Creating a visually appealing website is only one step to attracting and engaging your audience. Being user-friendly and meeting technical requirements including fast loading speeds and being accessible across numerous devices is essential – but so is having the right content.
Without content, your website will remain a blank canvas, waiting to be filled. The biggest question is, “What do you fill it with?”. Providing the right content for your website is a real challenge when attracting online users that will most likely become paying customers.
Things to consider
In order to find out what kind of content your website should provide, there are a few questions to ask yourself.
1. What is your purpose?
Before creating a website, ensure you understand why you are doing it. What will your website’s purpose be and how do you hope it will help your business succeed? The answers may highly depend on the industry you are operating in, so it pays to have a look at what the competition is doing and determine what will work best for you.
2. Who is your target audience?
Your website should be created with your visitors’ needs and interests in mind. Therefore, it is essential that you know who your main audience will be and what reasons they would have to engage with you. Think about what content your potential customers would be looking for – and make sure you provide exactly that in a way that is easy to find, easy to understand, and offers value to their lives.
3. What are you communicating?
Deciding how you will connect and communicate with your audience will further help you determine what kind of content you will need on your website. If you are mainly selling products or services, your website will look a lot different from one that is based on blogs or online forums.
The basics
No matter what industry your business is operating in, there are certain building blocks that every website should have.
4. What should be on your homepage?
Generally, this is what people will see first when they land on your website. Your homepage is your virtual business card and your shopfront all in one. It should briefly tell visitors who you are and what your company specializes in. The main purpose of your homepage is to capture someone’s attention and encourage them to dive deeper.
5. What should be on your about us page?
Especially if you run a local company, people want to know who you are, where you gained your expertise and what makes you stand out from the crowd. Include a short biography about yourself and the company’s history, any special achievements and introduce your staff.
6. How will you explain your products and services?
To help people find what they are looking for, this page aims to give an oversight of your products and services and how using them is beneficial. If you offer a wide range, it is better to divide them into sections with a brief overview and a link to a new landing page that goes into detail about each specific product or service. Think of these pages as doorways into your website. Grouping products and services into categories allows you to create richer content that is more likely to rank highly and get more visits.
7. How will they contact you?
Show your potential customers all the different ways they can get in touch with you. Make sure to display your company address, phone number and email address as well as your mailing address if it differs from your physical one. Where possible, have that info included in the footer of your website so it is accessible on every page throughout your website. In addition, your contact page should include a map showing where your business is located as well as your opening hours and links to your social media accounts. It’s also a good idea to use “push to call” links on phone numbers to make it super-easy for smartphone users to call you.
Add-ons
The following pages will add further value to your website and can also have a positive impact on your ranking in search engine results.
8. Blog
A blog section is typically made up of industry-related posts that are regularly added to your website. They are generally in chronological order and provide your audience with useful bits of information such as the latest news about your business, new product launches, or ways to enhance your customers’ lives with the help of the services and products you are offering.
While listed as an add-on, the blog section on your website can actually give your SEO rankings a vital boost as it ensures that you regularly provide your audience with fresh content. Blogs are also a great way to establish your business as an expert in the field and they are your greatest and cheapest marketing tool. A word of caution: keep it relevant! Adding lots of irrelevant content that isn’t of interest to your customers can adversely affect your Google rankings and lower overall website visits.
9. Testimonials and reviews
The majority of online shoppers will decide whether or not to make a purchase based on a company’s reviews. In addition to global review sites such as Google Review or TripAdvisor, encourage your customers to write testimonials that you can use on your website. Adding their picture or a link to their social media account will further strengthen their and your credibility and establish trust.
10. FAQs
Often, customers or potential clients repeatedly have the same questions. Having a dedicated page for those frequently asked questions (FAQ) will save you time and show your audience that you care. Answers should be honest and include a call to action, encouraging readers to take the next step and either engage with you or make a purchasing decision.
11. Latest news
If your business appears in the media, if you regularly create press releases or have celebrated any other forms of commercial achievements, this is the place to display those. Depending on the kind of industry you operate in, you can offer links to downloadable PDFs or complete press kits.
Content is king
Your website content is arguably more important than the actual design, it is what will make you stand out from your competitors. A well-designed website will initially attract visitors, but if they don’t find the answers they are looking for, you will never see them again.
12. Quality matters
In order to make your website successful, you need to create content that informs, educates and guides your audience. It needs to be captivating, provide value to your audience and be easy to understand. And above all, it needs to be original.
While quality is more important than quantity, having the right amount is also important. As a rule of thumb, a minimum of 300 words per page is necessary if you want to be picked up by Google in search engine results. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that pages with 3,000 to 10,000 words are more likely to be shared on social media.
If you need help with your website, contact the friendly team at Energise Web today. We can discuss your website content with you and get our experienced copywriters to bring your internet presence up to date.