The Fundamental Characteristics of Quality Web Content

Taking it back to middle school basics, a “page” can be dissected into several important parts. If you’re looking for a fresh perspective that will help you with content creation, or to make sure your content isn’t missing something important, read on.

Topic

Sadly, many articles published online are missing this part. Honestly, it should be common sense so it is silly to have to name “topic” as a characteristic. Topic does not mean keyword! If you don’t have something original, useful, and valuable to write about then don’t write anything at all. Seriously.

Title

If that headline doesn’t suck readers in, then it sucks. A good title should be truthful to the article and have a strong hook… that is an interesting angle of the story that grabs my attention and makes me want to read the rest of the page. This is a good title: The Average Egg Sac Hatches 600 Spiders. How Safe Is Your Basement? This is a weak title: About San Antonio Pest Control

One demands to be read, and the other is easy to ignore and forget about. 

Writing Style

Anybody can throw out a textbook phrase like “results-oriented”. That’s dull and can actually hurt you more than it will help you. Quality web content uses words artistically, painting a picture in the reader's mind or engaging visitors who are left hanging on from one word to the next. Maybe witty or funny isn’t your style, but you still have a story to tell! Effective writing makes all the difference.

Originality

Web content is one thing you do not want to reuse or re-purpose. In fact, stale or recycled content does not stand a chance. There are websites that publish high-value content containing fresh perspectives, and there are websites that simply echo existing content or publish lists of links. Web with fresh content tends to rank well while those with copied content often suffer. It is always advised to use fresh or evergreen content and use a plagiarism checker to maintain originality.

Images

I bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you? You can use illustrations, charts, screenshots, stock photos, or infographics. Whatever it takes to drive the point home (visually). It also makes your article less intimidating to read through.

Sub Headers

Often used for SEO as a way to slip in more authority keywords, sub headers are meant to break your article up into bite sized pieces. It’s easier to gobble the whole thing up that way.

Lists

Lists are clean, fun, and easy ways to break up your content or page. Remember that people using the internet have less patience and are bored easily so you really need to cater to that.

Links

External links to relevant, authority sites are good. As long as they are natural and have something to do with the article. Do link to resources for more information, or link citations whenever you quote somebody else, but do not make lists of links the sole purpose of an article. Mmmmkay? Internal links in content are another great way to enhance the end user experience and guide readers in a certain direction. Anchor links may or may not have SEO benefits, depending on who you ask, but it’s more about navigation anyways.

About The Author

Okay, great article. Now who wrote it and why should I care?

Closure

Never ever leave a reader wanting more! End your article with a call to action, a strong summary, or even a question meant to ignite conversation in the comments section.