No matter how dazzling your graphics or intuitive your navigation, the real reason people come to your site -and come back to your site -is content. Content that is interesting, helpful, or entertaining engages your audience and keeps them coming back for more. People are more likely to bookmark your site or recommend it to a friend if they feel it contains high quality, useful content.

Your competition is always only a mouse click away, but offering exceptional content makes you stand out in the crowd. Search engines care about content, too. The quality and relevance of your content will impact your being accepted and your relative ranking if you do. Your website's content gives the search engines the information they need to correctly categorize your site.

For all these reasons, you need to load your site with the kind of content your visitors most want to see. But where are you supposed to get all this great content? Basically, you can build it, buy it, link it, borrow it, or do-it-yourself. Here are the pros and cons of each approach:

One of the easiest ways to add content to your site is to add a free syndicated feed from industry experts, research companies, or content syndicators. You simply add a few lines of code to your Web page, and new articles or tips appear automatically as they become available. The content might be a list of news headlines or titles of articles, industry news, stock quotes, short articles, webmaster tips, or even a cartoon or joke of the day.

To find syndicated content for your website, go to your favorite search engine and enter "syndicated content" and keywords related to your site. Most syndicators provide good instructions for integrating their feed into your web pages, but you will need to understand HTML and possibly JavaScript to do it yourself (or else get your Web designer to help you).

Pros and cons:  Free syndicated feeds obviously save you time and money. Feeds add value to your site and provide a steady supply of fresh content of high quality. Once your feed is "installed", fresh content is supplied automatically without any further effort on your part. However, you have no control over the content being "served" and have to take what you get. Feeds don't really differentiate you from competitors; because they are free and readily available, the same content may be appearing on a lot of other websites, too. Your readers may follow the links to another site, and that means losing a site visitor (and potential customer). Also, you may not be able to find the kind of content that is relevant to your site and adds value for your visitors.

Maybe you don't have the time, talent, or inclination to write your own content. The good news is that there are plenty of other webmasters who do, and in most cases they'll let you use their articles, columns, tips, or tutorials for free in return for including their resource box information and giving them proper credit. You get free content for your website, and they get some exposure for theirs.

To find articles available for reprint, subscribe to an article announcement mailing list or just use your favorite search engine to find experts who write the kind of content you're looking for. Email him or her to introduce yourself (provide a description of your website and the URL) and ask for reprint permission. Just make sure you comply with the author's terms before using anyone else's content - whether or not it's specifically stated, the material is protected by copyright law.

Pros and cons:  Using other author's material is a quick, easy, and free way to get high quality content for your website and ezine. The articles are usually well-written and cover a wide range of topics; with a little effort you can find high quality and relevant content to offer your readers. The problem is that you'll be showcasing another expert's knowledge rather than your own, and readers might click away from your website to check out the author's instead. Also, other webmasters will have access to the same material, so the articles you choose may show up in many ezines and Web pages at once.

If you want to offer your visitors appealing, highly targeted content, you might have to pay for it. You can purchase rights to use licensed articles, reports, research data, online tools, photographs, graphics, cartoons, games, and puzzles from syndicated content distributers. You'll have a wide variety of content to choose from, and you won't have to worry about the same content appearing on your competitor's sites.

If you don't find exactly what you want, you can always approach an artist, author or programmer to create the custom content you need. When purchasing reprint rights, make sure you understand and abide by the terms of use to avoid any potential legal snafus (i.e., do you "own" the content permanently or just the right to use it for a specified period of time?)

Pros and cons:  Paid content is great for adding an air of professionalism and uniqueness to your site. One obvious drawback is the cost, which can be high. If you want to add fresh content to your site, you'll need to go searching again and shell out more money, and even when you're willing to pay, finding just the right content to offer your visitors can be a challenge.

Writing your own content will cost you nothing but time and effort, and has the added advantage of showcasing your personal knowledge, talents, and personality. It's a great way to let your visitors "get to know you" and as a result they'll feel more confident about buying from you. What do your potential customers want and need to know that you can tell them? What problem do they have that you can help them solve? What "frequently asked questions" do you receive over and over from your customers?

If the task seems daunting at first, don't panic. If writing articles isn't your strong suit, you could post answers to questions from readers, case studies, interviews, tutorials, or a list of links to online resources. If you have the ideas but not the writing ability, team up with a professional writer who can help you pull it all together.

Pros and cons:  Creating your own custom content is the best way to tailor your website to your target market, gain a competitive advantage, and showcase your own knowledge and expertise. Your own original content is unique - you know it won't be showing up all over the Web. Of course, you can always allow other webmasters and ezine publishers to use your material in return for a link back to your site and get some extra mileage out of it. The major disadvantage to custom content is the time and effort it takes to come up with an idea, research it, and write it up.