The three fundamentals of high quality content

There are golden rules of high quality web content. It should:

1. Attract readers
2. Engage readers
3. Retain readers

Attract readers

It is great if you can write unique content about a topic that no one else has written about, but this is rare. If your content is not the first to appear on a subject, then it needs to be the best or different in some way so that it attracts readers, encouraging them to read the whole article rather than skim through it.

Engage readers

If your content is in a blog format then ask readers to comment on your posts, and make a real effort to interact with them. Engagement is a two-way street. Encourage readers to share your content on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. They will feel engaged if they see themselves as part of a conversation.

Retain readers

To retain readers requires regularly updating your content so that they are encouraged to regularly return for more information.

You need a clear strategy on adding new content and this requires careful planning. Normally, you control how regularly new content is added, but your also need to respond to events outside of your control.

Your readers need to see your business as a trusted source of information. Most industries experience major changes from time to time. Changes can be due to technological advances, new government regulations or different business models emerging. You want your readers to see your website as the primary resource for news and comment on these changes.

If your competitors launch a new product then your content needs to respond to this by informing your readers of the benefits that they will enjoy using your products rather than your competitors.

If your content attracts, engages and retains readers, then your web content strategy will be successful.

John Murray

John is every inch the wordsmith and loves a game of Scrabble above all else. With experience writing for newspapers, John’s time at university was spent studying Creative Writing – something which comes across in his love of the pun.