Content is King

How important is your Web site content?

While many people are concerned with the design of their Web site, often Web site content not thought through, and content is hastily added at the last minute before the site goes live.

"Web site content" refers to text, images (including flash animations) and more commonly, video. For a long time Web site marketing strategies were directed towards ranking your site in a Google search for relevant keywords. As these techniques became more sophisticated, experts began to target specific terms in niche markets that would attract searchers who were ready to buy.

Unfortunately, optimising Web sites for these terms involved adjusting the keyword density: adding phrases in the right amounts to ensure the search engines ranked a site for the right keywords. Taking this strategy too far results in garbled and uninteresting text: content that is not king.

The problem is: what is the point in ranking for a great term, attracting lots of prospective customers and then turning them off with content that is uninteresting, or in extreme cases unreadable?

The answer is: there is no point.

The content on your Web site should engage people, give them interesting and relevant information and make them interested in what you do. So what will engage your audience?

Web site dos and Don'ts

Don't talk about yourself too much. Ever been at a dinner party where someone goes on and on about themselves and how great they are? After a while you switch off and stop paying attention. It's the same with businesses. People don't care don't care about your awards and cutting edge strategies. They want to know that your products and services are reliable and offer value.

Do show people that you are passionate about what you do and an expert in your field by providing them with lots of helpful information. If you tell someone you're the best, they may not believe you. If you show them your expertise, they will be convinced.

Don't skimp on the details. What's the point of including a page on your site if it only contains one sentence? Try to keep your pages around 400 words, and don't be shy about writing long pages. People are looking for information, and if they're interested they'll read everything they can get their hands on.

Do break up your pages with thumbnail images and dot points.

Don't use too much Flash. Animated images and icons can make your site more interesting visually, but creating your whole site in Flash is a no-no. All text should be in HTML so that it is readable by search engine spiders (otherwise search engines will not know what your site is about). Remember, people are after information and they don't like to wait around for a site to load.

Do make your site simple and user friendly. The navigation should be logical and straightforward, allowing people to find exactly what they want quickly and easily.

For more information on building a Web site that converts prospects into customers contact iQuantum today.

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