Types of content

There are three types of content: news content, informational content and sales content. Sometimes the line is blurred, but for most people they want a mixture of informational content and sales content.

Informational content

Providing information to your visitors can take the form of filling people in on the background of your company, informing them on the technical details of the types of products you deal with, providing instructions or support for existing clients, and more.

When planning this content, ensure that it is structured in a clear way, and the information can be scanned. Sometimes it can be tempting to lump together several topics into one page, but generally it is a better strategy to separate the content into smaller, more focused pages, and link them together as related topics.

Aside from the benefit of being less daunting to visitors, having small focused pages can help your search engine performance as you will be able to target niche topics more accurately.

Clarity

It is possible that your visitor may have arrived on your information page from a search engine or link from another site. Ensure they know what the page is about by starting with a short introduction or overview of the purpose of the content, before getting into the detail. Always split the content into short paragraphs and use headings to summarise each section clearly.

In summary:

• Keep each page concise and on-topic
• Short paragraphs
• Use headings

Consider search engines

While it is not a good idea to write primarily for the search engines, but it should be considered. You may be writing for your visitors, but bear in mind that the topic of the page has also to be determined by the search engines. It can help to consciously include certain phrases appropriate to your topic. For example, if you had a page about “left handed widgets”, be sure to include that phrase in the text. It can help to use it in other contexts, such as “left handed widgets in New Zealand”.

The key is to include the phrases in a natural way that helps the visitor also understand what the page is about, and including links to “right handed widgets” or “red widgets” in your content can have the double benefit of helping your visitors find information, while also optimising your site for search engines.

In summary:

• Pick several important phrases
• Use them in headings, and highlight them using bolded text
• Include variations on the phrase
• Link to related

Sales content

Your sales content has got to be punchy and direct, and direct the visitor toward your intended goal. To write sales content, consider the three main elements; the headline, the copy and the call to action.

Sales headline

The headline should take the form of the action you want the user to take, and tell the visitor what they stand to gain. For example “Lose weight now” or “Make your own treehouse”.

Sales copy

The aim of the sales copy is to put across the benefits of your product or service. Opinions differ as to whether lots of content is better than short pages, but in the end it is usually best to make sure you cover every important point about your product before asking the visitor to commit.

To maintain interest, use bullet points, bold text and headlines. If you have pictures or diagrams, be sure they flow with the content and help reinforce your message.

Call to action

It is easy to forget to ask for the sale, and many good sales pages fall over at this point. Once the visitor has been shown the benefits and reasons they simply cannot refuse your product, give them the final push. It could be a button with the text “Subscribe Now” or “Order Now”, or you might want a more explanatory link. Such an example might be, “Contact us now for help making your website content work for you!“

In summary:

• Pick a headline that offers a benefit, “Earn a fortune in hairdressing – Today!”
• Tell the visitor what they stand to gain, i.e. the benefits
• Use short paragraphs, bullet points, bold text and headings
• Use appropriate images
• Call to action – ensure the visitor knows how to buy / subscribe / contact.

Search Engine Psychology

Before trying to work out how to make your website rank well in a search engine, consider what it is trying to achieve. If you can understand what search engines want, you will be in a better position to help them, and create a site that is search engine friendly.

Gaming the System

Most advice relating to SEO amounts to little more than chipping away at the edges, trying to find ways to “fool” the search engines into sending you visitors. This may include posting your url to forums and directories, “optimising” your content to have the maximum number of keywords, buying links, and so on.

These ideas are worthwhile, but only as “extras”. Your site’s rankings may get a slight benefit from this approach, but by themselves they won’t make enough of a difference. As the search engines update their algorithms, you have to change your approach, and will always be on the back foot.

Rather than be always chasing the search engines, take control by doing it right!

Give Search Engines What They Want

The aim of a search engine is to provide useful results that match the searchers’ queries. They want what your site’s visitors want. The search engine wants to give the searcher quality, relevant content from a trusted source. So if you want to be sent visitors, you need to provide quality, relevant content!

High quality content is more useful than low quality content. The search engine can’t easily tell by looking whether a page is of better quality than another, but a side effect of quality content is that it gives people reason to link to your resource from their sites. When a search engine finds established sites pointing to your content, it’s a nod that suggests to the search engine that your site is trustworthy.

Search Engine Marketing

It’s easy to pigeonhole SEO as a separate task from your marketing, rather than include your online presence in your general marketing strategy. Rather than just focus on the search engines, include your website in your overall approach.

This can include your offline marketing. Make your website part of the campaign by encouraging people to visit the site. Perhaps offer an online discount or some valuable information or benefits that can only be found on the website. Talk to people about your site, and if you have a mailing list, encourage them to be part of it.

You may just find that by bringing your online and offline promotion together, that more people will find your website useful, and you’ll gain links, and get more visitors from the search engines!

Promoting One-off events

There are occasions when a newspaper advert or a leaflet run can be more effective than a website. For example, if you wanted to get word out that you were holding a garage sale or charity event. Building momentum through a website for such an event would be difficult and costly.

Same for a house sale, renting a room, or announcing a birthday. Of course, a good way to maximise your exposure online would be to make use of existing sites. You could list your house or flat on trademe.co.nz, send a group email or e-card about a birthday or event.

Taking it a step further

On the other hand, if you offer some kind of service or product, you could be missing out on a lot of potential business by not having a web presence. Does that mean you have to invest a fortune in an all-singing all-dancing website? Not at all, in fact there are many ways that even the most basic of sites can be useful.

Online Business Card

Many people have gotten used to being able to open a browser on their computer and search for a business or service locally. This happened to myself recently when I was looking for a solicitor to help with a house purchase. I had been given a name of a reputable firm, but when I looked them up on Google, they were nowhere to be found. It turns out they had not invested in even a simple one-page website to confirm that they exist and offer ways to get in touch.

If they had put up even just their logo, address, phone and e-mail address, that would have been enough to establish their credibility and confirm to me that they were an established firm. For many small businesses and individuals, such an approach can be a viable way to get online without any significant expense, and it allows for future growth.

Building a Brand

Once an online presence has been established, there are very cost effective ways to leverage this and use it to help grow a small business, or modernise an established business. The first step is to realise that a website gives you a voice, and an opportunity to become an authority.

The benefits of authority are huge, as it ensures that customers are reassured that you understand and can meet their needs, and increases the chance that a browsing visitor becomes a customer.

How do you establish authority?

The best way to establish yourself is to focus on the author in authority. Useful information is a massive draw to people and if it is well written and approriate will show that you know your stuff. A good example of this can be seen on the Eastern Hifi website, where they have established a “knowledge centre” to help people understand their way around the complicated world of sound and visual equipment.

Bear in mind that a full-on “knowledge centre” is a great goal, but you don’t have to start there. Like this site, a blog can be a very cost effective way to get your voice heard and a great way to get started. We use Wordpress, a very customisable publishing platform that can be set up in minutes, customised in hours, and is completely free of charge from then on.

Start Small

For many, the high cost associated with having a fully-featured website designed and built can be too much. However, when you start small and work up, websites can offer tremendous value for money and be an excellent investment.

Contact us and find out if we can get you started! You may be pleasantly surprised.

Banana & Dark Chocolate Extra Thick Pancakes

• 2 cups plain flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• dash of vanilla essence
• milk (to taste)
• 1 banana, copped into small chunks
• 125g dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks

Mix the dry ingredients together, then beat in the egg and enough milk that the mixture is thick but pourable. Add the rest of the ingredients and ensure they are well mixed through.

Heat a frying pan / griddle to a slightly lower temperature than you may usually go for. These pancakes take a little longer to cook as they are very thick. When the pan is hot enough that the butter sizzles, add one full ladel of the mixture and tilt the pan to spread it. Heat for approximately one minute or so, or until bubbles are leaving little holes in the batter, then either flip or carefully turn over with a spatula, and cook for a further 30 seconds to a minute.

During the last stage the pancake should rise and the texture will be springy. Slide onto a plate, add a dash of whipped cream, and enjoy!