Are You Taking Your Content Seriously Enough?
Many of us are inclined to prioritise our work. This is particularly true when we are snowed under with work and don’t have the time or resources to cope. A situation that many website owners find themselves in at one time or another.
So where does everything fit in then? What should be first and what can wait? You’ve got to plan time for designing the architecture of the site as well as the on-site aesthetics. You have to consider marketing your site, perhaps with SEO, PPC, social media or a combination of the three. You also have to fill the pages with content at some point. But which of these is most important? Well, there isn’t one simple answer sadly.
Each component is essential. You can’t have a great design and no architecture to base it one for example. But I’m here to make the case for content.
Content is, in many regards, the backbone of a site. Okay you need a basic structure to fit it all in and a little bit of design to carry it through; but your content is the ultimate Swiss Army knife. It is one component that fulfils many roles, all of which are incredibly important.
As you are unable to greet a visitor to your site in person, you have to do it through written language. This initial impression is vital. It sets a precedent for the rest of the site and will leave the visitor with a lasting impression. If the content falls flat and is neither engaging nor informative, you can expect your bounce rate to soar.
Your content also has other benefits. Being as though this is an SEO blog, it won’t come as much of a surprise to learn that this is optimisation based. Essentially search engines are able to decipher very little on a website when they come through to index it. All they are really able to see is the content and Meta. This means that you have to convey your message to them as much as you do to your audience.
Don’t get me wrong, you should never write anything that is full of keywords and specifically targeting search engine rankings. In all likelihood, that will actually have the opposite effect. You have to write for your audience, but making sure that you don’t forget search engines entirely. This might mean dropping a keyword in early and the odd synonym here and there; but certainly nothing that you wouldn’t write naturally.
That might all sound a little convoluted, but that just goes to show how important your content is. It is the only way in which you can convey your message, encourage visitors to become customers and is a major component in your SEO efforts. That ticks a lot of boxes in one fell swoop. So when I say it is the backbone of your site, that is no exaggeration.
Without content, your website would be limp and lifeless. There would be nothing for search engines or visitors to read and very little chance that they’d explore any further. You have to balance where your resources go when developing a website, as everything needs to be done, but don’t leave your content until last. It might just be the most important thing on your pages moving forwards.
