The one mistake small business make while having a web design made is they tend to focus on making it beautiful. In the end, the result is a site that sucks in terms of marketing.

Then they make their second mistake, they write content that is, structurally perfect, grammatically correct and excessive. The result is again, content that their English teacher would be proud off, but content that sucks in terms of marketing.

Web content for websites has to be written very carefully. The average web user scans content, you have to grasp their attention within a five second time zone. Yup, five seconds flat. So forget the history of your company, the testimonials and the ten paragraph description. No one will stay on the site long enough to read it.

So what Makes a Marketable Home Page?

1. Opt to write in short sentences. It may seems grammatically incorrect but with more and more people opting to write in abbreviations when online, you can bet you they want the sentences short and sweet.
2. Add in the Keywords: These days to make a home page search engine friendly you have to have the keywords. Choose the three keywords you are focusing on and use synonyms as well. The result will be a search engine friendly home page.
3. Present the Content as an Outline. Yes, the bullets and numbers may seem an elementary form of writing but that’s what the users want. So make sure you put in your most important information in bullet or list form.
4. Add those headers. Headers are essential for web content readers. The visitor wants to scan information and the best way to do that is focus on the bold headers. If the header has the information they want they may read more than just the headline.
5. Be concise and write in inverted pyramid form. When I write for my small business clients I get a lot of complaints. They say the structure is wrong, they want more description and they want it on the home page. They are wrong. For web content you have to give the most important information first, present the facts in list form and then leave inner pages for the description. Believe me you get more attention that way.

Should the Web Content be Formal or Informal in Style?

The style really depends on the small business in question. If you have a local consignment shop or organic store, opt for informal. Your target audience is more likely to be the moms, the house wives and women who are money and health conscious. You do not want to be condescending.

However, if you are a local real estate agent you have to take a tone that is personal yet, professional. Mix the formal and informal so that while you hook the house hunters with your charm, they also see you as a professional.

If the small business is more finance or accounts related-formal is it. Do not try to be friendly. You need to show the web content reader you are professional and can be trusted with their money.

The Bottom line for Web content:

Always be clear and concise, make the content keyword rich and provide lists and headers. However, never forget your target audience. You want the people coming to your small business web site to actually stay and take action-not bounce off the site in five seconds!

Tags: Creative Writing, small business, Small Business Marketing, web content
Posted in Web Content |