Engaging. Exciting. Compelling. Creative. Informative. Actionable. Are these the words you would use to describe your company’s website copy? Your website is your brand’s 24/7 marketing hub and is often responsible for making the company’s first impression with prospective clients and partners. From the headlines on your homepage to the articles in your online newsroom, your website copy should educate, inform, excite and ultimately sell. Here are some easy ways to write better website copy.
Know your audience
Great website copy speaks directly to the target audience and demonstrates a keen understanding of the information that is most important to them. Whether you are speaking directly to the end user or prospective distributors of your product, it is important to maintain a laser focus on their wants and needs. What will drive them to make a purchase? What questions are they likely to have during the buying cycle? What competitive threats stand to sway them in another direction?
Stand out from the crowd
Think about the last time you purchased a major appliance. How many product reviews did you read? How many websites did you visit? How many stores did you visit? The last thing any company wants it so get lost in the online “sea of sameness.” Whether your website is the first or the fiftieth that a prospective client visits, you want the experience to be memorable. Ensure your website copy clearly communicates what makes your business unique, the types of clients for whom you are typically a “right fit,” and the key information that will help to build trust amongst your target audiences.
Drive meaningful action
The ideal customer comes to your website. They read about your products and services, peruse a couple of blog posts and are inclined to keep your company in the running. Where should they click? What should they do? When writing website copy, it is important to offer opportunities for visitors to take action during various stages of the sales cycle. While someone who is just beginning their search for a new accountant may benefit from downloading a tax planning worksheet, someone who is nearing the decision-making phase may be ready to attend a complimentary workshop or schedule a consultation. Regardless of the stage of the buyer’s journey, ensure there are clear opportunities to take action peppered throughout your website copy (and across your social media marketing channels, too).
Be accessible
We’ve all visited websites that were jargon heavy, not to mention extraordinarily technical. And, while this approach may have increased our trust in the company’s technical expertise, it may have also left us more confused than we were to begin with.
While writing educational website copy is important, there needs to be a balance between being informative and making content accessible to those who are visiting your site.
Get to the point
While your website should leave visitors feeling well-informed about your products/services and industry experience, it should also be easy-to-digest.
- Keep your sentences short and your paragraphs concise
- Use clear language
- Incorporate compelling visuals to break up larger blocks of copy
- Lead with the most important information (i.e. “need to know” at the top; “nice to know” at the bottom)
- Avoid redundancies
As companies grow and evolve, so does the language they use to describe their products, services and success stories. Whether you launched your current website two years ago or two months ago, it is advantageous to reread the copy on a regular basis and identify opportunities to make it more engaging and drive meaningful action.
