Content is the foundation of any website on the internet. Yes, great designs attract eyeballs, but what gets people to stay and convert are the words, image and videos that are on the page. With none of that substance, people won’t stay on your site very long. And they might not come back.
So it’s extremely important that you make sure your content is up to snuff. Whether it’s just copy for your about page or weekly blog posts, it needs to be compelling to get people to come back and ultimately convert into customers.
But, that might be a challenge for you. Writing might not be your strong suit. And that’s okay. This page will help you with that. You’ll find blog posts, resources (internal and external) and people and websites to follow to help you learn how to craft great content.
Because content is going to be the lifeblood of your website.
Ad copy and tone
Writing ad copy for your website is a lot different than normal writing. You have to be more concise and to the point. While people are likely to read a 1000-plus word blog post, no one’s going to read that much ad copy. Plus, you need to figure out your tone of voice for the website, whether you’re going to be playful and funny or more serious. Those can have a big effect on how you present yourself to the world.
- 9 Simple Tips for Writing Persuasive Web Content (Enchanted Marketing)
- Writing Great Web Content: Your Ultimate Guide (Express Writers)
- What Is Content Advertising, and Should You Be Doing It? (WordStream)
- Online Advertising: Everything You Need to Know in 2020 (HubSpot)
Headlines and titles
Headlines are everything when it comes to content. They are what people are going to see in Google searches, when it’s shared on social media and when people see them in your blog. Get the headline right, and you’ll bring in a lot of interested readers. Get it wrong and no one will come. So take the time to get it right.
- 19 Headline Writing Tips for More Clickable, Shareable Blog Posts (WordStream)
- 9 tips for writing stronger headlines (Poynter)
- 10 tips for writing effective headlines for the web (Search Engine Watch)
- 10 Sure-Fire Headline Templates that Work (Copyblogger)
About page
A great piece of content that everyone needs to have on their website is an about page. How did you get started? Why did you create this business? How can you help customers? What is your passion? An about page can help answer all of these things and inform visitors about who you really are.
- What is the about page?
- Easy Guide to Creating an Awesome “About Us” Page (WordStream)
- 9 Simple Tips For Making An About Us Page That Works For Your Brand (Moz)
- How to Write Your Website About Page: 5 Powerful Ideas for an Effective About Page (Orbit Media)
Blogging on your website
Depending on a number of circumstances around your business or website — like business type, availability, etc. — you might want to start blogging on your website. And that’s not a bad idea. It can keep people coming back to your site and help other people discover it.
But if you’re wanting to start a blog, there are a few things you should know ahead of time. That way you can do it correctly right from the start and build a helpful blog.
- Why small businesses should be blogging
- How to blog correctly for your small business
- The difference between blogging and content marketing (Articulate)
- How to Develop a Content Strategy: A Start-to-Finish Guide (HubSpot)
Content and links
Links are pretty self-explanatory, but they are important for your website and content, especially internal links. Internal links encourage your readers to read more articles and other pages on your website. And the more they read, the more likely you are to convert them — whether it’s signing up for a newsletter or purchasing a product or service. Good ideas for internal links include related posts, recent posts and contextual links inside of the content body. But make sure you have internal links to all of your posts and pages.
How linking affects SEO
- 6 Linking Techniques That Will Help Your Content Get Ranked, Found, and Read (Content Marketing Institute)
- 5 Reasons You Should Link Out to Others From Your Website (Moz)
- The Seven Commandments of Internal Linking that Will Improve Content Marketing SEO (Neil Patel)
- Internal linking for SEO: Why and how? (Yoast)
Content and SEO
Content does more than just provide users of your website something to read and look at. It also plays a pivotal part in getting people to your website. In addition to useful information, it also doubles as SEO, or search engine optimization, help. While the specifics of SEO are a completely different topic, using keywords and creating content around those keywords helps your pages rank in search results and garner clicks from those searches.
Keywords and SEO
- The ultimate guide to content SEO (Yoast)
- SEO Content: Complete Beginner’s Guide (Backlinko)
- Why Content Is Important for SEO (Search Engine Journal)
- Why content is important for SEO (Brafton)
Content tools and help
Writing can be a challenge for anyone, even the pros. And there are going to be a number of times where you hit writer’s block or aren’t sure what to do. Fortunately, there are a number of places that offer tools and help so that you can write the best ad copy and blog posts that are going to help your business.