When we think of the most important components of website development, a few things come to mind: aesthetic design, UX, website security, eCommerce functionality, etc.

While all of these are undoubtedly important to building a strong presence online, we often forget how impactful the written content on our website can be for our customers.

We at Seven Ages Design know that it can be hard to imagine why well-written content is so important, and that’s why we’ve put together this list of four reasons why you should invest in a well-conceived written content strategy.

With the internet being such a visual place, it can be tempting to start believing that words matter less and less as time goes on.

Don’t fall for that.

A picture might be worth a thousand words, but well-written content communicates which words and ideas your brand wants to be associated with.

As consumers, we’re bombarded day-in and day-out with advertisements that are all trying to fight for our attention. It’s exhausting, and sometimes it’s downright annoying.

Every once in a while, though, we read a blog, article, or case study that really speaks to us; it didn’t feel like an ad, it felt like someone was talking to us or even talking with us.

Having felt invigorated by what we just read, we click around on the website, read a few more blogs, and maybe even bookmark it for later.

With a single piece of thoughtful content, the author is able to convert us into brand enthusiasts. As we keep reading content that engages us from the same brand, the potential rises for us to become brand ambassadors by sharing that content with our own networks.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Good content writing enables your organization to do a few things that regular advertisements can’t.

For one, it lets you establish yourself as an expert in your related field. Blog pieces about trends in the industry, listicles, and long-form case studies all help build ethos with your audience.

Within those same pieces, you can demonstrate compassion for the pain-points of your customer and detail how you’ve solved (or would solve) common problems that your customers might be facing.

Now that you’ve established authority and an empathetic presence to your reader, you can reel them in with a call-to-action, or include links throughout your pieces to your services pages.

By building familiarity with your brand, and by building trust in your organization’s opinions, written content on your website acts as the first prong of your sales pitch to potential customers.

We at Seven Ages Design believe that content is king online, and it seems that Google agrees with us.

However, it’s not enough anymore to make your website full of content that’s jammed to the brim with keywords. Google’s ranking algorithms have gotten a lot smarter, and they know how to tell useful content from junk.

Search engines like Google and Bing like to see websites populated with content that has: good length (>500 words), links to other pages on the same website, backlinks, appropriate headlines, and metadata, just to name a few things.

The good news is that you don’t have to spend years becoming an SEO guru and a written content genius: they go hand-in-hand.

The point is that consistently producing high-impact content writing pays big dividends with SEO, even if you don’t realize it.

Think of one of your favorite companies.

How often do you engage with one of their content channels, whether that be their website, social media pages, etc.?

Twice a month?

Once a week?

Multiple times a day?

Now, ask yourself: why do you keep coming back to them, even when you’re not trying to buy something?

The likely answer is because their written content is probably relatable, informative, and human – it compels you to come back.

The end result of having this loyalty to a company’s written content strategy is that they’ll now likely be the first place you go when you need something related to what they sell, even if you’ve never bought from them before.

Why?

Because their content inspired you to trust them.

Well written content can help your website continuously capture the attention of users online, while also driving sales and boosting your SEO.

While these benefits are definitely powerful, the nitty-gritty of writing and editing can dissuade people from actually starting up their content marketing strategy.

If you’re looking to develop a website with a killer content marketing strategy, let’s get in touch.