10 Steps for Creating Remarkable Website Content

What is Website Content?

Before we dive into the article, let’s start by defining ‘Website Content’. Website content is the backbone of your digital presence. It’s the combination of words, visuals, and multimedia that tells your brand’s story, answers your audience’s questions, and guides them toward meaningful actions. From SEO content writing to visual content creation, every element is designed to engage visitors and keep them coming back.

A strong website content strategy starts with understanding your audience’s needs and crafting content that resonates. By focusing on content development and website optimization, you can create a seamless experience that not only boosts search engine rankings but also builds trust and credibility. Whether it’s through blogging strategies, content management systems, or social media promotion, your content should work together to support your broader digital content strategy.

1

Identify Your Unique Value Proposition

Your website should answer the why and how of your firm, explaining how your services and process provide value to your clients. Your unique value proposition should address these items directly and should differentiate you from other firms in the industry. You should use this value proposition as the basis for the content you create for your website. Your unique value proposition should be prominent and woven throughout the content on your website — making sure that your content is targeted and relevant to the people you want to reach is critical to the success of your site.

2

Conduct a Website Content Audit

Before you begin creating new content, you need determine what content you already have and where you see holes that need to be filled. What content needs to be re-written? What pieces of content are performing well and may not need as much work? Make sure to document all the content you currently have and then identify what can stay, what needs to be refreshed, and what needs to go. This will give you a clear picture of how much new and fresh content you need to create, and where to start.

3

Create Persona-Driven Content for Each Stage of the Client Lifecycle

When creating website content, firms often think about what they want to say instead of what their audience wants to read. It’s essential to create content for your website with your various audiences in mind. By understanding your buyer personas, you can craft content that speaks directly to their interests, challenges, and goals. Your content is meant to answer their questions, educate them on industry topics, and address their pain points. Remember that you have more than one audience, and your website should have content that caters to each respective audience. Whether it’s a blog post, a case study, or a service page, every piece of content should feel like it was made just for them.

Start by mapping your content to the client lifecycle. In the awareness stage, use thought leadership articles and educational blogs to answer common questions and build trust. As prospects move down the funnel into the consideration stage, showcase your expertise with case studies, testimonials, and detailed service pages. Finally, for clients in the decision stage, provide clear calls-to-action and resources that make it easy to choose your firm. Your website should have various pieces of content that address different questions or concerns depending on where the prospect is in the client journey, from awareness to purchase to advocacy.

Remember, your website isn’t just for prospects—it’s also for clients, employees, partners, and even the media. By creating persona-driven content for each audience, you ensure your website resonates with everyone who visits, no matter where they are in their journey.

4

Include the Essential Content

With a solid content strategy in place, each piece of content on your website will have a specific purpose and target audience. People use the internet to conduct research and discover information on various topics. Be sure to use your website content as an opportunity to educate prospects about trends and common questions in the industry, and for those further down the sales funnel, your company, process, and services. Another prime example audience is job seekers, who are researching companies where they would like to work and a careers section with insight into your company culture is relevant to them. Content planning plays a crucial role in the success of your overall content marketing efforts, in which a strong strategy will help ensure successful outcomes. These are some of the content essentials to consider for your website, based on your industry and audience:

• Thought leadership, educational articles
• Premium content (i.e., whitepapers, eBooks, webinars)
• Industries/Capabilities information
• Project case studies / Portfolio
• Client testimonials
• Compelling “About” page with a history timeline
• Team overview page and bio singles
• In-depth Careers page with content specific for job seekers including employee testimonials, benefits, students/internships, etc.
• Employee spotlights (great for potential job seekers)
• Up-to-date job postings (integrate with your CMS platform)
• Locations (if you have multiple offices – we recommend having a location single for each one to showcase specific projects, news, insights, people, etc.)
• Videos (can feature company culture, client testimonials, etc.)

Review the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services article on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines for further information on the importance of accessible and inclusive content.

5

Write Compelling Web Copy

Great web copy informs, educates, and guides your audience. While a minimum of 300 words is a good rule of thumb for SEO, focus on quality over quantity. Share relevant, engaging information that adds value — use statistics, research, and quotes to build credibility. Break up your content with subheadings, bullet points, and visuals to make it easy to read. Always proofread thoroughly and have team members review to avoid errors that can harm your credibility. Compelling copy keeps visitors engaged and drives action.

Reference the FTC’s guide on Advertising and Marketing for further insight into the importance of building trust with your audience through ethical and transparent content.

6

Use the Right Language

As you begin to write your content, it’s essential to speak the same language as your audience. Avoid using internal jargon, and instead, use verbiage that your audience will understand. If your audience is more technical, then you can use technical language in your content — but otherwise, you should stick to more straightforward language that will resonate with your audience and demonstrate your expertise in and familiarity with their industry. Apart from blog articles or other thought leadership content, your website content should be more conversational than formal. Write as if you were having a one-on-one conversation with a prospect or client and remember that your content is not about you but about your current and prospective clients and what you can do to help them.

7

Optimize Content for User Intent

To create website content that truly resonates, you need to understand why users are searching in the first place. This is where user intent comes in. There are three main types of intent: informational, navigational, and transactional.

• Informational Intent: Users are looking for answers or solutions. Think blog posts, how-to guides, and FAQs. For example, someone searching for “What is a content strategy?” wants to learn, not buy.
• Navigational Intent: Users are searching for a specific brand or page. Ensure your brand name, service pages, and contact information are easy to find.
• Transactional Intent: Users are ready to take action, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a service, or downloading a resource. Product pages, pricing guides, and CTAs are key here.

By aligning your content with user intent, you not only improve search engine rankings but also create a better experience for your audience. Use tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to identify what your visitors are searching for, and tailor your content to meet those needs.

For further reading on optimizing content for user intent, review Nielsen Norman Group’s article on Content Strategy 101.

8

Leverage Topic Clusters and Pillar Pages

To ensure that both SEO and user experience are optimized, organize that your website content into topic clusters and pillar pages. Here’s how you can use both:

• Pillar Pages: Comprehensive guides that cover a broad topic in depth. A pillar page on “Digital Marketing” would likely include sections on SEO, social media, and email marketing to name a few.
• Topic Clusters: Groups of related content that link back to the pillar page. A blog post on “Optimizing Your Website for SEO” would be part of the “Digital Marketing” cluster.

Structuring your content in this fashion helps search engines understand the relationships between your content, boosting your authority on specific topics. Additionally, this can also make it easier for users to navigate your site and find the information they need. To begin organizing your content into topic clusters and pillar pages, start by identifying your core topics, then build out clusters of supporting content around them.

9

Develop a Content Schedule and Optimize for SEO

Once you’ve identified the type of content your audience needs, the next step is to organize it into a strategic schedule. Start by deciding whether to focus on a specific buyer persona, industry, or stage of the client lifecycle. Next, map out your content calendar with clear topics, publishing frequencies, and deadlines. Planning one quarter at a time is a great starting point, but if resources allow, consider mapping out an entire year for a more cohesive strategy.

Think big-picture: Identify broad topics within your industry and break them down into topic clusters. For example, a central topic like “Digital Marketing” could include subtopics like “SEO,” “Social Media,” and “Email Marketing.” This approach not only organizes your content but also boosts SEO by creating a logical structure for search engines to follow. For each piece of content, aim for a minimum of 800 words and incorporate relevant keywords to maximize visibility. But remember, quality trumps quantity — your content should always provide value to your audience. For a more detailed overview of optimizing for SEO, review our article on Writing Stronger SEO Content for Your Website.

Creating high-quality content requires more than just a plan — it requires the right people and tools. Involve subject matter experts (SMEs) within your organization to ensure your content is authoritative and accurate. Their insights can elevate your thought leadership articles, case studies, and other key pieces. To streamline the process, use collaboration tools like Trello, Asana, or Google Workspace to help assign tasks, track progress, and ensure accountability. By combining internal expertise with efficient workflows, you’ll create content that not only ranks well but also resonates with your audience.

10

Measure and Track Performance

The key to having a solid website content strategy is keeping it relevant to your audiences. This means constantly evaluating and tracking the performance of all your content. To keep your content relevant and effective, look at which pieces are being shared, which pages are getting the most views vs. those not gaining much traction, and how long visitors spend on each page. Are visitors engaging with your thought leadership articles? Are they clicking through to your case studies or service pages? Tools like Google Analytics can help you identify what’s working—and what’s not.

But tracking performance isn’t just about numbers. It’s about understanding your audience’s behavior. Which pieces of content are being shared the most? Which pages are driving conversions? Use these insights to refine your strategy, focusing on the topics and formats that resonate most with your audience.

Finally, maintain consistency by assigning clear ownership of content tasks and using collaboration tools to streamline workflows. This ensures your content is published on schedule, meets quality standards, and aligns with your broader digital content strategy. By staying agile and data-driven, you can keep your website fresh, engaging, and aligned with your audience’s evolving needs.

Why a Website Content Strategy is Essential

Having a solid website content strategy is critical in today’s digital landscape, where search engine rankings and being discovered by prospects are driven by quality content. By aligning your content with your audience’s needs and search intent, you create a seamless experience that builds trust and drives action. A clear strategy ensures consistency, from keyword research to content development, helping you educate prospects, showcase expertise, and generate leads. By following these steps, you’re on a path to creating successful website content that will increase traffic and generate leads for your business.