14 Tips for writing content on your website

When we start our digital strategy the most important part of it will be the content. This is what visitors to your website will be looking for. It needs to engaging and informative so that these visitors stay. It is also how the search engines such as Google find your website. If the search engines can’t find your website, then your potential customers are going to have trouble finding it. So getting the content right is important.

Here are some tips for writing your content. Even though I do this every day I still have to use my own guide to write content.

1. Keep it simple: Avoid using very complicated words and terms. Unless you are writing an article for your peers then you need to keep the content very simple and easy to read.
2. Short sentences:  When we read from a computer we do it differently than on paper. We scan the screen looking for information.
3. Research you audience: Do some basic research on your audience. If you already know your audience then use that knowledge.
4. Write for your audience: Once you know your audience then you can write for them. If you are offering a service to people then they will not know all your terms. Use more simple language to describe what you do.
5. Write as you would speak: This may sound simple but is probably the hardest thing to get used to.
6. Use headlines: This is a great way to grab people’s attention. I hope my headline was the reason you are reading this.
7. Use lists: Using lists is a great way to show what you do on a web page. They also make writing a lot easier as you have a list of topics to work on.
8. Know how many words to use: This is something that I will cover in more detail in the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). But the minimum amount of words is 300 and the maximum is 600. Aim for somewhere in between these.
9. Research your keywords: Using the Google keyword planner is the easiest way to get the right keywords to use. Again this goes back to your audience; it is what they are looking for that we need to put into the content.
10. Know your audiences pain: People are using phrases more and more when searching for products and services. So by knowing your audiences pain and writing in a phrase you are more likely to attract them.
11. Be the solution to that pain: If you have identified the pain then you must have a remedy for it. Very often it how you can save them money, be more efficient or be the service they are looking for.  FAQ’s are great for this; you present a problem and give a solution.
12. Ask someone to review your content. Once you have your content written then you need to have someone else read it before you publish it. If you don’t have someone to do this then put it away and read it again 24 hours later. I guarantee that you will find improvements.
13. Spelling and grammar: This is important and is one of the main reasons that you need to review your content.
14. Get help: If writing is not your strong point then get some help. There are professional services that will help you with your content or ask a friend or relative for help. We all know someone that is good at writing.

I hope that you found this useful and now it’s time for you start thinking about your content.

Author: Paul Murray