12 Steps to a Successful Website - OurChurch.Com
4. Content is KingProvide useful, original, current content. What are you going to put on your website to make people want to visit…and stay?
There are 3 things that go into making a popular website - content, content, and content. The number one reason people surf the web is because they are looking for information. Therefore, one of the best ways to make your website valuable to potential visitors is to include useful, original, current content. |
| |
|
Useful - Make sure your content is something other people are really interested in, something that can improve their lives. Original - Don't copy other sites. In addition to violating copyright laws, copying doesn't contribute anything new. Resist the temptation to simply reword what someone else has already written. If you want visitors to value your website, you need to add something of value to the subject. Current - There's nothing that screams "irrelevant" like an announcement for an event that took place last month or a "new" article that's been on a website for 4 months. On the other hand, visitors will return to your website if they see fresh new content added regularly.
Where is your expertise? What useful, original, current content can you create for your visitors? Content Tips Emphasize the value of what your site offers and how your services differ from those of key competitors. Be articulate. Be informative. Make every word count. A visitor to your site should know its purpose within the first 30 seconds. They should at that point be able to navigate to other sections of the site with ease. Remember that people who surf the web are generally looking for fast information, and they often scan instead of reading word-by-word. Don't make them wait. Give them a summary of what they want as quickly as possible on the homepage. If you draw them in properly and they wish to know more, they'll navigate to specific sections. "Just say no" to long homepages. A long-winded homepage can hurt you in several ways: Few people have the time and patience to wade through paragraphs and paragraphs of text to learn the true purpose of your site. Save the lengthy details for internal pages and keep your home page clean and lean. (By the way, the homepage is not the place to put all of your outside links if you are trying to keep visitors on your site.) Repeat Keywords in your content Optimize your pages for search engines by repeating keywords in your site content. This is more important to search engines than the keywords in the META tags, so don't skip this step. Important phrases should be placed prominently with emphasis on the first sentence: "Children's Ministry Supplies, Inc. offers free shipping of quality, affordable Christian teaching materials for children in preschool and grade school, featuring content that is faithful to the Bible. We offer biblical training tools for preschool through grade six whether for Sunday School or Children's Ministry. Our materials delight children with colorful graphics, solid and exciting Christian writing, and engaging activities to help teachers share God's Word with students at virtually every age level."
Notice the use of keywords and their variations: Children, children's, Bible, biblical, etc. Break some of the rules you learned in grammar school by repeating important words. Be a broken record. Keyword density
If you would like help analyzing your keyword density, consider ordering site promotion services from OurChurch.Com. Step 5: Dress for Success >>
| ||
Now that you know your site's purpose, projected visitor demographic profile, keywords and description, and your domain is all picked out, you are ready to start building the site itself.
