To be effective a website must remain current. Having fresh content will insure:
- New & Recurring Customers
- Search Engine Visibility
This is an IMPORTANT CONCEPT! Too often companies spend a significant amount of money on having a website built only to have it gather dust and disappear into the abyss.
There are two main reasons this occurs:
- New competitors entering the internet. Dilution
- The search engine (SE) placement of your website is based on the frequency of visits, among other factors. If your website doesn’t have a continual stream of new content, the search engines have no reason to visit.
A blog (a contraction of the term “web log“)[1] is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.
A blog is a container for all types of different content separated into categories and tags. It allows a single piece of content to appear to a search engine multiple times. Hence, multiple instances indexed by the search engines.
Simply put, an article about a special for a new product sold in your local store can appear as:
- product + location (i.e., widgets roseville)
- product + special (discount widgets)
- product + manufacturer (manufacturer widget)
- product (widget)
- etc.
The point here is, one article (post) turns into 4 different search results.
This concept is the reason websites built like company brochures are DEAD. Blogging is a very powerful method to insure your website remains current and on top of the search engine results.
Some ideas for content for your website are:
- New products
- Safety tips
- Industry news
- Partner news
- Community events
- Completed projects
- Case studies
- Before and after’s
- Client testimonials
- Top 10 Questions (FAQ’s)
- A detailed explanation of a question
- How To Guides
- Helpful advice
- Daily Specials
- Customer of the Month
- Safety recalls
- etc.
The rest of this article will explain adding content to your WordPress enabled website. If you don’t have a WordPress or similar website, you might want to read my article “The WordPress Revolution for Small Business Owners.” Another great resource – How To Create Content For Your Website is FREE to download and provides 4 things you should know.
Static versus Dynamic Content
Most websites are a combination of static and dynamic information. Static information rarely changes. Examples of static content are: About Us, Contact Info, Services, and more. Dynamic information is constantly changing: specials, events, testimonials, projects, etc.
WordPress Pages & Posts
In WordPress, static content is handled in the Pages component. Pages are typically used in your website’s main navigation or tabs.
Dynamic information in WordPress is administered vial the Post interface. This is the blogging component of WordPress. Unlike pages, posts are displayed in the main navigation as a single tab. To navigate the blog, an additional navigation structure of categories is used.
Depending on your website’s setup, your blog tab can be named as Blog, Articles, News for a few. The navigation of your blog will typically be shown in the sidebar of your website and not in the main navigation.
“To add content to your website via the blog you will use Posts”
Key Elements of a Post
To be effective, a post must contain:
- your primary keywords (search term)
- location
- 2 – 3 paragraphs
- a picture
- multiple categories
- and, a Call To Action
Steps To Writing a Post
- Create the Headline – The headline must include your keywords! It must be interesting. Must draw attention from your audience.Some examples…
10 Things You Should Know About _________
New __________ installed in __________ Home
Incredible Savings On _____________
_____________ Supports Our _____________ Community
While Supplies Last __________, On Sale Now - Write a couple of paragraphs about your main topic, headline. Remember, short and sweet, 3-5 sentences per paragraph.
- Finish the post with another paragraph summarizing the topic and include a CALL TO ACTION.
Pretty simple stuff!
I can’t emphasize enough, the most important part of anything you put on your website…
A CALL TO ACTION!
A call to action is what you would like your visitors to do next. This could be a:
- Call for an appointment
- Schedule an estimate
- Sign up for a newsletter
- Print a coupon
- refer your company, etc.
We have discussed the importance of having fresh content for your website, and the differences between static and dynamic content. In WordPress, Pages are static and Posts are the dynamic component to your website. Creating content to post should take no more than 15 minutes of your time. The rewards for your efforts will be increased search engine visibility and new traffic to your website.
How to post to your website is revealed in a quick video HomeBuildR.Net/Videos If you like what you have read, leave a comment below or share with your friends. Please don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter. It’s free and a great resource.
Just added: Free Downloadable Guide – How To Create Content For Your Website