Most people associate good websites with flashy graphics, stunning visuals and clever tricks that show off design flair and creativity. With so much focus on the visual, it can be easy to forget the thing that actually provides visitors with the information they need - words. Flat, uninspiring or even poorly written copy can affect your reputation and drive customers away. If website copy has been the furthest thing from your mind, it’s time to put it at the front and give your website the copy overhaul it desperately needs. The following tips can help you write better, more engaging copy that will provide multiple benefits for your website.
Rediscover the ‘why?’
Think about your website, what do you want it to do - why should people go there and what would you like them to do when they are there. If it’s to buy something, then you’ll need to consider that as the objective for everything you write, whereas simply providing them with information will require a different tone and style of writing altogether. The same goes for if you want your visitors to engage with you (such as a blog), you’ll need to be able to write in a way that engages people.
Rewrite what’s already there
While your goal may always be to encourage new visitors to your website, retaining regular visitors is also important, especially from an e-commerce perspective. This means that your content needs to be fresh and gives people a reason to keep coming back to your website, and overhauling all of your existing copy can help achieve that. Have a fresh pair of eyes look at it, perhaps someone outside of your organization, and begin writing fresh and exciting copy that adheres to the objective you set out in the previous point.
Keep it short, keep it simple
Did you know that most people leave a website after 10-20 seconds? This means you have just 10 seconds to hook them in. Usually, this can be done through an eye-catching graphic or a video, but what happens after that? People only read a quarter of the text they see on a website, so you should aim to keep copy short and simple, delivering the information your visitors need in the shortest amount of space, and making sure they understand why they’re there and what you want them to do quickly.
Use your copy as a marketing tool
Copy is still an effective marketing tool as ever, but the way we use it online can differ greatly from how we would use it in a print ad or TV commercial. Search engine optimization (SEO) through your website copy is an effective way of making your company visible online and generating new leads regarding customers, clients, and sales. SEO involves using specific keywords and other writing elements to help push your content up the search rankings, and if your company lacks this expertise, it’s time to call in SEO experts to get the job done. Neglecting SEO can have more of an effect on your business than you realize, so make sure it’s a key part of your marketing strategy.
When looking for creative ways to promote your business, give some focus to your copy, and you’ll soon have an effective strategy that gets you noticed.
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