Content articles relevant to your site, placed carefully where both search engines and prospective customers can easily see them, are critical to the success of your website. Make them more readable by:

• Keeping your page well-organized

• Minimizing graphics, especially fancy animated ones

• Delivering succinct, readable information (preferably with lots of bullets and headings)

• Eliminating grammar and spelling errors

After this, you should ensure that there are plenty of keywords in the top part of your document, particularly in the title and headers. Take care of the customer's needs first, then the search engine spider's.

But not everyone has the skills to write articles, particularly not in such a specific way. There are other ways to get your information. For instance, lots of webmasters have been using article directories, websites that provide free downloads of articles containing content optimized for your website. Others have contracted directly with writers or with content article brokers to purchase content articles tailored to their needs to put on their websites as their own.

Both using free downloads and paying for articles have positives and negatives. Here's a breakdown.

• Free downloads are, by definition, free.

• Articles you buy are not. But they are generally not outrageously expensive either.

• The free articles require you to place a "resource box" on your site containing the author's name and, generally, his or her web site address with a link.

• Articles you buy can generally be placed on your website with your name on them as author.

Both types are of similar quality as far as content; purchased articles may be better written, as they're written by professional writers.

You've heard the old adage that you get what you pay for? If you use the freebie, it may seem like a great deal. But by placing the resource box of the other author on your website, you may be sending a message to customers you don't intend.

You're saying, "I'm not the expert. But this guy is, and here's his website."

At the very least, if you use free articles you should ensure that the author is not selling a competing product to yours. At best, you're better off not putting his link on your site at all. It may be better to spend a little money, and get that perfect article on your website with you as the author – denoting you as the real expert.