Above is one of the URLs in my website. As you can see the name (Briar Copywriting) is followed by the name of the sub-page, in this case SEO copywriting.
The idea behind the URL is to describe what a website or page contains to both the web visitor and search engines. That’s why it’s essential it is relevant to the page.
But before you rush in and use your company name, stop and consider for a moment what it will actually look like.
If you don’t, you risk getting it badly wrong.
This is highlighted in the top 10 unintentionally worst company URLs as shown by the website Independent Sources. These are prime examples of companies that rushed headlong into creating their URLs without stopping to think about how they will actually be read by others.
Ready?
Here goes…
1. Experts Exchange, a site where programmers can exchange advice and views became expertsexchange.com
2. Pen Island, a one stop shop for any type of pen became penisland.net
3. Therapist Finder became therapistfinder.com
4. Who Represents, a site that helps you find the name of an agent that represents a celebrity became whorepresents.com
5. Italian Power Generator company – powergenitalia.com
6. Mole Station Native Nursery – molestationnursery.com
7. For computer software try ipanywhere.com
8. There is the First Cumming Methodist Church’s unfortunate cummingfirst.com
9. An art designers website – speedofart.com
10. If you fancy visiting Lake Tahoe, try gotahoe.com
Think before you buy
All of these examples are from bona fide companies that just didn’t stop and think before they bought.
So, the moral of this post is, before you rush in and grab your company’s name as a URL, write it down and see how it actually looks (or, get someone else to look at it for you) – it might just save your blushes.
Over to you
They are some cracking examples, but do you have any more?
If so, leave a comment below and let’s see how many companies forgot to think before buying.
When you designed your website, what was at the forefront of your mind?
Was it your colour scheme, the graphics you used, the font or perhaps ensuring the latest ‘must have’ gizmos were present?
At any point in the process did you think about the visitors to your site?
Granted, your site has to reflect you and your business, but it also has to offer your visitors what they want.
Yup, sorry, it’s all about THEM.
Your visitors’ wish list
In an ideal world your website has to satisfy these 4 visitor wants:
1. Does it have what I want?
Although they probably found you through a Google search, so in theory your site should be offering what they searched for, have you made it obvious?
The minute they land on your site they have to be able to see that you are offering what they’re looking for.
If your home page (because that’s probably the first page they’ll come to) is full of information about you – how wonderful you are, how long you’ve been trading, what colour your offices are decorated in – they will hit the back browser and disappear faster than a fast thing.
Instead, it should be all about THEM. Tell them how they’ll benefit from what you’re offering. Write your website copy in the second person to make it personal to them; keep the language simple and chatty to engage with them. In other words keep the focus firmly on THEM.
2. Are you trustworthy?
The Internet is a wonderful thing and has opened up all sorts of opportunities for businesses and customers that would otherwise have been closed to them. But because your business is ‘virtual’ and your customers can’t walk into your offices or showroom for a chat, you must use your website to show you are a real company that they can trust.
How do you do that?
Well, a professional site with a good design, great information and clear content is a good start. Throw in an About Us page with substance (showing awards etc.) and testimonials that are attributed to real people to add weight to your reputation.
If you’re mentioned in local newspapers or magazines, again link out to the articles or include a PDF that can be downloaded from your site.
All of these things show your credibility as a company.
3. What do you do?
There’s nothing worse than landing on a website only to be bemused about what the company actually does.
Because first impressions count, make sure your design and images reflect your business activities to strengthen your message.
Your products and services should be clearly stated. Clear navigation should be able to effortlessly steer your visitors to the pages they need for more information. Again, the About Us page that we mentioned earlier should also outline what you can do for your customers.
4. Easy to contact
Making yourself easy to contact will also help the trust issue.
Having a contact form is all well and good, but if you want to be completely transparent make sure you also show your email, phone number and physical address. At least then they are reassured that you really do exist.
And make sure all that information is easy to find. Don’t hide it away in the darkest recesses of your website so only the most skilled of surfers can find it.
Over to you
Have we missed anything?
What are your thoughts about what your visitors want?
Leave a comment below and let’s see how many we can come up with.
This one is from the archives, but still very relevant. If you want your marketing to really sell to your customers you have to make sure your copy sells, not tells. This post explains how:
Some copywriters will specialise in a certain industry or field of writing. Others offer copywriting services that cover just about every aspect of sales and business writing you can think of.
Many copywriting projects begin with a desire to tell an audience about a product, service or idea. But if all you do is tell your readers about something, you are missing the mark. Telling is done by journalists and teachers. Copywriting is about giving much more value.
It should sell not tell
Your message – whether it is an advert, website copy, brochure or email – should persuade and motivate your reader to carry out a particular action – BUY NOW, CALL NOW, BOOK NOW.
Below are three crucial elements that distinguish between writing to tell and writing to sell:
Benefits
This is one thing you must become completely fixated on – because it’s what your readers want to know about. By highlighting the benefits you are appealing to your audience’s self interests. Why? Because benefits provide motivation.
Make offers
To make a sale you need to make a deal and this is your offer. Whether it is BOGOF, a time limited offer or a limited edition bonus gift they all add weight to your sales campaign.
See if from your customer’s point of view
This is where you leave your ego at the door. If you want to build rapport you have to write from their point of view. Suspend your own opinions and only think about what you are promoting from your reader’s side of the fence.
There are many other factors that need to be taken into consideration but the three elements described above are crucial if your writing is to sell rather than tell.
With Google’s ever evolving algorithms, producing fresh content is more important than ever.
But does it have to be high quality or will any old thing do?
If you’re outsourcing your content production, don’t let financial matters cloud your judgement, as quality will always outweigh quantity.
Not convinced?
OK, look at it this way. Everything you put out on the web is there to promote your business in some way shape or form. It may not be a blatant advert, but it will be designed to drive traffic to your website and therefore will be associated with your company.
Now are you beginning to see why quality is important?
If you’re still struggling, here are 6 points worth remembering when it comes to content marketing.
1. Reflection
As mentioned above, every piece of content you put out under your company’s name will reflect on you.
If the content is sloppy, grammatically incorrect and downright boring, it will damage your reputation.
2. Crowds
Because there’s loads of content on the Internet, yours has got to stand out if it is going to be seen. Second-rate articles will fall by the wayside, but something that’s well written, engaging and informative will rise to the top of the pile.
3. Penguin
Google is the master at moving the goal posts, as demonstrated by its constant algorithm changes. The latest one, Penguin, can sniff out bad content a mile off. It looks at the time people spend on pages, how many shares they get and bounce rates etc., making it easy to sniff out the bad stuff.
So if you want your content to perform well in the search results, it’s got to be good.
4. Longevity
Unlike print, what appears on the Internet today isn’t going to be tomorrow’s chip wrappings. Once you publish an article under your name, it’s there for life. So if it’s badly written, it will have a long lasting detrimental effect.
5. Quality vs price
Rather than swallowing hard when the copywriter you approach tells you how much it will cost for a high quality, well researched and superbly written article, consider this. If the content is good and demonstrates a compelling reason for the reader to buy your product, its value is considerably more than one written as SEO padding that couldn’t even tempt someone lost in the desert to buy a bottle of water.
6. Business magnet
In the same way that people will judge your business on your website, brochures and emails, they will also judge you on your online content.
Badly written articles and blogs won’t inspire anyone to pick up the phone and want to do business with you.
These 6 reasons are why it is vital you put quality content before price. Even if that means you put less ‘out there’, what you do put out will bolster your reputation as a quality company that offers great information to its clients.
Can you really afford to jeopardise your reputation with sloppy, substandard content?
“OK, this is it lads. We’re going to create a viral video for our latest project. Any ideas?”
Well, if that’s how you think the process starts to create viral marketing for your business, you couldn’t be more wrong.
For a start, you can’t make something go viral – that’s the public’s job.
What is viral marketing?
Well it’s a way of using social networks to promote brand awareness (or boost sales) through a self-replicating viral process. Which means that you create something others love and feel compelled to share with their friends…who then share it with their friends…who then share it with their friends…who then share it with their friends….you get the idea.
And that is precisely why you can’t ‘make’ a viral video, image, eBook etc.
Qualities of viral marketing
The only way you’re going to make your piece of marketing go ‘viral’ is by creating an emotional connection with your view/reader.
Someone isn’t going to share your collateral just because you ask him/her to; it has to resonate with them and compel them to click the share button or talk about it to their friends.
There are no rules to say it has to be funny, gimmicky or super clever – it just has to evoke an emotional response.
OK, that kind of leaves the door wide open, but quite often the simplest ideas are the best.
That means studying your audience, studying your product (and the relationship between the two) and then working out which emotional connections your brand needs to make to kick-start the immediate ‘need to share’ reflex.
With the country gripped by Olympic fever, this has to be my favourite video on YouTube at the moment. OK, it’s not a product or a sales pitch, but it captures the excitement of a nation:
Reaction of the BBC commentary team as Mo Farah wins with 10,000 metres in London 2012.
What’s your favourite?
We’d love to compile an ‘all time favourites’ list of viral marketing, so leave a comment below with details of the one that captured imagination – and tell us why.
