Introduction

Are you expecting a return on your website investment?

'Websites that consistently fail to attract visitors or get them to take action are a waste of time and money'.

Hello. My name is Kel Ashley of MarketWrite.

I do quite a number of website checks.  The sad truth is, most are unsuccessful i.e. they’re not meeting their objectives.  Either they’re not getting sufficient visitors or they’re generating too few inquiries/sales.

Does this sound familiar?

You have invested considerable money into your website and have got nothing much in return.  Little wonder you feel frustrated and bewildered.

Business is all about return on investment and business online is no different.

Ironically, time and again I find a number of these websites are well optimised and enjoying impressive visitor numbers.  But attracting visitors, as vital as it is, is only half of their problem.  Typically they have been 'written' by someone who knows the business like the backs of their hands, but is without specialised website content knowledge.  Sadly, the result is often little more than web pages listing of the company’s services, products or capabilities — and they’re failing!

Websites that don't attract visitors or, when they do, consistently fail to compell them to take action are a waste of time and money.  Worse still, they could actually be deterring visitors from dealing with you!

Many people now judge an organisation by the quality of its website.  Unfair though that may be, it is nonetheless true. 

The major problem is, more often than not, the absence good quality content.

So, can an experienced website editor make a difference? YES!

Good website content is built on two simple foundation cornerstones which enable you to create good quality content.

Value Your Information

If we don't value our information highly, how can we expect them to?

As a business owner or operator you know your products and services intimately.  Of course you do.   

But not all of us are good at articulating and illustrating just how good our products or services are.

The easiest thing in the world to forget or undervalue is communicating that knowledge to your most important stakeholder; your customer.  That is, how your information is sorted, labeled and 'served' to your audience.  Do the headings make sense to them and is there a logical hierarchy?  Are benefits all mixed up with features?

You need to make your information accessible, readable and valuable.

If you don't value your information sufficiently to transfer your knowledge effectively to your audience, how can you expect them to know you, trust you, subscribe with you or buy from you? 

So, Who Are Your Stakeholders?

The final decider is what is good quality content is actually your visitor, but to get to your visitor you firstly have to impress a spider!  Yes, correct.  A Search Engine spider.  So Search Engines are important stakeholders in your website.

The three major stakeholders in your website are:

1. Your visitor — clearly the most important.  What your visitor values is paramount.
   
2. Search Engines — the second most important.  What they deem 'valuable' or relevant will likely decide whether many or few visitors see your website.
   
3. You the owner — you rank last because what you think or value matters less than the preceding two.  Thats an 'eternal truth'.
   

What Makes Good Quality Content?

I define ‘good quality’ content by the following:

• Accessibilty

Search-friendly, keyword-rich information in logical places

• Readability

Absolute clarity in every respect

• Value

This is the big one — the right information presented in a way your audience regards as factual, useful and benefit-rich.

Endless hyperbole will not work on the internet.

Learn how to plan an effective website using the two foundation cornerstones.