The forms of content that drive customer engagement, sales, and search engine visibility don’t vary.
No matter what your business sells, where it’s located, how long it’s been operational, how many employees it has, or what it’s short and long-term goals are, it absolutely must have these four types of content:
1. An Engaging and Descriptive Homepage
A homepage should answer the simple question “What do you do?”
According to a recent study, 86% of homepage visitors predominantly want to see information about a company’s products or services. Give new visitors a sense of what your business does by highlighting key product offerings and including top value propositions. Use your homepage to set your company apart from the rest of the industry.
Always write with the reader in mind. Your target audience wants to quickly understand whether your offerings can solve their needs and problems. This means providing the information they’re looking for in a way that isn’t overwhelming or boring. It’s important to display your best features without getting list-y or repetitive.
2. A Compelling About Us Page
There’s no area of a website that’s more overlooked than the About Us page, which is a shame because it’s the best place to establish an emotional connection with your audience. Companies with thoughtful and compelling About Us pages are more likely to have higher sales, increased customer loyalty, and more brand advocates.
Your About Us page should tell the story of your business. Weave the tale of who your business is and why people should buy from you. This storytelling gives the essence of your business – the spirit and soul behind your company. Focus on the people that make up your company and the passion that goes into your products or services.
Include images, where appropriate, to supplement text and provide a richer experience for visitors. Videos are another great way to introduce visitors to your brand and convince them to buy.
The goal is to make shoppers care about what you’re doing and what you have to offer.
3. Thorough Product Descriptions
The downside to shopping online is that shoppers can’t physically touch and analyze products like they can in-store. This barrier can be enough to turn shoppers off, resulting in lost sales. Consumers won’t buy products that they are uncertain about, so your product descriptions should aim to increase shopping confidence as much as possible. To make products more palpable, include thorough product descriptions and images that provide an experience that’s analogous to holding the product in your hand.
Include multiple product photos from different angles to give shoppers a good view of every aspect of the product. This is especially important for products that have a strong aesthetic component like apparel and home décor.
List product specs and anything else you might normally find on product packaging like dimensions, compatibility information, usage restrictions, and technical requirements. Where appropriate, include related products so that shoppers can compare offerings to find the best one to fit their needs and wants. Using a compare feature where shoppers can place items side-by-side to analyze differences is another way to bolster shopper confidence.
Product descriptions shouldn’t simply be a list of features and specs, they should also be unique explanations of what the products can offer. Convey individual value propositions and get shoppers excited about owning the product. Don’t be too salesy – aim to genuinely foster interest and create desire.
Once a shopper has made a purchase decision, follow up with recommendations for complementary products to lifetime customer value.
4. Informative Blog Posts
Maintaining a blog is the best way to create fresh, new content to draw visitors to your website. Even if your company’s offerings aren’t “sexy” you can still maintain an informative blog that brings in high-quality traffic.
Blog posts should always provide value to the reader first and contribute to SEO efforts second. Worrying less about search engines and more about helping people is a surefire way to create the kind of content that will be shared and bookmarked, which in turn can optimize visibility and sales.
Be authentic and consistent with your blogging and promote it humbly to develop the kind of blog that people respect and want to follow.
Even old blog posts can continue to contribute to traffic over time. In fact, Hubspot estimates that 10% of blog posts are compounding posts, which means that they strengthen SEO efforts over time by continuing to build traffic and improving search engine authority.
Get the most mileage out of your blog by incorporating it into your other marketing channels. Promote posts to your email subscribers, send customers to it to get their questions answered, and share new content on social media. The more you can ingrain your blog into your overall business operations, the more worthwhile your time investment will be.
Now that you know which types of content to prioritize, it’s time to take them seriously. Don’t leave these vital sales drivers in the hands of interns of employees who drew the short stick at the last team meeting. Utilize a professional copywriter or digital marketing agency to integrate your top keywords into reader-friendly, search engine optimized content to sell your business and your products. Hiring an expert to do the writing for you ensures that it will be given the attention it deserves while freeing you up to run your business. The end product will also be better, which translates to increased returns!
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Business Blogging and Web Copywriting. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and son and enjoys cooking, watching sports, and spending time together as a family. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about current marketing trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!