Since the birth of the commercial Internet good writing has driven the development and search engine positioning of web sites. Good web site content (next to keywords) has been and always will be the King, Queen and whole Royal Court of marketing success on the web.
When you're trying to develop a successful web site you soon realize that your web site content is an important part of your success strategy. Web sites with great content are much more likely to get great traffic results than those which are filled with junk articles and lousy headlines.
The more interesting and diverse your content, the better traffic results you will have. However, when trying to get the right mixture of content, you may well become frustrated. This is especially true if you are not a strong writer. However the following tips/ strategies will help you appreciate the value of good web site content and the decisions you need to make to create the best content for your web site.
Care About The Content You Create/ Use.
Far to often web site owners give very little thought to the content on their web site. This happens much more frequently than one might expect with people who claim to be web professionals. However, without good content on your site the repercussions are immediate.
If you want better web site traffic results then make the creation of good content for your web site your priority. Whether you write the content yourself, or hire professional writers to develop this content for you it needs to be quality writing.
Someone who has passion for the subject should write this content. The more passionate the writer is about a topic, the better the writing will be. Usually, this is the web site owner and operator, because no one wants the site to succeed as much as this individual.
However, if you are not a great writer, you can always hire professionals to help you with this task. If your web site is a business then treat it as such and pay professionals to do the job right.
Always Use Quality Over Quantity.
When it comes to web site content there are some 'dos' and 'don't' here.
When adding content to a specific section on your site set limits on the word count. A web site is NOT a novel. Web site content is mostly scan-read by your visitors who are searching for solutions to their problems, so make your content accessible to them.
Give them what they want... good information that's easily digested (read) by the busy surfer. The easiest way to do this is mimic the structure of a newspaper article. The headline "pulls" you into reading the article, and the sub headers "pull" you into continuing reading a section within that article. If you scan read the article you should know what (in essence) it's all about.
Content which is to long can drive viewers away because they are likely to get bored, and it's just to much hard work to "digest' the information that's being presented to them. With the advent of multimedia technologies you can now very easily "mix it up" for the reader/ visitor as well.
Look at your site through the eyes of a potential visitor. Your purpose (with content) is to give the reader what they're searching for as quickly and as efficiently as possible. When you write to entertain yourself or show how smart you are you will quickly lose your audience. Be direct, to the point and give you reader the core facts.
Good Content Flows Naturally.
The writing style of the web is "conversational". This is good news for the person who is not a natural writer. If you have difficulty writing then don't... TALK into a tape recorder. Then, transpose what you've just spoken into words.
Natural flowing web content is like a good conversation. It flows back and forth between the parties involved in the conversation. When you're writing your content THINK of the visitor and speak to them personally. If you adopt this technique as a writing strategy then your writing with naturally flow, and it will have "you" in it.
This strategy will help you develop content that is more natural. You see, in a faceless place (like the Internet) we Human Beings will always respond more positively to information which has the personality of you (the writer) in it.
And (guess what) you're the only person who can write 'you' . So, if a piece feels unnatural to you when it's being written (it's not you) then most likely it will look uncomfortable to the reader on your web site as well.
Proofread Before You Publish.
This is just about being a professional. You are a professional, aren't you?
Some of the most unnecessary mistakes made with web site content writing are grammatical. Please, please, please (and please again) run spell check before you publish.
Web site content with spelling and basic grammar mistakes just make you look ridiculous, and are completely unacceptable. If you want your site to be taken seriously then proofread your articles numerous times before you publish them.
Proofreading ensures that you are delivering information that is intelligent and complete. It may help you to read your text out loud, in order to hear what it actually sounds like. Although it may seem unnecessary for you to do this you will find that the response to your work will be much better when there are no mistakes in it.
And, here's something else for you to think about, "If the greatest writers in the world need to work with Editors/ proofreaders why would you expect to be different?"
As you can see there are a number of important aspects involved in the development of good web site content. Focus on your passion, deliver quality, and be concerned about the flow of your content. Of course if you would prefer to not worry about these matters then hiring a professional writer is always the way to go here.
However, if you are up to the challenge then try writing your own content. All you need do is just relax and begin writing. And, here's a writer's trick to get the creative juices flowing. Before you attempt to write any article just write about anything for 10 straight minutes. This technique calms down the inner critic long enough for you to actually write.
Let the content come to you without effort. Try different approaches with your writing and you will quickly learn what works best for you, your site and the content that your visitors are interested in reading. As long as it feels right to you when you read it on the site it will most likely work for your web site visitors too.
When I was a professional musician I asked my drum teacher one day "When will I be a drummer?" He said "Do you have a drum kit?" I said, "Yes, I have a drum kit." He replied, "Well, that makes you a drummer. However, it doesn't make you a good one. So keep practicing". My point here is this, "keep practicing and you too will become (in this case) a great web site content writer". |
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