You’ve got your website online, you have traffic coming through from potential customers, but just how helpful is your website, really? Content can be a bit of a minefield; too much and you could put a customer off reading, too little and it doesn’t give them enough information or entice them to find out more. So, just how much content do you really need?
The volume of content you need depends on your marketing strategy and the campaign you’re running.
Profiling your target audience
Know your audience.
Some people need fast, easy to read, straight to the point information – enough to tell them that what they’re buying or signing up to will suit their needs and they can purchase and move on.
On the other hand, are people who like to make knowledgeable purchases. Here you need to tell a ‘story’ within your content; why you’re selling this product or service, and how it can improve the life of your customer and/or their loved ones.
- Whatever your marketing campaign you need to know your audience first.
Customers like unique content – with 82% feeling more positive about an organisation after reading bespoke content.
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
SEO starts with content on your site.
The written word is still really important for search engines to know what your webpage is about and rank it accordingly in the search results. Search engines scan through webpages, hunting for the keywords or phrases that a person has searched for, to find an answer to their query.
Depending on whether you have the right content, in the right format, will depend on whether your website makes the first page of a search engine’s results. Remember, content still has to be relevant… and unique.
- If you are relying on SEO to gain customers, you therefore need to take this into account when planning your web content.
According to market research carried out* in early 2019, findings showed that after assessing 15,000 websites, those that ranked well in organic results had lots of text content on their site. *Blue Corona
And by “lots” the average word count per page was 1,600 to 2,400 words per page, the lower limit being for more niche websites.
Marketing campaign strategy
Your website should play a big part in your marketing campaign strategy.
If you’re running a direct marketing or social media campaign, you will be sending potential customers to your website to find out more. You therefore need to have all the relevant content ready for them on a landing page so that they can digest it easily whilst also avoiding distracting them with anything irrelevant.
- If you are more focused on the customer experience, give your web visitors compelling, easy to read content without drowning them in unnecessary information. Blogs can support your marketing campaign by providing more in-depth content on specific subjects.
Blogs help small businesses generate 126% more lead growth than those without.
Web content planning
Website planning is crucial to getting right the strategic mix between audience profiling, SEO and campaign management.
By planning up-front, you can work out the priorities.
- If design is key for your business, you may consider minimal but straight to the point content; lots of content may not work to project simple messages about your brand.
- If SEO is key for your business, you will need to consider content-rich pages, and lots of them to give you a chance of success. Ideally you will need separate pages for each product or service you want to promote. Remember, your website may have a good volume of content, but it still doesn’t guarantee results through SEO.
For any website you will need landing pages, clear headings and content that works fluidly on each page, creating a compelling and memorable read for each individual visiting your website.
- Content on blogs can help SEO and customer experience, so a blog page should be factored into your website plan and a separate content strategy prepared for the ongoing content work.
70% of consumers prefer content and editorial articles to ads for learning more about a product or service. Blue Corona
Marketing Square can make it easy for you
Planning and writing content can be a daunting prospect when you’re busy running your own business. We can help take some of the stress away by helping you plan your website content and guide you on the volume and type of content you need.
