What Content To Include In A Website
Websites have become the face of your company and a great way for existing and potential customers to learn more about you, access resources, answer questions or reach out to you for more information. At the core of your website, content is king but not just any content will do. Whether you’re planning to launch a new website or audit an existing one, having a few key pieces of content in place will help your website perform better in order to increase traffic, on-site time, and convert your visitors.
User-Friendly Navigation
No one likes a confusing website! Do new visitors know how to find the information they are looking for easily? Is your website designed in a way that makes browsing easy? If you’re unsure, find a colleague or someone outside of your company to review and browse to provide feedback.
Consistent Branding With Proper Brand Elements
Every page on your website should have consistent branding and the proper brand elements. What does that mean? Make sure that your logo is visible, colors and fonts are uniform, and that the website theme is consistent and complementary throughout. Branding isn’t just about the aesthetic elements, it’s about the core values as well. Items like your mission statement, a clear “About Us”, the services that you offer, and a well-laid-out FAQ are all important elements to showcase your brand and who you are.
Clear Messaging with Quality Content
Not only should your messaging be clear, but it should also have a purpose. A good way to ensure this is to review every page and ask what the purpose of the page is. If by reading through the content you wouldn’t be able to answer that question then you may want to revisit the messaging and content.
High-Resolution, SEO Optimized Images
SEO doesn’t just apply to website copy. 27% of searches across ten major search properties are for images. Does each of your images have an appropriate title? Naming your images something specific to your industry and your brand that aligns with your keyword strategy can increase your visibility and search results for your ideal customer.
A Lead Gen, Email, Or Newsletter Signup
Not only should people be able to reach out to you easily to inquire but they also should be able to sign up to receive communications from you. At the minimum, you should have a contact form that’s connected to a CRM or email marketing software so that you’re capturing your potential customer's data.
Testimonials, Case Studies, Or Client Examples
How can someone know what to expect from working with you if they don’t know what experience past customers have had or even who you’ve worked with? Having a dedicated page to past work or having testimonials and work examples weaved throughout your website is a great way to display proof of concept and set customer expectations upfront. If your industry is one in which your customers must remain confidential you can utilize case studies or stories with “Business A” in place of the customer name.
Effective CTA
Does each page make it clear what you want the intended visitor to do? Unless dedicated solely to education or brand awareness, a minimum of one CTA should be included on every page.
If you’re looking to audit your website, add some of these elements, or simply increase your website content, make sure that it aligns with your overall content and marketing strategy. Once you’ve identified the areas you need to update or improve, working with an agency that specializes in content is imperative! The right agency can not only help you improve your existing site content but can also help you create a plan to refresh your content on a consistent basis and integrate your website content into other channels and platforms.