In the modern business world, there’s no doubt that there is more competition for getting people to engage with your business than ever before. There are few things more important to your business than your website but if you want people to actually engage with it, there’s one thing that you need: content. If you’re planning to create content for your own website then you have to be sure that you know what you’re doing. With that in mind, here are 15 tips for creating the best, most engaging content possible for your website.
Understand who you’re targeting
This rule applies to just about every aspect of your business and your website content is no exception: know your audience! If you don’t know who it is that you’re trying to connect with, you’re going to have a much harder time creating content that they are going to find engaging on any level. By understanding your demographic, you’re going to be able to tailor your content to their needs and interests, making it far less likely for them to click away.
Keep it simple
Nothing is more annoying than trying to wade through pages and pages of text just to get to the thing you actually want to know. It doesn’t matter how well designed your website is, if the content that you put onto it is utterly impenetrable then customers are going to find themselves clicking away pretty quickly.
Get rid of the jargon
There’s a chance that, depending on the kind of website you’re creating content for, that a certain amount of technical information will be necessary. However, including necessary technical information and filling your website with incomprehensible jargon are two entirely different things. Keep your language accessible to everyone
Keep your sentences punchy
Sometimes, you need long sentences. Most of the time they just make things harder to read. Keep your content punchy and engaging. Your text should always be in active voice and you should work to make it as dynamic and engaging as possible.
Mix up your wording
While keyword might be essential for your SEO, few things will bore customers more than website content that just repeats the same language over and over again. For example: instead of using the term “accounting” over and over, try to mix it up with phrases like “financial advice” or “accountancy services.” Not only will this help your search engine rankings but it’s just more pleasant to read as well.
Pay attention to formatting
The most well written content in the world isn’t going to be worth much if it’s all in a single wall of text. You need to make sure that your content is presented and formatted in a way that makes it easy to read and engaging at first glance.
Use other media
While the text on your website is going to be at the core of the content that you create for it, it’s far from the only thing that you can use. From video to images to infographics, there is a lot of other media that can be incredibly valuable as a content tool on your website. Not only does it allow you to present information in a variety of ways but it also means that you’re going to be able to get certain information across much more quickly than if it were buried within paragraphs of text.
Use calls-to-action
When it comes to getting people to engage with the content of your website, that isn’t just a matter of making sure that they enjoy what they’re reading. You also need to make sure that your content is encouraging visitors to your website to interact with it. Simple calls-to-action like signing up for an email newsletter, following a link to some new content, or encouraging customers to get connected with your business on social media can be incredibly effective. Just make sure that you’re doing so in a way that actually makes people want to engage. Let them know the benefits of signing up to your newsletter, entice them with what a link could lead to, show them what they can get out of connecting with you on social media.
Use relatable language
There are few things worse than ending up on a website and feeling like it was written by a robot. Sure, you want to sound as professional as possible but there’s a big difference between sounding professional and not sounding like a human being at all. Make sure that the voice you use in your content is one that actually sounds like a person. For one thing, people are just more likely to engage with your content if the tone is at least somewhat conversational. Not only that but overly robotic and formal writing can actually negatively impact your SEO. It’s all about striking that perfect balance between conversational and professional.
Make sure that it’s original
DO NOT PLAGIARIZE YOUR CONTENT! You would think that this is something you wouldn’t have to tell people but you would be truly shocked at how many people think that they can get away with just copying someone else’s content directly into their webpage. It’s completely fine to take inspiration from other websites and businesses or to get ideas for the kind of content that you want to write. But when it actually comes to writing that content, you have to be sure that it’s completely original. Luckily, there are plenty of high-quality plagiarism checkers available online so that you can always be sure that you’re not cribbing your content from anyone else.
Don’t repeat yourself
If you’ve got a valuable piece of information on your website, it can be tempting to try and plaster it over every page but that’s a big mistake. If a visitor to your website feels like they’re just reading the same thing over and over, they’re going to get bored and click away before too long. They should always feel as though they’re getting valuable information with every new paragraph or page. It’s also a common habit for people to use the same phrases over and over again without necessarily realising it. This is where editing your content comes in so handy. Make sure that you’re going over your content with a fine tooth comb before publishing it to make sure that it’s not only accurate but that you’re not repeating yourself over and over.
Know the goals for each page
Each page of your website should have a specific goal. Whether that’s to encourage a certain interaction such as purchasing a product or signing up for a newsletter, or to immediately draw people in and make them curious about your website. Knowing what the goal of each page is means that you can be sure that you don’t waste a single word of your content.
Break up the text
Putting everything in one paragraph just makes things hard to read. Breaking up your text with things like images and subheadings not only just makes it nicer to look at but it also means that any visitor to your website is less likely to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of words on the screen.
Layer your content
You should treat your website like a rabbit hole that people can fall down. The content on one page should lead them naturally to another and so on and so on. By layering your content like this, not only do you make it more engaging for people coming to your website but it also means that you’re going to massively increase the direct engagement that people have with your website and the chances of them closing it and going somewhere else become a whole lot smaller.
Make your links inviting
When you present a link for someone to click on, it’s a common mistake to just say “click here!” People often just gloss over links like that. Instead, try to make your links inviting and enticing. For example, which would you rather click on: “For more information about vintage car parts, click here!” or “It’s really easy to find exactly the vintage car parts you’re looking for” with the link naturally integrated into the text? Exactly!
Proofread
You might think that you’re a pretty accurate writer and you probably are. However, the truth is that typos happen all the time to even the most skilled writers in the world. That’s why it’s so important to closely proofread all of the content that you write BEFORE it is published. Not only should you go over it to make sure that there aren’t any spelling or grammar mistakes in it but you should ask someone else to do it as well. A fresh pair of eyes on a piece of content can not only spot mistakes more easily but can also let you know if the content actually reads the way that you want it to. Proofreading your content after writing it might well be the most important thing that you can do.
