Making Your Words Count: Writing Web Copy That Works

Today, it is more likely than ever before that your client’s first real introduction to your business is through your online presence. Having relevant, well-written web copy is the best way of conveying your professionalism and expertise.

Writing good content is a skill, but one that can be learned. Here are a few tips that can help:

• Know your audience and the language they use: Writing for your audience is the basis for good copywriting. Keep it simple and professional, don’t include too much jargon, but make sure that your words convey your message.

• Keep it relevant and interesting: Readers land on your website for different reasons, and it is important to have something for everyone. Include topics that are relevant to your industry/niche and use words that emotionally connect with them.

• Make it readable: Most people who are reading online are ‘skimmers’,  so it is important to break up your content into readable chunks. Sub-headings, short paragraphs, bullet points and white space around the content make a page easy to skim through.

• Showcase your product: Your readers do not want a sales pitch, they want information – what your product (or service) is, how it will solve their problems or ease their pain (mental or physical!), and how it is different from the competition. Your words should convey that you are an authority on your subject.

• Make it long, but not too long: Somewhere between 300 and 400 words should be sufficient for most website pages (authority blogs posts are a different matter!), but the rule is to use as many words as required to convey the idea – not more, nor less. If it is taking more than 500 words to deliver your message it may be a better idea to separate the content into sub-pages.

• Keywords must come naturally: Filling your page with keywords is no longer SEO best practice. Write naturally with your readers, not the search engines, in mind – and keywords and other relevant terms should appear organically.

• Add a  headline that connects to your readers: Headlines and titles cause browsers to pause and invite readers to  move through your websites, so make sure they are engaging.

• Use graphics and images: Images and graphics can catch some readers’ attention more than words do, so include them in your pages. There are several free tools like Canva and PicMonkey that make adding graphics effortless, even if you are, like me, not an artist.

• Call to action: Even if you are not making a sales pitch, you should point your readers in the direction you want them to take next, whether it is to go do a new page for more information, or to your contact page, or to call a phone number.  Don’t leave them to just click away.

Keeping your website content relevant and up-to-date is really important if you are retain the interest of your clients and prospects,  and maintain/improve your page ranking. If you find yourself short of time, my team at Kerry Finch Writing can help.