

What is most interesting is that these three uses are often synergistic when it comes down to the bottom-line: making money on the Internet.

Searching
If an Internet user is in buying mode, he or she is most likely to begin the shopping experience by searching for the product or service of interest to them. Many factors come into play when search engines decide which website to show the shopper for a particular search. These factors are what Search Engine Optimization Specialists manipulate in order to achieve a competitive edge. To learn more about Search Engine Optimization see: http://www.seoverflow.com/seo-checklist.html

Content Viewing
As stated above, many factors are at work every time you see a website listed on the first page for a certain search term. However, as search engines have become more sophisticated at choosing the appropriate website for your search, they are increasingly relying on the content of that page as opposed to other factors like the amount of links your website has. So the potential customer starts out looking for a product or service, and ends up not necessarily on the website with the best or cheapest product or services, but on the website with the best content. Chew on that thought for a moment, and it will eventually dawn on you just how important content is, even to a pure retail website.

Shopping
No matter what it is that you sell, from wholesale blue widgets to green widget repair services, your online business can take a dive, survive or thrive based on the useful information you provide about the product or service. This, as we have established, is the key to getting the shopper to your website in the first place. But now comes the hard part! How do you get them to buy? How do you take them from Content Viewing to Shopping? Simple: Never