Writing on Web Content Blog, Gazalla Gaya’s article 5 Content Mistakes that Drive Away Prospects constitutes a coherent and concise summary of all of the most common errors that even major brand online marketers commit. According to Gaya, these are the top five oversights, blunders, miscues, stumbles and screwups that result in repulsing customers rather than attracting them.

  1. Evade the obfuscated, irrelevant About Page – A multitude of online marketers see their About Pages as being an excuse to pontificate about their company as if they were the only such business in the entire Milky Way Galaxy. Gaya states that the correct way to craft an About Page is by giving visitors reasons for proceeding towards the goal of the website, whether it be to hurry on down to checkout, sign a petition or join a club. It is also important to provide context for the content on the rest of your site by providing a branding framework for your entire marketing approach, and to differentiate yourself from your innumerable competitors by stating what makes you better, stronger, more reliable and more trustworthy.
  2. Stop pretending that your product is 100% perfect – Everything is great, everything is wonderful is the approach taken by most online marketers when it seems that a far more realistic approach can be considerably more successful. Gaya points out the case of a pool retailer who grabbed a number one Google SERP by pointing out the various problems that buyers of his fiberglass pools can expect to run into. Rather than reading the same old pap that all of the competition was blathering incessantly, visitors who are contemplating the purchase of a fiberglass pool rush to his site in order to get a complete and accurate comprehension of the benefits as well as the pitfalls can they can expect.
  3. Don’t hide the pricing information – It seems that many online marketers are afraid of their price lists, and some even go as far as requiring the customer to sign up for an email newsletter subscription or request that a sales representative contact them by phone before they will even hint at the cost of their SKUs. This strategy is excruciatingly foolish as in this stagnant to recessive economy the consumer is extremely price conscious, so unless you’re pitching Ferraris to Arab Oil Sheiks you’re better off to be honest and up front about your pricing structure.
  4. Keep your website minty fresh – The advocates of evergreen content must all have emigrated to Tierra Del Fuego as the current online marketing environment rewards content that is consistently fresh, updated and up to the minute. Although Gaya claims that you need some elements that remain evergreen, the response from the consumer is primarily driven by blogs, email newsletters, social media posts and the variety of other content that you generate on an ongoing basis throughout the lifespan of your online marketing strategy.
  5. Embrace & integrate social media – You shouldn’t operate an online branding and marketing strategy that participates in social media interaction, you should strive to be a social media interactive brand! Don’t fall into the old fuddy duddy misinterpretation of social networks as just a place where your employees waste time discussing irrelevant nonsense with the vast unwashed masses who don’t buy your products anyway. Integrating your social media presences into the very essence and definition of what your brand is and how it interacts with its consumer base around the world, is by far the best way to proceed in any current online marketing strategy. Leverage social media to provide fast and efficient customer service; assist your users with any problems; point out new and exciting ways to apply your products to make their lives easier; and listen in on what unbiased observers have to say about your company as a whole.

Gaya states that many reports show that you only have thirty seconds to capture your customer’s critical attention in order to engage them in your content. That is a short span of time to grab them and keep them from clicking onto a competitor’s site, so make the best of it!