Insight Into Your Website

Part 3, The Value of Content

Most sites have a desired action that they want their visitors to take: pick up the phone, buy their products, contact them, donate or submit information of some kind. Whatever the purpose, it’s content that ultimately determines how well a site informs, brands and generates business.

Part I of “Insight Into Your Website” discussed the importance of capturing and understanding the meaning of your web stats. Understanding who your visitors are and what they are interested in viewing will greatly assist you in creating appropriate content for them. Part II covered the importance that navigational design has on the overall success of your site. Remember, if your visitors can’t find what they are looking for, they will leave.

In Part III we show you not only the kind of content that matters, but how it’s used to generate success. With a website, you don’t have the benefit of face-to-face communications with a visitor or potential client. The salesperson no longer exists as the first point of contact, so it is essential to develop content that is relevant, presents value and provides a direct path to other important sections.

Strong web copy is the single most important factor for a website. Good copy will not only attract new visitors and retain them but can also help elevate a site’s search engine rankings. When executed well, copy can also add value as well as make the site more compelling and user friendly. Here are some additional content examples to make your site stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Content Examples

• news – keep it fresh and up-to-date
• charts, lists, graphs, spreadsheets, surveys – current and relevant data
• headlines and sub headlines – easy to scan
• reference materials and keyword rich links – become a resource
• downloads, free tools
• product information, electronic brochures, product descriptions
• multimedia – videos, audio, images
• discussion forums, bulletin boards, feedback forms

Content Guidelines

• A good website should provide credible, original content in as many forms as possible.
• Content that is concise, compelling and has a scannable style normally has a higher usability rate.
• Break up long pages of content; users aren’t likely to scroll or print long pages of text.
• Immediately when users land on your site they should be able to quickly determine the content of the site. Keep the home page concise.
• Information must be current at all times; updating content regularly will be beneficial to visitors as well as search engines. Make sure to regularly update your site’s content.
• Content should be clear and organized as well as relevant to the site’s purpose.

The end goal of good site content is to help attract traffic to your website. Watch for Part IV of Insight Into Your Website in the Spring issue of eNews where we will cover ways to promote and drive traffic to your site.

Do you need help with your site’s content or would like a site analysis? Contact Silver Oaks.