No longer is it enough to throw out short, shallow web content to build links, hoping to boost your SEO. You need to engage visitors, answer their questions, fill a need, get them interested!
Here are 7 tips you can use to bring your content up to the “amazing” level that will do just that!
Right at the start, your content needs to be impactful enough to hook your audience immediately. The introduction should be short but effective in getting them to continue reading. Emotions run deep; playing on feelings and getting them empathetic toward your content can help. You can then continue with offering a solution or providing other pertinent information.
A couple examples of a strong intro are:
No one likes to face a blob of text slapped on a page—booorrrriiing! Including relevant images or videos can break up a monotonous paragraph. Visuals create a more engaging experience for the visitors, and they are more likely to continue reading and remember your content. In fact, surveys show that images improve the likelihood for readers to stay on your page by up to 80%!
And don’t just rely on stock photos. You can find great images on Pixabay, Flickr, or Google’s Advanced Image search, or try using Canva to create your own.
Headlines for articles or blogs should always be relevant to the information contained within. They should be short and impactful. Don’t use the bait and switch; that will most certainly turn off the readers. It’s a good idea to dedicate time to creating a great headline; in fact, it’s arguably as important as the content itself.
Let’s face it, most article topics have been used by others. You can still write about them, but make sure your spin has a different and fresh approach.
You can even write about topics that are heavily trending, as long as you put your own angle on it. Give a different perspective, an opposite viewpoint; something to engage the reader.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that content has to be stuffy and factual. Give it your own spin. Make it sound like you are saying it.
The writing style should also match the product or service you are selling. You don’t want to be flippant if you’re selling funeral services, but you can create more artistic content if you’re a photographer. The bottom line is to make a connection with your target audience.
Your content should have one topic and everything therein should relate to it. If it doesn’t relate to the point you are trying to get across, it’s useless.
The suggested length of a web page or article used to be around 400 words; currently the recommendation is more like 600+ words. However, the information relayed should be valuable. If you pad the content with fluff just to reach a certain length, you’ll lose the reader’s interest. Make sure the depth of the content is there.
In conclusion, with so many competitors out there, it’s a challenge to create content that is engaging, fresh, and draws in potential customers. It sometimes takes trial and effort, but it’s worthwhile to stick with it. Write content that has depth and offers solutions. Make it your own.
At St. Louis SEO for Growth, we build content-driven websites that boost your content — to get you leads and will help you get found in search engines. We have the expertise to build your online marketing strategy so that you can concentrate on attracting and keeping customers.