Over the past few months, I have looked at getting your website right as the base for a sound marketing campaign.

Great: now you have an online platform from which to promote your brand and direct customers to (in addition to your actual bricks-and-mortar locations, of course).

Now all you need is the right website content to boost your brand. Just as a branch without any stock won’t attract any business, a website needs a regular supply of content that is well-written, useful and interesting in order to bring visitors.

These key rules will help you to populate your website with content that achieves all of these goals.

Blogging

Written content is the bedrock of your website; it helps you to be found by search engines and informs visitors about what you do and sell. Typically, your most frequently visited pages will be your homepage, product categories and contact details. However, the best websites are regularly updated with fresh content, and are always seeking new ways to engage with visitors.

That’s where blogging comes in. A blog is a versatile tool. It can be used to highlight particular products or suppliers within your portfolio. It can give advice on common problems, or spotlight services you offer that customers might not be aware of. It also provides a great way of promoting your brand’s personality, whether by telling people about any fundraising you’re involved with.

Google has recently updated its guidance on how to get the best out of blogging and now advises a word count of between 360-700 words. In other words, while blogging works best when it’s friendly and informal, there has to be some substance to your content or Google won’t recommend it on search results.

Oh, and if the majority of your trade comes from the local area, then make sure your blogs are relevant so you can Use Your Website to Get Local Trade.

Visual content

Content isn’t just about blogs and articles. Some of the best content is visual. Video is massive: YouTube reaches more people than any channel except Facebook and some predict that video will account for over two-thirds of all website traffic by next year.

Video is perfect for builders’ merchants. Show some of your most popular products (or, better yet, ones you’re passionate about but which aren’t getting the sales you feel they deserve). Hints and tips on how to find the right solution to a particular problem work really well.

Infographics are also great. As the saying goes, “a picture paints a thousand words.” That’s even more true of infographics, which combine images with key statistics to get people thinking about the products and services you offer. They’re very addictive, and more likely to be shared by your audience.

SEO

Whatever content you use, it’s vital to make sure that Google and other search engines can easily find it – otherwise nobody will know it’s there. I’ve discussed the importance of Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, in a previous blog about how to Make Your Website Work for You, but it’s worth saying it again. Everything you create should be driven by subjects that matter to your audience. Not only will it make your website easier to find, but it will make your visitors appreciate your brand because you’ve given them exactly the content they were looking for.

There’s lots of technical stuff behind the scenes where it’s perhaps best to invest in an outside agency who can advise on SEO. Yet common sense trumps everything else. Whatever content you create, ask yourself – if I was a potential customer, does this content excite me? Is it useful or interesting? Does it make me want to find out more about this company? If the answer to these questions is ‘yes,’ then it’s worth doing.

Next month I’ll begin to look at how you can promote your brand beyond the website, via public relations and social media.

Simon Kinnear is director of communications at Balls2 Marketing.