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CHAPTER
8 Web Site Content tips
On the Internet content is king and always will be. This is because the Internet is the information superhighway and most people use it for information of some sort.
The information on a website is its content. Generally the more useful and interesting content a website has the more successful it will be. This is because more people will want to visit it again and again, this is especially true if a website is constantly adding more and more content on a regular basis be it articles, tutorials, news and opinion or whatever.
Content is what drives the web. OK, OK, what about the vast variety of products that can be bought on the web?
It's true there are millions and millions of products available to buy on the web but only the odd surfer goes online to specifically look for a product so if you gear your site to simply sell your product and do nothing else you won't be very successful.
This is because nobody will even visit your site unless they're looking specifically for your product and they just so happen to find it via a search engine.
Now you know content is king but do you know what good content is? Well the first trick to creating good content for your website is to be sure that your content will have specific appeal to your target audience.
Next you want original content, if someone asked me what I considered good content I'd say that it was content that's different and unique and not the same as the content on the other website I just came from.
Good content will show the writers own personality and flavor in it. It will be interesting and very informative, if it's not what's the point of putting it online in the first place, nobody will benefit from it and it won't help you get more repeat visitors.
Your content should be easy to understand and use regular English as far as possible, if you've to use topic specific words that could cause trouble for some visitors make sure you explain them. To create content you simply write news and articles about the industry your product is in. This ensures that visitors who read your content are also the visitors that are likely to be interested in buying your product.
If you feel you're great at creating products but don't feel the same way about your writing skills and think you can't write your own content there are hundreds of places where you can get content for free, usually all that's required of you is that you place a small bio of the original writer at the bottom of the article or tutorial.
To find free content like this simply visit any major search engine and type in "free your keywords here content" and then visit a couple of the returned sites. You'll be surprised at the amount of free content you can get for your site.
Remember before you publish new content always check spelling and grammar. If your content has misspellings and poor grammar your website and company will appear unprofessional and people don't generally buy from companies they think are unprofessional.
Don't just use the spell checker in Macromedia Dreamweaver, Microsoft FrontPage or any other website creator you use because the spell checker will do just that, spell check, it won't be able to tell you that you've used 'there' when you should've actually used 'their', so you always have to actually read all your content, usually twice is enough to spot errors, also to make sure try and get some friends to proofread it for you.
On
a final note, always try to update your content as much as possible as more people
will become regular visitors and will be exposed to the products and services
you offer. This is turn will equal more sales and profit for you and that ladies
and gentlemen is what it's all about.
Copywriting for the web
If you're online copy isn't slick, direct and customer-orientated, you won't entice anyone to stay on your site, let alone buy your products or services.
1.
Know your objectives
Firstly you must have a clear understanding of the objectives
for your website. Are you trying to persuade someone to buy something? Are you
trying to get them to sign up to a newsletter? Or maybe you want them to join
a particular organisation? Once you have written down, prioritised and fully understood
the objectives, it's easier to write relevant copy.
2.
Understand the web user
Avoid using lots of space to tell visitors what a wonderful
company you are. If you go to a party and meet someone who only wants to talk
about him or herself, it's an immediate turn-off. However imagine a party where
you meet someone who is interested in you.
To write compelling copy, put yourself in the shoes of your target customer and explain what value they will gain from having a relationship with you. Make sure your copy spells out how they will benefit from using your services. Don't try to make a website that is perfect for everyone. Make a website that is perfect for the people you want to talk to. Remember that throughout the process.
3.
Keep it brief
Most web users are impatient. They want to find the information
they need and move on. Keep the copy concise and easy-to-read. Avoid complex rambling
paragraphs. Don't cram too much into a single page. Use the organisation of the
site to parcel up your content so it's easier to take in.
4.
Craft your text
Most people only skim read web pages and a mere 11 per cent
of people actually read a whole web page word for word to the end. Tactics you
can use are 'chunking' the text in easily digestible paragraphs. Use sub-headings
as signposts so people know where to start - and also to point out the killer
points (you can also use a different colour, font, or type size to add emphasis).
Ensure the text is easy on the eye and simple to scan, so give thought to the
length of your lines - text going from one side of the page right to the other
makes for tedious, eye-straining reading.
5.
Capture their interest
Attract attention. For example, ensure the most newsworthy
information is first and end with the least interesting item. The page heading
must be attention-grabbing. It will be the first item viewed on any page.
6.
Seamless navigation
The site must be user-friendly which means that hyperlinks
between pages must be clearly labelled and visible. If you have PDF files on your
site it is important to label them clearly. Always alert the user to the type
of media being downloaded and how large the file is. It is not necessary to tell
them how long it takes as this will vary too much. If the user knows how big the
file is, they will have a general idea of how long it takes.
Pop-up windows are a good way to deliver detailed copy on specific subjects. Pop-up windows are much maligned due to unscrupulous advertisers but I think they are very useful. They allow the user to dip deeper on a subject quickly in an isolated manner, whilst keeping the rest of the site and its context in the background.
7.
A clean page layout
Keep your pages neat. Don't clutter the page with over-enthusiastic
designs. Clutter will cause confusion. Use the same font type and size for the
main body of the text to maintain consistency.
8.
Be crystal clear
If there's a word or phrase that's not necessary, take it
out. You should know your target audience best and that must come across in the
language and the tone of voice you adopt. Use intuitive, consumer-friendly naming
conventions. Avoid insider jargon and don't force users to make a decision with
limited information.
The quality of writing on the web is generally regarded as worse than you would expect in print publications and it's worth considering using a professional copywriter if you do not have the appropriate skills in-house.
9.
Check your page size
Leave a couple of lines between paragraphs to break them
up effectively. Some people like to print off web pages and read them while they
are commuting. So ensure your site isn't too wide to print out on a standard A4
portrait page.
10. Keep
it up-to-date
Make sure your online content is not out of date or inaccurate.
Your online content should be checked with as much rigour as any other medium.
Long-term solutions to better copy
1.
User group testing
Organise simple user groups to test your websites. This
need not be expensive but it will provide you with first-hand evidence of how
people interact with your site. You could invite friends in to look at the site
and note their comments or ask some people in the office.
2.
Content Audit
Do a content stock-take. What content have you already got that
you can re-use? What is out of date or simply irrelevant and what new content
needs to be created? Try not to add content ad-hoc but plan for the long term
and make the site an integrated part of any activities.
3.
Content Editor
If resources permit, consider hiring a permanent content editor
who has a brief to manage the site and ensure it is up-to-date and is continually
meeting its objectives for its target audience. You need someone with sufficient
authority to ensure the site is treated as a priority.
Sticky Content
Add sticky
content such as Ecards, Flash games, Tell a friend services which allow users
to send useful information direct from a website to a friend by email.
Flypaper
and Magnets
Consider your whole site as a magnet, attracting hits and traffic from all walks of life. You never know just what is going to generate your site traffic. Certain words and combinations will draw in people you never expected. Some web gurus like Richard Seltzer call it the flypaper effect. Put up commercial pages and personal pages that promote unique page content with very diverse topics. For example; you run a site on real estate but loved watching the Chicago Bulls win the NBA championship yet again - then go ahead, put up a page on Michael Jordan or the triangle offense with a link back to your main page. This page for another example: by checking referral logs, after two weeks of having this page up, the previous sentence drew in 300 visitors based on the Bulls and Michael Jordan comment (amazing!).
Let's
wax philosophical for a moment:
Consider the previous tip again - this is
potentially the most powerful page development concept on the web. The mere fact
that I mentioned Michael Jordan's name, brought 300 people to view a page! To
think that uttering someone's name could attract and audience is almost mind boggling
(excuse me while I have a Phil Jackson Zen moment). Of those 300 people, 175 clicked
onward to my homepage and 100 of them clicked on still further into my site generating
well over 1000 total hits at the time of this writing. After it was all said and
done, I received 5 emails total that resulted in one new web site programming
job. Seriously, think about that again - I mentioned a name and it ultimately
generated business - talk about the power of a word! Jordan Rules! (Laugh out
loud).
It is worth your while to generate as much site traffic as possible - even if it isn't quite the target audience you had in mind. This is especially true if your site is set to launch ads on a clicks-per-thousand (cpm) viewing basis. I am no expert design guru, but my sites always have good volume.
Consider every page on your site as a potential point of entry for visitors. Use some small widget, solo topic, or narrow focus pages with keywords unto themselves - and also some large heavy content pages with broad topics.
With search engines constantly changing their ranking systems, one month a large content rich page will score high, while the next month that little two paragraph "after thought" page will suddenly jump to the top of the rankings for seemingly unknown reasons. You should be careful with this technique not to give the search engines the appearance of spamming (don't just replicate a page and change a little here and there - keep topics divided).
For example, I had a little after thought page on Internet Relay Chat that was really nothing more than a cover page for another topic. In April, the cover page got 300 total hits while the faq page got over 1000 - while in May the results were just opposite. This is why it is critical to explore other avenues of site promotion besides betting the bank on high search engine placement! In the lean months, your reciprocal link program or newsletter can sustain you with the referrals you need. This is the main reason I believe in whole-site whole-web promotion efforts, as opposed to the feast and famine search engine only approach.
Special Offers
Using special
offers and promotions is a great way to boost business. Make a special page to
display the special offers and link to this from your home page.