Entries Tagged 'website copywriter' ↓

The world of search engine optimisation can be confusing.

Identifying your keywords, looking at your site structure and building back links are all vital aspects if your SEO strategy is going to work.

But what can you do about your copy? Making sure it’s written by a professional SEO copywriter is obviously a step in the right direction but here’s a list of 8 quick tips you can use to optimise your web copy.

Open a second browser window and take a look at your web copy as you read – is there something you can improve?

1. Headline

As with any form of marketing, your headline must grab attention and draw your reader in. It must sell you, your company and your products and services.

A weak headline will result in people navigating away from your site to one that offers them what they’re looking for.

2. First impressions

Assuming your headline has caught their attention it’s vital that the rest of your website does. Do the first few lines of text live up to their expectations? Do the images you use compliment or detract from your copy?

To work, all the elements of your web page have to compliment each other and work together.

3. WIIFM?

This is the question that sits firmly in the forefront of your reader’s mind – what’s in it for me?

Make sure you tell them the benefits of your product/service straight away. That’s not the features here we’re talking about what it is that your product/service will do for them – save them time, save them money, make them more attractive, make them healthier etc. Something that they will value (that’s why it’s so important you know who your customers are and what they want).

4. Easy on the eye

This is where readability comes in. People don’t generally like reading from a screen so you must ensure your information is accessible and readable. To help you reader skim your content for the most relevant points use headings and sub headings, break the text up with bulleted lists and use images to help get your message across.

Above all keep Bryan Eisenberg’s 5 R’s of Search Engine Marketing in your mind:

• Relevance (make sure your copy is relevant to your market)
• Reputation (great content will build your reputation and encourage links)
• Remarkable (only truly great copy will build your reputation)
• Readability (use the right HTML, tags, headlines, bullets, sub headings, font size etc.)
• Reach (don’t cast your net too wide)

5. We

How many times does ‘we’ appear on your website?

A website full of ‘we’ comes across as being very self-centred. The reader doesn’t care about you; they care about what you’re going to do for them.

Go through your copy and change your ‘we’ for ‘you’ to shift the focus firmly on your customer.

6. Voice

The tone of voice you use is very important. The information you provide has to be accessible so avoid jargon. Also to make it more readable avoid using the passive voice. Be active and involve your reader in your text.

7. Other wording

The wording on your website isn’t just confined to your body text. There are also ALT tags, captions, banner text etc.  Are the words here really adding value?

8. Hypertext

The hypertext links are the words you use to link out to other relevant information. Make sure you use your keywords within these links to get the most value from them.

That is a quick and simple list of things you can do on your website to help attract visitors and boost your conversion rate. How many are you missing on your website?

I have been a copywriter for a while now and many of the projects I am commission to carry out involve search engine optimisation.

That’s hardly surprising considering the importance of online marketing to today’s businesses.

People’s attitudes to online search are changing. Companies are now recognising that if they want to open up their businesses to new markets they have got to get to grips with SEO and keyword identification.

Keyword research

Most people ‘get’ keyword research these days.

They understand that the words they have to target are the ones their customers are searching for. That list might include the particular product that they sell or their geographical location etc.

Usually the list of keywords I am given are pretty relevant – they cover the products/services and will drive targeted traffic to their website.

But the problems start when it comes to allotting keywords to the copy – how many should each web page target?

Common misconceptions

When investing in SEO most people want to maximise their ROI and use SEO to get found for every keyword or phrase they can think of.

For a start, initially, that’s not practical. Over time as they build links and relevant content, they will see rankings for most of their keywords (the level of their ranking will depend on the competitiveness of the term they are targeting). But from the outset, SEO takes time and the early results will be found with the least competitive words.

The second problem is that many people view their website as their Home Page. By that I mean they want to load their Home Page with all their keywords.

So, for example, if they sell silver jewellery, their keyword list may look something like:

• Silver jewellery
• Silver jewellery suppliers Suffolk
• Silver jewellery gifts
• Gifts in silver
• Silver necklace
• Silver bracelet

You get the idea.

Now, to try and include all of those words on one page is complete madness because the resultant text won’t encourage anyone to buy.

Using keywords the right way

For starters you must remember there is more than one page to your website. Plus, Google and the other search engines also recognise this as each page is indexed individually. Therefore you should be targeting different keywords on different pages. The keywords should also be reflected in your navigation and page titles.

With regards to the number of keywords per page, you should only look to target 2 (3 max) primary keywords. You can of course incorporate long tail keywords (i.e. your primary keywords plus modifiers) but trying to target more than 2 can create unwieldy text.

The main point of your website copy is that it should be relevant, interesting and compelling. The traffic your keywords attract must be drawn in by your text and encouraged to buy – otherwise what’s the point?

By researching your keywords, using them to structure your website and then target each page for different keywords will maximise your chances of SEO success.

Many businesses think their website copy has to be stiff and corporate.

They want to come across as professional so they must use language that impresses.

As they write their copy they thumb through the pages of their much loved thesaurus to find the most impressive words possible.

Oh boy.

How many times have I seen that? And you know what? They are the websites that under perform because no one wants to read them because they are boring. The language is stale – it’s not interesting, it’s not inspiring and it certainly won’t make the reader think “wow, I really want to do business with these people.”

Be a friend

The best way to get your readers on your side is by chatting with them.

Conversational copywriting will make your website more accessible. It gives your company a distinctive voice – something your readers can relate to.

It’s like slipping on your favourite slippers. They’ll stay longer and they’ll read more because you are talking to them and not at them.

So how can you achieve chatty copy?

• Find out who your target market are and use  their vocabulary
• Use short, clear sentences to get your message across
• Don’t use big words – throw away the thesaurus and use language everyone understands
• Read your copy out loud to check it makes sense, has rhythm and doesn’t contain any errors
• Use real language, not a literary version of it

Basically write as you would talk – go over the conversation you would have with the customer if you were stood in front of them and write it down.

In the world of marketing you’ll soon discover that very few people like being sold to.

We want to be sure our decisions are our own and not influenced by someone else.

That’s why very few people will land on a website, think “Wow! I must buy that now” and eagerly get out their credit card.

Before any of us buy (yes, you included) we have doubts – is it really what I need? Can I really justify the cost?

The art of a good copywriter is to overcome those objections within their copy which means getting out their crystal ball.

Why?

Because you have to counter their objections before your reader has had the opportunity to work out what they are.

Copywriting that convinces

Whenever you are faced with a buying decision all manner of objections are going to pop into your head. The copywriter has to pre-empt these because copy isn’t about getting the consumer to say ‘yes’, it’s about preventing them from saying ‘no’.

Here are some common objections:

1. I don’t need it

Let’s face it there aren’t that many things we buy that we actually need. Needing something is about not being able to function with out it. To get round this one you have to change that ‘need’ into a want.

I don’t need the small mountain of shoes I have in the bottom of my wardrobe, but I want to look coordinated, stylish and modern hence I want lots of different pairs to go with my different outfits.

2. I can’t afford it

With the current economic climate there’s not a lot left we can afford.

But again if you can convince them they want it they’ll find the money from somewhere. Give them a good enough offer and they’ll just have to buy.

3. Perhaps tomorrow?

If you let them browse and then walk away, they are very unlikely to come back again.

You have to force them into a decision there and then:

• Create a time limited offer
• Tell them there is a limited supply
• Tell them they only have until midnight to place their order or miss out on the offer of a lifetime.

4. Why should I buy from you?

You know you are honest and trustworthy but the consumer doesn’t.

They have just stumbled across your website and don’t know you from Adam. Through your copy you have to convince them of your trustworthiness through:

• Testimonials
• Background information on your company
• Details of your longevity

Your copy must entice, convince and sell if you are to draw in the punters. Remember you have to dispel their objections before they have the opportunity to raise them.

Whether you’re starting out and setting up an online presence or looking to create some new marketing materials, your success will be determined by their content.

Is your message engaging? Does it really give the reader what they want? Does is make them say “Wow, I really need that. How do I buy?”

Because that’s what it comes down to – the words you use have to attract, convince and convert.

I can do that…can’t I?

As well as working with individuals and companies directly, I also work with a number of graphic and web designers. When talking to them we always end up having the same conversation—they often find it hard trying to convince clients of the need for professional copywriting.

Why?

Well their thought process follows this pattern:

I have a limited budget…

I don’t know who to do HTML so I need a web designer…

Design is not in my skill set so I need a graphic designer…

I have no idea where to source great images from so I’ll pay someone else to do that…

Writing? Hey I can write I’ll do that myself.

Big mistake

So what happens next?

Someone in your company gets lumbered with the task of writing your sales copy. Here’s the problem:

• It is unlikely they have experience in writing sales copy
• They take ages to write it because they don’t have the time which holds up the whole project
• The finished copy tends to fall into the category of ‘it’ll do copy’

It is very difficult to write about your own company because you’re too close to it. To write effectively you have to distance yourself from your business and write it from your customers’ point of view. Your readers want to know how your product or service is going to benefit them. So your copy must be written for your customer.

What a copywriter will do for you

When you hire a professional copywriter they will get to know you, your business and your product/service.

They’ll put themselves in your customers’ shoes and create structured copy that addresses their needs, sells the benefits and talks to them directly.

Your website copy will be optimised for the search engines so it will attract targeted traffic. The content will convert those visitors into buying customers. And the copy will tell them what action they need to take to buy your product.

Your brochures will sell not just inform. They will convince the reader your company is the one they should deal with. No longer will they be used as a mat for their coffee cup.

Your case studies will entertain, inform and sell. Your press releases will engage and attract new business. Your email marketing will be opened, read and acted upon.

Does that really sound like a waste of money to you?

Yes we can all write, but creating eye-catching, compelling and powerful sales copy is a difficult skill to master.

So next time you are looking to create a new website or piece of sales copy, don’t try and go it alone. That piece of writing, whatever form it may take, will be the first impression the reader gets of your company – hire a professional and make sure it’s the right impression.

Don’t gamble with your company’s image.