Writing Website Content for Beginners

There is so much web content available right at our fingertips that it can sometimes be overwhelming. With all of this information on the web, where do you begin and how do you stand out from the competition?

Capturing the attention of your readers is the key to becoming a trustworthy source for them in the digital age of infinite information. Producing interesting content that is well-written, useful, and optimized is the perfect formula to drive more users to your website.

But if you’ve never done it before, you may need a little help getting started. So, we’ve come up with some tips for how to write web content for beginners. Follow along and learn the best ways to draw in readers!

1. Know your audience.

Who is your primary audience? If you don’t understand your targeted audience, then how can you write content intended for them? You can’t begin content writing for your website if you don’t know what kind of industry-specific information appeals to your readers.

For example, let’s say you’re a chiropractor trying to target new patients who may have just been in a car accident. Your content should be relevant and applicable to these people. You could post a blog entry that includes information on different exercises they can do at home to relieve back pain after they’ve been in an accident.

Stay updated on topics in that industry so you can create content based on the needs of your patients and attract them to your website. What new spinal manipulation techniques are emerging that could be useful for their chronic pain? Are there currently any new technologies you can mention that would entice them to come into your office? Put yourself in the reader’s shoes and consider what type of information would fascinate you.

When writing content for your audience, you must also consider your writing style. To return to the chiropractor example, you may be speaking to someone who knows nothing about adjustments or other chiropractic treatments.

The readers are outsiders looking in and your writing style should indicate that you are attempting to reach out to those who may not know about chiropractic, but could benefit from it. These are the type of people you want to read your content.

The tone you use is equally as important as the content and it is something you should consider every time you sit down to write a new piece.

2. Keep it short and sweet.

We understand that when you have a lot of information that you want to include in your pieces, the structure can become a little unorganized. But you should always avoid long, run-on sentences. Condense your sentences so that they are short and informational. Readability is very important for users. To keep your readers attention, your content shouldn’t be extremely difficult to comprehend or use unnecessary jargon. 

Not everyone that is reading your content may be an expert on the subject matter so make the information understandable. According to the National Literacy Directory, 36 million adults in the U.S. lack basic reading skills. That means that a large percentage of people that come in contact with your content may struggle to read your work if you don’t keep it simple. 
Take the time to explain certain terms to your readers and use this opportunity to educate them. They will appreciate your ability to teach them something in layman’s terms. 

Also, when they find your content educational and useful, it builds trust between you and the reader. This keeps them coming back to your website because they know you publish reliable information that is applicable to their everyday life. 

Just keep your sentences short, sweet, and to the point. It increases user experience and Google loves them. It’s a win-win!  

3. Incorporate other media in your content.

This may seem pretty obvious, but not every writer includes other types of media in their work. Whether you’re writing a blog, ebook, article, etc. readers love to see other multimedia besides just plain text.

Include graphics, videos, photographs, or visuals you can to spruce up the look of your content. For example, infographics are a great way to encompass compelling information like statistics and other data in a visual display to your audience.

Make it appealing to the eye! If there are graphics included in your content, it will keep them scrolling until the very last sentence.

Did you know that 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual and that those images are processed much faster than text? 

4. Use calls-to-action (CTAs).

A call-to-action is a marketing term used to describe an invitation to the reader to perform a specific act. These typically direct website visitors to another page on your site to explore other content or an encouragement to contact your office.

For example, if you post a new blog about tips for veterinarians to ease anxious pets in their office, at the end of the post you could include a CTA that says “If you’re interested in more information, check out our other helpful veterinary resources.” Hyperlink to that page and BOOM you’ve got yourself a CTA.

CTAs help to increase the traffic to multiple web pages on your site because you’re directing them straight to that page.
Some ways that you can include a CTA in your content:

• Hyperlinks
• Graphics
• Buttons

It’s helpful to include the CTA in a visible place on the page, such as at the end of your content. This way, your audience doesn’t miss it.

5. Remember the SEO basics. 

Optimized content can increase organic web traffic to your site and improve your Google ranking. To do this, you must use keywords in your content, headlines, meta descriptions, and titles. 

Find the most relevant keywords and phrases for each piece that you write and try to include them in titles, headlines, meta descriptions, and within the body of the text. However, be careful not to overuse keywords or Google will flag you for this black hat tactic. 

These keywords notify search engines that your content may be relevant to users who made certain search queries that included that word. You must research to find out which words have the highest performance based on your industry. 

6. Formatting your content.

The way you structure your content should be easy for readers to skim. Readers can decide in seconds whether or not they want to continue reading your page, so it’s best to outline your content in a way that’s easy to digest. 

In order to keep this flow going, you can also utilize bullet points, bold text, different fonts, and italics to express the importance of the information. 

Get started.

Content creation can seem jarring at first, but it doesn’t have to be. It can even be fun! Make your topics entertaining to read and educational. Include compelling visual content, be conscious of the structure, and don’t forget to optimize for search engines.

Now you know the basics to write web content for beginners, so get started ASAP and make your way up the search engine results page.

For more information on content creation, check out these other resources

How to Write a Blog Post
10 Popular Marketing Terms You’ve Probably Heard and What They Mean
What is Custom Content and Why is it Important?