Part Four: The Importance of Text
Reach a balance between visual and text. While the visual content on your site is important, carefully crafted text will be critical to the overall success of your site. Text content will drive your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Search engines only see text.
CONTENT STRATEGIES
- Start with a conclusion: make your important points at the beginning
- Use lists: bulleted points are easy to scan and easy to understand
- Use concise copy: respect your visitor’s time and make your points quickly. Eliminate non-essential copy and avoid repeating yourself.
- Use short paragraphs: make a single point in each paragraph and don’t be afraid of short paragraphs.
- Use good headlines and titles: entice your readers and let them know what to expect if they continue to read your copy. Good headlines and titles are also useful for search effectiveness.
- Write for a purpose: use your copy to encourage action. Use objective language.
- Conserve your words: edit unnecessary words.
KEYWORDS
Using the right keywords will optimize search success for your site. Keywords are used when we are searching for products, services and answers on search engines. Identifying the most important keywords for your company will help you effectively market products and services to your target market. Keywords should guide your overall content strategy.
To help your desired visitors find you:
- Use specific, descriptive keywords (i.e. steel horseshoes)
- Closely match specific keywords to the services, products, brands and locations you sell and serve
- Use appropriate filenames and tagging for photos and videos
- Use captions with photos and videos
- Don’t use misleading keywords – no keyword “spamming”
- Update your content – avoid having a “static” site
- Be consistent in how you use your keywords (i.e. horse shoes vs. horseshoes)
- Think like a searcher
