The Number One Draw to Your Website
There’s no denying it: it is difficult to drive traffic to your website. There are countless competitors, whether direct or indirect, vying for the fickle attention of the web surfer. The marketing plan you develop to bring visitors to your website can have various effective tactics and techniques, but the one that should top your list is often given a lower priority—and sometimes forgotten completely.
Content is king
You may have heard that “content is king.” In making your strategy for attracting website visitors, nothing could be truer. Think about it: you can spend good money to bring web surfers to your site. However, if what you have to give them is poorly written, outdated, or irrelevant to their needs, you will have lost them in seconds.
Of course, there’s another reason why you want top-notch content on your website. Search engines reward excellent writing with higher placement in search results. Isn’t that what you’re after anyway?
Four signs of great content
So now that you know you need powerful, well-crafted content, what’s the next step? If you have the resources, you may consider hiring a skilled copywriter. At the very least, you should work with someone who is familiar with good writing and can help with editing. If you plan on writing your own content, make sure that you have others read it before you post. Whatever you do, make sure your website displays these four signs of great content.
1. Great content is worthwhile and relevant. While there are few objective rules that can determine this for you, you probably have a good idea from your own web surfing what content on websites is “worth your while.” Ask others what they would want to read when looking for a website on your topic. Show your copy to others, and ask their opinions. Make sure, too, that search keywords and phrases are in your content in addition to similar words and phrases.
2. Great content is updated frequently. A good suggestion is to make sure that your website’s writing is revised and updated at least every two months. More frequent revisions will serve you better. Not only will this keep readers coming back, but search engines love it, too!
3. Great content avoids writing convention errors. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors can detract from the best content. Readers will not view error-riddled writing as authoritative. And once again, there’s reason to believe that search engines consider a website’s spelling and grammar in determining ranking in search results. If you’re not a grammar expert, ask an editor to read your writing.
4. Great content is short and to the point. There may be few places where this is more true than on the Web. People are quick to click elsewhere if you don’t give them what they need. Keep paragraphs at just a few sentences. Use bulleted and numbered lists interspersed in your copy. Break up long sentences and paragraphs. Your readers will thank you by continued reading.
If you want to drive more traffic to your website, content is clearly the best place to start. Your website content should always command the most of your attention when working on search engine marketing. Not only will search engines reward you with higher placement, but your visitors will keep coming back for more!
Three Blogging Mistakes to Avoid
Blogging has taken the internet community by storm. You may have heard the stories of people who derive a full-time income from their blogs in addition to garnering hordes of traffic to their websites and free publicity for their companies and organizations. Hearing these stories may encourage you to write your own blog. While blogging may be something that benefits you and your business, you’ll want to be smart about blogging before making some common mistakes found all too often.
Mistake 1: Have no purpose.
Before beginning to blog or even setting up space to do so, think about the purpose of your blog. What is its focus? This is a question often overlooked by those who begin a blog. If your blog is for your business or nonprofit, you’ll especially want a clear focus that addresses the interests, needs, and concerns of potential customers. All too often, blogs will write about anything under the sun, but if you’re trying to win business, you need to give your readers a reason to read (and return to) your blog. The weather or what you ate for breakfast probably won’t cut it. Give potential and existing customers a reason to read your blog: cutting edge industry news that concerns your business, how your organization deals with common problems customers have, things customers can do to make a difference as it relates to your nonprofit’s cause. Your customers will thank you for your meeting their specific needs and interests by reading and rereading your blog, giving you more website traffic, and spreading the word about you.
Mistake 2: Don’t plan to handle comments.
Part of the appeal of blogging is that it provides a way for the audience to interact with the written word. The dynamic nature of the Web allows readers to post their thoughts and reactions to what’s been said by others and create a global conversation. That said, sometimes the comments won’t be positive or favorable to the blogࢋs statements or the company or organization behind it. You’ll need to know if you’ll moderate comments or if they’ll be posted as soon as a reader submits them. If you moderate, which is probably the smarter way to go, it’s wise to go in with an established policy for the acceptability of readers’ comments—where you draw the line. Comments that are respectful yet disagree with the content of your blog probably should stay…or your readers may feel that you censor their thoughts. However, you don’t have to accept profanity, slanderous statements, or discriminatory remarks. Whatever you decide will not be accepted should be stated explicitly so that your readers know the rules of the game before they play.
Mistake 3: Let it go stale.
Now that you know what your blog is about and how you’ll handle reader comments, you’ll need to keep it going! Sometimes that’s easier said than done. You’ll need to check in regularly with your blog to make new entries, read comments, and respond to reader questions. When you begin a blog, you’re saying that you have the time to check and maintain it on a regular, if not daily, basis. So make sure that you will regularly have time for it as well as plenty of material to write about. And don’t get discouraged. It may take a while for readers to find you, but if you let long lapses of time come between blog entries, readers may not check back with you…they may think the blog is dead. And that’s not a good thing for your organization’s image.
Blogging can be an exciting new way to interact with potential and current customers. By putting a little forethought into the process, you may find a whole new stream of marketing for your business or nonprofit that costs little and reaps a lot!
How to Attract More Readers by Writing Great Headlines
You may have heard that people’s attention spans get smaller and smaller everyday. On the Web, they’re even smaller! People surfing the Web take mere seconds to determine if they will stay on your website. You have a lot working against you, so you’ll need to pull out the stops to get viewers to stay.
One of the best things you can do is write amazing headlines. Excellent headlines can be read in a matter of seconds, and if yours captivate and engage, you’ve reeled in the surfers to stop and stay a while. Needless to say, headlines are some of the most important things you will write for your website.
Writing great headlines doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, there are many formulas around that have worked time and time again to attract attention. Here’s a small list of five easy ones that wave a flag to your average web surfer.
How to
Example: How to Win More Readers to Your Blog in Less Time
The “How-to” headline is a great way to bring in readers who are looking for useful information to solve a challenge or problem. To really maximize the impact, look to play up the benefit or advantage that readers will gain by taking your advice. Remember, it’s always about the benefits!
Numbered Lists
Example: Four Easy Ways to Double Your Website Traffic
People love numbers in headlines. They make it clear to the reader the number of benefits, strategies, tips, or tricks someone is about to learn. You’ll attract attention with these numbers because people will be willing to invest more in your articles since they have a better idea of what they’ll get out of it.
Secrets
Example: The Secret to Higher Search Engine Rankings
Perhaps even more than numbers, people love secrets. It’s that part of ourselves that wants to be better, the part that loves to know what others don’t. These headlines tap into that need. Any headline that emphasizes little known facts or secrets is sure to get some clicks.
Questions
Example: Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Millionaire?
Ask a good question, get a good reader. Entice your readers with a question that they just need an answer to.
The Twist
Example: Shoppers Abandoning Their Carts Will Mean Increased Sales
Provide the unexpected. Capitalize on a twist. Turn a problem into a solution. Anytime there’s an unexpected turn of events, people enjoy the tension or unexpected outcome. That’s why these headlines will naturally attract readers, particularly if you address a challenge of theirs and make it a simple solution.
As with most things in life, it’s good to use each type of headline in moderation. Certainly, you might raise a skeptical eyebrow or two if every headline on your site started with “The Secret to…” However, with a little practice and a little patience, you’ll soon be writing attention-grabbing headlines like a pro!
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