How many businesses out there offer the same service as yours? As many as there are fish in the sea? Scary thought! Why? Because your web content needs to stand out head and shoulders above your competition. So it needs to work really hard for you.
Web content writing needs a specific approach. It’s different from writing a blog like this, or a newsletter. Or any other kind of marketing material for that matter. It needs to act as your best salesperson, grabbing your target audience's attention, creating sales leads, eventually converting into paying customers.
When writing your web content, there are several key elements to keep in mind:
Keywords and phrases – essential for SEO purposes. Or, to put it in plain English, to help your customers find you. Research what the best keywords are for your organisation, make a list and use them wisely. Don’t cram them in. Make sure they’re in your H1 title, your first and/or second paragraphs, and naturally scattered throughout. I’ve talked about SEO and keywords before here.
Eye-catching headline – your main H1 headline must include your primary keywords and say what your target audience will most likely react to, persuading them to click through to your website. That’s not always easy! However creative and fun you want your headline to be, it’s more important that it has the words that your target audience will search for. It's your first big selling opportunity. Read more about headline writing here.
Web pages and structured content – how many pages will your website have? Your content needs to be structured carefully according to your products or service offering. For a new website, the following pages are recommended:
o Home – this is your brief introduction to your business, how you help your customers and
what your products are
o About – tell people about how the business started, its background, and its people. Write short, two- to three-sentence bios of the directors and teams alongside a picture
o Product pages – wax lyrical (not too much!) about your products, focussing on the benefits
and how they help your customers
o Blogs – keep this page updated with news and info. Share regularly on social media and
other places, attracting your target audience to your website
o Contact – as well as branch addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, include links to
your LinkedIn and other social media platforms
Also include your Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Cookie Settings and Web Accessibility
pages. You may need legal and technical advice on them.
Tone of voice – write using your organisation’s brand tone of voice. If you don’t yet have one, base it on your business values and ethics. A good marketing copywriter can help you develop your voice.
Focus on benefits –don't just describe the features, emphasise the benefits your product or service offers. Explain how it fulfills customers' needs, saves time, enhances productivity, or provides value. Use persuasive language to evoke desire and show how their lives will improve with your solution.
Length and depth – write as succinctly and clearly as possible. People tend to scan web content, sometimes missing out entire sentences, jumping to the next subhead. I’m guilty of doing that myself when pushed for time. So, break up your content with subheads and bullet points to keep your prospective clients reading. And highlight key information to make it easy for readers to grasp your value proposition quickly.
Incorporate social proof – include customer testimonials, case studies, or reviews to build trust and credibility. People are more likely to purchase when they see positive experiences from others.
Web content length – Less is More! The bare minimum for SEO purposes is 300 words. However, I recommend 500-1,200 words, the closer to 500 the better. So, get the main benefits in at the beginning. Best not to have long, fluffy preambles that take up precious space.
Put yourself in the mind of your target audience. How does your product help them? What will
they gain from it? Depending on the product, don’t include every detail about it. Think about your
content as teasing your reader into needing to know more information. Create a burning desire
with your CTA (Call to Action - see below) so that they absolutely must contact you.
Be prepared to write a few drafts before it sounds right. Ensure you've included those crucial
keywords and phrases to start the process of converting your visitors into paying customers.
Call to Action – this is the essential bit. This is where you turn your web visitor into a lead, who then becomes a customer, and eventually a promoter. Often, the most obvious CTA is to ask them to contact you for more information, so make sure your contact details are prominently on the page somewhere. Maybe you want them to ask about a special offer. Or download some additional information, like a 'how-to' guide, by providing their email address to create a lead. Invite them to sign up for your newsletter. There are many types of CTAs you can use that will help your website work hard for you. This HubSpot blog has some great advice.
Images and design – discuss these with your web designer. Words alone are unlikely to work – you need good design and illustrations to catch your target audience's attention. Have you got a library of product images? If not, hire a good photographer or use stock images from an online library like pexels.com. Usually, the design fits around the content, but it can work the other way around.
Proofread – finally, proofread the entire website. Ask other people to read it, too, both to sense check it and to check for mistakes. Ideally, ask a professional proofreader to give it the final go-over.
Now you’re ready to publish – how exciting!
Share it everywhere. Publicise your new website on all your social media platforms, in your email marketing, and anywhere else possible. Update it regularly with new information to help improve your search rankings.
Regularly check the analytics to measure how well it’s working. Your web host can help you with that.
I have a briefing document that I send to clients prior to starting work with them – it may help to give you some further ideas on writing your web content. If you would like a copy, do drop me a line and I'll email it straight back.
If all this feels like too much when you’re busy running your business, I can help. Get in touch by emailing me at jen@jennyhaken.co.uk. Let me help you create some fresh new web content that converts your visitors into paying customers!
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