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One of the biggest misconceptions that people who are new to digital marketing in particular have involves the idea that writing for the web is just like writing a book. In reality, this couldn't be farther from the truth.
All writing serves a very specific purpose, and web content is certainly no exception. Every sentence, every word choice, and every bit of punctuation should all be laser-focused on encouraging clients to take your desired action. That's not something a novelist finds themselves worrying about.
Therefore, if you want to learn to increase your market share by making your main website pages engaging to your audience, there are a few key best practices you'll want to keep in mind.
What is Web Copy?
At its core, website copy involves the main text on your website. This is all the copy that is intended to guide visitors through your site, to help explain the concept behind your brand, and to introduce your business in general.
Common examples of this include but are certainly not limited to ones like:
- Your homepage
- Your "About Us" page
- Your individual service pages
- Your frequently asked questions (FAQ) section.
- Your "Contact Us" page.
Why Is It Different From Other Writing?
Web copy is different from other types of writing because one of your main goals should always be to match the search intent of your potential customers.
Never lose sight of the fact that you're trying to help someone answer a question or solve a problem, while also encouraging them to take action. Most of the time, that action will involve making a purchase, joining a mailing list, subscribing to your blog, or any other goal that you have in mind for them.
Before You Begin
Know Your Intent
What, specifically, are you trying to accomplish? Every piece of content you create from that point on should be designed to support those objectives. Google looks for and ranks for search intent that matches the reason behind why someone entered a query. Those 4 intents are: transactional, commercial, navigational, and informational.
Determine Your Goals
Do you want people to buy a product or service? Are you trying to attract new customers? Nail this down before you proceed. Set goals and then craft your website to accomplish those objectives.
Get to Know Your Target Audience
If marketing is all about getting the right message in front of the right person at exactly the right time, it stands to reason that you need to know as much as you can about who those people actually are. What kind of people visit your website? Is there some problem they are trying to solve? If they were to search for your website, what terms would they use? These are all questions you need to answer before you start writing.
Check Out Your Competitors
See which of their efforts are working and, more importantly, which ones aren't. Use research to spot trends among competitors - this can be an excellent way to get an edge over them as quickly as possible.
During the Process
During the actual writing process itself, try to keep all of the following in mind:
Your Writing Should Be Concise
Keep it skimmable above all else. Lean into brevity and break up content into smaller chunks with text or media elements.
Write Simply and Clearly
Short, sweet, and to the point is always best. Avoid using complex language if you can help it.
Check for Grammar and Spelling Errors
Problems with these basic issues can make you appear less credible, which could easily turn off potential clients without you realizing it.
Make Navigation Easy for Readers
Navigating your content and website shouldn't be a jumbled, confusing mess. If it is, people will leave. Also, link to your social media accounts and include relevant hyperlinks in your text.
Incorporate Multimedia
This includes not only photos and videos but also infographics and more.
Include CTAs
This is when you literally encourage a visitor to take action. Use words like "Join," "Sign Up," "Get a Quote," "Subscribe," "Watch," and "Learn More" to promote whatever desired step you want someone to take.
After and Beyond
Optimize, Optimize, Optimize
It's absolutely true that it is always important to focus on the human element of your writing. Everything you publish should feel like it was created for a real person, by a real person. But at the same time, you should also not ignore the power of Google. That means optimizing for search engine optimization (SEO) as often as you're able to.
Implement SEO Strategies
Like using appropriate keywords, earning backlinks, and more. If you don't feel like you have the resources to do so on your own, don't be afraid to enlist a team of professionals to do so on your behalf. This is one of those things that is far too important to get wrong.
Monitor the Ongoing Performance of Your Content
After all, you can't improve upon that which you are not measuring. Check to make sure that your copy is performing well and if it isn't, identify what the problem is and make those changes as quickly as you can. Then take those lessons and use them to create better content in the future.
In the End
Overall, anyone can develop solid web content (and the writing skills to go with it) with enough discipline. Web content has its own unique format but once you get the hang of it, it truly does become second nature.
The easiest way to keep visitors on your website is to have an excellent copy that grabs their attention in a way they won't be able to look away from. Once you have that, you're in the type of position that most other business owners would love to be in.
