One of the hardest parts of maintaining a website is remembering to add content. Most of the time we get busy, and we keep putting aside writing. It seems like it is something that is easy to do, and can be done at a later time. However, at the end of the day, the last thing most people want to do is sit down in front of their computer and pound on the keyboard. However, it is very important that you regularly update your website, or you will see your Google ranks start to slip.
Taking Time to Write
When you really look at it, adding content to your website does not take that long. In fact, the hardest part about adding content is figuring out what you will be writing about. So there are a few ways to get around that, and once you have a topic you can watch your writer’s block disappear.
Every week or two sit down with a pen and paper (I like to do it manually rather than on the computer, but either method works). Write on that paper all of the topics that your website covers, but be sure to leave some blank spaces between the topics. Now in those blank spaces, write down all of the sub-topics that your site covers. For example, my site talks a lot of about search engine optimization. So that is one of my topics, but then I can fill in the subtopics with content, internal optimization, external optimization, promoting your site, backlinks, etc. The list can keep going on and on. The point is that you now have a list of a dozen topics to write about.
The hard part is done; now you just add content to your website, and you will start seeing more traffic come in. Want to know how quickly it works? Add just 3 pages of content per week, and you can see your site move from page 5 on Google to page 2 in just a few weeks. Add more than 3 pages, and your site will move up even faster (read my post about moving up in the Google ranks to see how I did it). The best part is that it takes about an hour per week to do this.
Taking Time to Research
Now keep in mind that just pounding out content will be of little value if you don’t do your research beforehand. This means that you need to actually know the topic that you are writing about. For most that won’t be a problem.
For some, however, research is not their strong suit. They get onto their site, and they input a lot of opinion, but don’t back it up with facts. This is fine, but you need those fact (and outbound links) to really help boost your Google ranks. You can add content to your website the right way, and the wrong way. Take the extra 5 minutes to back up your claims.
Add Content to Your Website to See More Traffic
To add content to your website all you have to do is share your knowledge with your readers. When you share that knowledge you will expand the base of people who are finding you online. For example: let’s suppose you own a restaurant. You may be tempted to write about the fantastic steak that you have, or the chef’s culinary background. These are important things to have, but if you write about all the fun things to do nearby, you will expand your base. Let’s say I am travelling to Billings, Montana, and I want to see what golf courses are around. I will search for golf courses. If your restaurant website has a review of all the golf courses nearby, I will click on your site, read about the courses, and learn where you are located and that you offer 10% off to golfers. You just won my business; and I would never have found your site if you didn’t talk about golf on your restaurant website.
Make sense? Probably not if you’re in the restaurant business and not the web content development business. You want to serve great food and bring in clients. That is why I’m a writer in Billings, Montana. I can provide the content for your restaurant website (or whatever industry you happen to be in) that will bring in more traffic. More traffic means more clients; more clients mean a better bottom line. Email me, or call 406.860.4407, to learn more about how I can bring you more clients.