If your business has a website, you’ve heard about the importance of content. Lots of content—educational, timely, entertaining and frequently updated information that helps boost your search rankings and engage visitors.

Still, you might be asking: Our customers come to us because of the products and/or services we offer, so is it really that important to push out a steady stream of content?

The short answer is yes. And here are four compelling reasons why:

• Good content develops trust—The goal is to not only attract prospective clients with engaging content, but to keep them coming back and build relationships. But like any relationship, it’s easier to commit if prospects see that you clearly understand their challenges and can help solve them. Authoritative, user-friendly content that addresses their concerns and shows them how to solve a problem—without a sales pitch—will establish you as an empathetic expert they can rely on and trust.

• High-quality content takes on a life of its own—Website visitors are more likely to read and share content if they find it valuable. A clear and concise blog or social media post on the latest trends in your industry or common pain points (and how to resolve them), for example, serve as useful information that visitors will be more compelled to share.

• Engaging content makes you stand out from the competition—When consumers are comparing businesses online, what makes one stand out from the others? Yep, you guessed it: helpful, thoughtful content. Take the blog or social media post example from above. If the information presented proves to be timely and helpful to readers, they are more likely to come back to your site (while forgetting all about your competitors).

• Valuable content builds your email list—A website visitor is just that: someone who pops in, looks around and pops back out. But if visitors have the option to download, for example, a free eBook that focuses on how to solve a common issue or simplifies an otherwise complex topic, they are more likely to provide their email in exchange for your content. And that means you can add another prospect to your list.

Content is a must in today’s web-driven world—enabling businesses to stand out from the competition and provide both clients and prospects with helpful, educational information. If you have not yet, it’s time to jump on the content bandwagon.