Optimizing Content in Your Web Site

Writing engaging and informative keyword-rich content is an integral component of search engine optimization. While we realize this is a daunting task for even those people with above average writing skills, it is a critical task nonetheless that could make -- or break - your search engine ranking. Now, pay close attention. We are NOT asking you to write a few sentences strewn with keywords about your product and/or service. That is NOT effective search engine optimization and can, in fact, get your site penalized by some search engines. Producing content for your Web site needs to be taken seriously.

It's important to grab your visitor's attention in the first five seconds they enter your site. How do you do that? The answer is easy -- offer them information that is beneficial to them (a.k.a. content). Think about all the sites you visit when surfing the Internet. There are some sites you instantly click off and there are those sites that you linger on for hours. The main difference between the two is the amount of useful information offered.

So, where do you start? How do you incorporate content in your site? First, let's take a look at the different ways in which you can add valuable keyword-rich content to your site. Following are some examples of pages that can be added to virtually any Web site, whether they offer plumbing gadgets, real estate services, or anything in between:

1. About Us. How did your business come into existence? What are your qualifications (especially important for service-oriented sites)?

2. Product/Service Description. Describe your products and services in easy-to-understand language.

3. Contact Us. I've come across numerous Web sites that only provide a generic email address (for example: info@xyz.com) as a source of contact. You've got to provide multiple ways for visitors, especially customers, to contact you. Display your telephone number, email address(es) and physical address on the Contact Us page of your Web site. Not only does it make your site more user-friendly, but it adds credibility to your business.

4. FAQs. For more on this topic, read our article about adding FAQ pages to your Web site.

5. Articles. This is by far one of the best ways to provide valuable information on your Web site. Once you are more comfortable with writing content, this should be at the top of your agenda.

6. Testimonials. When a customer raves to you about your products and/or services, politely ask if they would mind writing a testimonial about their experiences with your company.

So, now you've got six pages of content you can add to your site! Although it should go without saying, we need to emphasize the fact that plagiarism is a no-no. Unfortunately, the Internet is inundated with stolen text. Some sites are copied word for word, while in more instances, articles and other forms of intellectual property are stolen with a quick "copy" and "paste". While you may be tempted to take the easy way out, you should know that search engine spiders have become privy to this deception and are feverishly working on ways to penalize offending sites.

Now that you've got an idea of the types of pages you can incorporate into your Web site, we'll take you through a simple three-step process to get you headed in the right direction when it comes to actually sitting down in front of the keyboard to write your content.

1. Organize. Once you know the pages you want to incorporate into your Website, you will need to organize them for navigation purposes.

2. Write. You will want to write with your audience in mind. Whatever you write must make sense to them. Avoid technical jargon, unless you know they will understand it. Focus on writing your content first and adding keywords second. If you try to do it all at once, you will probably lose focus and your content will lose its sense of purpose.

3. Edit. Read your content not once, not twice, but three times. Then, get a second set of eyes to read it again.

Your content should set you apart from your competition. Try to figure out what makes you different than all the rest and make that your main focus when writing. Good content should be informative, attention-getting, search engine friendly and concise. And, remember, for maximum search engine optimization, you're going to want to refresh your content every so often. Not only will it give search engine spiders some new material to index, but it will keep your visitors coming back for more.

For more information on writing content as it relates to Web site usability and search engine optimization, click here.

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