Content Writing

Apart from the way your website looks, it’s the content on the site that a visitor will first notice. Frequent users of search engines will no doubt be aware that there are many websites whose content is outdated. It’s easy to see those that have old content as soon as you visit a site, and it can be particularly annoying for the visitor.

If your website is one of the many thousands that have outdated content, you will not only be putting people off your site, you will also be damaging your reputation and affecting your brand image.

Make sure your audience doesn’t click ‘back’

If you have a website that sells products or offers a service, you may not need to change the way your homepage looks, but you may have to change the inner pages to keep readers interested. If a user clicks on a product page and the information is outdated or the latest deals section is displaying information that is months old, the user will click the ‘back’ button almost straight away. If you make sure your content is up to date and you display the information that the user is looking for, there is a good chance that the visitor will stay on the site and you may make a sale.

Makes waves amongst the competition

If your website is regularly updated with the latest information in your field, you will quickly become an authority on your subject matter. Whether it is selling the latest pair of designer trainers or offering business services, it doesn’t matter. If you are ahead of the game and your website shows you are, visitors will come to you before frequenting any of your competitors.

Regular content improves reputation

Any content that is out of date on your site or misleading will not only turn visitors away, it may also harm your reputation. In a market place where brand image is everything, having the reputation of being behind the times will not make you any friends or help your sales figures. If your website is up to date, potential customers will think that the products you sell are the latest products available and will trust your authority on your subject matter.

Search engines love regularly updated content

We know that regularly updating your website keeps your audience interested, improves brand image and can make you an authority on your subject matter, but it can also do something equally as important. Search engines such as Google love websites that regularly update their pages to keep their content fresh. The more frequently your pages are updated or new pages are added the more frequently Google will index your site.

Google regards sites that are regularly updated as potentially more accurate and hence more up to date than those that aren’t added to regularly. And consequentially the more new pages you add to your site the more potential routes there are into your site from those all important search engines.

David Smith
Senior Content Writer

There are many different types of article you can write for your website, but which ones you choose may depend on a number of factors.

For starters, you need to keep the principles of search engine optimisation a priority. This means writing SEO-friendly articles that are concise, easy to read and relevant to your website, as well as featuring those all-important keywords.

With this in mind, you can choose from any of the following article types.

The news article

News articles are basically write-ups of relevant, current or breaking news stories that visitors may be interested to read. They are more factually-based, so content writers will need to be objective and focus on reporting the five W’s – who, what, where, when and why. To put it another way, stick to the facts unless you are aiming to be deliberately controversial.

News stories are a great way of getting traffic to your site, especially if found through Google News. Most companies feature industry news on their blogs, ensuring that content is always fresh and relevant.

The list article

Quite simply, these articles list several related pieces of information such as ‘The top ten places to visit in the US’ or ‘Five ways to improve your credit score’. Although quicker to write than other types of content, these articles often advise the reader and provide useful information.

The ‘how-to’ guide

This is a very popular type of article, where the writer basically gives the reader advice on a particular subject. Topics can range from something small, such as ‘How to put up a shelf’, to larger questions such as ‘How to buy a house’.

As a writer, you will guide the reader through the process or system they will need to follow to achieve their goal. You need to make these instructions clear and easy-to-follow, making good use of lists and ‘things you will need’ checklists.

The best content writers will base these articles around commonly searched-for questions, although it can also be a good idea to advise on topics that have not really been addressed elsewhere. As long as they provide accurate and useful advice, these articles can make your website more of an authority on a particular subject.

The opinion piece

This is a more informal piece, written from a personal perspective. Although not necessarily suitable for a professional blog unless you happen to be a qualified expert in a certain field, a personal blog regularly updated with thoughts and opinions (as long as you steer clear of libellous comments) can be interesting for followers to read.

The review

This type of article presents a fair and balanced view of the pros and cons of a particular product, service or other related topic. These sorts of reviews can prove useful to readers, making them likely to return to your site.

The informative article

Informative articles are similar to ‘how to’ articles and lists, except they give more general information on a particular subject. Examples of informative article titles could include ‘Internet jargon explained’ or ‘What is an electron?’

As long as they are relevant to your site and its target audience, you can use a mix of these article types to produce varied content for your website.

Christine Felton
Content Writer