One of the most important things to focus on when developing a new Web site is your content. You should treat each page individually, with the view that each page has the opportunity to either capture or deplete your audience. You should not only consider the actual copy content but also the volume of copy on any given page. If a site visitor sees reams of text, they may well be put off and close the browser (or even worst go to another web site!).
When writing good copy for a web page make good use of the page title. Make the headings attractive and descriptive of the subject of the page. Your opening paragraph should then give an overview of the page. Tell your audience :
- What you are going to be discussing
- Why you are discussing it
- How it can be acheived
If you need to make use of lists within your copy then keep them tidy and precise. Make sure you use the list tags to create a structured ordered / unordered list.
Create content relevant to your audience
Know your audience and talk to them, not at them. No matter what your objective play to people’s emotions. Try and stay away from technical terms so as not to alienate your non-technical audience. Dont assume that people have read other parts of your web site before reading your copy. With deep links and SEO site visitors often arrive at pages two or three levels deep into a web site. Consider that your visitor may have never read anything concerning the topic in question when writing the content.
Proof read everything you write (twice!)
Make sure that you proof read all the content on your page. It’s very easy to write web copy ‘on the cuff’ whilst typing but this can lead to unobvious grammatical or spelling errors. If you can, ask a second pair of eyes to review the copy for you.
Finish with a call to action
Beleive it or not many readers won’t actually reach the end of your content, but for those who do conclude with a summary and action point.
To summarise
These are just a few basic pointers to help you write good content for your web site. As you may well know, quality content is an important part of any Search Engine Optimisation campaign and help can to boost your rankings.
