Design Thinking

Content is not king.

You’ve heard that content is king, but I’m here to tell you it is not.

Profit is king.

It always has been and always will be. For businesses, profit is what keeps the lights on. Profit is what leads to growth, more profit and more opportunity.

On the web, conversions lead to profit.

Conversions are king on the web. Every website needs to be focused on getting visitors turned into lifelong customers of the business.

Now we have to backtrack a little bit and discuss content once again.

In some cases, content is what leads to an improved conversion rate.

Let me explain.

How Good Content Can Improve Conversion

People go through a process when they make a purchase.

Think about the last time you made a purchase. Let’s say you were wanting to purchase a new Smartphone. You’ve heard a lot about all the latest smartphones. You have seen friends with iPhones and Android phones. You even had some friends give you their phone to test.

So you’re considering purchasing the new iPhone. You visit Apple’s iPhone page and start reading.

This is the part in the process where content really starts to become important.

At this point in the purchasing process a person is typically not sold on committing to the purchase. There is still research to be done especially since the product has a relatively high monetary cost.

Think about how your website operates in this situation. As a salesperson, you are not there when a potential customer visits your product page. Your page is going to have to do the job of salesperson when you’re not there.

The customer is in the research step of the buying process. They are determining if the product, in this case the iPhone, is the right choice for their new smartphone.

Now, what did you do when you were considering your iPhone purchase?

Peer Reviews and Testimonials

You asked friends for their opinion.

Your website product page can accomplish this with customer reviews. There are a number of services that offer customer reviews for websites. You can also utilize testimonials. Focus on the things that your customer really cares about.

Ask your customers about how a product changed their life for the better. Ask your customers how your service gave them more free time and allowed them to do other things they love more than what they were doing before.

By asking your customers what really matters to them you will get the best testimonials.

This is what potential customers are looking for when making a purchasing decision.

What else did you think about when making your iPhone purchase?

Price and Justification

Price is a tricky piece of the content and conversion puzzle.

Some people are afraid to showcase their price where customers can immediately see it. There is another way of thinking that showcasing the price is a good way to weed out those that might not be the best long-term customers.

In business, there are good customers and not-so-good customers. You want the best customers and those are the people willing to pay the price you determine.

The important part of any price is the justification.

The content on the page needs to sell the visitor on the benefits of the product or service for them. This means that the content on your pages will need to focus on the value you provide for the customer.

In the case of the iPhone, this means that Apple has to show how the iPhone allows people to take pictures with their phone. People no longer need to worry about carrying both a camera and a phone.

The iPhone also allows people to have access to numerous useful applications such as news updates, reminders and even games.

Another aspect of the phone is prestige. People feel confident when they use their iPhone. This vanity is an important part of the iPhone’s appeal. People purchase the iPhone because it is beautiful.

These points and others are reasons why content is important for your website.

Summary

If the content on your website addresses the needs of the customer you should see an improvement in conversion.

Not every customer is immediately ready to purchase when they stumble upon your website.

Buying is a process and people need to go through the entire process before they finally commit to handing over their hard earned cash.

People need content to help them feel good about the purchases they make. Content is an important aspect of any website, but it’s also one of the most overlooked.

Focus on content when you design your website. Focus on how content can be used to answer the questions visitors will have as they move through the purchasing cycle.

Good content is an important aspect of conversion.

And conversion is king on the web.

Some of us are afraid of content.

For some, the thought of sitting down in front of a computer and writing is terrifying. Writing brings about memories of grade school writing class where the teacher would hand you back a paper and it would be covered in red marks.

Writing doesn’t have to be scary, though. The truth is that content can be a great asset on something such as a website.

For businesses, a website serves as the main point of information on the web. When consumers prefer to research a company online instead of by calling or having a meeting in person, it is the job of the website to act as the salesperson.

When thinking about your website, consider the typical conversation you have with someone that inquires about your business.

Successful Business Content and Long Web Pages

If you’re in business you have probably had face-to-face conversation with potential clients. Meetings are often setup where you and the other person sit down in a room to discuss what your business has to offer.

In any scenario there are a couple important things occurring.

First, you are introducing yourself on a personal level. Just as with any occasion when you meet someone new, you will introduce yourself and look to make a connection on a personal level.

Second, as a good salesperson, you are looking to show the value your company can provide this person and their associated business. Salespeople ask questions and listen to the concerns and problems potential clients could be experiencing. From there, the salesperson tries to find a solution with their current offering and will then present the offer to potential client if the timing feels right.

Your company website is your online salesperson. When people are looking online for information about their problems they will often stumble on websites just likes yours. It’s important that your website is a better salesperson than the competition’s.

Websites as Salespeople

When you create the content for your website it’s important to think like a salesperson.

The content needs to form a relationship, answer questions and provide a viable option. This is the way your website will convert visitors into customers.

Now, back to being afraid of writing content for a website.

There is an easy way to start writing the content for your website. Close your eyes and visualize yourself having a conversation with a potential customer. Think about the way you start the conversation.

What do your customers express to you as their biggest concerns? Consider your company’s most important value proposition is and focus on that as the starting point for your content. You want each new visitor to your website to understand what your company is within a few moments of opening the page.

It’s like introducing yourself in person.

You might say something like, “Hello. My name is George. I represent George’s Dog Collars. We sell custom-fit collars for border collies.”

That is a descriptive introduction. It lets the person know exactly what your business does.

For your website, you can focus on exactly what it is your business does. In this case you might have a headline like this to start the page:

Custom-Fit Collars for Border Collies

To fill in the content below this is will be important as well.

Long Web Pages

Consider your initial conversations with new customers.

These conversations likely take some time. You put in a few minutes listening to the person, asking them questions about their life as it relates to a certain topic. You then start expressing the ways you think your company’s solution could provide value to this person.

Now, consider your website and its content.

You want your web page to have enough content to sufficiently answer the questions your potential customers typically have. Think about the core issues your customers have and how your business solution provides a satisfying product or service. With your website content you need to express the way your business provides value. Sometimes this can take quite a bit of space on the page.

And that’s alright.

People are willing to read content on long web pages if the content is interesting and valuable to their lives.

Provide enough content on each of your web pages to address the core topic of the page while effectively selling visitors on the value your company can provide to them.

You don’t have to be afraid of writing content. Think about the face-to-face experiences you have with your potential customers. Use these experiences to create your website content. You don’t have to ask questions on your website, but you do have to provide the answers.

Be sure to provide enough content to move the person down your sales funnel. Treat the website and visitor relationship just like a person to person meeting.

Hopefully this allows your website content writing to go a little smoother while providing assurance that it’s alright to use long web pages.

Simple is usually better, but be sure to provide enough content to make the sale.