Remember when you were in grade school? You may have had a few techniques to fill up the extra pages in your homework assignments. Unlike your 8th grade English paper, more is not always better. There was a time when stuffing keywords into your website could possibly gain you an edge in Google rankings. Those days are long gone. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself that may help you when it comes to creating content for that new site.
When designing a new website, or redesigning an existing one, it is easy to get hung up on writing your content. Every page should have a specific goal. Is that page designed to introduce a viewer to your product? Or is it a more detailed explanation of the benefits you provide? Without a plan, you run the risk of a high bounce rate…and even worse, zero leads.
1. What is the main goal of the page?
This should be an easy question for you. What are you trying to accomplish with each page? What do you want the user to think or do when they arrive? Each of the pages on your site should have a specific goal. It can be as simple as introducing the user to your business. Perhaps you’re trying to convert a prospect to a customer on a product page. Regardless of which page you’re working on, a clear goal should be defined as to the action you want the user to take.
2. What type of person is the page targeting?
Whenever you write content you need to be aware of what kind of person will be reading your words. The better you understand your audience the more likely you will be able to customize your content for that persona. Are you trying to communicate with a buyer? Or are you laying out details for a researcher type of user? If you can understand the groups of users it will help you shape your content around what may be of most interest to them.
As a writer, you should also consider how the user has arrived on your page. Did they come from a squeeze page? Or did they come from a search engine listing, Facebook post, or another one of the pages on your website? Users can arrive at your website with certain emotions or preconceptions based upon their online journey. The more you know, the better you can tailor your content.
3. Benefits and Solutions
If nothing else, pay attention to this idea. In conjunction with knowing who your audience is, you should know their main challenges and pain points. Your job as a writer, marketer, salesperson, etc. is to communicate how your product or service will alleviate their struggles. Users want solutions to their problems. Your messaging needs to convey how you can help!
4. CTA – Call to Action
Quite simply – what do you want the user to do after reading your page? Are you trying to collect their email address, download more information or finally click on that buy button? Once again the more you know about your audience the more likely you will be able to persuade them. Different types of users are motivated by a different call to action. Every page should have a CTA. Some different examples include, “submit email address”, “check out testimonials”, “read more information” and of course “add to cart.” Regardless, the goal is to resonate with your target user and help them make the decision to move forward in the buying cycle.
5. Keywords
We mentioned previously that “stuffing keywords” is no longer an effective tactic. At the same time, you do need to keep them in mind. The ideal scenario is to use your keywords in a natural way. Don’t worry about reusing the same phrase over and over in your content. Headlines and Meta Titles are great places for your key phrases. Feel free to sprinkle in a few within in your content as well, but don’t overuse them. Remember, you are writing for a human and not a robot.