Did you know that 41% of low-performing website content has too many difficult words? Or that sentence length in your website copy can affect the success of your site? Perhaps you didn’t realise that strategically placed keywords can make an impact on a website’s performance; and that the length of paragraphs should be just right to engage a website visitor. Effective website copywriting for your virtual storefront should not be overlooked.
The digital space is jam-packed with information of varying quality all vying for the attention of your potential customers. This creates a competitive environment in which your business’ website is forced to thrive. Although many variables come into play to ensure the success of a business’ site, masterful website copywriting should definitely be one of the priorities.
Website copy has the power to engage visitors, convey a brand’s message effectively, and ultimately drive conversions. But how do you cut through the online clutter to attract visitors with compelling copy?
Tips and Strategies for Surefire Website Copywriting Success
1. Know Your Audience
It may be cliché but reigns true nonetheless: know your audience. How do you need to speak to your target customers? Who are they? What are their pain points, needs and motivations? By researching and profiling your audience, you can wield your website copy to connect with them on a deeper level.
2. Craft a Compelling Headline
Powerful headlines can pack a mean punch with your audience by grabbing their attention and enticing them to continue reading. It offers them a taste of what your site is about sparking their curiosity and addressing a need. In addition, headlines are key to search engine visibility and revealing your brand’s image.
3. Focus on Benefits, Not Features
‘Features tell, benefits sell.’ Website copywriting isn’t simply about listing a product or service’s features and technical details. Instead, the question is how these features will benefit customers. Consider how their lives will be enhanced by your product or service or what problems it has the potential to solve. It’s handy to consider an offering’s features and ask, ‘So what?’. What makes this important or appealing to a customer? This will lead you to the benefits of the offering and how it addresses your audience’s unique pain points and needs.
4. Keep it Clear and Concise
In the age of information overload, brevity is key. Site visitors don’t spend time reading every word on a website’s pages. Rather, they scan the information to spot what may be relevant to them. It would be pointless to write lengthy text when website copywriting is all about concise and clear messaging with short sentences and paragraphs, lists and bullet points, subheadings to section off copy and lots of white space to keep it easy on the eye.
5. Use Persuasive Language
Effective website copywriting requires a convincing approach where you persuade visitors to take an action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter or requesting more information. A decisive style of writing motivates an audience to act. Power words, testimonials and social proof build trust and credibility in your website content.
6. Optimise for SEO
Not only should your website copywriting engage human visitors, but it must also be optimised for search engines. Relevant keywords should strategically be placed in the copy to enhance your site’s visibility in search engine results. However, SEO optimisation and readability is a balancing act that you should be mindful of at all times during website copywriting. Keyword stuffing is not a successful approach to SEO and should be avoided as it makes the copy sound unnatural.
7. Test and Iterate
Website copywriting requires lots of testing and iteration to find what works best for your particular audience. This is why you need to constantly keep your finger on your website’s pulse to ascertain its performance and adjust where necessary. Trial different headlines, calls to action, and messaging to see what is most effective. Stay adaptable and evolve when need be, to achieve the best results with your website copy.
These tips and strategies will bring you closer to crafting compelling website copy that captivates your audience and leaves them with an enriching first impression that is guaranteed to turn them into customers.
We Have a Way with Words
iLEAD et al’s wordsmiths have a way with words! Your website will flourish with copy produced by our team of creative copywriters. Let them breathe life into your site with meticulously crafted website copywriting to ensure you get the most out of your virtual property. Get in touch with us to find out what we can do for you.