Don't Forget the Content!

Nick Longtin reminds us to give website content priority.

There is a saying: "On the Internet, content is king." There's no getting around it: content is the meat of your site, and if you've got bad content, you may be deterring otherwise qualified visitors.

For the most part, users are on the Internet for one purpose — to find information. There may also be action items associated with the information, like making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. Even when a user is focused on a primary action, like making a purchase, content is still important. Popular e-commerce sites attract more visitors than their competitors because of product reviews, user comments, and other ancillary content.

On their journey for information, users will probably review many similar sites. While most of these sites offer the same general information, product or service list, only a few will contain unique quality content. Users gravitate to the sites with better content, and will bookmark the site or forward its address to a friend when the content is good enough. When users add a site's address to a social networking site, link to it on their blog, or forward the link, it starts off a chain reaction that impacts how the site is found in search engines. So not only does the content itself affect search engine ranking, how users consume and utilize the content affects rankings as well.

5 Critical Content Strategies

Now that we have established the importance of content, let's develop strategies for building the best content possible.

The first step is defining your audience. Sites that focus on a specific target audience, and understand what they care about, do better than sites attempting to garner a broader audience. Be as narrow and focused as possible with your audience. This will make developing content easier and marketing more effective.

Once your audience is established, every step of yoru content plan should keep them in mind -- attempt to speak directly to their specific concerns and needs. Many sites tend to focus their content inward and elaborate on the organization itself. The reality is visitors don't care about your company - they want to hear how you can help them and which products or services address their specific needs.

After you've established a good baseline of quality content, keep it fresh with regular updates. Develop a simple editorial calendar if that helps, but make sure your site doesn't get stale. Search engines will periodically check back with your site and take note of updates. Also, if content is regularly updated, returning users will notice and hopefully become regular visitors.

Offer ways for users to interact with the site and add their own information. Product reviews, testimonials, surveys and user groups are all ways you can tap into an inexpensive content resource. Although visitors can be a great resource for content, be mindful of off-topic information, and try to steer the users into productive interaction.

Now that you know what to do, it can seem like a daunting task. Unfortunately, many small orgnaization simply don't have resources to devote to building quality content. I suggest partnering with a group that can help with both content strategies and execution. Be sure to choose a vendor that will spend the time to understand your business, and has a proven track record of genrating resutls with quality web content.

To re-cap: 1) establish your target audience, 2) develop content that addresses the audience's specific needs, 3) keep your content fresh with regular updates, 4) invite users to participate, and 5) find a content partner if needed. Thank you for reading, and I hope this information helps you succeed with better web content!

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4 Ridiculously Easy Content Fixes

You know content is paramount, but you don't have the resources to overhaul your entire site copy. Take a deep breath — just a few quick fixes can give your content kick.

1. Write headlines that demand attention. The average user spends mere seconds on a page before clicking away. During that initial scan, a visitor will decide whether you website has the information they desire. Your best bet at making a quick impact? Eye-grabbing headlines.
   
   Tip: Be as specific as possible and numbers when you can. For instance, "How to Get 314 New Email Subscribers by the End of March" is a much more compelling headline than "Increase Your Online Readership."



2. Make your content "scan-able." Believe it or not, some simple formatting tricks can make your copy infinitely easier to digest. Take a look at your main website copy. Is it presented as one long chunk of text? Can it be broken down into sections and discrete lists? When you take the latter approach, readers will be able to "scan" your copy and get an overall idea of your message, without having to read the whole thing.
   
   Tip: Try dividing your content into sections with sub-headings. Short bulleted lists within the copy also help visually break up the screen. If your text still looks indigestible, try incorporating relevant images and strategically placed white space to break up the visual layout and give the eyes a rest.



3. Put your "thesis" first - then persuade. They call this the inverse pyramid technique, and it throws away everything you ever learned about writing. By putting your product, service, or core information up front, you save your readers the trouble of digging around to figure it out what you offer. If visitors can quickly determine whether or not they're interested in what your message, product, or service, they are more likely to stick around and read the rest of your copy.
   
   Tip:If your core business is selling sheepskin rugs of all shapes, colors, and sizes - say it loud and clear, up front, right away! You can elaborate on what sets you apart from your competition after you explicitly tell your visitors what your product, service, or mission is. If you don't tell readers what they'll gain from your website right off the bat, you're likely to lose them - even if you do have the very best selection of affordable sheepskin rugs.



4. Give your visitors direction. Ask yourself: if a visitor happens to actually read your finely crafted copy, what will they do next? Once you're sure you know the answer to this question, make sure you give them adequate direction to take that action. Statements such as "Click here to learn more," "Sign up for the newsletter today," or "Make a donation" all give the reader a choice to take the next step. If you don't make this a very clear part of your copy, you may lose them - even if they are ready to be "converted."
   
   Tip: Try going Web 2.0 - place "conversion buttons" strategically throughout your text. A clear button link that says "Tell us what you think" or "Read customer testimonials" will have a more fruitful effect than several paragraphs of copy with no clear next step.

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Thinking Wrong Feels So Right — Techniques For Explosive Creativity

I had the pleasure of hearing a talk by Jillian Perez recently. The subject was �thinking wrong�, a thought process that forces the mind out of cookie-cutter style problem solving and unlocks your creative potential.

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• Don't Forget the Content!
• 4 Ridiculously Easy Content Fixes
• Blog Post of the Month