Content is king they say. This has never been as true as it is when you are talking about web content. There is so much information available on the web these days that people expect information to be unique, timely and relevant. The content needs to be fast loading, clean and easy to read, easy to navigate and especially easy for the search engines to index.
There are many things that you can do to write quality content for your website. Here are a few to consider:
Focus on the customers’ needs
Obviously, to make your site content efficient you’ll need to provide value to your visitors. To provide value to your customers, you need to know their needs to tell them how your product or service can make their life better.
Pick the right tone
And yet another important factor to remember is the tone of your content. The content tone depends on how well you know your customers, how you want to position yourself and the purpose the content services: whether you need to prompt your customers to do something or you simply need to inform them of something.
Content must be helpful and of practical use
Insightful content that helps website visitors to learn new information, or as some say “take something with them” from the page must be one of your primary goals. Share your own experience of doing something; people like to learn something without having to do it themselves.
When you write useful tutorials or guidelines people are likely to link to your webpage and share it with other people with similar intentions. Word of mouth or friend referrals seem to be the most legitimate proofs that you are writing great content.
Properly Optimized Keyword Density
Keyword densities of 2 – 4% along with proper LSI content will get you top rankings. Keywords densities are just a rule of thumb to make sure you aren’t keyword stuffing and that you at least have a presence for your most important keywords. You can use this tool to test for your keyword densities.
Use Small Sentences and Paragraphs
Using smaller sentences and paragraphs makes your content easier to comprehend and take in. Users will not take the time to read long sentences or paragraphs. They will continue scanning down the page. By using short sentences and paragraphs you can pull them in and work them down the page without making them scan too much.
Use Bullet Points
There are many advantages of using bullet points. Many of which include:
- They are easy to scan.
- They break up the flow of the page.
- They draw users in.
Proof Reading
Finally, the written text goes into a final revision or a proof-reading stage. Here every last detail is double checked for items such as accuracy, formatting and styling. This person fills the role of editor and does not and necessarily have to be the person who completed the draft revision step. In fact, it can often be helpful if this is a different person with fresh eyes. Also, the same document can be proof-read by several people.
Make Your Content Web-Friendly
Web users want to get the information they need quickly, and easily take action. So, you should write content for your own website with this in mind. There are many formatting options to use for making your web writing readable and scan able:
- Brief paragraphs
- Bulleted and numbered lists
- Bold and italic text
- Headings
- White space
Include internal sub-headings
Sub-headings make the text more scan able. Your readers will move to the section of the document that is most useful for them, and internal cues make it easier for them to do this.
Be concise. Large blocks of content aren’t well received by web audiences. Online readers are accustomed to sites that are highly navigable and serve content in relatively small bites. Limit the focus of each webpage to a handful of key points and separate long sections of content into multiple pages.
Presentation and Layout
When a visitor lands on one of your web pages, you’ll have just a second or two to make an initial impression. If the visitor sees a page of just text, without descriptive headings, you can assume that they will go away. Help you visitors to quickly find what they are seeking by placing the main keywords at the beginning of each paragraph.
Just like the internet, your web page content needs to be like a superfast highway to information. Try to arrange the content of each web page into logical sections dealing with specific aspects.
Write in Plain English
Write in plain English avoiding technical language and acronyms. Keep it simple, concise, to the point, accurate and easy to read. Write so that your text can be understood by all age groups, the young and the old. Write in an informal way, as opposed to formal.
Write Objectively
Use objective language and avoid the use of too much marketing fluff. Avoid exaggerated claims such telling readers that yours is the best product in the world and instead show them why – convince them to come to that conclusion on their own and you will enjoy better results for your effort.
Hopefully this gives you a basic understanding of how to write excellent website content, but if you need some help get in touch
