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Content,
Content, Content.
By Justine Curtis |
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Read any
Internet marketing article, forum or tutorial these days and
you will find that the one thing all the experts agree on is
that you need to have lots of good quality content on your
web site. It sounds like good advice doesn't it? But what
precisely does it mean?
Simply
put, content is all the text copy and graphics on your web
site. Good content can be defined as information that your
visitors will find helpful and that is relevant to their
needs. Good content will also enable search engines to crawl
and index your web site under the key phrases that your
customers are searching on. After all, there’s no point in
having a brilliantly written sales message within your web
site content if your potential customers never find it!
Good
content will mean different things to different businesses
and exactly what constitutes "good content" depends largely
on the goal of your web site and the products or services
you offer.
Web site
content can be loosely divided into the following page
types:
Core Web
Site Pages
These are
the mainstay pages of your web site. These are the pages
that explain who you are and detail the products, services
and information that is available through your web site. The
best place to start with "good content" is making sure these
pages are as complete as possible and answer all of a user's
potential questions.
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Typical
pages that visitors expect to find on every web site are:
·
About Us
·
Products and/or Services
·
Contact Us
If you
aren't experienced in writing sales copy, it is worth
considering hiring a professional copywriter to write (or
rewrite!) the text for your web site pages. A well-written
page tailors the style and voice of your message to appeal
to your particular customer type. It can make the difference
between just getting web site visitors and getting visitors
that convert into paying customers.
For more
information on writing content for your web site download
our guide “Writing Text That Sells”. To read an excerpt
click here: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/book_3.html
Make your
web site’s core pages your first priority before looking at
adding other content. Ensure that they are clean, concise
and easy-to-read, complete and informative. Ask yourself the
questions that your customers may ask, do these pages answer
these questions, or at least clearly lead to additional
complementary pages that contain the answers to these
questions?
Complementary Pages
Complementary pages are the pages that enhance and expand on
your core site pages. These are the “additional information”
pages that are your opportunity to really set yourself apart
from your competitors and help you make a sale.
For
product sites, you could include independent product
reviews, printer-friendly product specification pages,
product comparison tables, customer feedback and
recommendations and help pages that go exceed customer
expectations.
For
service sites, these pages might detail your expertise,
experience and qualifications, your proven track record,
existing customer testimonials, common myths and
misconceptions about the services you offer, or
do-it-yourself tips for situations where a professional is
not needed.
Complementary pages can also offer additional information
about industry recognition, associated bodies you belong to
and awards you may have won. They can include mission
statements or even statements of your commitment to customer
service, lowest price guarantees, etc. These pages aren't
critical to the operation of your web site, but their
content can help differentiate your site from others in the
field and establish credibility with your visitors. The
object is to give them reasons to choose to do business with
you rather than your competitors.
Writing
Content for Search Engines
It is
well known that if you optimize your web sites content well,
the lion's share of your visitors will come via the search
engines. We also know that key phrases and links to your
site are the two things that affect your ranking in the
search engines. Your key phrases tell the search engines
what you do, and the inbound links tell them how important
you are. This combination is what determines your relevance.
And relevance is what the search engines are after.
There's a
lot of information available about how to incorporate
keyword phrases into your HTML and Meta tags, and how to
establish inbound links to your web site. Both topics are
covered in depth in our guide “Start at the Beginning”
(click here for an excerpt:
http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/book_2.html).
But that's only half the battle.
Search
engines do look at your tags, html coding and links, but
they also look very closely at your text content. If the key
phrases you have used in your tags and links aren't used in
your text copy, your site won't be indexed for those key
phrases and your customers won’t find your web site listed
under the key phrases they are using.
But
writing key phrase rich content without compromising
readability and flow isn’t easy. Readability is paramount to
attracting and retaining visitors and after all, it's the
visitors that buy your product or service, not search
engines.
By
following these simple guidelines, you'll be able to
overhaul the content of your web site and ensure that it's
pleasing to both the search engines and your visitors.
1. Divide
and categorize.
Once you
have decided which pages constitute your core pages and
which are complementary, further divide your complementary
page into categories. For example, divide your products into
types (i.e.: digital cameras) then subdivide them into
smaller groups (Konica, Fuji, etc). This way, you'll be able
to incorporate very specific keyword phrases into your text
content, thereby capturing a very targeted market. If you're
working on an existing web site, re-title each page with its
key point, offering, or benefit using your key phrases.
For
further information on the best way to select targeted key
phrases, download our guide “Start at the Beginning”. Click
here to read an excerpt: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/book_2.html
2. Use
Key Phrases rather than Keywords
There’s
far too much competition to waste time trying to optimise
for single keywords and they are rarely, if ever, really
indicative of what your web site is about. Research has also
shown that Internet users are becoming more search-savvy and
are searching using more and more specific key phrases.
They're learning that by being more specific, they find what
they're looking for much faster and don’t have to wade
through oceans of irrelevant results to find it.
Although
using key phrases rather than single words may mean that you
get fewer visitors, these visitors will be looking for
exactly what you are offering and are therefore more likely
to convert into customers.
3. Pick
the most relevant Key Phrases
Don't try
to include every key phrase on every page. Focus on one or
two key phrases on each page and make sure that they are
relevant to the product, service or information content that
is being offered there. Try to include the full key phrase
in the copy using the words in the correct order but don’t
over use each phrase and don’t let them detract from the
overall readability or flow of the text.
4. Use
Key Phrase text in Links
If you
use your key phrases in text links to relevant pages within
your web site, when the search engines look at your site,
they'll see that the pages are related. So on product page
A, include a text link to product page B. For example, on a
page displaying Fuji Digital Cameras, you may add a link at
the bottom of the page that says, “You may also be
interested in Konica Digital Cameras”. If you link this text
to a page entitled “Konica Digital Cameras” the search
engines will see this as a “vote” from page A for page B’s
content about Konica Digital Cameras.
5. Use
Key Phrases In Headings
Search
engines, as well as customers, rely on headings to scan your
web sites information. Headings are given quite a lot of
weight by search engines when categorising your web site, so
although it sounds obvious, make sure your headings are in
text rather than graphic format and try to include your
primary key phrases in them. If possible, also break up your
content using subheadings through out your page. This will
not only improve the readability of the page, because it
will help customers scan your information, but will also
provide some secondary key phrase opportunities.
Just
remember not to overdo it. It's not easy to find the balance
between content written for search engines and content
written for customers, but if you take the time to implement
the steps above, having well written content on your web
site will pay huge dividends over time.
For a
complete guide to marketing on the Internet, including:
·
The General Principles of Internet Marketing
·
Start at the Beginning
·
Writing Text that Sells
·
Building Online Relationships
·
Maximising Your Pay Per Click Campaign
·
Measuring Success
Why not
purchase the whole series of downloadable guides for the
discounted price of £64.95. Click here for more information:
http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/promo_ebooks.html
Justine
Curtis, Enable UK, Internet Marketing Information and
Resources
Make your web site work harder!, Web:
http://www.enable-uk.co.uk, Email:
info@enable-uk.co.uk
Article
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
