Category Archives: The 3S

The 3S Approach for Web Content

Succeeding with Content

There are many slogans for how to produce content.  None of them is the ultimate answer, but on the other hand each has something to offer and learn from.  So here I offer Skyword’s 3S approach:  searchable, snackable and shareable. 

Searchable

Content must capture the motivating issues for prospects–the pleasure and pain points–but, importantly, it must be described in terms that use currently popular search terms.  Google does over 1 billion searches per month, so it’s essential for business success to be found in those searches.

The best way to find out the most relevant words to use in your content is to do a couple of Google searches and observe the prompts that appear below the terms you enter into the search box.  For example, for “Maryland crab” the terms are “Maryland crab restaurant,” ” Maryland crab soup,” and “Maryland crab cake recipe.” For position in search engine results, including all these terms in your article would be a good idea.  If they’re relevant, of course!

Snackable

We’re all busy and don’t have the time we’d like for in-depth research.  We’re hungry for information that we can consume quickly.  The quantity of information may leave us hungry for more–which brings us back.  Today, people see an average of 3,000 brand impressions, and the average attention span of an adult on-line is just 8 seconds.  So our content indeed has to be in bite-sized pieces.

A good way to put your content into bite-size pieces is to be sure your paragraphs are wider than they are high–think about the golden ratio which essentially says that a rectangle has more pleasant appearance if its short side is about 2/3 as long as its long side.  Paragraphs with this proportion are more pleasing in appearance and more likely to be read.

Be sure to put subheadings throughout your text.  Keep in mind that busy people will be skimming your Web pages–so give them lots of markers to help find information that’s of interest to them.  Good news for all of us is that Google also likes subheadings, and uses them as cues to the meaning of the text that’s under a heading.

Shareable

Conversations across social channels cause buzz around products and services, that brings visitors to Web sites.  So our content needs to be compelling enough that it’ll be shared.  Facebook carries 2.7 billion LIKEs and COMMENTs every day; it’s important to be part of that.

Of course, be sure to provide plenty of sharing buttons, on each page of your site and on your newsletter, too.  Those shares introduce you to new people, which is great for business.  They can also lead to additional quality incoming links, which Google uses to gauge the importance of your site, and where it should rank you in its results.  Good all around.

The Bottom Line

Think about the 3S approach when you’re writing or reviewing content.

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