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

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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.

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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.