Website Copy Best Practices
How You Can Leverage Your Website Copy to Boost Your Online Presence and Increase Conversions
Maybe you’re a new business ready to build your website and want to make sure that you are getting the best bang for your buck. Or maybe you have been in business for a while, and have yet to draw in the organic traffic and conversions that you were hoping for.
It’s easy to pay attention to the design of your website. The details, colors and graphics that make your brand pop. But no one will be able to enjoy your beautifully designed site if the copy isn’t pulling in and engaging your visitors. Having optimized copy on your site lets search engines (such as Google and Bing) easily read and rank your content, all helping in the end to attract organic traffic and boost your bottom line.
Establishing the Basics
1. Setting the Audience
So before we get to any writing, it is important to understand your audience and target market.
- Who are they? Age, gender and income
- What do they like? Habits, behaviors and background
- What are their pain points and struggles? Needs, goals and desires
Before we can ever begin writing to a customer, we have be able to get in the heads of our readers. This way we can figure out what to say, and how to say it by speaking their language. User personas or demographic data on Google Analytics can help us determine the average as well as ideal client.
2. Keyword Research
The next step is keyword research. Now that we know our user persona, let’s find the search terms that apply to our niche market. In this stage, you can start making a list of all the keywords that reflect your unique selling points and that you want your website to be found for. It is important to include broad keywords (which are simple, short phrases – such as “writer”) as well as long-tail keywords (which are more specific to your unique situation – such as “seo copywriter for health and wellness industries”). Think of combinations and variations of these terms.
There are many free and paid tools you can use online, such as SEMRush, Keywords Everywhere, UberSuggest and even just a simple Google search.
Optimizing for On-Site SEO
1. Writing for Readers
Before we get into the essentials of writing, it is important to set your voice and remember that first and foremost you are writing for people, but optimizing for search engines. You want to make sure your content flows naturally and keeps your visitors on the website. A good click-through rate and time on page all contributes to good SEO.
2. Optimize Meta Content
Now it is time to finally get to some writing. When optimizing for onsite SEO, there are 4 important elements. The first is setting your meta data. This is what shows on the results page of any Google search. The title tag and description are the first impressions anyone will get of your website, so don’t be bland here. It is important that your title tag and meta description are at your full character limit, and optimized to include your keywords.
3. Engaging Headlines and Subheads
Once they have clicked into your website, the next impression will be based off the headline. Is it appealing? Does it explain what the business does? Does it make you want to scroll down the page and keep reading? Improving your headline (as well as the subheads) can increase the click-through rates of your site. Search engines like to see a clear H1 containing a keyword, as well as many relevant subheads throughout the page. Be sure to focus on benefits to engage readers and keep them on-site.
4. Building out the Body Text
As you build out your body text, remember that there is nothing that dissuades a customer more than a huge block of text. When writing the body, you should never have lengthy blocks of text, but instead short, punchy lines. It can be easy to keyword stuff, so be sure to include variations and different combinations from the keyword list, inserting them as naturally as possible into your text. Keep the content user-friendly- remember we are writing for people, not just for search engines.
Bonus
Keep in mind these extra areas when it comes to optimizing your website copy:
- URL slugs. Include the keyword in your slugs for easy onsite optimization
- Call-to-Actions. Be aware of your anchor text. Stay away from phrases such as “Learn More” and “Click Here”
- Bullet Points and Lists. By including these in your copy, it increases the potential for featured snippets
When keeping these principles in mind, you are well on your way to increased organic traffic and better relationships with your visitors! Want to learn more about website optimization? Schedule a time to chat!