How to Write Good Copy for Websites

Posted: 9^th January 2018

By: Kim Gilmour

I look at a lot of websites for small businesses, after I meet people networking or when looking to find clients or local suppliers.

The thing I notice is that most people now have good quality websites, well designed and easy to navigate. However, if you are not at that stage and want to know how to design a great website and keep on top of the costs check out this blog from Brass Comet.

When it comes to content I often think that people could do that little bit more to make their websites appealing to potential customers and help that all important SEO.

5 Things to Avoid when Writing for Websites

1. A Boring About Page

Too many people seem shy to away from telling their story. Their About Page is not about the individual behind the company but just a repeat of facts ‘we started in 2016’, ‘we make xxx product’. Boring, boring, boring. People want to know why they should buy products or services from you. They want to know your name, who you are, why you started your business and what your passions are. This is the one page where you can talk about you rather than your brand.

2. A Hard to Use Contact Page

I know an online contact form might save spam but, if you are a small business, people just want to email you, quickly and easily. They might want to send attachments or a link you might find useful. They might not want to fill in a long form and wait for your reply.

3. Broken Social Media Links

Don’t forget to include your social media links so prospective customers can check out your profiles. A lot of people don’t include these, don’t keep them up to date or even forget to link them. That doesn’t look very professional. Your social media will give an insight into what you are working on at the moment, your new products or offers and lets people see a bit of your personality.

4. An Inactive Blog

So many websites don’t have a blog, which is an ideal way to drive traffic to your website and provides quality original content for your social media platforms. Not everyone has the time or even skills to write useful, entertaining or engaging content, but it is certainly worth trying!  However if you have a News or Blog page and you don’t post anything for months then maybe it’s a page you should hide until you do have the time.

5. Too Many Adjectives

Your sentences should be short and to the point. Don’t over use adjectives, adverbs or buzzwords, it can make your copy look unprofessional. Padding writing out is a common mistake. Think quality not quantity and let your copy show you are confident rather than desperate!

Top Tips for Writing Quality Content for Websites

• Start by thinking about your audience. Who are you writing for, what are their issues, and desires? You can do a lot of research online, including checking out your competitors.
• Don’t just write your copy for SEO. Search engines are very sophisticated and will read your copy like a human. If you stuff it full of keywords and keep repeating them you won’t fool the Googlebots!
• Draft your copy, read it out loud, how does it flow? Have you broken up the text into short chunks with sub titles? Are you using key words? Would a list or bullet points help to get the information over and keep your audiences’ attention?
• Arrange your points from the most important to the least important. No good waiting until the end for the best bits! People tend to skim read and probably won’t scroll to the bottom of the page.
• Don’t use Capitals to Emphasis Key Words – unless it is grammatically correct!
• Proofread at each state to check spelling and grammar and make sure you are using the same tense throughout.
• Don’t be too reliant on spell checkers. If in doubt about grammar, punctuation and commonly misused words look them up.
• It’s a good idea to get someone else to read your final copy to find any typos you may have missed.
• Once published don’t be afraid to update your website content as your business evolves and you are clearer about your USP and niche market.

I hope you have found that useful. If you want some help writing or updating your website pages please do get in touch! Or follow me on Facebook for more useful digital marketing tips.