Creating
Good Website Content
The most important thing on a
website of any kind is the content. And by content I mean the
text or information that is on the pages.
I know 90% of the people think
that the design of the website is the most important and they a
good designer can make a website number one in the search engine
results and get a business a load of new customers.
Not only can't a designer get
you place, they can't do it without good, well written content.
And even if they did get you
to #1 on Bing, Yahoo and Google what would people do when they
come to your website if there is nothing to read? Surely you don't
expect them to use your services just because you hired an
expensive webmaster to make graphics for you.
In all cases, whether it be
search engines or customers they value a website and service by
what you have on your pages.
As a business owner it
should be very easy for you to write pages and pages of
information about your business and if you can't you need to ask
yourself, what do you know about your
profession?
If you don't ask, everyone
else will.
Nobody wants to use any
service that does not provide ample information about their
business or service. A business that does not show how much they
know or how experienced they are.
This is true of political
campaigns, we ask candidates to debate and show who is more
informed, who knows more.
It is also true in websites
and any service advertised online.
At one time, having a website
was enough, because nobody else did and you were ahead of the
game.
Now, not having a website is
like not having a business at all. Companies that don't have a
website are looked at like outcasts and suspicious thieves.
Nobody trusts anyone without a website, business card or or other
expected credentials.
So
there is no argument about whether you need a website or not, you
do. But we do need to address
what you put on the website and why your website is lacking any
real content.
There are two key
elements we should consider when building website content:
Search Engines
& Organic Traffic
The idea of organic traffic is
traffic or visitors sent to your website from the search engine
results pages based on what you have on your website's pages. The
simple fact is, the more diversity and information you have, the
more organic traffic you get.
If you have an article about X-Y-Z,
when someone searches for X-Y-Z they find your page. And that
part is actually that simple.
The more information you have,
the more traffic you get.
And as a business owner, you
should be able to sit down regularly and add information,
articles, bogs post and content to your website. Today that is
just part of doing business.
But we find that people don't
and then they blame it on google, their website host or the
President of the United States. Anybody except themselves.
Oh, I am fat, not
because I eat like a pig, but because Obamacare does not
work.
My website does
not work, not because I have done nothing with it, but my
website hosts sucks.
Everyone wants to blame
everyone but themselves ad when it comes to websites that is
soooo clear.
My webmaster sucks, my host
sucks my website sucks!
There is no excuse for not
having a website in todays market because anyone can do it
themselves. We don't need webmasters anymore, we don't have to
depend on other people.
Tools like blogs and
sitebuilders have made updating and adding content to websites as
easy as typing emails.
Hell, it is harder to send a
text message on a phone that build a website today.
So not having content is just
not acceptable.
If you know your
business, and I sincerely hope that you do, you need to write
pages and explain to other people why and what you know.
If you don't do
that, then people will assume that you don't know anything at
all.
And not only your customers
will assume that, the search engines will also assume you are not
any good at what you do.
The searches look for content,
so the can list it in the search results pages. If you don't have
content, then you don't get listed.
It is a simple concept and one
that is continuously missed and ignored, for one big reason, IT
TAKES EFFORT TO ADD CONTENT!
You can't add content without
making some effort.
Understanding Your
Customers
Now, I don't care if you are a
plumber, doctor, lawyer or writer, you all need to write content
on your website.
People don't look at the
plumber and say, "well he is plumber and it is OK
that he is and too dumb to write articles". They
look at the plumber with no content and say, "this
guy is an idiot, he does not know anything".
"If he can't show me how he does his work, I don't
want him working on my plumbing".
The fact is, without content
on your website your website is just a waste of space and money
and your business might be better without one.
But if you plan to compete in
any business, you need a website, so that means you need content.
You can't hire someone to
write content because they are not you. They don't have your
background or experience.
In fact, when you look at
corporate website you see a severe lack of content and that is
exactly what has allowed the smaller businesses to compete.
Because the smaller business cares, knows what they are doing and
shows the customers that online.
Plumbers are doing how to
videos and adding them. Showing before and after jobs and writing
about what went into the project, what it cost and who the did it
for.
But what does your website
have?
What have you added to your
website lately?
Are you not getting the
results you wanted? The organic traffic and attention from local
buyers?
There
is a 99% chance that that is due to not having content on your
website.
Both customers and search
engines will ignore what your website has if there is not enough
to make a good decision about your services.
Our Perspective as
a Web Host
We see businesses come and go
daily. And one things stands out with the ones that fail, they
make little effort and it shows on their website.
Some websites never get past
the initial parked page and after about a year of paying for it,
people cancel the service, "because it was just
too much work". But how could it have been too
much work when they never did anything?
Websites today are like
mirrors of their owners. If a website shows loads of content then
people see substance, value and a reason to use your services.
If a website is primarily
blank or mostly design and no content, people see that as shallow
and inexperienced in what you do.
You will absolutely be judged
for your website but not the way you think.
Having a pretty design just
does not matter.
Having content, like demo
videos, articles and information about pricing, availability are
so much more important to customers.
They could not care less what
your website looks like but they do care about what you can do in
real life.
So if the website does not
convey that message adequately, they assume you can't do anything.
So rather than spending 12
hours trying to get the colors right or finding a picture to add
to a page, sit down and write an article about what you do. Add
some content to your website regularly and you will see huge
rewards from your effort.
If you ignore
adding content to your website, then expect your customers and
the search engines to ignore you was well.
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