Content is the core of any website. Duh.
Content is the meat of your website. It gets the message to the audience, hence, it is the most important part of your site. But there are many – too many – marketers who do not understand the critical value of content. Please read carefully.
If you agree with any of the following statements, you probably should re-think your outlook and create new content. Or at least put in some research.
- When someone checks out any of your marketing materials, they yawn. Always a bad, bad sign.
- Your site has misspellings. Nothing says “We don’t really like grammar and barely graduated high school” more than misspellings. Even if you do like grammar and did graduate high school.
- Your business doesn’t utilize Facebook, Twitter, a blog, or any other social media.
- The most important and most attention-getting part of a website is the design.
- SEO is something of the future – you don’t need to worry about that now. It’s at least 5 years out there.
- Videos and apps are a waste of your time. Who really checks them out anyway?
Any yes’s? Please read on to clear your mind up.
Number 1: First and foremost: If your website induces yawning, no one is going to read it. Period. You need to think long and hard about your target market. Do your research before creating content. Google Analytics can help you analyze which pages on your site are currently effective, and which ones need improvement. If you’re not interesting or relevant, you will be overlooked. Yawn.
Number 2 needs no explanation. Get a dictionary.
Number 3: Online presence beyond your site is uber-important. Getting your brand out in front of people and including it in their everyday lives keeps your brand alive and active. Don’t agree? Continue to not participate in social media and watch your competition soar.
Number 4: Design is indeed incredibly important in a website. Here’s the catch: you could have the most beautifully executed site in the world, but if the content exists of just potatoes, you’ve lost your audience. You can’t have the potatoes without the meat. Follow the equation: Aesthetically pleasing + Content rich = Great user experience (a.k.a. Meat + potatoes). They’ll be coming back soon – and probably recommend that their friends check it out.
Number 5: SEO is here and now. If you don’t know what SEO is, Google it. Your content needs to be filled with keywords to be truly effective in driving your sales. Want to drive traffic to your site? Do this immediately.
Number 6: Create a video. Now. The Millennial generation is here, and they’re influencers. Spreading the word is what they do. Get in their heads by invading their everyday technologies. They, as a species, are attracted to anything with a screen: phones, tablets, computer monitors. Videos can be viewed on all three. Bonus: This also works for social media.
Sounds like a lot of work, right? You bet it is. But the return on investment will be greater than you can imagine. Following these simple steps will help you get – and stay – on top in this digital age.
Don’t feel like doing it? Fall behind at a rapid pace.
Duh.
Renee Achterhof is a content writer for Mindscape at Hanon McKendry
