The internet is littered with garbage content. In fact, there are somewhere in the region of 1.13 billion websites on the internet – so it’s safe to say that a large majority of those pages don’t have much in the way of value to offer.
Even still, there’s a lot of competition and when up against so much, how can you ensure that your content actually makes an impact?
In this article, we’re going to show you how to write content that people will genuinely enjoy reading; your diamond in the rough.
1. Know who you are writing for
The first step is to really think about who it is that you are writing for:
- Who is your target audience?
- What are their biggest fears and concerns?
- What interests them the most?
- What kind of language do they respond well to?
- Do they love dark humour or are they the savoury type?
- Do they enjoy long-form content or are they all about ‘quick and easy’ titbits?
The more data that you have on your ideal audience, the easier it will be to craft content that people genuinely want to engage with – and indeed attract high value traffic to your website.
2. Do keyword research, write banging titles, and fulfil your promises
Next, you need to conduct extensive keyword research:
- What is your audience searching for the most online?
- Which subjects are they most interested in engaging with?
When you understand the intent behind their search activity, you’ll be able to effectively tailor your content to meet their expectations.
Following that, you should craft enticing titles that hint at the awesome content enclosed within – and then fulfil your promises; deliver the proverbial goods!
3. Write simply and clearly – but give it some flavour
Another critical point is to write simply and clearly. Using overly grandiose language or excessive industry jargon is a good way to turn your readers off.
The key is to make your content as accessible as possible – and that means simplifying your communication.
Look at websites like Apple, Amazon, and Coca Cola. The language they use in their written content is simple enough for children to understand.
But don’t mistake writing simply and clearly for being boring; you can jazz things up with some cheeky humour as well if you like.
Or be all corporate and boring and see where that gets you…
4. Be concise
Cut the fat and get to the point. Time is money!
Yes, people enjoy long-form content, but only when every word counts. Reading 2,500 words of content is fine if it covers a subject in great depth – without excessive waffling or “keyword stuffing”.
5. Break it up and use bulleted lists
Your content should be easy to scan. This means utilising subheadings (as you can see in this article), and visual aids like bulleted lists:
- Give your readers’ eyes a rest.
- Separate key info that could otherwise get lost in the text.
- Use shorter sentences and paragraphs with regular line breaks.
- Throw in some relevant imagery / infographics for good measure.
6. Create a great on-page experience
It’s not just about the quality of the written content but the overall on-page experience as well. Just as we’ve mentioned breaking it up with subheadings, bulleted lists, and visuals, you should also consider the overall design of the page.
- How easy is it to navigate?
- Do you have relevant internal & external linking?
The more value you provide in terms of UX, the more likely your website visitors will be to stick around and consume your awesome content!
7. Hire the professionals
Of course, writing awesome and engaging content is much easier said than done. It’s all very well having the answers; it’s having the time to actually do it that matters.
As such, we highly recommend outsourcing these requirements to the experts. Find a reputable SEO agency in Sydney with a solid reputation for delivering high-value content to their clients, and see what kind of results they can achieve for you!