Writing Page Content for your Website
Writing content for your websites pages is different that
writing for any other medium. There are some simple facts you
should be aware of before you put pen to paper. It can take some
time to get the balance right so be aware that you are going to
be fine tuning your content for some time.
Write for your visitors and not for the search engines. Search
engines are a consideration but you want to communicate with the
people who arrive on your site. You want to inform them and
motivate them to take action. Fortunately text written
specifically for your visitors will also be search engine
friendly.
Inject your personality into your writing and try to connect
with your visitors. This connection will make your visitors feel
at home on your site. Informal, friendly, conversational
language works best. You want your visitors to feel like they
belong.
Another important thing to remember about writing for the web is
that people scan what you write; they don't read it from start
to finish. This is a very important fact. Therefore what your
write should be easily read and easily scanned.
To help make your site easy to scan:
* Employ a easy to understand, attention grabbing heading
* Start with the conclusion or summary (inverted pyramid writing
style)
* Do not bury your message
* Include sub-headings that if scanned tell a story
* Incorporate only one idea per paragraph - make them self
contained
* Highlight important words and phrases
* Use bullet-point lists
* Keep your language simple
Your writing should help to build credibility for your business.
To do this you should build trust for your visitor.
Establish credibility by:
* Customer Lists
* Testimonials
* Case Studies
* Articles and White Papers
* About Us Page
Use language that informs your visitors. Make sure the language
does not exaggerate or over sell your offering. Any type of hype
tends to make visitors suspicious. Avoid marketing language and
focus more on an editorial style.
Even on a highly technical site it is best to keep your language
simple. Remember that all visitors to your site will not be as
knowledgeable as you are! Try to put yourself in your visitor's
shoes. Be empathetic towards your visitors and address their
needs. What information are they looking for? How con I describe
things to really make them understand?
The goal of your writing is to inform and also persuade people.
The key is to know and understand the people to whom you are
writing. Once you understand them then it is a process of
writing in a clear and understandable manner directly to them.
As this is not an overnight process it is essential that you
monitor your results. You need to know what is and what is not
working. This way you can continue to refine your message over
time.