7 Things Not to do with Website Content

When you’re thinking about content management, think about what you should NOT do as much as about what you should do. Visitors and customers have an expectation of what they want and it’s your job to give it to them. This is the best way to increase traffic to your website and engage your visitors more effectively.

Consider these ideas of what NOT to do when creating fresh, unique content for your website:

1. Don’t create headlines that have nothing to offer your target audience and that are just created as a sensational headline or attention grabber. If headlines are irrelavant and offer nothing, then why would anyone want to visit your site or read your content?
2. Don’t create static pages of content that are merely created to brag about you or your company. Don’t take up valuable real estate on your website that has nothing to offer customers, or that focuses on you more than your customers and site visitors.
3. Don’t talk about the features of your products and services. When you talk about features versus benefits to the customer, you lose their interest quickly. They’ll hit the “x” before you can turn around! Explain how your products or service can benefit them.
4. Don’t make visitors and customers search for valuable information in your content. Don’t create headlines and initial sentences that have nothing to offer your customer in terms of new information, valuable services, and other important offerings to your customer or they’ll leave out of frustration in their search.
5. Don’t include broken links or links that are no longer in existence. Don’t send your customers to websites they will never be able to reach, or they’ll never try to reach your site again either!
6. Don’t send your visitors and customers to sites via links that have no relevance to your products and services. If you do, they’re likely to avoid your site the next time.
7. Don’t use poor quality resolution and sub-standard graphics. If customers don’t believe they are important enough for you to invest time and effort into high quality website content, including graphics, then they won’t find your products and services important enough to invest in either.

When creating your content, think like your customer and this will make you more successful. Consider what they expect and want and use that to develop every page of your website. Listen to what they say - and listen to what they don’t say too! That’s where you’ll find hidden treasures that can increase your marketing potential and increase traffic flows quickly.

Good luck - and feel free to share your traffic tips with us.