The Best Web Marketing Checklist for Website Content

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The Best Web Marketing Checklist for Website Content

Article Written By: Stoney deGeyter

What this is about: This checklist explores the development of your site's web content including readability issues, message and overall effectiveness.

Why this is important: Content is an essential part of the persuasion process. Pretty, image-based sites may be appealing to the eye, but it's the content that appeals to the emotional and logical centers of the brain. The inclusion of content as well as the effectiveness of the writing are all crucially important to the sales process.

What to look for:

* Grabs visitor attention: The headline and very first sentences should get the readers attention and make them want to keep exploring.

* Exposes need: Explain to the visitor what their need is for your product, service or information really is.

* Demonstrates importance: Explain why their need, and therefore your solution to it, is important to their way of life.

* Ties need to benefits: Talk about the benefits the readers gets from your solution. Put it in their terms.

* Justifies and calls to action: Justify the purchase and provide clear calls to action to compel the reader forward.

* Gets to best stuff quickly: Don't "save the best for last". Once you have their attention, get to the good stuff ASAP.

* Reading level is appropriate: Talk at your audiences reading level (or below it without talking down to them). Don't talk above them.

* Customer focused: Stay focused on meeting the customers wants and needs. It's about them, not you.

* Benefits and features: Explain all the important features but also tell how those features will benefit them.

* Target personas: Develop personas for your target audience and write in a way that speaks to those personas specifically.

* Provides re-assurances: Always reassure your visitors that what you offer is important/necessary/helpful/satisfying, etc.

* Answers WIIFM: Always explain to the visitor what's in it for them. Don't make them guess.

* Consistent voice: Speak in a clear consistent voice throughout the site. Don't change "personalities" from page to page.

* Eliminate superfluous text: Get rid of any text that doesn't specifically assist with the sales process.

* Reduce /explain industry jargon: Avoid using industry jargon that is unintelligible to the average person. Talk in terms your visitors will understand.

* No typo, spelling or grammar errors: Eliminate all errors throughout your text.

* Contains internal contextual links: Look for opportunities to link to other pages and content withing the body copy.

* Links out to authoritative sources: When warranted, link out to other authoritative websites that backup your content.

* Enhancing keyword usage (SEO): Know and use important keywords throughout your body copy.

* Date published on articles/news: Timely articles should contain a date in which they were published and/or updated.

* Web version of PDF docs available: Convert PDF documents into HTML for easier accessibility.

* Consistent use of phrasing: Don't change how you reference certain things. Be consistent on a page by page basis.

* No unsubstantiated statements: Don't make claims that you can't backup and prove to be true.

[b]About The Author:[/b]
Stoney deGeyter is president of Pole Position Marketing (www.PolePositionMarketing.com), a search engine optimization / marketing firm providing SEO and website marketing services since 1998. Stoney is also a part-time instructor at Truckee Meadows Community College, as well as a moderator in the Small Business Ideas Forum. He is the author of his E-Marketing Performance eBook and contributes daily to the E-Marketing Performance (www.eMarketingPerformance.com) marketing blog.