Content tips to keep your visitors happy in addition to Google

Guest blog by Rinske van Herwaarden of Heers

Is your content going? down at the sea of pulp that appears online? Everyone continues to produce web content, but luckily there are ways to make Google and visitors happy with your website. One of the points that Google looks at when ranking your website is of course good content. You can think of processing the keywords on which your target group should find you and Google's preference for longer texts. I mention these two examples because many web writers go wrong here. The need of that poor visitor is often ignored. But how do you ensure that perfect balance? Read our content tips here!

First of all, do you approach your visitors well?

Let's check if your base is in order. On your website tell your visitors why they should use your service or product. You don't do that by telling how fantastic your offer is. You do this mainly by matching the needs of your target group: what problem are you going to solve? Try to put yourself in the position of the visitor. Jup, singular.

Your content strategy tells you how you can best approach (potential) visitors. If you have not written this strategy, you can put it at the top of your to do list. What is your target group waiting for and what do you want the visitor to do on your website? Only when you have that clear, do you know which content fits in seamlessly with this.

Then, push boundaries!

What Google searches for in your content can be found in the beautiful Google style guide. We immediately tackle the example I mentioned of the long texts. The search engine has a preference for texts of at least 400 words. Longer texts usually score better in Google, but stick to this not too convulsive stuck to. Focusing too much on the length often results in web pages full of woolly repetitions instead of to-the-point information. If the intention is that visitors actually read the texts (it doesn't have to be, no), powerful texts are naturally better.

Oh, and of course you can also make web texts longer than recommended. As long as your content is not boring, visitors will read on. For a good balance so you can look for great limits. Both Google and visitors appreciate creative excesses, as long as you combine this with common sense.

You can do many writing rules that are hurled at you lapping at your boots. Later in this blog you will read writing tips to provide the best possible service to your visitor. But first why and how to make your website stand out:

Why is being distinctive again so important?

"But why do I have to find those limits?" you might ask. Well, telling an original story makes your organization distinctive. If you offer unique, high-quality content, you jump above your competitors - for Google and visitors. In short, more people who come to your website and do exactly what you want from them.

Web content is crucial for your online success, but also its accessibility. Your beautifully written content is of course of little value if you do not offer it on one user friendly website;

Content tips for a successful website

You want to serve your visitor, right? You have the solution for 'the problem'. So make sure that visitors arrive at a pleasant site. A website with good content and form appears friendly and helpful. In other words, a good website leads to more conversion.

Readability is more than strong web texts. The visitor must be convinced at a glance not to click away. How accessible your content is to Google and visitors determines how it is valued.

Of course you take care of one good foundation for your web content:

• Use clear website navigation. Visitors want to see immediately what kind of tent they have landed in and what they can get. This also means that you place valuable pages such as your cornerstone content high in the web structure.
• Add images and videos simply because people love images. Visual content, especially if you use it well, ensures success. Qualitative imagery often works even better than texts. The combination of image and text is of course gold.
• "Do I really need those inspiring success stories on my website?" Jup, they really work. Be sure to add positive and slightly less positive stories, because such reviews and cases make your organization more reliable.
• People don't read texts, they scan them. So make your text easy to scan. Provide soothing whitespace, helpful links, well-arranged headlines and striking quotes. But again do not apply too many frills;
• Flying banners, pink texts on a blue background and 100 different fonts on your website? Get rid of it! A clean and appealing end result is what you want. A distinctive house style is important here, because it provides an overview on the website and recognizes your organization.
• Is your website accessible to every visitor? Make sure your website is responsive, so it can be read on any device. Also look at the size of the letters and images. You do not want visitors to zoom in frantically or scroll endlessly.
• Social media buttons should not be missing, because they make your content easily shared. Shared content increases your visibility and improves your ranking, always nice.
• Hopefully an open door, but don't forget the call-to-action buttons. Because what do you want the visitor to do again?

No writing rules, but writing tips

Do you want to keep visitors on your pages longer? Then they must not only be well designed, but must also be well written. With these tips you create content that reads nicely:

• People like enumerations, like the one you are reading now. Whatever always scores well, are signal words and concrete examples. With common sense and logical insight into your target group, you can go a long way.
• Keywords must come back in your web content, logically. But they should not stand in the way of legibility. Accessibility is essential, so keep the content sharp.
• Add internal links to encourage your readers to continue reading. Visitors are motivated to stay on the website. But don't make it too promotional to link to a different page at each fart. Visitors don't like promotional chats, period.
• A frequently heard rule is 'put important information at the top'. Visitors usually read the top paragraph first, so it must indeed provide essential information. With provocative texts, however, you can afford to play with tension building and only reveal the point of your story later.
• Write creatively, because then you come to distinctive content. But do not go too far, because you must continue to meet the needs of your target group. Write in a style that fits your organization, so not too stiff and not too jovial. Also write about topics that appeal to the target group: you don't want more followers, you want more customers. If you have viral content no offers added value to your target group, your content misses the mark.
• "Jip-and-Janneke language, is that necessary?" No that is not necessary. If your target group is in a specific discipline, you can certainly use professional jargon. After all, having to explain every term unnecessarily speeds things up. But what you can do best is to use language that is not too complicated. Nobody finds it annoying when a text is easy to follow. So write in an active form, preferably in the present tense. You can also use fine short sentences and reference words without sounding like you're talking to a toddler. Then do that too.
• If necessary: keep your Google and visitors constantly satisfied. Update your texts and add new information to stay relevant in your field.

Golden tip

Another open door, but certainly a content tip that is worth trying: ask yourself with your texts 'would I like to read this?' If your answer is 'no', check what you should change on your website. Is your answer 'yes', mission accomplished.

With the above tips you make Google and your visitors happy. Good luck!

Guest blog by Rinske van Herwaarden of Heers