Is your website generating loads of leads? It could—with the help of some carefully curated content.
What is Website Content?
Basically, website content refers to the content on a website, whether it be written copy, images, or videos. The type of content on a website will differ based on the business and its purpose—for example, you’re likely to see flashy visual content (and minimal text) on a retail website, while a service business website will often appear sleek and more text heavy.
But website content isn’t limited to copywriting and visuals—it can include graphics, charts, podcasts, sounds, animations, and more. Everything you see on a website, from the home page to ‘contact us’ is website content, and it can either help or hinder a business.
Why is Website Content Important?
I did all of my website content myself, and it looks pretty damn good for a D.I.Y job, I hear you say. Well, you might be right… but let’s do a little thought experiment.
Imagine you’re the owner of Carl’s Cookies, and a customer is visiting your website… how did they get there? Was it luck? Depending on your digital presence, there are a few ways this customer could have found you. If you’re on top of your SEO game, they might have come in through a Google search. Or, if you’re active on social media, they might have come from a Facebook or Instagram post. The list goes on…
What do all of these journeys have in common? Intent. Your potential customer (most likely) wouldn’t have made the journey to arrive on your website, without intent. In this case, we’re talking about intent to purchase a box full of freshly baked cookies. But in the real world, ‘intent’ could mean intent to buy, hire, sell, subscribe, or consume. In other words, your customer is there for a *purpose*.
Now, you’ve done the hard yards, your customer has noticed you, and they want to learn more. They’re moments away from making a purchase of 60 cookies for their daughter’s engagement party, when they stumble across a piece of content…
‘We carry fudge-filled cookies to suite any taste, weather you prefer caramel, mint, or chocolate, weve got you covered.’
… spot the mistakes? Your customer certainly has. They scroll down, and find a blurry, poorly cropped photo of a box of cookies.
Now, with the spelling mistakes, and not-at-all-enticing image combined, your customer is second-guessing their purchase. They’re thinking, gee, if Carl’s website is full of mistakes, how can I trust that my cookies will arrive fresh, and full of chewy fudge? Suddenly, you’ve lost your customer’s confidence and trust. They’ve closed the tab to Carl’s Cookies and opened a new one at Dean’s Desserts. There goes your big sale and potential referral, all because of a few content-related mistakes.
Think I’m being dramatic? Studies show that just a single spelling mistake (or misplaced apostrophe!) on your website can almost halve your sales. Yikes.
Usually, business owners like Carl hinder themselves by underestimating the importance of high-quality website content. They build a cheap website and slap some home-brewed images and copy on there to fill the gaps. But here’s the key—Carl is a baker with an affinity for cookies, not a marketer with a knack for cracking content. He doesn’t notice the mistakes on his website because it’s not what he’s good at. And that’s okay! But the take-home here is—close enough is not good enough when it comes to website content. In fact, poor content can seriously hurt your sales.
How Website Content Can Help You Win Leads
On the flip side, killer website content can seriously boost your sales. Well-executed content has been shown to dramatically increase consumer confidence, leading to higher conversions, and a bigger basket size.
How? I’ll use Carl as an example again.
Let’s say Carl has seen the error of his ways, and he’s hired a marketing professional to redo his website content. Now when a customer lands on his home page, they’re greeted by a studio-quality video of a chocolate-filled cookie. The model holding the cookie pulls it apart, and the gooey, chocolatey centre begins to spill. The text overlay reads ‘Indulge and enjoy—our award-winning fudge-filled cookies are 100% sugar-free. Craving caramel, mad for mint, or chasing chocolate? Click here to order our gooey cookies now’… okay, now my mouth is watering!
The customer continues to peruse his website, and they see tantalising images of cookies, on-brand colours, well-written copy, and a fuss-free shopping cart to match. A few clicks later and boom—Carl has converted his lead, with the help of some fantastic website content.
Let’s break down why Carl’s new website content is helping him win leads.
Confidence-Boosting
Carl’s customer immediately lands on a home page with mouth-watering footage, and correctly formatted content. His customer came to his website expecting to find yummy cookies for their daughter’s engagement, and within half a second, Carl’s content has confirmed that he’s the man for the job. His website is free of spelling mistakes, showing that he cares about quality and has an eye for detail, and his customer can visually see the quality of his products with the help of a video.
Informative
At the first glance, Carl has informed his customer that his cookies are gooey, sugar-free, award-winning, and come in a range of flavours. His customer has gone from thinking they need ‘cookies’ to realising they need sugar-free, award-winning cookies, in mint, chocolate, and caramel.
Sales-Focused
Carl’s new content is formatted to sell. It’s visually appealing, convincing, and includes a call to action to encourage a purchase.
Ease of Use
It’s all well and good convincing your customer to buy your product, but if your website isn’t easy to navigate, you’ll lose the sale for sure. Carl’s website is clean, clear, and isn’t overwhelming. His customer can see exactly what Carl is offering, and how to purchase his award-winning cookies.
Make sense? Think of it this way—when you Google ‘cookies Melbourne’, you’re not expecting a website selling dried-out, raisin-filled cookies. You’re expecting a website selling quality cookies that are worth the calories. So, to win a lead, all Carl has to do is meet his customer’s expectations, present his brand in a way that bolsters consumer confidence, and offer a simple user experience. However, Carl’s new website content has gone above and beyond. Now, Carl is exceeding his customers’ expectations, and winning even more leads thanks to his carefully curated content.
Things to Consider
Website content can help you win leads… AKA, it can’t do the job all by itself. Sure, an aesthetically pleasing, well-written, well-laid-out website can go a long way for your business, but it means nothing if your customers can’t find your website in the first place. So, how do you position your website content so it can help you? Well, with a competitive digital marketing strategy of course!
Depending on your business, an appropriate digital marketing strategy might include social media marketing, Google Ads, SEO, optimised forms, enticing creatives, and more. Seem a bit overwhelming? Not for us! Here at Clixium Digital Marketing, we help businesses just like yours take control of their digital presence. From website content, social media, and copywriting, to Google Ads, and SEO—we do it all. Click here to learn more and contact us today.