Most business owners today know that while it can take a considerable amount of time, effort and money to establish and maintain a quality website, it is well worth it. After all, most consumers today will run an Internet search for pretty much anything. Including information about a business prior to determining whether they want to form a relationship with that business, or not. It can be incredibly difficult to trust a business that doesn’t have at least some online presence.
According to research, it only takes a consumer about ten seconds to decide whether to actually remain on your website? This means that you have a very limited window of opportunity during which to convince consumers that you have something they need or want. This means you need an effective content strategy.
Successful Web Content Management
High-quality content is effective and engaging. It can mean the difference between a consumer remaining on a web page to learn more and leaving the page to search elsewhere. Most importantly, high-quality content helps the consumer in some way. This is either by answering questions they have or providing solutions they need. To this end, an effective web content strategy takes into consideration not only what one should do. But, also what one should not do in order to engage consumers and have them stick around to find out more.
Enhancing Your Content Strategy
Consider the following tips for enhancing your web content strategy:
⦁ Simple is best. With only ten seconds to grab and hold consumer attention, your content needs to be simple and concise. It should be easily understood and digested. Consumers are highly attracted to information that makes sense to them. They don’t want to have to go searching through dictionaries just to figure out if what they are reading is what they actually need or want.
⦁ Be credible. Consumers aren’t interested in opinions that may or may not have value to them. They want facts from experts they feel they can trust and rely on. Web content conveys credibility when it is free from basic spelling and grammar errors. It needs to cite research, be professional, and not overly personal. And, is free from derogatory remarks, distasteful points, and false facts.
⦁ Include outbound links. Outbound links can allow consumers to check their facts. This helps to build trust and credibility. It can also lead to other websites providing outbound links to your website.
⦁ Make content engaging. This is incredibly important. And, a bit of an art form as you don’t want your content to be so bland that it’s boring. Or so excessive that it’s over-the-top and unbelievable. It’s best to keep in mind that you have a very specific target audience that you are writing for. Your content will be most engaging if you consider exactly what they need and want. What questions do they have? Do they have concerns? What problems are they trying to solve? If your content is directed at handling these points, it is more likely to be engaging.
⦁ It needs to be scannable. Many consumers will scan over content prior to deciding whether it’s worth reading more thoroughly. They are therefore more attracted to content that can be easily scanned. This means that content pages that include little or no photos and large, wordy paragraphs are less likely to grab and hold attention. While content that includes headings, graphics, bulleted lists, bold text and more can make the consumer want to stay and learn more.
Your Content Marketing Strategy
With an effective content strategy for the web, there’s a lot your business can do. It will be able to reach out to and engage more consumers and drive more conversions. The above tips are simple ways to help ensure that your content truly delivers the results you need and want.
