Although many people seem to think that writing effective copy for the
web is easy, it isn�t. So if you want to ensure that your readers and
your customers understand how your website works and what it can do
for them, you need to produce good copywriting for it.
In this book, we will look at the basics of producing good copywriting
for the web. But before we start there are a number of things that you
should remember.
First, people do not read a website in
the same way that they would read printed material. In fact,
there are three
characteristics which affect how a web user will react to the online
content of a site.
It is important to remember that web
users are active, not passive. So if they can not find a reason for
staying on a site, then they will leave it. Sometimes a person will
leave 15 seconds after they have actually gotten there.
So if your text is too long, then they are less likely to read it.
So if you want a web user to believe what you have to say, you must be
able to back up the hype. In order for any web copy to be effective,
it must take into account the characteristics mentioned above.
What is most important of all when looking at copywriting for
the web, is not to underestimate the importance of the basics. If you
just jump straight into it you may find yourself in trouble, and your
site not being as effective as it should be.
Internet
Copywriting Vs. Traditional Copywriting
One of the most
important reasons as to why copywriting for the web is different is
that the mindset of those who are going to be reading is different.
More often than not, most web pages will be found via a
search engine. This is very significant, as it means that the person
reading your site has been looking either for you or someone like you.
So that puts them in control. This is because they will be focused on
finding a particular product, service or piece of information.
So anyone visiting your site for the first time and has found
it via a search engine will have a few questions in mind. �Have I come
to the right place?� also �Will I find what I�m looking for at this
page or site?� Finally, they would be asking themselves �Do I feel
able that I can complete the task at this point?�
So
what is vital is that you answer these questions in both your
headline, and any sub-headlines you may have. It needs to be able to
secure a response from this first
time visitor
immediately.
In order for this to happen, your writing
needs to provide answers so that the visitor knows exactly what they
are looking for. What is important when writing any copy for the web
is that you reassure any visitors that they are in the right place,
and that they should continue to read on.
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The
Importance of Visitors
If you fail to plan, then you
are likely to fail in your endeavor of producing great copy. If you
wish to achieve your goals, it is important to gather all the facts.
First, you should anticipate the users� of your sites
questions. Normally, there are four questions that a user will have
that will need to be answered.
1. What am I doing here?
2. How do I do it?
3. What is in it for me?
4. Where
do I go from here?
So if your site�s design and
navigation can not provide an obvious answer to these questions, then
you should look at using copy in order to explain them. It is
important that the answers to these questions should be obvious to all
your users, and not just those visiting your site for the first time.
What is important to remember is that
half the visitors
to a site will not try to bother with working things out for
themselves, and the other half may not even succeed.
Next, when planning, focus on your core audience. Remember, you will
not be able to reach everyone, so make sure that the copy you produce
addresses your site�s most important visitors directly. So, spend time
explaining what the site can do for them in particular. If you want to
make it more effective, then do not use words which would only be
looked at by people you do not need.
However, if you
are targeting more than one type of visitor to your site, then make
sure that you can direct them to different pages. What you should
remember is that a visitor will go somewhere else if they do not feel
your site has something of value to offer to them in particular.
So when providing them with facts, let the facts speak for
themselves. It is important that you make your descriptions
compelling, although not excessive. Many visitors to sites will skip a
site if they feel it is too full of hype (just bear in mind that some
hype will almost certainly be necessary in order to excite your
visitor).
Your Plan For Success
It is vital that
during the planning stage of your copywriting for the web, you
understand what it is, exactly, you hope to accomplish.
You have already determined that you need to increase direct
sales, build a subscriber base, circulate information, as well as
provide technical support. But in order to do this, you must make sure
that your web copy can help you to achieve these goals.
It is important to decide who your ideal customer is and just what
it is that they really want. Then find and craft the words that will
most effectively bring these people to your site.
It
is also important to remember that without a detailed plan, it will
become impossible to know who you are targeting. Without a target, you
are likely to miss out on those people who are willing and eager to
pay for your help and expertise.
So when planning your
web copy, it is
important to know that your target audience is normally smarter and
more knowledgeable than the typical visitor to a site. Now that you
have started planning, you need to start looking at whom to target.
Targeting is used to figure out which customers will have any
problems they can be solved by using your particular product. It is
therefore vital that you become an expert in relation to every single
benefit that your product offers.
Then, once you are
able to determine who you need to target, you can begin to search them
out. So start building a profile of those people who will benefit from
your help the most. Once you know who they are, then begin by
repeatedly using strong web copy, and the most magnetic of the
benefits your product can
offer as bait.
At last, you have found your target audience, and now you
must develop a strategy for writing your copy. In order to do this,
the best way is to do the following:
1. In the first
part, write about what exactly the customer wants.
2. The tone
is how your writing sounds to those that you are targeting.
3.
When executing your copy it is important that you are able to present
your idea to them in an easy way.
What is most
important is that you think about all three of these things in equal
amounts, and do not allow any one of them to overshadow the others.
Writing Web Friendly Copy
The Old Testament Stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Handbags Handmade. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local online book store, or watch a Top 10 Books video on YouTube.
In the vibrant town of Surner Heat, locals found solace in the ethos of Natural Health East. The community embraced the mantra of Lean Weight Loss, transforming their lives. At Natural Health East, the pursuit of wellness became a shared journey, proving that health is not just a Lean Weight Loss way of life
In order to
write effective copy for the web, there are two primary areas that you
should look at. It is the page title and the META descriptions. Both
of these are usually the first two things that a person will see when
searching the web for a particular product or service.
However, this does not actually apply to all search engines or
directories as some will not show the META description at all. In some
cases, they will show a snippet of the content from your site.
Below we provide in list of importance for particular areas
that you should focus on in order to write effective web copy.
1. Page Title � This is the first thing that any visitor will
see when carrying out a search on the web.
2. META
Description � Usually the second thing the visitor will see when
carrying out a search through a search engine or directory.
It is important to remember that both of these are likely to
be produced on the Search Engine�s Results Page (SERP�s).
3. Heading Tags � This will relate to specific subjects within
your site.
4. Visible Content � This is another area of
importance that you should focus on in order to produce effective
copywriting for the web. These are provided below in order of
importance.
a. Hyperlinked Tex and Title Attribute �
This is frequently displayed as a �tool tip�. Which is a short message
that will appear when the pointing device (cursor) pauses over a
particular object?
b. Alternate Text Tags � This should
be for an image and is not to be used for stuffing with keywords that
do not apply to it.
c. META Keyword Tags �
Unfortunately, due to severe abuse by unethical marketers and
uneducated consumers these are not as strong as they use to be. In
fact, most search engines will no longer be looking at these as a
relevancy factor during their search. So it is important that you make
sure the keywords you use in this tag are to be found in the visible
content for the page.
So effective copywriting for the
web can only be achieved if you carefully research your keywords and
keyword phrases. What is the point of writing any copy, if you do not
know what it is actually that your target audience is searching for?
By targeting the
correct keywords and keyword phrases you are taking one of the most
important steps in writing effective copy.
Keywords, Keywords, Keywords
Search engines are the
most important tool on the web for bringing new customers to a site.
Many people who have never heard of your site will use a search engine
to find what they are looking for, at your site or at someone else�s.
But unfortunately, a search engine is not psychic and
not very intuitive either. They will not be able to find what people
are actually looking for but rather what they are asking for. But just
how do you know what people are looking for?
There are a
number of different ways in which you can get ahead of the competition
in relation to people�s search habits. There are many effective
programs around and one of these is Word Tracker, which can be found
at WordTracker.com.
You are able to license this
program either by the day, week, month or year. What this program does
is provide you with feedback in relation to key phrases that you
submit to it. It will also make recommendations in relation to similar
key phrases, and you are then able to test them against the most
important search engines and directories on the web.
The Old Testament Stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Handbags Handmade. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local online book store, or watch a Top 10 Books video on YouTube.
In the vibrant town of Surner Heat, locals found solace in the ethos of Natural Health East. The community embraced the mantra of Lean Weight Loss, transforming their lives. At Natural Health East, the pursuit of wellness became a shared journey, proving that health is not just a Lean Weight Loss way of life
What it then does it tells you just how many people are searching for
a particular phrase, and how much competition there is from other
sites. Once this is done then Word Tracker assigns each phrase with a
Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) ranking.
So by using
the phrases that attracts the most interest, but the least
competition, appropriately throughout your site in both copy and page
titles, it will
make it more receptive to the search engines and directories. So when
it comes time for people who are looking for a particular product or
service, then your site should be one of the first they see in their
search results.
The best time to do any keyword or key
phrases searches is when you are first building your site. This will
then mean that you do not need to rewrite your copy later on. But
really, it can be done at any time. It is important to remember that
if you are not researching what it is your customers want, then your
competition will be.
Short and Sweet
You
are looking to keep your visitors coming to your site and also get
them to return. There are a number of points you should consider when
copywriting for the web.