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THIS WEEK
Web Copywriting - How To Write Copy For Your Website
ALSO IN THIS EDITION
Web Copywriting - How To Write Copy For Your Website
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Web copywriting is different to other forms of writing for your business. Why? There has been a quiet revolution in terms of writing for the web, which matches the changing way people use the internet.
The first web sites on the net are now called brochure sites, as all they really contained was information you would read in brochures about the business. The language was stilted and formal, and usually talked a lot about the company and very little about the customer.
Brochure sites were great ways to get your message out there, but they allowed only for one-way communication – where you told the person what you wanted them to know. If you still have a brochure website, you are wearing the online equivalent of a safari suit. They were great at the time, but a tad dated.
In the past 3 years, there has been a radical shift. People no longer stay on the boring web pages with “we try harder”. People expect more. They want to know more. They want to know what it will be like to work with you.
They also want to engage in discussion about the content in websites and to share their thoughts with other like-minded people. This has given rise to social media such as Facebook and Twitter and the demand for interactive websites.
The art of writing for the web is all about understanding these trends in communication and presenting information in a way that people now "get".
In as much the same way that we don't use words from Shakespeare's time in our modern communications, we need to change our communication to match the current ways people use information.
So what are some web copywriting tips?
 Web Copywriting is Not One Style Of Writing
The web is not just one thing. Different parts of the web have different styles of writing. Corporate websites still tend to be a bit more formal in choice of words. Blogs and forums allow you to be more informal and relaxed with how language is used. Sites such as Twitter need a totally different style again – and are similar to SMS text messages in terms of language style. You need to match your style of language to the internet medium you are using.
Break the Rules (Within Reason)
Traditional writing was very formal. These days web copywriting is more like having a chat with your friend over a coffee. The art of web copywriting is to write as you speak. This includes starting sentences with "and", splitting infinitives and breaking sentences across two lines. The only rules that are still strong are use of swear words and discriminatory language. For most businesses it is still better to leave these parts of your vocabulary at home.
The Words You Choose Define Your Brand
Writing for the web is the same as creating a brand in words – the words you choose will define who you are and how your company is positioning itself on the market, just as surely as any logo or colour scheme. Are your words young and fresh, or traditional and professional?
Insert Emotion
People have moved away from ‘buying a brand” to “buying the person behind the brand” – they want personalities not faceless corporations. Emotion is a big part of what makes up personality. The old way to write was to wring all of the juice out of your words to make them dry, academic and clinical. Now you need to put the juice back in - you are not “happy to introduce a new product”, you are “jumping out of your skin excited to bring this brilliant new product to your customers”.
Headlines & Sub-Headlines Are Important
People scan your headlines and sub-headlines. Are they interesting? Do they make people want to stop and read the content beneath? Do they tell a coherent story if you just pull out the headlines and put them on a page by themselves?
Camouflage Your Keywords
When you are writing for the web, you have two audiences – your human readers and the search engines. Search engines look through websites and check the words that are used on the site as part of their algorithm in determining where to place a website in search engine results. The better the match, the higher the website appears in the results.
If you write for just the human readers, it is likely you will not rank well in the search engines, and if you write just for the search engines in terms of maximising the number of keywords you cram into your pages, then it becomes unreadable for humans.
I like to think of putting keywords in your copy in the same way that you hide vegetables from two year olds, by blending them in their food – you want them to definitely be there, but blended in. A great SEO copywriter can get the balance right for you by writing for both audiences, without being obvious.
Short Copy Isn't Always Better
In a world of short attention spans, people think less words are better. Yet, more words can often outsell less words; as long as you use visual clues to help people who scan get the gist of the information first. This is called "long copy" and is the staple of many sales pages simply because it works like gangbusters.
The bottom line is web copywriting is an art form that needs to be mastered. Not every person who writes great documents for work can become a great web copywriter, just like not every piano player becomes a concert pianist. If you need a virtuoso with your business words then a professional SEO copywriter can create brilliant music with your words.
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| HR Tip of the Week: What Do Employees Read About Your Company? |
Most businesses when writing their website material or considering their online marketing, only think about their external customers, but they totally forget about their internal customers - in other words their employees.
Employees and potential employees often Google the business they are in (or want to be in), to find out what is being said in the online world about their business. This is particularly true during times of turmoil and change, when employees cast around for any snippet of information about the future of the company (and their employment).
Do this little test. Google the name of your company and the names of its leaders. What do you find in the first 5 pages of search engine returns? Is all the information positive, factual and useful? Are all details on the website current or are they outdated and no longer relevant (e.g. marketing campaigns from 6 months before, old price lists, staff who left years ago)?
Look at the information from the perspective of an employee - does the information inspire confidence in the stability of the business and its positive reputation?
And in times of change, make sure your employees always know what is happening to their business at least at the same time as the media is informed. I have watched one too many businesses implode when staff found out about mergers and acquisitions via the papers or social media and not from their managers.
| Service of the Week: SEO Copywriting |
 One of the main services we offer at Heart Harmony is SEO Copywriting (Search Engine Optimised Copywriting).
What is that? Well, we write the words for your website so they not only read well ... they rank well in search engines.
We start our process of web copy creation by undertaking a thorough keyword analysis for you, to give you hard data to use as the foundation for your website.
After our research, we will present you with a detailed keyword analysis report covering:
- the main keywords people use to search for your business and the services it offers,
- how much traffic per day each keyword attracts, and
- how many competing web pages there are for those keywords.
We will also give you a list of recommended target keywords for your business. You can use these words in everything you do – from the creation of new offerings, right through to adwords campaigns.
We then craft your web copy, a process which includes:
- detailed initial strategy session & interview;
- detailed research on both your clients and their industries;
- website strategy and recommended navigation paths;
- close liaison with your web developer to ensure a coherent, persuasive result;
- clear and compelling copy written from scratch for each web page using the right combination of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic language to appeal to all main communication preferences of readers & to boost sales;
- creation of metatags including page titles, page descriptions, page keywords & alt tags;
- drafting and structuring of your web copy for maximum results;
- web copy optimized for the keywords identified; and
- on-page suggested links to ensure maximum SEO results.
As you can see, this is a detailed and thorough process ... and our clients love it!
I loved Ingrid's expertise and advice throughout the project. Being able to have access to Ingrid without feeling bad about it was brilliant!
And the benefits ... the ease of the whole process. SEO! SEO! SEO! We have the first page of Google on all of our relevant searches, with sometimes having the first or second ranking! Our web traffic has increased.
Kelly Watt
Sublime Technologies
So if you need to refresh your web copy, call Ingrid on 07 3351 8844 or contact us to talk about how we can help you get the results you are looking for from your website.
Online reputation management is something that all businesses that have an online presence need to be aware of – but most are not sure how to go about it.
Many businesses struggle with what to do when they get negative feedback about their business on the net. As it’s not my patch of expertise, I asked a colleague at Dejan SEO if they would write a guest blog post for me this week.
exuberantly yours
Ingrid
Heart Harmony
Legal stuff: This newsletter is intended as only a general guideline for Australian businesses. You should seek specific advice for your situation rather than relying only on this newsletter
Earnings disclaimer. Some of the content may include advertorial information, which means I may receive financial compensation for the products I recommend. But - unless I know and trust the product, I will not recommend it.
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