Website Content Writing
Think of a website as a picture book. The web design is what gets a visitor’s attention (like the pictures), but it’s the content (words) that tells the story. And what’s a picture book without words? Not a book at all. Websites like Pinterest and Instagram are based on images; however, the vast majority of websites get their identities from their content. So, it stands to reason that much of online success is found through website content writing.
Content writing isn’t just putting words to paper. There’s a strategy behind it; every piece of content has a purpose. The purpose, or purposes, are to engage, entertain, and inform readers. How do you go about covering those bases in your writing?
We’re certainly glad you asked.
Writing engaging content
What do great hosts do? They engage their audience. An audience member that doesn’t have to force his/herself through an event or that isn’t constantly glancing at his/her watch is a happy one. Or, as another example, just look at your daily life. I bet its conversation and flow that gets you through the day without feeling bored.
Website content writing is no different, except it comes with a lot of pressure. First off, it’s difficult to engage an unknown audience. You don’t know specifically who is viewing your web content. All you know is that if someone is visiting your site, they are interested in your line of business. You don’t know what kind of mood a visitor is in or what makes a particular visitor laugh. This makes website content writing challenging.
Also, as a content writer, you only have one shot to reach and convert a visitor into a customer. Someone could click onto one of your site pages, disagree with the first sentence that is read, and exit out. Hence, you have to engage your audience from the start!
You do so by asking questions, some rhetorical and some in which you want the reader to go into deep thought. And, of course, you need to provide answers to the questions that you ask. It’s all about creativity. What’s the most creative way for me to engage my reader to the point where they are entertained no matter what the topic is?
Writing informing content
It is important to understand that site visitors want to learn. They visit your website because they want to learn about what your business has to offer. So, teach them!
If you own or write for a flooring company, teach your audience about the different types of flooring your company provides. Teach them how to take care of each type, how to install each type and how to select a type that will suit their home.
Ultimately, visitors want to know how something can help them. They want to know how something can improve their lives. That in itself should keep them engaged. That is, as long as you write informing content.
Even if a topic is dull, which many flooring topics can be, you can make up for it by telling people what they want to hear. That doesn’t mean lying about your business’ products or services. Rather, it means writing about how your floors will improve a customer’s home. How durable is a floor? How flexible is a floor’s design? What floors are most luxurious? How much does a floor cost?
These are questions that people visit your website to have answered! For flooring, in this instance, but you can see how the example applies to your specific business.
Write from a consumer perspective
Remember, you’re not the one that matters. That sounds harsh, but it’s the consumer that will actually be influenced by what you write. In fact, once you publish content, you may never go back and read it ever again.
Thus, write for your target audience. Don’t use too many big words or words that only experts in your field would understand. You must simplify your terminology to where the most novice of visitors will understand what you are writing about.
Let’s face it, no one wants to read something that they can’t understand. There is such thing as a learning tolerance, but if someone is reading for five minutes and is still confused, you’re probably not going to have a satisfied reader.
Website content writing is like having a conversation. Put yourself in the shoes of the customer that you are writing for and answer the questions that the customer would ask. In doing so, be creative, as if you are having an uplifting, exciting conversation. That’s what writing is all about!
Oh, and get to the point
Don’t hold back on your answers with your website content writing either. Generally speaking, the quicker you provide an answer, the more satisfied a reader will be. Why? Because that’s why a reader clicked onto your page in the first place.
It sure would be nice if a reader read every word that you took the time to write, but that’s simply not the point of your web page. Your content should aim to enlighten readers to what they need to know about a specific product or service. Whether they are enlightened by the first sentence of a post or the last, the important thing is that they find the information they were looking for.
Just don’t intentionally withhold answers for a post’s conclusion. A website may be like a book; however, unlike a book, your content pages don’t have to save the moral of the story until the end. It’s best to get to the point, for the reader’s sake.
You should also note that search engine algorithms actually locate content that is direct and concise. For instance, google understands the importance of guiding visitors to content pages that will answer someone’s inquiry right away, rather than eventually.
The importance of regularly posting fresh content
Much of your web content will be stable, such as what you post on your home page, service pages and product pages. You can always edit the content for those pages, but you shouldn’t have to very often. Stable content is nice as it gives you one less aspect of a website to worry about. With that said, fresh content is what keeps your website active in search engines.
This is where a company blog comes into play. Blogging gives you the opportunity to post about industry news, product/service-related topics, and really anything that comes to mind (as long as it’s about your business). You’ll be giving site visitors fresh content to read through and you can post your recently published content to social media platforms in order to reach a larger audience.
New content will also be giving search engines something to rank from your website. Each time a new post or page is published, google ranks it somewhere in its search engine results pages. The ranking takes into account a number of factors, including:
- Quality of content—readability, grammar, topic relativity
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)—focus keyword, backlinks, meta title, meta description
- Relevancy between the topic that is searched and the combination of content quality and SEO
- Power of the website—popularity, Domain Authority
Mastering each of those factors (specifically the initial two) will get your content high on SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages). The goal is to reach the first page, and if you really want to aim high, the #0 ranking on the first page.
Reaching either goal will work magic for your website, as it will bring all sorts of added traffic! And increased traffic should lead to an increased customer base.
Try to diversify your website content writing
Blogs are crucial for search rankings, but they are also a great resource for those who visit your website without stumbling upon a blog as a search engine link. What’s more? Including articles pertaining to industry news, along with press releases and bios can be inviting to visitors.
Basically, site visitors should feel confident that they are clicking through a website that is legitimate and qualified in providing a particular service. You want to ensure your content keeps people intrigued and only adds to the favor that they hopefully hold toward your website.
Reverting back to the design/content relationship…it’s the design that stands as the attention grabber and it’s the content that stands as the support. In essence, web content is the backbone to a website.
Thus, give visitors a widespread selection of content to view and read. Who knows what particular piece of your website content writing will draw someone in and keep them coming back. Someone may take a liking towards a blog, while someone else may appreciate a business bio. Whatever piece of content it is, you want it to only help your cause, not hurt it.
Be accurate and error-free
This should go without saying, but accuracy and error-free content is vital to a business’ validity. Truthfully, anyone who is unfamiliar with your product line likely won’t be able to tell accurate from inaccurate. Though, that doesn’t mean you should write inaccurate content. You certainly don’t want to lose someone’s business because of false information.
Furthermore, you don’t want to lose a customer because of poor writing. Website content writing needs to be precise to a tee. Grammatical mistakes will happen from time to time, but try your absolute best to avoid them at all costs.
Proofread over and over again, and then have someone else proof read as well. Often times, a writer’s mind can get set on the same content after reading it over and over again, to the point in which errors might be overlooked. A fresh-minded perspective can sure up any oversights.
It could be assumed that most visitors will look past the rare mistake; however, content littered with mistakes will without a doubt steer visitors to another website.
Click4Corp
Click4Corp is here to handle website content writing for you. You can trust our experienced writers to create content adherent to all that was mentioned above. We write engaging, informing content that gets to the point! We also write accurate, error-free content.
We’ll add expert SEO and expert design to the content and your website will be ready for visitors and ready for search engines. Even if you are confident in your ability to publish outstanding content, you probably have a ton on your plate as a business owner. If that’s the case, let the digital marketing experts play their hand in improving your website’s reach and overall productivity. You can trust Click4Corp to do an excellent job!
Please visit our website—www.click4corp.com—to learn more about our assortment of services. Also, check out our blog for many additional digital marketing tips for your business.
