Getting your website content right can be a tricky game; it’s not just enough to have content on your site, it needs to be good. Actually, it needs to be better than good – it needs to be shit hot. But how do we define ‘shit hot’?
In our eyes, shit hot content is content that converts, ranks, engages your customers and showcases your brand personality.
So what’s shit copy? We class this as content that’s just a bit ‘meh’, for want of a better word. The copy’s there, it says what you do, but it doesn’t go much further – Google isn’t ranking it and customers aren’t engaging with it, so by definition, it’s a bit shit.
At Dark Horse, we’ve got no time for mediocre; we won’t rest until your website content is truly shit hot.
What types of website content do you have?
First up, you need to think about what types of website content you’re working with, and whether they’re meeting their intended purpose. For example, you’ll probably have:
- A homepage
- Some landing pages
- Perhaps a shop
- Maybe a blog
- Some case studies
- A contact form
Every type of content will sit at a different stage of the customer’s purchase journey, so your copy will need to reflect this. It’ll need to be unique, and it’ll need to be written with Google in mind too. If you’re writing an offline brochure in the same style as a blog post, it doesn’t mean that your writing skills are shit, just that your understanding of how to write SEO content might need some work.
Not sure which camp you fall into? Try applying these questions to your website content:
- Are they all written in exactly the same style?
- Do you use the same phrasing across the different pages?
- Are there bits that have been copy and pasted just to make sure the pages look detailed?
- And, dare we say it, is there any Loren Ipsum anywhere (we’ve seen it, it happens!)?
If the answers to any of these questions are ‘yes’ then your website content can’t be classed as shit hot just yet – but you can get there.
Can people find your content?
If traffic to your content looks poor, this may be because no one can find it. Copywriters and content writers need to work closely with SEO to ensure website content is optimised for the right keywords to increase the chances of it ranking on Google, so people can actually find it when they search online.
But ranking organically can take time, so you need to make sure your content can be found in other places too. For example:
- Assess your internal linking to make sure the most relevant blogs and category pages are being linked to from important landing pages
- Make sure your newsletter and social media posts link out to key pieces of content
- Start linking to key category pages from your ads
Who is your content written for?
Know your audience; who are you writing your website content for? What are their pain points? What do you have to offer them? What stage of the purchase journey are they at?
Dedicate some time to craft your personas and get to know them by thinking about:
- Where else they like to shop
- The kind of content they’ll typically consume
- What they’re likely to share on social media
Keep the answers to each of these in mind when you’re writing your site content to make it as targeted as possible.
But you can’t just write your content for your personas – you need to write it for Google too. The mighty search engine should be just as much a part of your target audience as those personas. However, bear in mind that there’s a fine line to tread between writing copy that’s stuffed with keywords and copy that Google will rank and your customers will engage with; keyword-stuffed copy might show an understanding of SEO, but it can be pretty jarring to read.
Is your website content converting?
Creating website content that converts is the ultimate goal; successful conversions are a sign that you’re on the right track. A conversion could be:
- A new lead
- A purchase
- A newsletter sign-up
Your website copy needs to drive your customers towards these conversions, so clear calls to action or CTAs are essential. If you’ve got really detailed information but website visitors don’t know what to do next, your bounce rate is likely to go through the roof, and that’s pretty shit.
Clear, persuasive CTAs that encourage customers to take that all-important next step to progress on their journey are essential and they’ll always be a feature of shit hot online copy.
Does your content showcase your brand personality?
Your website content provides an ideal opportunity to showcase your brand personality and tone of voice, so your audience can get to know you better.
Sure, you can have a whole page of website content that explains who you are and what you do, but your distinct voice and brand values need to run through all of your website content. This will help you to build an authentic, trustworthy voice that your customers will recognise on your site and across your newsletters and social media content too.
At the same time, you, of course, need to make sure your copy is well-optimised, and it can be hard to strike the balance between SEO content and quirkiness – but finding that sweet spot can ultimately be what makes your content shit hot.
Do you get lots of repeat queries?
If you’ve noticed a lot of common themes or questions that often come through your customer services or contact form, this could signal that there’s a gap in your website content. Providing better clarity and a bit more detail via your existing content can help to add more value to the customer journey, keeping them on site for longer and therefore, more likely to convert.
Creating an FAQ section could also help, either as a blog or a landing page that’s easily accessible via your header or footer. And don’t just go for questions that people ask IRL – conduct keyword research to find out what they’re asking online too.
What makes shit hot website content?
See, we told you it wasn’t just a case of writing a few lines about what you do and putting it on your site. There’s a lot to think about to judge how well your content’s performing, and there are lots of potential tweaks to be made to improve your website copy – and the beauty is, you don’t have to do them yourself, we have experts who can help.
In summary, shit hot content will:
- Be written with a clearly defined audience (and Google) in mind
- Showcase your unique brand personality
- Use a consistent tone of voice
- Incorporate carefully researched keywords
- Feature relevant internal links
- Answer key questions
- Use different writing styles and amounts of copy for different pages
- Have clear calls to action
- Include a touch of quirkiness that sets you apart from your competitors
- Leave the customer wanting to know just the right amount more
If you’re not sure how to balance all those elements and get your website content working for you, Google, and your customers, contact the Dark Horse team today. We’ve got a proven track record of making content work for our clients and creating shit hot SEO content that does exactly what you want it to.