What is Good Website Content?
What keeps someone interested in your website?
Is it the striking colors you chose to use in your design? Is it the fancy way your website scrolls?
Probably not.
Good content is what keeps your website visitors engaged and interested in your site. But, “good content” is a little vague, isn’t it? We think so, too. That’s why we’ve put together the following tips for you. Follow these tips and you’re on your way to creating good website content.
What makes for good website content?
- Know your audience and their goals.
When you create a website, you’re not creating it for yourself. Yes, you’ll reap the benefits of having a good website: increased visitors that translate into increased revenue, but that’s not quite the same. Your website exists to help your desired audience learn about you, or specifically, how your product or service helps them meet their goals or needs. If you do a good job of convincing them that you have what they need, they’re more likely to purchase from you.
If you aren’t sure who your audience is, or what they want, how can you ever market yourself and your site to them? You can’t. At least not well.
Before writing content that you assume will attract people, do your homework. Take a look at your competitors and see how they’re positioning similar products. What’s your differentiator? Highlight it in your content and on your website.
- Clear, crisp copy.
Have you ever read a sentence worded so poorly that it physically made your brain hurt? Or one that’s left you cross-eyed as you try to figure out what it’s trying to convey? Don’t be that person and don’t create that kind of content for your website. If your website content causes people to stumble and falter as they read, there’s an issue.
So what can you do to make sure that your website content is legible and most importantly, easily understood? Write for the average reading level, unless your audience is more advanced (i.e., if your website provides resources for lawyers, let the legal jargon roll. If not, refrain from the difficult vocabulary and syntax.)
Did you know that the National Adult Literacy Survey results suggest that the average American reads at the 7th to 8th grade level? By using a readability grading tool you can score your writing to make sure you’re writing isn’t too difficult, or easy, for your audience. For example, after Microsoft Word reviews the spelling and grammar in a document, it can provide you with your writing score on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Flesch Reading Ease tests. You can then use this data to refine your writing.
- Mixed media.
Do you enjoy spending time on websites that have nothing to look at but text? No photos, no images, just endless text.
Good website content isn’t restricted to blog posts and the written word. In addition to the text and writing on your website, consider using videos or other graphics to share your message and value proposition with your audience.
- Concise, understandable CTAs.
What actions do you want visitors to take on your website? Is it completing a purchase, filling out a form, or donating money?
Whatever you desire, make it obvious to your website visitors with a clear Call-to-Action (CTA). If they don’t know what they’re supposed to do, then chances are they may not do it. Your CTAs should focus on one action at a time — don’t ask someone to do three different things all from the same popup — they’ll never remember everything and they’ll be driven away by the volume of your requests. When writing a good CTA keep these three things in mind: make it concise, clear, and actionable.
- SEO optimized.
Good website content is SEO optimized. In a nutshell, that means it’s written in a way that’s attractive to search engines, and of course, humans. If your content is disliked by humans (perhaps indicated by a high bounce rate on that certain page) then search engines won’t want to surface it in search results. Search engines are in the business of getting people the information they’re seeking — quickly, efficiently, and accurately.
To write SEO optimized content, do some research around keywords. If you know what your desired audience is searching for, you know what words and terms to include in your website content. That should give you a little boost in search engine results.
There are many free tools that can help you research your keywords, so don’t hesitate to use them.
A custom domain name helps customers find you and builds your credibility.
How do you know when you’ve created good content for your website?
If your content is good, you should see an increase in traffic, an increase in conversions, and increased activity on your website. Good content is rewarded by search engines and website visitors alike. Search engines will rank good website content higher in search engine results, and website visitors will be more likely to follow your CTAs and complete the actions on your website that you want them to take.
Go ahead and take a look at the website content you have now. Do a content audit to see what material you have that performs well and what is lackluster. Use an online readability tool to score your work to see if there’s anything you can change to better it, and then revisit it in a few months to gauge how well your content is performing.
As you practice our five tips to create good website content, let us know how it goes! If you have any other suggestions, share them in the comments below.
