Writing Web Content that Works

It’s a new month and that means a new theme for this blog and my LinkedIn newsletter, Content Marketing Musings. I decided to focus on web content this month. Web content is more than words on a website. It’s also images, video, graphics, and audio. All of it affects how a website is consumed by a visitor and how it is found in search engines. In other words, web content is critical to any brand’s overall business success. I will focus on writing web copy and content this month since that is where my strengths lie. But please know that words are not the only way to drive visitors to your website and to keep them engaged once they get there.

Your Digital Front Door

A brand’s website is their digital front door. It is often the first time a person personally experiences a brand. It only takes 50 milliseconds for users to form an opinion of a website. It’s up to the content on that page to make sure the perception is favorable and that the visitor wants to learn more. If it is not, that brand may never get another chance to engage that consumer. 89% of consumers say that they would switch to a competitor’s websites as a result of bad user experience.

Good Content Depends on Intent and Audience

As with any other marketing tactic, the most engaging content for a website depends on its intent and target audience. For example, the goal of a nonprofit’s website could be to foster donations, recruit volunteers, or provide service information to clients. It could be one, two, or all three. In most cases, a brand’s website will have multiple goals and target audiences. However, there should be a hierarchy of priorities so that the design and content is organized and easy to find and follow.

Goals could include:

1. Providing information, like blogs, news websites, educational websites, or corporate websites.
2. Selling products or services to consumers or driving inbound leads.
3. Building a community to foster unity and discussion on a particular topic, such as social media websites or forums.
4. Entertainment like gaming websites, streaming services, or online media platforms.
5. Building a brand to establish an online presence for a company or organization.

Each of these kinds of websites target a specific group of people who are looking for a certain type of engagement. It’s important to understand those details before creating content for any website.

Writing Great Web Content

When writing web content, the goal is to make your content as engaging and user-friendly as possible. Here are some tips:

1. Write with a clear, consistent, and concise style to make it easier for visitors to quickly understand your message.
2. Use headings, subheadings, bullet points, and other formatting techniques to make your content easily scannable.
3. Use short paragraphs to make it easier to consume your content.
4. Use a conversational tone to make your content more approachable and engaging.
5. Use simple language to avoid confusing your audience or using jargon they may not understand.
6. Optimize your content for search engines by including relevant keywords and phrases but don’t “stuff” them in places where it doesn’t make sense.
7. Place the most important content at the top of the page.
8. Write the content in a way that will answer the most pressing questions your target audience have.
9. Write in active voice and address the reader whenever possible (“You will save precious time with our solution.”)
10. Stay in your brand’s voice at all times.

Common Misconceptions About Web Content

The key is to provide high-quality content that is relevant and valuable to your target audience, and to use a variety of formats to keep them engaged and interested. But let’s clear up some misconceptions.

1. More content is better – While high-quality content is crucial for engaging users and improving search engine rankings, too much content can overwhelm users and detract from the overall website experience.
2. Website content is evergreen – Regularly updating website content is important for keeping visitors engaged and improving search engine rankings. Outdated content can harm a website’s credibility.
3. SEO is all about keywords – While keywords are important for SEO, search engines also prioritize high-quality content that provides value to users. High-quality keywords reflect the intent of your visitors, not the features of your products. Stuffing content with keywords can actually hurt search rankings.
4. Short-form content is always better – While short-form content can be useful for engaging users who want quick answers, long-form content like blogs and pillar pages can help establish authority and provide more in-depth value to users.
5. Content doesn’t matter as much as design – NOPE! Although a visually pleasing design is important, high-quality content is essential for building trust, establishing thought leadership, and keeping visitors on the website.

Writing authentic, interesting, and useful content is critical to driving traffic through your digital front door and keeping your visitors consuming more. It’s not the place to reuse old press releases, product information, or catalog copy. Web content requires thoughtful and strategic planning that engages your target audience.

If you need assistance in freshening up your website content or you are starting from scratch, I would love to help you. Contact me today and let’s get started.