The five biggest mistakes of creating web content

Your website design and formatting is of crucial importance, of course. Done correctly, you'll get maximum click-throughs. But what about converting visitors to enthusiastic customers? That's where website content comes in.

All too often, though, companies will spend a fortune on design and then make major mistakes when it comes to content. Here are five of the most common mistakes...

1. Write long, tedious paragraphs: The human eye can only take in six lines at a time. Web copy must be short and compelling. The fact is, no one has the time to read your long tome.

2. Talk about yourself, not your customer: It's almost like a salesperson who instantly touts all the great things about his or her product, without bothering to see if the customer has a need. If you identify with the customer's challenges, he or she is more likely to see your company as a solution.

3. Use generic words like "quality, service, results": Your company is not the only company that believes it offers great quality and service. But how do you prove it? The more specific you are, the more likely the customer is to believe you.

4. Rely on a lot of jargon: It's been proven: B2B sites are far more likely to get clicks if the customer loses the jargon and uses a more accessible tone. That doesn't mean promotional; it DOES mean clear, communicative, and to-the-point.

5. Forget that web content is a science, not just an art: Search engines send out little spiders, to scan the content on the page and index that content based on keywords they find. A successful web content writer must leverage that science to increase visibility.

By sidestepping these mistakes -- and hiring a professional writer -- who knows what she's doing -- you can build responses and business.