Content really is King online – and design is Queen

Posted on July 1, 2009 by in client advice, design, web design

Image credit: brokenarts
If content is King for tourism and destination marketing online, then design is certainly Queen. Not to ignore the priceless value in SEO, but SEO is tracked because of the content, as well as in addition to. The layout, ease of navigation, color scheme and overall branding of your site also plays a huge part in keeping visitors on your site longer and digging deeper. How many times have you wound up on a website that was all text (either too much or hardly any) and/or looked plain or garish? Whenever I do, I have to wonder if they are still in business or are even credible. Give me something to look at, good information, and entice me to keep looking around.

Good content
The content on your hotel, inn, restaurant or tourist-dependent website is your vehicle to present your message and promote your brand. If your site offers online booking or reservations, an FAQ page or direct visitors to contact info, that content might be the last stand between you and a booking. Make those important elements on your site easy to locate or link to on every page, and don’t force the visitor to click 10 times before finding that info – make it a one click effort or you WILL lose them. To keep a reader interested, break your content up into digestible chunks, peppered with some eye candy and links to other areas of the site. A website generally has about 7-10 seconds to grab a reader before they move onto another site in their search.

Scenarios
If your competition makes this type of content clearer on their website, they might land the business instead of you. You’ll also never know that it happened.

  • people traveling with kids can’t tell if your tour is suitable for children will decide to book something else
  • a last minute B&B booking who can’t find your contact info quickly can’t call to see if there is an extra room that night for additional friends
  • a referral visitor checks out your photo gallery and decides not to book because the images don’t really reflect the experience his friend described
  • your dinner menus are dated from last year, or worse yet: your restaurant site only has PDF menus and can’t be easily accessed on a mobile phone

    • Look for areas for improvement on your current website
    Go to your website and ask yourself these questions while glossing over the content:

  • Is it easy to find out how to contact you by phone, email and Twitter?
  • Is it easy to see the types of services available, details, availability and cost?
  • Are images or video of professional quality and do they reflect your actual venue or experience?
  • Is the copy up-to-date, interesting, easy to digest, and rich with keywords and links for SEO?
  • Are you including other ways to get to know your business by getting involved with social media such as Twitter and Facebook?

    • All of the above can be easily remedied by your web designer, copy editor, and PR manager, after a brainstorming session about the state of your current content. You may even benefit by selecting a customer or two to join the session and discover other areas of confusion or misinformation lie on the site.

    Content is king in any website, and you can engage (and win) your visitors even further when a little thought is paid to an attractive design.



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