It can cost a small fortune to hire a copy-writer to detail the contents of your website. But who better to write about your services or products then you? You know your business better than anyone else should, so why not take pen to paper and write the content for your website yourself. Below are some guidelines to help you on your way.
1. Follow K.I.S.S
The best advice to writing any content is to follow the Keep It Simple Stupid principle, otherwise known as KISS. Your content should be to the point, clear and understandable to your target audience. You’ll lose your visitors' attention span if you jam pack your website with fluffy and vague content. The best way to write is as if you are speaking to a friend on the subject. Above all avoid long winded paragraphs, they belong in novels not on your website.
2. Stick to the point
Know what your message is and stick to it. Try to limit how many ideas are presented on the one page to just the one! If you need to create additional webpages to cover over other topics then do so. It’s better to have 10 pages each with its own clear positioning then one with 10 different messages on it. Do this by having a clear heading and subheading on each page that describes what that page entails. One page can be about your team, another about your products/services and another with your contact information.
3. Write like a Journalist
Your content should be engaging and informative. To start you off, ask yourself the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, why) for each page. And end it with ‘how’. Always start with the most important information towards the top of the page and work your way down.
4. SEO basics
Create a list of 5-10 keyword phrases that are necessary to your business, if used properly these keyword phrases can assist with your overall SEO. When writing your content visitors to your page should always be front of mind, but don’t completely forget about the Google bots that will come visit too. If it reads naturally use some keyword phrases in your headings or subheadings. For example change “Cheapest Hosting” to “Australia’s Cheapest Web Hosting”. Small changes like these aren’t likely to rank you top spot in Google but will help you get ranked for what it is you do.
5. Know your audience
By now you should have a good understanding of who your customers are. Think like your customers and put yourself in their shoes. What information would they consider valuable? What is it that they are visiting your site for? Check out your competitors’ sites and see what they do right and wrong and how you can use this research to make improvements to your website. And don’t forget if you find the content boring chances are so will your visitors.
