Write website content that gets results

Your website content has to be actionable and get people to do things:

Subscribe to a newsletter.
Check out a shopping cart.
Share an idea on social media.
Download a brochure.
Link back to the site.

But to do any of these things, it has to be discoverable. You can have great, action-packed content, but if it isn’t on the first page of Google, tumbleweed.

Here’s the 4 steps I take to write website content that says everything you need it to say and does everything you need it to do – and gets ranked.

Step 1: I read EVERYTHING you’ve got

I’ve written websites that sell removals services, designer clothing, gourmet burgers, web design, design engineering, HR consultancy, IT technology, tropical real estate and even gravestones, and the one thing I always tell the business owners and marketing teams of these sites is this:

You’re a publisher.

No matter what you’re selling, your selling it with words. And no amount of fancy design will help you if those words aren’t designed to sell.

So the first thing I do is read EVERYTHING you’ve published. Your existing site (if you have one). Your brochures and blogs.

Then the sites, brochures and blogs of your competitors and any industry influencers you want to associate with.

Reading critically, but also constructively. Mining the gap between what you want to say and what your customers need to hear.

Step 2: I create reader personas

Your website – as a publication – is not aimed at users or shoppers or customers or faceless ‘traffic’, it is aimed at readers.

Now, most marketers create what’s called buyer personas, using data on the geographic location, gender, age, and buying habits of their target audience to paint a picture of the people their content is aimed at.

Then they start writing. But this misses an essential trick:

If you know what kind of content your customers – as readers – love to read, share, and link to, you can give them what you know they actually love, not what you hope they might fall in love with.

(If you want to know more about researching reader personas, check out this detailed guide I put together with my cousin at An Artful Science).

Step 3: I use proven formulas to solve real problems

Copywriting is a science. It uses psychology hacks and marketing formulas designed to engage readers and keep them reading long enough to get your idea or sales pitch across.

I use these techniques to create content, headings and calls-to-action that keep people engaged and solves their problems. After all, that’s why your brand is there.

As a screenwriter in my spare time and someone who has studied the art of storytelling, I also ensure the About Us/Me pages tell a coherent and entertaining brand story.

A story that your readers will want to be a part of and share with others.

Step 4: I put on my white SEO hat

You’ve got brand new website content that is:

Based on an understanding of what you and your competitors are saying – and not saying.
Is something you know your readers will love.
And is packaged and presented in a way that is engaging and readable.

Now I work on ensuring the keywords, title tags and descriptions are carefully crafted to ensure your website content ranks organically on the search pages.

(If you use WordPress, I can do this for you with the Yoast plugin).

Get website content that pays for itself

I write website content that pays for itself. Content that readers will enjoy reading because I take the time to know what they like to read. Content that tells a brand story they will love to share with others. Content that leads to measurable actions.

SEO enhanced content that keeps readers on the site long enough to reassure Google – busy bean counting bounce rate and dwell time – that your site’s new content has to be read above all others.

Whether you’re a start-up and need new website content or you have an old site that is in dire need of a makeover, get in touch now and I’ll get reading.