writing copy to reach your residents

Writing website content in order to really reach your residents can be a challenge; you want to write to include all the interesting and important information for residents, and you also want to write for the search engines so that the “word” spreads about your site, attracting a larger audience. Oftentimes, it’s difficult to understand how to do both tasks successfully at first; however, with a little knowledge and insight into the world of SEO, you’ll be able to write copy to reach your residents like a real online marketing pro in no time.

building your blog audience

While it’s important to write content that is useful and/or interesting for readers to follow, it’s also important that you write content that will be “attractive” to search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Keywords are incorporated into content to help the search engines pick up your writings, and to display snippets with links to the most popular ones on the SERPs, or search engine results pages. This is how your content will be found, whether it’s a blog, website content, a press release, or the like. How do you write for residents to obtain information from your content and attract those search engines to build your audience?

keywords: writing for search engines

One of the most important components of your writing is the keywords you choose to include in your content. When a resident or potential resident gets online and searches for “apartments in Indianapolis”, for example, the keyword (or key phrase) are those words: apartments in Indianapolis. The more popular the keywords are that you use in your writing (without over-using them, making your piece sound awkward), the more likely your content will be to pop up in those SERPs, and the more exposure it will gain. After all, it won’t matter how engaging your content is if no one can find it online. A useful tip is to start with a keyword or keywords, and build relevant content around those.

information: writing for residents

While using keywords for search engine optimization is important, it cannot be the only ingredient that warrants attention in your content. You need to write about interesting and informative subjects in order to attract and keep readers and followers, too. Posting a page on your rental website that is full of nothing but “keywords” that don’t make any sense and lack structure is not only meaningless to readers, but will be ripe for penalties from the search engines.

The number one rule of writing content to reach your residents is to make it interesting, useful, and/or informational. SEO experts agree that it is more important to write for the benefit of your readers, as opposed to writing for the benefit of the search engines. Using copy that is engaging, entertaining, or factual is what will have readers sharing your posts, passing the word onto others they know, and re-posting them on social media.

amplify your content with headlines

The headlines on web pages, press releases, blogs, and other content should contain the keywords you are working with. However, you don’t want to stop there; you’ll also want to use sub-headings throughout your content for a couple of very important reasons.

First of all, when you use these sub-headlines, also known as H1, H2, H3 tags, you’re giving the search engines more keyword-rich content to quickly gauge in order to bump up your site’s ranking on the search engine results pages. Second, no one wants to read a massive paragraph of information without having anything present to break up the monotony; you need these sub-headings to make your page and your content more pleasing to the eye and easier to follow.

Last of all, you’ll need sub-headings in your content to attract the residents who are “skimmers”: those who are looking for specific information quickly, and don’t have the time to read through a thousand words to find what they need. A majority of Internet users are skimmers, and they search quickly through a content piece at the headings to see if the content is relevant to what they are looking for or not. Breaking up information further by using bullet points is another great way to attract the attention of readers quickly, before they move on to another site or to perform another search. Be sure to hyperlink keywords to relevant pages on your residential website, too.

calls to action: the most overlooked component of great copywriting

The entire point, overall, of writing is to create content that makes readers want to act: either to buy a product, schedule an appointment, contact you to find out more information, and the like. Writing copy is salesmanship, and you want your copy to make readers take action in some way that will benefit you.

One of the very best and most effective ways to encourage your readers to act is to plainly tell them to do so! Finishing each page, or each blog, or each newsletter with a call to action will not only leave them with the final thought of “I should call now” or “I need to check that out”, but it will also give them the means to easily do so. You’ll want to include contact information, if applicable, in your call to action: “To reserve your new home today, or to check availability of our apartments in Indianapolis, contact us using this brief contact form”. A call to action like this, that includes a link to that contact form, for example, makes it as hassle-free as possible for residents and potential residents to act.

Another benefit to including a call to action in your content is to offer a solution to the readers’ problem (What apartment complex would I be able to afford?) in an almost subliminal way. By providing that call to action (Schedule a personal visit and see our affordable apartments today!) you’re offering a potential solution. This comes in handy in this age of social media, when readers can take the link you provide in the call to action and quickly copy and paste it in a post on Facebook, for example. If readers know of a friend or family member who is searching for an apartment, it will be simple for them to share that link via social media outlets.

putting it all together

When all is said and done, it may seem like a lot to remember in order to really write content that will attract your residents and keep them coming back in the future when they need information. However, if you break it down, you’ll want to remember to start with popular keywords, write with the reader in mind as opposed to search engines, and don’t forget to add a call to action at the conclusion of each piece with a link to a contact page or form. You’ll be well on your way to writing content that residents will find useful, valuable, and worthy of sharing with others on Twitter, Facebook, and more.

For more useful information, tips, advice, suggestions, methods, and tactics to boost your writing and boost your search engine optimization, check out Content Marketing!