When designing a website, your primary goals are to inform and engage users. However, it is impossible to do this if you don’t at first attract them to your site or blog. Site traffic is essential in order to ensure your content is reaching the right market online.
Think of it in terms of an out of town shopping centre. Many contain top-name department stores that cater to most people’s shopping requirements in themselves. However, once customers enter these large stores, they are then driven forward into the heart of the mall, where they are likely to spend money at other retailers as well.
‘Killer‘ content is the website equivalent of these ‘top-name’ stores. It serves as a primary attraction to your content, before opening the gateway to smaller, more specialised or perhaps time-sensitive postings.
This killer content should be evergreen – that is, it should not date, should remain relevant and be referred to and added to across the rest of your site. It should work as a way to boost the brand of your blog and communicate your themes and messages. Most of all, it should be insightful, engaging and sculpted in a way to draw visits into your little corner of the internet.
Still not convinced? Here are the top 10 reasons for creating killer content:
1. Visibility
Killer content is like having a great shop window display – it catches people’s attention and makes them pause for a moment in their journey along the World Wide Web. As more and more businesses and individuals set up an online presence, catching the attention of users is paramount. Killer content is your way of shouting, ‘Hey! Look I’m over here!’
2. Coherence
Many websites and blogs tackle a range of subjects or promote a diverse range of products and services. Variety is, as they say, the spice of life – but it is essential to retain a coherent identity with users. This is what makes them choose your website or blog over someone else’s. Killer content is the perfect place to establish this.
3. Search rankings
In an era where content is king, search engine result rankings can make or break your website. Killer content is a great place to ensure you include the necessary elements in order to boost your SEO rankings. Keyword dispersal, internal links and connections to external sites all catch the eye of the Google algorithm, so use killer content as a place to establish these.
Most importantly, think of what great useful content you can give back to the world.
4. Build trust and rapport
You’ve made your website visible, explained what it is about and got people there through proper search engine optimisation. Now it’s your time to build trust and rapport with your users. Killer content is your first connection with your visitors and it’s always important to make a good first impression. Be engaging, informative and funny if it’s appropriate. Make your content worth reading.
5. Address concerns
Think about what your users may be worried about and address these concerns through your content. Allow space for interaction (comments, Q&A) in order to establish a two-way relationship from the very outset.
6. Promote your authority
You want to make sure users come to your site or blog over your competitors. To do this, you need to make sure they are confident of your authority. Killer content is not filler – it is on-message, insightful, well researched and expertly crafted. Make sure your content has an authoritative tone and builds confidence in your readers.
7. Build strategic partnerships
You do what you do better than anyone else – but is there something else your vissitors may be interested in that you don’t provide? If there is a subject or product that you feel it’s of importance to your target market but outside your area of expertise, make connections with other websites and promote them via your killer content. It helps to boost your appeal as a one-stop shop for information needs.
8. Longevity
While some areas of your blog or website will be pegged on events or subjects that date rapidly, killer content is always relevant and constantly fresh. Using this as an umbrella for your website ensures longevity – if the first page a user hits in June is about Christmas, it will be an instant turn-off.
9. Value
As mentioned earlier, killer content is your shop front display. It should include all of the elements that users love about your website and what you offer. It instills value and demonstrates why your blog isn’t just something to be liked – it’s something to be loved.
10. Go viral!
We all know the value of online viral exposure. Word of mouth and recommendation are two of the most important ways to get your website or blog known. Killer content, done properly, can make your users click ‘share’.
Creating content takes time, but the benefits far out weights the time taken, I hope these tips helped you. Now stop writing average, mediocre, boring and lame content, start writing Killer Content today! Good luck.
Wow you made it so precise and suscinct. These are definitely points to live by when adding content or updating a blog. Also may I add, Adding info-graphics and videos makes it killer as well.
Thanks Jeunesse! I always try to write the best blog posts I can. I agree, adding infographics and video will also not only make content more visual, and are really good at generating links if they are worth sharing.