The best content for a high-performing website

A pretty website is pointless if it’s not SEO friendly. But a website created just for search engines will fail if users dislike using it. Here are some tips for creating web content that achieves both.

Copy for readers and SEO

Firstly, your content must help your reader. They want something from you and it’s your job to give it to them. No amount of keywords will help if no one reads your content. So ensure your copy is relevant, easy to read and highly useful.

Being found is also essential, so determine what keywords customers use around your topic and weave them naturally into the content. Headings, subheadings, URLs, descriptions and first paragraphs are great locations for keywords.

But what is the ideal word count? Here are recent quotes from three experts:

• ‘We recommend aiming for a realistic minimum of 400 – 500 words or more per page.’
• ‘There is a higher chance of rankings in Google if a blog post contains over 1000 words.’
• ‘Google’s John Mueller said in August 2019 that “word count is not a ranking factor.’

No one seems to agree on this question. So the answer is to create content that informs your reader without overwhelming them, proves your credibility and uses keywords naturally.

Separate pages for services

We recommend creating individual pages for each of your services, so you can:

• target the content for each service to the ideal audience (as different audiences may need different services)
• use the right keywords for one service rather than a range of keywords across a range of services (which is less likely to rank well in Google)
• structure the page content to naturally lead the user through a sales process to checkout (which is harder to do when there are several services on one page).

Other content for credibility and SEO

Your website needs content that instils trust in your brand, positions you as an industry expert and helps your site rank well in search engines. Here are some ideas:

• Testimonials – Objective and positive reviews of your products and services, and your business. Most people check reviews before buying products and engaging contractors now.
• Case studies – Entertaining or informative stories about a challenge that a customer faced and how your product or service resolved it. Readers should identify with the challenge and want your assistance too.
• Blog posts – Articles that provide real value for free and demonstrate your expertise. If constructed well, with clean code, keywords and metadata, these pages can rank very well on Google.

Photos for your website

While stock photos are quick and easy to use, they can’t match real photos taken specifically for your company. They might be a good temporary solution until you get your own but watch for cliches, photos overused across other sites, and obviously international ones.

When you use your own photos, make sure they are high-quality images taken by a professional photographer. Blurry or low-resolution images could give users an unintended message about the quality of your brand.