Website Content: Finding the Perfect Balance of Quantity and Quality

Many different decisions need to be made when developing a new website for your business. Beyond choosing the perfect design and selecting the right images, you also need to make sure the content on your website will make the right first impression with potential customers.

High-quality website content is incredibly beneficial for your business, but creating effective content can be challenging. You want to provide users with enough information and improve your visibility in search results, but still keep things concise so your readers can find the information they need.

Tip 1 | Content Boosts Your Visibility in Search Results

Through a process known as Search Engine Optimization (often referred to as SEO), you can work to improve your website’s ranking in key search results. There are many components to creating an effective SEO strategy, but your website’s content serves as the core of that strategy.

When a potential customer is looking for products or services online, they typically turn to online search engines (such as Google). Users type their search queries into a search engine, and then the search engine gets to work tracking down results that match each query. If a page on your site is determined to be a good match for a specific user’s search query, it will show in their search results. The better of a match that page is, the higher it will appear in search results, and the more likely it is that a user will click through and visit your website.

By creating in-depth, relevant, and high-quality content that strategically uses a variety of keywords and phrases, you can help ensure your content is seen as a good match for key searches that are likely to drive results for your business.

Tip 2 | Content Creates A Better User Experience

Your website’s content does more than help your SEO. Content also communicates key information to your visitors, helping them get to know your business and learn more about the products and services you have to offer.

A beautifully-designed website can attract the attention of your users, but well-written content will keep them on your site and inspire them to take action. As you plan out the content for each page of your site, keep a few key details in mind:

• Know your audience. Before you start writing, think about who you are trying to reach, and write content that speaks to that audience.
• Answer common questions. Think about some of the most common questions your customers ask about your products and services, and “answer” those questions through your content.
• Drive action. Once you’ve provided your visitors with the information they need, it’s time to encourage them to take action. Use strategically written calls-to-action to encourage users to call you, fill out a contact form, make an online purchase, or take any other action that is valuable to you.

Tip 3 | Finding the Right Balance

The right content can help boost your rankings and connect with more customers, but how do you determine exactly how much website content you need? There is no single, one-size-fits-all answer to this question.

As a general rule of thumb, industry experts say that each of the core pages of your website should include at least 600-700 words. These pages are used to highlight specific products or services as well as serve as an introduction to your business. Including plenty of written content will make it easier to incorporate your target keywords and also allow you to communicate key information with potential customers as they browse your site.

However, you also want to ensure your content is easy for visitors to quickly scan through to find the exact information they are seeking. Creating content with the right word count that is also easy for your visitors to scan is a bit of a balancing act, but there are a few ways to create harmony:

• Put key information first. While you want your visitors to read every word of your content, the reality is their attentions will probably wane as they scan the page. To ensure they don’t miss out on any key points, start each page and paragraph with the most important information.
• Break it up with headings. Headings can serve as a sort of outline for your page content, helping the reader determine what a specific section of content is about. Use headings to define key themes in your page’s content and help readers quickly find the information that matters to them.
• Improve readability with bullet points. Lists of items or ideas can be easily separated out using bullet points, making it easier for readers to focus on each detail and understand the information you are sharing with them.
• Add interest with accordion menus. In situations where you have larger blocks of content within a list, accordion menus allow you to “hide” that additional content for simpler navigation and less scrolling on the user end. Users can click or tap on a section of text that is relevant to them to expand the section and view the rest of the content. The purpose of an accordion is to reduce the amount of scrolling needed, therefore, they aren’t necessarily needed for shorter sections of text. In fact, using accordions to hide just a few sentences of copy can create more work for users.

In this example, you can see how an accordion menu can be used to keep content condensed, organized, and easy to find.

To learn more about the different ways you can use Content Marketing to grow your business, check out our blog “4 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs Content Marketing.” For additional guidance on building an effective digital presence for your business, contact us for a free Digital Marketing Plan!