3 Rules of Web Content Writing
Writing good content has the potential to save you thousands of marketing dollars. If your website gets plenty of free organic traffic, you can use the money to invest in other areas of your business.
When you’re writing web content, keep these things in mind:
1. Start with SEO keywords research
It all starts with knowing which questions your audience is asking. There is no point in attracting visitors who are not a good match.
Long Tail Keywords
Long tail keywords are more specific keywords than just words that describe a general idea.
Let’s take my own business as an example. A weak sequence of keywords would be “Create a website.” The competition is massive and the idea of just creating a website is too vague.
With Google Trends I can identify search trends to make sure I tap into a market with a demand.
The related queries tell me more about what people desire in regards to websites. The data is clear – most people do not wish to dedicate a lot of resources. With the advent of website builders, they have become a commodity. Hence, I need to find clients with needs that require working with a developer. There is only one solution for me and other web developers – specialization. Can we identify a subset of website buyers that know they need professional help, rather than trying to do it themselves by using a website builder such as Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, Impressly and many others?
Google Adwords Keyword Planner To The Rescue
As with every tool, it helps to fill out all the fields. Markets vary depending on location. Telling Google to focus on San Antonio makes the results much more relevant.
The keyword planner provides two essential metrics – Average Monthly Searches and Competition. In other words, we get to know which questions users are asking and how many websites provide answers to them. Ideally, we want to find Long Tail Keywords that are high in demand with very few people providing answers. Such a situation will guarantee the highest ROI (return on investment).
The table tells me that each month, between 10 and 100 individuals google the keywords “online marketing sites” in San Antonio. I also see that there is no competition here in San Antonio.
Keep in mind that this information applies to companies who are willing to pay-per-click. Nobody pays for promoted listings featured by Google that are triggered by these keywords. While you don’t want all your leads to depend on paid marketing, it is entirely acceptable to pay for highly targeted ads, especially knowing that there is a demand and no competition. The information gained from the Google Keyword Planner tool can be extrapolated into your general marketing strategy. It’s a wealth of information available to you at no cost!
Use your findings from the Google Trend results to guide your research with the keyword planner tool. Look for patterns and for surprising elements. You want to discover opportunities that you haven’t seen so far.
By repeating this exercise, I discovered a pattern around the keywords “internet of things”. What if I built a landing page around the long tail keywords “industrial internet of things san antonio”? According to my findings, I’d be guaranteed to dominate that space, and that is exactly what positioning and marketing are all about!
2. Just Really Answer The Question
What if people actually read your content? That would be amazing because you would get a lot of business from your audience and you could help a ton of individuals.
Just answer the questions that you determined earlier. But, really answer them! Don’t just write for the sake of writing – cut to the chase!
Concise writing is not easy because it requires the author to be a real expert. I am sure you read books that discuss similar topics. However, out of ten books you read, only two convince you. That feeling of excitement because you finally found a helpful resource is what you want to create.
Your answer needs to be relevant, actionable and helpful. Make your answer so impactful that your reader can’t sleep due to the excitement and impatience your material instills.
3. Place Your Writing In Context
I have yet to place my articles in perspective for my readers. It becomes a difficult task if you have already produced a lot of content. I hope I can save you a lot of time by giving you this simple but brilliant idea before you start writing for the web.
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Here are some examples of companies that did a good job:
- https://rainmaker.fm/training/free-registration/
- https://www.sendwithus.com/resources/guide
- https://adespresso.com/guides/facebook-ads-beginner/
- https://lesschurn.io/saas-churn-university
I recommend that you link to your blog index from each article to give everyone the chance to start at the beginning and benefit from all the knowledge you published online.
Furthermore, you should give your readers a chance to subscribe to content updates using a strategically placed signup form. You want to make sure that you turn any reader into a repeat visitor.