How to Write Authentic Web Content

by Bruce Coffman Communication Specialist

The key to writing authentic web content is to treat it like any other type of writing. Write what you know, what you are passionate about and what interests you. If you follow those three simple guidelines, anything you write will be authentic, compelling and worth reading.

One of the biggest mistakes made in writing web content is to sit down with a list of hot keywords and try to either write a piece around them. This generally results in a piece that is anything but authentic and feels like the contrivance that it is. There is nothing wrong with incorporating keywords into your writing, and often times it is a necessity. Bad writing results when you try too hard to force keywords to fit into a piece where they do not naturally flow. Instead of working from a list of keywords, it would be better to analyze the keywords and think about how they relate to one another. What do they have in common? Once you identify the overall theme of the keywords, you could write a piece addressing that theme and even ignore the list altogether. You'll find that your writing flows more naturally and results in a more believable, authentic piece. You can always go back through the finished piece and see if there are places where you can insert or substitute the keywords. However, don't do it just to be doing it. If they don't fit in a natural way that flows with your writing, don't force them.

Trust web searchers to find content based on your words, not simply a list of this week's hottest keywords. The goal of most web content is to attract people to a particular website. If you attract someone to a website with a poorly written article, even if it has all the keywords they're looking for, you're probably going to lose them right there and they are more likely to leave your site and not return. If this week's top keywords are "lawnmower" "repair" and you have a website about stamp collecting, don't even bother trying to throw something together that makes a lame connection just to get visitors. They won't be people who are interested in what you have to offer once they get to your site. However, if your site is about gardening or enjoying the outdoors, a short piece about lawnmower repair would be a great fit.

Relevant equals authentic in most cases. If you can make your writing relevant to what a searcher is looking for, then you can produce a good piece that will holder the reader's attention and make them actually glad they found what you wrote. The key to keeping your writing relevant goes back to those three basic guidelines of good writing: write what you know, what you you are passionate about and what interests you.