It’s understandable why business owners fret over their website’s content. Quality web pages, blog posts, and ecommerce descriptions can help to attract new visitors, generate leads, and increase sales numbers. On the flipside, mistakes within content can confuse or even drive away qualified leads. So it’s reasonable to take writing content seriously. Thankfully, there is a way to create effective web copy time and again without undue stress and hassle. To that end, here’s how to write website copy in seven easy steps:
Determine Page Objective
Web content, like all content, must have an objective –– a reason why it exists. Some content is written to persuade readers (like landing pages). While some content simply provides information (product descriptions). Before you begin writing a web page, first identify why you’re writing it. This will help you determine appropriate writing style and voice –– as well as what info you should include and what you can afford to omit.
Title Optimization
Keywords are integral to any SEO content strategy. Identifying which keywords resonate with your customer base will allow you to create engaging titles, headlines, and meta descriptions. In addition, using long tail keywords effectively or finding a high-volume, low-competition keyword opportunity to optimize can enable you to write web pages with the potential to attain high rankings on search engines.
Break it Down
People don’t read website content so much as they skim it. If you’re like most modern readers, then odds are you’ve only taken in a percentage of this blog post so far. The key for copywriters and marketers isn’t to try and change reading habits, but rather to adapt their content to accommodate them. Subheaders, relevant infographics, bulleted lists, and bold quotations containing particularly cogent details allow readers to skim your web page while still drawing useful tidbits from it.
Ditch the Intro/Conclusion
Web pages don’t need long preambles or closing statements. Most of the time, it’s best to start web copy with a simple definition of a problem, product, or service. Let your reader know exactly what you’re going to be talking about from the first line. Failing to do so will test a consumer’s already short patience.
Improve Readability
Some content is very easy to read. On the other hand, some content feels dense and complex and may require two or three viewings to comprehend. Most of the time, businesses want to create copy that is easy to read. While there’s no magic recipe for readability, the following features will help you form straightforward text:
- Active voice.
- Transition words.
- Short sentences.
- Minimal use of adverbs.
In addition, breaking up text blocks with images or graphics will help maintain reader focus.
Just Start Writing
It’s impossible to edit a blank page. The toughest part of any writing assignment is getting started. So don’t worry about making a few mistakes with your first draft because you can always go back and edit them out after a second or third review.
Update Update Update
Web pages are not static. You can always go back and edit, amend, rewrite, and add on to website copy any time you feel like it. As such, don’t be afraid to go back and revisit old web copy. Updating your site content on a semi-regular basis will keep your content fresh, accurate, and up-to-date.
Final Thoughts
At Agile & Co., we have experience writing a wide variety of diverse website copy. From blog posts and white papers to product descriptions and eCommerce pages, we know how to craft content that resonates with consumers. Contact us here for more information. Or, to learn how to build a website that generates lots of high quality leads, check out our free eBook here
