14 Ways to Add Content to Your Web Site - Part 1

When I surf the Net, I often see web sites filled with beautiful graphics that strive to capture my attention. Well, they do so for an instant, however I click away when I don't immediately find relevant content. The content you add to your web site needs to attract both visitors and search engines.

Here are 14 ways to add content to your web site and attract visitors:

1. Get into the mind of your visitor. Brainstorm all the ways your visitor would think of your product. Write your content as if you are sitting next to him/her explaining your product. Don't write in the 3rd person ie we, they, but use I, you, or your. This makes it more personal.

2. Keep it simple - write as if explaining your web site material to a 7th grader (12-13 year old). Don't use complicated words that people would have to look up in the dictionary. You want them to understand clearly what your site is about.

3. Convey emotion - people on the Web are often in a great hurry, so you need to appeal to their emotions to stop them clicking away to the next site. Use stories, convey your experiences or include testimonies from others. This adds to your credibility and trust, 2 essential factors for doing business online.

4. Communicate quickly and efficiently - people online tend to scan rather than read everything on the page. Therefore use single lines of text for your headings and sub headings. Catch your visitor's eye with lists, bullet points and use short, snappy, active (not passive) words in your sentences. Your paragraphs should only consist of 2-5 sentences. Long paragraphs make it hard to read (scan) your page quickly.

5. Create white space - the layout of your web page should include plenty of white space. Don't lean text hard up against your graphics. Include white space between headings, sub headings and paragraphs.

6. Use graphics sparingly - you have heard it said, "a picture is worth a 1000 words." That's true but only if the picture supports your content. Don't overdo the graphics. You may impress your visitors initially, however to keep them interested in your site, you need high quality content.

7. Create high quality content - make clear points with each paragraph you write. Each paragraph should build on the previous one, so that you are pulling your visitor through your page naturally. You are trying to pre sell the product or service to your visitor. This puts them in a natural frame of mind to buy (unlike many sites which may just have pictures of the products and a shopping cart).

Part 2 of this article will discuss the last 7 Ways to Add Content to Your Web Site

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) owner and author of
Affordable Web Site Design and Web Hosting

Pick up a copy of his new ebook
101 Highly Effective Strategies to Promote Your Web Site - a powerful guide for attracting 1000s of visitors to your web site.

---

Should You Bother Learning HTML to Build Webpages?

The most popular method to build webpages today is to... Read More

Power of Squeeze Pages for Realtors

Squeeze pages are a very hot topic in the internet... Read More

Website Promotion Ideas: 10 Tips On How To Use Your Picture Effectively To Increase Your Sales

Seeing is believing.One trick to increase your visibility as well... Read More

Bad Web Design: ActiveX

ActiveX uses an interesting method for enforcing security ... it... Read More

Should I Use Pop-Up Ads?

Web advertising has taken many forms, including those that appear... Read More

Keep It Simple, Stupid: The Beauty of a Clean Cut Website

Don't knock it; "Keep It Simple, Stupid" is a great... Read More

3 Simple Ways To Dramatically Improve Your Website

Before you start worrying about marketing your website on the... Read More

Tips on How to Design a Great Site

Have you ever walked pass a shop that, for some... Read More

Top 10 Web Design Mistakes

As a webmaster, you want to keep your visitors content... Read More

Designing Beautiful Artist Websites ? 12 Tips To Showcase Your Art

1. Who needs an artists website?Not everyone! If you are... Read More

Simplify Your Web Site for Clarity and Ease of Use

There are plenty of web sites out there in which... Read More

Put Up A Website And Start Promoting In About An Hour

I can't figure out people who have products or information... Read More

What to Ask Your Web Designer

If you need a web designer, but have no clue... Read More

File Types For Icons Explained

An application is not ready for use unless you have... Read More

Learn the Truth about Your Web Design Company by Its Portfolio

When you start building your online business and search for... Read More

7 Web Site Design Mistakes That Will Lose You Clients

In today's world, a web site is virtually mandatory for... Read More

How to Find Inexpensive Web Design

Web design is a very competitive area and there is... Read More

Keep Your Navigation Consistent!

One of the single most important aspects of effective navigation... Read More

Tips On Effectively Organizing Your Navigation

Not all links are created equal.While all of your links... Read More

KIS - Keep It Simple

There are many ways to add fancy bells and whistles... Read More

How to Hire The Right Web Design Firm

Regardless whether you manage a small business, charitable organization, or... Read More

Speed Up Or Lose Out! How To Improve Your Websites Download Speed

So your web site's online and you've got high rankings... Read More

Creating a Compelling Headline for Your Private Practice Website

Your home page is the most important page of your... Read More

A Landing Page is Not an Order Page (and why it matters)

To explain my point I need to first confuse the... Read More

Nine Effective Tips For Improving Your Website?s Usability

Web usability is perhaps the most important factor in any... Read More

Give Your Website A Chance

I often wonder how serious people are when it comes... Read More

Keep Your Navigation Simple!

Navigation must be simple. Since it's the backbone of your... Read More

The Seven Deadly Sins of Web Business Design

Before you take a road trip it is usually a... Read More

Build It And Build It Cheap!

There are several very good reasons why you should consider... Read More

How to Get Your Visitors to Create Content for Your Website

An ongoing challenge for webmasters today is to provide fresh... Read More

The Proper Way to Use Images

Most people will agree there is nothing more annoying than... Read More

Web Page Building for Beginners 4

Page ranking by search engines such as Google are not... Read More

3 Tips You Can Use Right Now to Improve Your Web Sites Usability

Studies done by Jakob Nielson the man touted as the,... Read More