How To Create Website Content That Google Likes And Your Customers Love

Creating web content is complicated, isn’t it?

You need to delight your web visitors, please your bosses, and seduce Google. You need to consider keyword strategies and product hierarchies.

No wonder many websites resemble a jungle with useful content hidden away – only reachable via a meandering path of clickable buttons and text links.

Let’s get this straight.

Your website should be designed for your target audience. And if you do this right, then Google will reward you with relevant, profitable traffic. With each algorithm update Google is getting better at fulfilling searchers’ needs for relevant information. Don’t worry too much about Google, focus on your target audience instead.

So, how do you create content that Google likes and your target audience loves?

Simply answer the following six questions.

1. Who is your buyer persona?

A buyer persona is a distinct group of potential customers, an archetypal person whom you want your marketing to reach.
~ David Meerman Scott

You may target one buyer persona, or a few. You also may need to consider potential job seekers or the press when you’re designing your website. Make sure you know who you create your website for. Unless you know who they are and what they care about, you can’t produce content for them.

Introducing content dedicated to buyer personas can massively increase your conversions. Check out these case studies on David Meerman’s blog: Brand Regard increased click-throughs three-fold when they introduced a persona-focused website, while RightNow Technologies increased conversions four-fold.

Do you speak the same language as your target audience? Do you use the same terms they use when discussing your products? Use these terms and you’ll increase your chances of being found via search engines and being considered relevant by your target market.

2. Why buy from you?

You need to give each buyer persona a reason they should buy from you. Think about it from their point of view. Your buyer personas aren’t interested in your products. They want to know how you can help them solve their problems; how you can help them boost profits, save time or cut costs; or how you help them become more productive, healthier, or happier.

KISSmetrics explains how its analytics software solves problems for each buyer group.

3. Why do people hesitate to buy from you?

To maximize sales, you need to overcome all objections potential customers may have. Do they think your product or service is expensive? Is your product too complicated? Are buyers concerned your product may not be suitable for their own specific circumstances?

Address objections on your sales page or refer people to a page with frequently asked questions. Ensure you overcome all potential objections to optimize conversion into sales.

Crazy Egg explains why you should buy its tracking technology even if though you can get Google Analytics free of charge:

4. What questions do people have?

Unless you sell commodities, most buyers have questions about their purchase. Answer all their questions, and you’ll become a trusted supplier and an authority in your field.

Change your mindset from How to sell widgets to retired workers to How can I help retired workers select the right widget for their requirements.

Think beyond straightforward sales copy. Consider questions like:

• How …?
• What …?
• Where …?
• When …?
• Why …?
• Who…?
• Can I…?
• Do I…?

When you’re launching a new website, or expanding your existing website, you don’t have to answer all questions in one go. Just answer the most important ones and create an editorial plan to address the remaining questions.

Email marketing provider MailChimp uses their online training section to answer email-related questions. These pages rank high in search engines for phrases like What is a double opt-in, How do I create an autoresponder, and When is the best time to send emails.

Potential buyers use Google to search for answers to their questions. This is a great way to generate relevant long-tail website traffic, and be helpful to potential buyers.

5. What are the key choices people have to make?

What choices do your potential customers have to make before buying? And how can you help them make the right choice?

Consider choices between models, brands, product attributes or categories. For instance, when researching your new phone, you may Google phrases like iphone vs android, iphone 5 vs galaxy s3, iphone white vs black, or iphone 16 vs 32gb.

Google autocomplete can suggest the most frequently searched for choices and give you an excellent starting point:

6.  How can you let others do the talking?

Your sales pitch will become more persuasive when you let others do the selling. Do you have any case studies to illustrate your value? Can you gather testimonials?

Don’t make your case studies and testimonials too sugary. Overly positive reviews aren’t believable. Create a little story, show the doubts your customer had before they bought from you, and explain how these doubts were overcome, and how happy your customer is now.

Marketing Strategist Sean D’Souza uses his testimonials to overcome his customers’ doubts. Here’s an example:

How to generate web traffic and boost your business

Stop selling. Instead, help potential buyers make purchasing decisions.

Answer the questions they have about your industry and your products. Create the best buyers’ guide in your industry. Develop the most comprehensive FAQ section.

Growing your web traffic requires hard work, energy, and perseverance. There are no shortcuts. But if you put in the effort and share your expertise, you’ll be richly rewarded.

Focus on your target audience, become an authority in your field, and your business will grow.

About the author: Henneke Duistermaat is a marketer and copywriter. She is on a mission to make boring companies charming, and dull products exciting. Sign up for her Enchanting Marketing newsletter and receive free tips on copywriting and content marketing.

2 COMMENTS

Henneke | Enchanting Marketing
Good point, Razvan.
Content marketing is not a quick fix, but a long term strategy.
December 6, 2012 Reply