How To Create Content For Your Website
Designing and building a website is one thing, but what about the content that goes on it? If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering where to start.
When it comes to content, we’re mainly talking about words, but there are other things you need to create for your website to build the best, most effective property your business owns.
What types of website content are we talking about?
From home page content, blogs, images and multimedia, keywords, SEO and more, the content on your site is vital to success. It must be done well, otherwise, you run the risk of looking unprofessional and not attracting the right audience.
Yes, populating your website with useful and interesting information is a big task. But generating content doesn’t have to be daunting, especially when you have a plan and some confidence. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know when it comes to creating content for your website.
Start with a sitemap
If you haven’t got one already, start by deciding which pages will likely be the most important. A good rule of thumb is to include the following:
A home page – You should think of this as your contents page since it’s the page that directs visitors to other parts of your website. Without it, people run the risk of getting lost and not finding what they need.
A contact page – Customers, potential employees, clients or even the press may want to reach out to you. This information will have your contact details like phone numbers, email addresses, postal address or directions to your branch or office.
A services or products page – These pages will detail what you’re offering. They should be clear, informative and authentic. Product pages should always lead to a purchase page that makes leads turn into customers.
A blog – For news, events, sharing knowledge and more, the blog is your brand’s personality and the place to share your most interesting information.
Your website’s main copy
The words on your site are arguably the most important thing about it, therefore it’s worth investing the time and resources to get it right. The criteria for website copy is simple. Your content needs to be well-written, using grammar and correct spellings, and free from technical jargon.
A good copywriter will do wonders for your content. However, anyone with a good grasp of English (or any other language your audience speaks) can write content. The key is making sure that your copy is original. If you take inspiration from another website or source, be sure to write it in your own words and quote them appropriately.
We also recommend keeping your sentences short and that your paragraphs don’t exceed six lines to limit overwhelming your reader.
Your targeted keywords and phrases
In order to elevate your website copy, you have to optimise the content with keywords and phrases. Google recognises popular search terms from its users and uses this information to rank the most relevant website in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
You can use Google AdWords to find the most relevant keywords to your website and its pages. The tool is great because it helps you determine the ones with the most potential and how you can optimise in other areas by identifying your competition.
A word of warning when it comes to keywords: they also should be used naturally. Don’t just dump them in your content. It likely won’t make sense to the reader, will be deemed inauthentic and penalised by Google, resulting in your page being lower down in the rankings.
Optimising your headings etc.
Now that you’ve worked out the best keywords for your particular page or piece of content, you want to strategically place them throughout your content and headers are a good way of doing this. Not only Google, but your general reader is likely to skim your headers for the specific information they’re looking for and this helps to find it quickly.
The same goes for meta-titles and metadata, which is what the searcher will first see in the SERPs. Since Google checks images and other media, you’ll want to make sure that your keywords are used to label them too.
Images
Like your content, you ideally want images on your website that are original. However, we appreciate that it’s easier said than done, especially when not everyone can use a camera or access various locations all the time. Good images typically cost time and money…
Fortunately, there are reputable stock websites like Pixabay and Unsplash, which enable you to find images for your website. Oh, and did we mention that they’re free? Just make sure that the image is permitted for commercial use, and can be modified if you need your designer to doctor it. Lastly, and most importantly, make sure that you reference the owner of the image properly. Usually, a link to the owner will suffice.
Make sure it’s relevant
The single most important thing you can do when creating content for your website is making sure that your content is relevant. This means that your content says exactly what it means. If your reader is clicking from a link on Google or social media, they want to land on the page that will answer their query. Pages that don’t do this are seen as spammy and a high bounce rate will be detrimental to your website’s health.
Not only that but authenticity is key to building trust and being seen as a reliable provider of useful and important information, like the way the BBC or Apple are considered pioneers in their field. Their reputation for clear and honest information allows them to stand out from the crowd. Think about the brands or resources you go to when you want to learn something – that kind of trust is invaluable to you and your website.
Creating your website content: next steps
Creating content for your website is simple. Write good content that is reliable, informative and interesting. Present your website with original and authentic content. Use keyword research to optimise your pages and its content (including images and video along with written text) to make sure that Google presents it to the right people who are looking for it. That’s it. Good luck and happy building your website.
Contact us
You now have the chance to build a website that ranks well. We can help you bring it to life. Get in touch today to find out how it'seeze Web Design Gravesend can help you.
Share this post: