How to write good content has to be the bravest article to write about. Credibility is at stake here but I hold no fear and wish to offer the finer tips about writing good content for the web.
To begin with, let me inform you that I do have a couple of publications but they're not in the public domain, it's for free consumption within business support services in our area so basically, my writing experience is slim. What I pride myself on is the research into the following steps on crafting an article and generating the cuisine of the bots, good content. This in turn translates to more readers which is the primary objective of the exercise.
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What defines good content?
Good content has many attributes and we need to ensure all these attributes have been checked before we publish.
Let's take a look at what we need.
- Unique information
- Scannable structure
- An answer to a question
- Quality of grammar, punctuation and spelling
- Readability
The above sounds fairly obvious I know but they do take some thinking about. It's easy to get them wrong and hard to get them write, sorry, I mean right.
Unique information
Most subjects on the web have been covered so you really do have to dig deep and ask yourself what you can bring to the web that belongs to you. The answer to bringing unique content to the web is to write for your readers. The language you use determines the kind of visitors your site will attract.
I write to owners of websites that operate a business, mostly non-technical or DIY. I do assume some knowledge of the web but aim to provide information that someone without the skills can learn from. I don't always get this right so feedback is always welcome, something good content is carved from. When you know your readers, you listen to their feedback, you hear their questions, you write good content. It's that simple.
Scannable structure
Not many people read the web but everyone scans the web. Don't argue about it, just accept it. So, how do we convey our content then? Well, the answer is to use small and on-topic paragraphs with careful use of headers and subheaders. The headers really do make a document scannable and must be used correctly. If the topic changes from one paragraph to the next either reconsider the header or create a new one.
I've aimed to make this article a good example of scanning. I take the 9 o'clock news approach, which is; strong introduction, short summary of content, the content itself, a closing summary. All this is done on a scannable level with lists, headers and concise paragraphs.
An answer to a question
I spend a lot of time reading content on the web and many of the articles don't actually answer a question I was asking. Sometimes, a header or link text can imply there is something to learn by reading the content. Often though, I'm left short-changed.
If you're hot on a subject and have something to offer, write the content in the form of an answer to a question. This is best done by describing the question to help clarify why people are there, make the reader feel like they belong, then follow with a solid answer.
The aim of the content is to provide people with homework to do, something they can take away from your site. Get this right and they'll be back for more.
Quality of grammar, punctuation and spelling
Punctuation and spelling can be auto checked in an online thesaurus or tool such as Microsoft Word. They will clear up the obvious but you will still need to proof read the information before publishing to be sure.
Nothing destroys authority on a subject quicker than poor use of the language. To readers that do know how to use the language it can smack of stupidity. Now that doesn't mean you're stupid and the information within holds no less value on the subject you're writing about but if you get the language wrong, the reader will have less faith in you. This devalues the content. Not good.
Being grammatically correct is so important so always get your content checked by others to ensure you communicate effectively and keep the value high.
Readability
Being readable is about not over explaining things. Your good content isn't a novel, it's a readable document providing information to people who are interested in learning the subject you're writing about. Stick to the point.
Keep your personality within the words as this shines through. Your perspective on a subject is why people are reading. Chances are the subject has been covered before and it's you they're reading, so be yourself.
Readable is about pace of the points. Pace of the points means hitting the readers with the key solutions you're writing about in a steady and consistent way. Where there is consistency in the structure of the information, the scanners can scan and the readers can read. This suits everyone.
Finally
Taking the points above onboard and spending time researching the content, you're guaranteed to generate traffic to your website. You don't need writing experience but you do have to be prepared to learn to write.
To wrap this, you follow the steps, produce a great article but here's the rub.
The search engines will make you change your content.
That statement will no doubt be criticised because the search engines love good content, true, but they need a bit of help in the understanding department. I certainly wouldn't spend time changing the core of the content but the headers need to be revised.
Headers, particularly the primary header and title will need to be a searchable keyphrase that describes the content. Ask yourself "what keywords will people type to find this article?". That's your title for the article.
The idea is to keep a balance between what the readers want, what the search engines think they need and what they really need.
Good luck with your next write up.
Further reading
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The often thought interpretation of being #1 is getting listed for a phrase in Google that you've worked towards for a long time. Great! Eventually, you've made it! You're going to be rich!
