If you are in the process of writing content for your website, you may be curious as to how you can make your content more engaging. It’s common to have great thoughts floating around in your head but have trouble putting them on paper. Does the content make sense? Is it funny or corny? Will it put your readers to sleep?
As you work on crafting SEO-friendly web page content, here are six important things to remember. If you keep these tips in mind, you can stay on track with writing quality content that meets your audience’s needs.
1. Avoid writing content that is overly complicated.
No matter how technical your industry is, avoid writing complex text. Keep your content understandable to the average person, and use words and phrases that they will understand. Many people write in big words, not to show off, but to display their knowledge in the field. However, if readers can’t understand what you’re writing, they won’t know that you have this knowledge.
2. Break up content into easy digestible portions.
When you eat dinner at a restaurant, they don’t serve you the whole chicken. They serve it in small portions so that it can be properly enjoyed and digested. Do the same for your content. Avoid writing in long paragraphs with run-on sentences. Ideally, paragraphs should be around 80 words, or 4-5 lines. Use visuals, bullet points and lists to break up the text.
3. Don’t oversell your product or service.
While your goal is to introduce visitors to your products and services, you don’t want to bombard them with pushy sales tactics. Your site should be a warm and welcoming place where people can learn about your brand – no pressure. Strategically placed calls to action are usually enough to nudge visitors along.
4. Avoid plagiarizing or using images without permission.
It goes without saying that all content on your website should be original. If Google discovers that you duplicated content (and it will), your website could be penalized. If you’re not sure if your content is original, plug it into a duplicate content checker. If anything raises a flag, you have the chance to fix it on your own.
With visuals, it’s best to use your own photos because they are genuine and unique to your brand. But, stock photos can be great in a pinch. Just be sure that you have the rights to use them. A lot of stock photo sites have guidelines that you must follow.
5. Make your content sound friendly and human.
Inject some personality into your content so that it’s fun to read. No one likes to read content that sounds like an encyclopedia. Plus, the longer a person reads your content, the more likely they are to engage with your calls to action. To form a personal connection with visitors, use real-life examples, include images from your business and write in a natural, conversational tone.
6. Have a goal for each page you produce.
Lastly, have a goal assigned for each specific web page. By defining your goal, you can create content that helps you achieve it. For example, do you want the content to educate your reader? Convince them to sign up for your newsletter? Capture a behind-the-scenes look of your business? This will help keep your content on track and prevent you from throwing in information that isn’t necessary.
If you are still having trouble finding motivation, check out some of your favorite websites and draw inspiration from them. With a bit of awareness and patience, we’re sure you’ll do just fine creating exceptional web page content!
