Believe it or not, website content doesn’t just materialize out of thin air. Like any other form of media, web content must be carefully researched, thoughtfully created and smartly executed in order to gain attention from a targeted audience.
Though it may sound simple to write a few hundred words describing a particular service offered by a company, the process can be a bit more involved and complex than you initially assume. Here are some tips for writing killer content that keeps your audience engaged, which can ultimately boost your conversion rate.
Answer Your Audience’s Questions
People come to a company’s website seeking information. Their ability to get what they came for depends solely on the quality of your content. No pressure, but you are basically the chief provider of knowledge pertaining to your company. Make sure to look at your site through the eyes of a first-time visitor and see if you are able to get your questions answered by simply reading what’s written on the pertinent pages. If anything stands out to you as potentially confusing or misleading, follow your gut instinct and take measures to improve it for better understandability.
Take Pride in Your Content
OK, you’re writing content for a dentist’s office- this isn’t exactly Moby Dick. Regardless, you must tackle content writing like you are about to write the greatest thing anyone has ever written in the history of the internet. This may be overstating it a bit, but you get the idea: write your content as if you are being graded on it. In some ways, you are: your website and the content on it is representative of your work within your business. Overlooking punctuation, spelling or grammatical errors can reflect poorly on your company and cause prospects to doubt your professionalism. Take the same amount of pride in your web content as you do in your business and you will do just fine!
Keep it Light
Let’s face it- nobody wants to read a 2,000-word run-on sentence about cement. If you happen to be in the cement business, you may think you have no choice but to have a boring website, but that’s where you’re wrong! Any topic can be interesting if you approach it properly. Try to write like you are the audience and you’re looking to be informed without being bored to death. Additionally, try to avoid getting too technical with your product or service descriptions if your target audience is the average consumer. Droning on about the various properties of cement and how they interact with one another to create different levels of hardness might be interesting to certain folks, but if you’re marketing to regular homeowners who just need a new driveway, you’ll lose them before you even had them. Just stick to the concrete details (pun absolutely intended) of your services, try to humanize your content and give your audience small, digestible bites of info instead of a 7-course meal.
Up the Fun Factor
Along the same lines, it’s important to remember that a little humor goes a long way. Try to keep content fresh and relevant, and try to keep it entertaining, regardless of the subject matter; for example, if you are the owner of a transmission repair company, you may not think it’s possible to make a blog post about catalytic converters a fun read, but trust us, someone out there knows how! Just keep in mind that this particular tip is not always appropriate depending on the nature of your business. If you are, say, the director of a funeral home or a gallbladder surgeon, you may want to skip the humor and cut straight to the information. Use your best judgment- you know better than anyone else who your audience is.
Outsourcing is OK
If you or your staff are not comfortable with writing your own content, your SEO specialist is happy to lend a hand. Most SEO firms employ content writers who devote their lives to writing engaging blog posts and articles for virtually every type of company out there. Right now there is a content writer out there working on an entertaining piece about flossing- if they can do that, nothing is impossible!
Contact a Content Marketing Expert Today!
Writing website content can be one of the most rewarding and creative aspects of running your business. When you enjoy what you do and you also love writing about it, great content will come naturally when you follow these guidelines. Not sure how to get started? Contact Echero today or give us a call at 925-998-5313 to speak with one of our content marketing experts about how we can help you revamp your website’s content!
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