Content creation, Website creation
In this article, I discuss the two ways to organize information on your website: by topic or by visitor. Once you have made that decision, you need to start expanding into a more complete plan of the site content. Create a one-page plan in Word It is best to see the entire site on one page if you can, so that you can make sure everything has been included and you can easily move content around if you need to. I have found that one easy way to create your site plan is to use a landscape Word document. Insert a table on the page with two rows and as many columns as needed for the number of categories you wrote down when you decided on the method of organizing. In the first row, put one category in each column. Add a column for a category that has more information about you or your company (an About Us category). In the second row for each column, list the specific pages you will have in that category. You can use bullets under a page if you need to have a hierarchy of pages in that category. Here is an example of the site plan when I started this site. Determine what is necessary to launch & expect changes In any project, it is likely that there is more content than you have time, resources, or money to initially complete. In your plan, note which pages or sections are critical to be done now and which will be left to later. This is a decision that must be made carefully, as...
Content creation, Search ranking
In this article, I outlined five types of articles any expert can write to create content for their website. One of the article types is an article that shows the reader how to solve a problem. These types of articles are important for any website. Many web searches are looking for the solution to a problem, so search engines value articles that provide the solution. When someone finds a solution to a problem, they share it with others on their own site or through social media, which results in more visits and helps search engine ranking. This type of article should be structured with the following sections. Problem Statement & Identification Start by stating what the problem is and how to identify you have this problem based on symptoms that can be easily identified. Because you are the expert and the person who has the problem is not an expert, you need to make sure that the description of the symptoms is clear and written in language that non-experts will understand. It may be valuable to include images that will help people identify the problem, such as screen captures or photographs. You may also need to help people rule out this problem by explaining symptoms that may be due to a different problem. If it is not the problem this article covers, give them links to other resources that can help solve the problem. Cause of the Problem It is important to let people know how the problem is caused. People are wondering how this problem was caused so that they know how to avoid the problem happening again....
Content creation, Search ranking
In this article, I outlined five types of articles any expert can write to create content for their website. One of the article types is an article that shows how you successfully solved a problem for a previous client. These types of articles help convince prospective clients that you can solve their problem because you have solved similar problems in the past. Just because someone visits your website doesn’t mean they will necessarily contact you. They need to see evidence that you are the solution provider they can rely on. A case study or success story article helps provide the proof they seek. This type of article should have the following four sections: Problem Description The first section in a case study or success story article describes what the problem was. Make sure you show how it is similar to the one that many prospective clients are struggling with. If the case study does not directly relate to the situation the website visitor is facing, they may not see how it is related to their situation. This is why you should have at least one case study for each of the common problems you solve. Size of the Problem The second section in the article is a measurement of the size of the problem that the case involved. Every organization has more problems than they have resources to solve. The ones that get attention are the ones that are big enough to solve. Provide a measurement of what this problem was costing, what difficulties were being encountered, or how much of a challenge it was. This shows the prospective...
Content creation, Search ranking
Regularly adding well written content to your website is the single action you can take that will have the greatest positive impact on the ranking and effectiveness of your website. When I say this to small business owners, I usually get a response that they don’t know what to write. Here are five types of articles any expert can write that will be of interest to their target market and improve the results from their website. List This type of article is a simple list that will help your ideal client. It could be the tips to address an issue, mistakes people make in some area, resources you have found on the web to address a topic, or any other list of items that makes sense. It doesn’t need to be long. Start with a list of five items and work your way up to ten if you want to. You aren’t going into detail on each item, but giving a starting point for your reader. (Notice that this article is a list type of article) If you want, you can then write a more in-depth article about each item on the list if it makes sense to do so (giving you even more articles). Solution to a Problem This type of article shows the reader how to solve a problem. It has a definite structure and has the details they need to successfully solve the issue at hand. These types of articles are often shared with others because if it helps one person, there are likely a lot of others also searching for a solution to that problem....
