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02/04/17 post featured image

How to Write Great Website Content

So you want to create great website content, huh? Well, lucky for you, you’re in the right place!

With this blog post, I will help you better understand online content, the importance of it, and how you can write great website content in no time!

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting TheContentBug.com so I can continue to provide you with free content each week! You guys are amazing!

WHAT IS CONTENT?

As we do with anything else, let’s start with the definition of ‘Web Content’ provided by Google.

Web content definition provided by Google - The Content Bug

“Web content is the textual, visual, or aural content that is encountered as part of the user experience on websites. It may include – among other things – text, images, sounds, videos, and animation.”

Web content is any information you provide to users on your website, social media channels, or anywhere else on the internet. So if you create, post, or share any information online with an audience of any kind, then congratulations! You are a content creator and you might not have even known it.

As bloggers, it is our job to create informative content that our audience will enjoy. And it doesn’t matter what kind of blogger you are. If you are a blogger, then it is critical to create great website content that others will enjoy.

WHY IS WEBSITE CONTENT SO IMPORTANT?

To start, quality content is critical for all search engine optimization strategies. And creating content that is consistent and engaging helps to keep readers coming back for more. So why wouldn’t you want to write great website content?

Content for SEO

Let’s take a look at the role of content within SEO. SEO revolves around content marketing. It’s that plain and simple.

A website cannot exist without content. (Seriously, it would be a blank website and that wouldn’t make any sense!) Once you create pages that have content on them, the Google bot will crawl through each page to determine what it is talking about. Once Google finds the keywords, it can rank your pages in search for users who are looking for a website like yours.

But it goes deeper than that. To establish your website’s authority with Google, you need the Google bot to continuously crawl your site. This way it ranks more and more pages so you have a better chance to appear in SERP (search engine results page).

By creating consistent content, such as publishing a new blog post every week, you are creating depth within your site. Each week you add a new page, Google is notified that it needs to come back and sift through more content to properly rank that page. And the more pages that are on your site that have quality information on them, the better!

Content for your audience

Although website content is important for your SEO, it is equally, if not more important for your audience!

You want to have an engaging audience, right? One that keeps coming back to your blog for more week after week? I mean, who doesn’t?! That is the underlying goal of every blogger’s website.

Creating engaging content is critical to maintaining a loyal following. It is important that people read the content on your website and feel something afterward. Something that keeps them coming back for more because you provide some value in their life.

For each type of blogger, this could mean different things. But whatever it is, it is important to determine what valuable information or feeling you want your audience to leave your website with. Then hustle your butt off to make that happen!

Without great website content, your audience might fall through the cracks. They could get bored and forget all about your site. And since your site revolves around people using it, it is pretty obvious that content is critical to your audience!




5 TIPS TO WRITING GREAT WEBSITE CONTENT

So now that you know what website content is and the importance of it, it is finally time to get down and dirty with creating content. There are many tips and tricks across the web that will tell you how to create quality content. But don’t waste your time reading 15 different articles on this topic. Go grab a cup coffee and stay with me awhile!

Here are my top 5 tips on how to write great website content that your audience (and Google) will love!

1. Keywords are the center of success

Keywords are the heart, soul, and everything in between of content creation. To write great website content, you need to start with picking the right keywords! It’s that simple.

As we talked about in the SEO section, keywords are what Google will recognize to determine what a given page on your website is talking about. Without proper use of keywords, you might not get ranked for the keyword phrases your ideal audience is searching.

So before you start to even write the information you want to include on your website, you need to do an evaluation to determine important keywords.

There are many keyword research tools on the web that you can use, but my favorite is SEMrush. This website is free to use and gives you everything you need to know about what people are searching for.

(I talk more about SEMrush in How to Generate Unique Blog Topics: For the Brave & Daring)

All you have to do is type in the general topic of your website. If it is a fashion blog, then you might want to enter “women’s fashion” into the search bar. This will take you to the Keywords Analytics Overview area. This analysis tells you phrases that match those keywords, how much they are searched, how many results there are, the cost per click, and more!

From this information, you can select the keywords phrases that are important to include on your site! But make sure you don’t write down every result this analysis gives you. Instead, carefully select what keywords are important to your audience. And what ones actually give you a fighting chance to appear in search for.

NOTE: Pay close attention to long-tail keywords. They will make a world of a difference if you include some on your site!

In the end, finding and including the right keywords on your site is a must if you want to create great website content. And I encourage you to use SEMrush. There is nothing better than a free resource that gives you exactly what you need!

2. Forget the fluff

Seriously… Enough with the BS already. People don’t want to waste their time reading useless information! Give them something that will either educate them, influence them, or leave an impression on them. In the end, you want your web content to be something they will remember so they keep coming back for more.

Here are 3 things you need to stop doing now to remove the fluff from your website content.

Remove adverbs

Adverbs may seem like a nice idea to enhance or place more emphasis on a word, but it is simply a waste of time. By adding adverbs you are hurting your website content by including words that don’t add actual value. So start deleting those adverbs now!

Shorten your sentences

When we want information, we want it now. Don’t waste your time by writing a well thought out run-on sentence that most people will skim over. Instead, keep it short! Really short. Break your sentences down to sound natural. If you can’t read your sentence out loud without pausing (other than for a comma), then it needs fixing!

Pick simpler phrases

Stop using long words and phrases that you think makes you sound sophisticated. If you wouldn’t say that word to a 4th grader, then you don’t want it on your site! For example, don’t use, “on the other hand” when you could use “but” or “so”. The simpler the phrasing the better!

To check for these, I like to use the Hemingway App. This is a free online website that every blogger needs in their kit of resources!

All you need to do is copy and paste your content on the website. It will mark areas that need improvement and show you how to fix them. It is pretty straight forward and easy to use. So go check it out!

NOTE: The Hemingway App is also available for desktop download.




3. Establish authority

Since we removed the unnecessary fluff from your content, it is time to fill in the cracks with some facts and stats.

It is important that your audience thinks of you as an expert in a specific topic/niche. Whatever your site is about, you need to establish authority so people take you seriously!

There are a few ways that you can do this.

First, include stats where they apply. If you are talking about how popular social media is, it is important to include how many people use social media!

But always, always, ALWAYS include the link to the reference you are talking about. NEVER include a fact or reference without crediting the appropriate source. You don’t want to get into a legal battle over plagiarism.

Also, try to refer readers back to your own content whenever possible. You may notice that in my blog posts, I tend to include links to my other blog posts that are relevant to the topic. This will create links that lead to your site which is great! But more importantly, it keeps readers on your site reading to gain useful information!

Instant Grammar Checker - Correct all grammar errors and enhance your writing.

4. Break it down into sections

Like I said before, people want information fast! It is nice to know exactly where to go on a page to get the information you want.

Make sure you always break your website content into sections. This is important for all website pages and blog posts!

Content that is broken up is often easier to digest for the reader. It gives them time to take a break and settle into the next section. It also makes the content look less intimidating at first glance.

When writing your next blog post, try to start with an outline that contains at least 3 different sections. That way, if someone only wants the main posts of your post, they can look at the section headlines! And hopefully, that will encourage them to read more.

5. The longer the better

You will notice that my blog posts seem long. That’s because they are (almost) always over 1,000 words. Sometimes they are even longer than that with over 2,000 words, like this one! (Seriously, thank you guys for sticking around to read this)

Long-form content is critical if you want your website to succeed. Posts that are longer than 1,500 words (and are not breaking news) are often referred to as evergreen content. These posts will continue to create traffic long after the launch.

Sure, we currently live in a fast-paced world where people barely have time to read an email. But when someone is looking for valuable information that will help them, they are willing to put some time into it!

Plus, if your content is detailed enough, you save people time because they only have to use your site as a source.

Still don’t believe me? Go check out Julia McCoy’s Argument for Long-Form Content. She is one of the greatest content writers in the game and has created an outstanding business from creating content that simply wins.
5 simple tips to improve the content on your blog. From the pages on your website to your blog posts, these are tips you need to know if you really want to grow your online presence!

LET’S WRAP THIS UP

Anyone can write great website content. It takes time and a lot of effort to find the perfect formula that works for your website and your audience.

So don’t give up if your content is not paying off right away! The more you work toward it, the better the reward will be in the end.

What are your best tips and tricks for creating website content your audience will love? Let me know in the comments below!


Keep Reading…

10 Free Content Writing Tools Every Blogger Needs - The Content Bug Are you a blogger struggling to understand Google Analytics? Trust me, we've all been there. This Blogger's Guide to Google Analytics is here to help you understand important areas of the platform that you need to pay attention to. Are you looking for ways to improve your blog's SEO? Follow these 3 things to improve your blog's search engine optimization today!


About the Author

The Content Bug - Cath Headshot 4Why, hello there! I’m Cathrin, the creator of The Content Bug. But since we are already virtual best friends, you can call me Cath. After working in the digital marketing industry, I decided it was time to share my love for online content creation, social media, and SEO with the everyday hustlers of the world… like YOU! You can almost always find me at a local coffee shop writing, reading and working on new things for The Content Bug. But when I have some free time, I love hanging out with my dog, going to a yoga class, and being outside. Stay connected with me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter to see what I’m up to!

 

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    4 responses to “How to Write Great Website Content”

    1. In order to get Google to prioritize your blog articles, you absolutely need to complete a competitive analysis of what’s already ranking. Hemingway hasn’t helped me or my team with this step of our content creation workflow. Over the next quarter, we plan on testing out INK. It’s supposed to give notes to help improve ranking potential.

    2. I loved this list!! There were some pointers I haven’t heard before so I jotted them down. Thank you for that! You have also encouraged me to write some longer posts as mine are more on the shorter side but I have a few that are longer 🙂

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