Before you sit down and just start writing, it’s important to have a well-thought-out
content plan for your site. Primarily, you want to have an idea about WHAT you’ll
be writing, and HOW OFTEN you’ll be writing.
Here’s a list of questions to ask yourself:
- What is your goal?
What do you wish to accomplish with your new content? There are many proven benefits
to adding great content to your site, but is there one in particular you’re really
going after? Is the main goal to educate your consumers to build more trust? Is
it to give timely information that will keep your visitors coming back more often?
Is it to entertain to cause more word-of-mouth or viral spreading of your site?
Don’t start writing with the goal to just drive more traffic. This can only cause
you to lose site of the fact that you’re writing for humans, not search engine robots.
Give your HUMAN visitors what they want on a regular basis, and rest assured that
you’ll also be giving the search engines exactly what they want as well.
- Who is your audience?
Imagine being put in front of a microphone to give a speech to a group of people
who all belong to a particular organization that all share a similar interest… the
only problem is, you have no idea what organization they all belong to! If you’re
going to create useful, compelling copy, you better know who you’re talking to!
- What type of content will you be adding to your site?
Will they be magazine-type articles, blog posts, product reviews, press releases,
or some other type of content? If it will be a combination of these, how much of
each type will you focus on?
- What will be your writing “style”?
Will it be more informative, or salesy in nature? Will it be personalized and have
opinions included throughout? If you’re developing a blog, a 1st person narrative
will make more sense. It’s easier to write engaging copy when you can speak from
the heart and share your own personal experiences and opinions.
- How often will you be adding new content to your site?
Obviously, this question will depend on how much time you have to invest. Yes, writing
good quality content takes time, but the rewards are well worth it.
Whenever you feel tempted to give up on your content building efforts, try to remind
yourself of all the benefits you will reap by giving your site visitors more and
more reason to come back to your site again and again. Here are the proven benefits
of adding fresh content to your site on a regular basis:
- Builds trust with your visitors
- Increases conversion rates (sales!)
- Increases the “stickiness” of your site (visitors stay on your site longer)
- Increases the # of repeat visitors to your site
- Gives a natural reason for other sites to link to your site
- Drives more and more free search engine traffic over time
- Reduces your dependence on pay-per-click traffic sources
If at all possible, try to add fresh content to your site at least once per week.
People will notice, and Google will notice as well. Sites that are true authorities
in their field have sites that continually grow. They’re alive, not stagnant. These
are the kind of sites that, over time, make their way to the top of the search results.
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