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4 Simple Tips For Web Content That Makes The Sale

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Internet marketers make money by selling goods or services on websites. So it stands to reason that they want to hire writers who know how to create web content that leads to a sale.  

Producing quality pages, articles, blog posts or social media comments for clients requires more than good grammar and writing skills, and an entirely different writing style than print magazine or newspapers.  A good content marketing writer masters the balance of search engine optimization (SEO)  with valuable information, and keeps the reader in mind at all times. When writing for the web, these four simple tips will help you create compelling web content that converts visitors to new customers for your clients.

1. Choose a variety of short and long-tailed keyword phrases and synonyms. A  keyword or keyword phrase is simply one or more connected words that are keyed into a search engine. The user is presented with pages of websites that contain the keywords they are looking for. The higher the site appears on the list, the higher the pageRank, and the more likely it is that a user will visit the site and make a purchase.

   Use Google AdWords Keyword Tool to find related keywords, and note that it is easier to rank for a long-tail keyword (a phrase with more than three or four words) than for a short-tail keyword.

2. Answer the reader’s questions. Carefully consider what led them to the site you are writing for. Is it a transactional site where they can order an item or service? Craft clear product descriptions illustrating the benefit the user will receive from their purchase. Is the website informational? Focus on the features, options and alternatives for readers. Sometimes users aren't quite sure what they are looking for, and begin typing a query into a search bar.

   Google's Search Suggest can be a good tool for writers wondering what phrases people are using to formulate their questions. Go to Google Search and begin typing one or two words on your subject. The search bar will populate with several recent popular phrases associated with the subject. These can make profitable long-tail keywords to incorporate into articles.  

3. Create great headlines and subheadings. While a book may not be judged by its cover, an article or blog post is often judged by a title. Good headlines immediately capture the reader’s attention, but  great headlines also include a long-tail keyword phrase. Promises of warnings, secrets, and tricks in a title are great hooks that pique the reader’s curiosity and encourages them to read the first paragraph.

   Catchy subheadings and the delivery of useful information and web content that answers the user's questions keep them on the site. The longer they remain there, the more likely they are to make a purchase.

4. Keep your writing brief, simple and active.  Online readers have short attention spans and scan information quickly. Answer the reader's potential questions in succinct, easy-to-read sentences. Create information fragments using short lists and bullet points. Use the active voice to encourage an action such as  "visit, click, buy, learn."   Break up your page using subheadings and images where appropriate. 

   Constantly hone your writing by learning of new methods for creating web content to increase sales. If you have a blog, experiment and monitor your traffic and conversion ratios to evaluate the effectiveness of your techniques. Bookmark a few good SEO and web content creation sites.

Successful websites include articles or blog posts with useful web content that compels visitors to make a purchase. Remember, your main goal as a marketing writer is to provide online content that will increase your customers’ sales.