By Nahraine Aziz
Do you have a shiny new website that’s just not producing those leads? It takes more than impressive graphic design work and high-quality photography to convince a visitor to employ your services. So, what is missing from your site?
An effective content strategy and the correct implementation of SEO can help drive website traffic, attract the right type of visitor, and eventually grow your website conversions. Keep reading to learn more about this and how Magic Word Media can help.
Does your content speak to your target audience?
First, you need to ask yourself whether your website is speaking to the people you’re trying to reach. Researching to understand your audience is critical to driving the right traffic to your website.
Organic search is how most people discover your website and learn about your products and services. They go online to search for specific terms or to ask questions. If you clearly understand who your prospects are and what they’re seeking, you can provide the most suitable content to answer their search queries.
Understanding user intent
Consider the end user. When you jump online to seek out information, there’s a reason you’re on there. You have an intent behind your search—you might be looking for somewhere to go, something to purchase, or more information about a topic. Regardless, there is a reason.
This intent is exactly what search engines are trying to determine when they produce results. They try to understand user intent to deliver the best results, even if the wording used isn’t precisely right.
The better you understand your potential customers and tailor your content to their needs, the more likely they are to find your business when they search online.
What makes an effective website?
The answer to what makes an effective website is multifaceted and depends mainly on the purpose of the site. However, there are vital areas that must be acknowledged across the board.
The user experience and site speed
Firstly, you need to provide a positive user experience. Consider the customer service you experience when entering a hospitality venue. That service will directly affect whether you return to the venue or recommend it to friends.
The same goes for your website. Like that hospitality venue, the design and atmosphere must appeal to your customers. The service, or loading speed and accessibility, needs to be suitable for what your visitor is trying to achieve. If you’re trying to grab a coffee on your way into the office in the morning, you don’t have the time to peruse a 15-page menu, and the price list needs to be the first thing you see.
So, is information easy to find once a user clicks on a landing page? Are your services relevant to the keywords and satisfying the search intent? Is the language on your website suitable for your audience?
Create relevant content
The world is an evolving place, and so are most marketplaces. Your website content must evolve with the world around you, whether that’s adopting the latest design trends, writing blogs to encourage engagement on LinkedIn, or incorporating exciting new technologies into your service offerings.
It’s essential to stay current with industry insights, conduct regular research, and include plenty of content updates on your blog or news page. Stagnant websites will eventually fall down the ranks of those all-important SERPs simply because you’ve not posted an update in over six months. These things matter, and Google is watching.
Call to action
Never underestimate a good call to action, and never assume that a user will know what to do next. It’s not just about identifying a pain point and attracting visitors to your site. What are they supposed to do when they get there? Are you able to help them?
You must tell visitors you have identified their problem and have the tools to fix it. And you need to tell them to get in touch. Click this link, call this number, and press this button…whatever it is, you need to spell it out effectively. Make it as easy as possible every step of the way.
Ideally, your pages should have multiple opportunities for readers to see how to take action.
This seems like a good place to say that if you need website help, contact Magic Word Media’s wizards.
Implementing an SEO and content strategy.
A failure to plan is a plan to fail. Your content strategy should focus on attracting your target audience, as they’re the ones who will answer your calls to action and convert from leads to customers.
SEO aims to improve your visibility online so that potential customers can easily find your website when they’re searching for the services you offer. SEO affects the way Google and other browsers rank a user’s search results, and optimising your website is key to achieving the top spot on the results page.
Search engines return results they determine best suit the user's intended query. They read the metadata and content found on your website and use algorithms to determine its relevance.
SEO is complicated, with constantly evolving algorithms determining ranks. It’s a minefield, but you don’t have to understand SEO practices to understand that a good SEO strategy is key to getting website conversions.
When writing web content, remember that providing the information your target audience is seeking will attract the right visitors to your site who are most likely to convert.
Keyword research is important here because it lets you see what people are typing into Google and how many people are doing so each month. You can then research the best terms to include in your content so that your pages show up in the search results.
And don’t forget about images on your pages. Title them with your primary keyword – include ALT text with your keywords. And don’t forget to write bespoke meta titles and meta descriptions that will also be keyword-rich.
Professional copywriters create effective content.
Writing for the web is trickier than it seems. We all learned to write, right? So, how hard can it be? But web content is not just about conveying a message. In a world inundated with digital messaging, it’s about conveying an effective message. It’s about compelling writing that leaves readers with a clear motivation.
Employing professional copywriters to implement your content strategy will help ensure that your website delivers the right type of content to attract the right type of visitor.
Leave it to Magic Word Media to demonstrate how correct SEO implementation, professional copywriting, and content strategy deliver effective content that will lead to the conversions you’re seeking.