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4 Ways to Improve Your Website Copy

improve your website copy

When most people think about a website, they probably first think what it looks like. They want clean lines, impressive images, and rich colors that represent their brands. They care that the site works on whatever device they happen to be using at the moment or that it loads quickly, but how many people do you talk about mention that they care about their website copy to the same degree?

While not as many people focus on their site copy (or get as excited about it) as they do their designs, the truth is it’s your copy that’s going to sell your business first. The copy is what helps to bring in site visitors from Google, then should work to show them how YOU solve THEIR problems, what benefits you provide, then walk them through your story, reinforce your expertise, and then, most importantly, convince them to take that next step.

So copy may not be the “fun” part of a website, but it is the most important to make sure your site is actually marketing you and your business. While there are tons of ways to make your copy better, we’ve compiled our 4 top ways to improve your own website copy:

1. Make it Skimmable

Think about how you look at a website. Do you read everything? Did you even read those long textbook assignments in college? I didn’t think so.

There’s a reason why short, to-the-point copy is becoming the new norm. People are busy and they want the quickest way to see what they need to see. So, make it easy for your readers to skim. Bold key passages (notice how I did in our intro?), use short sentences, and employ bullets.

After all, bullets make it easy to:

  • Read quickly
  • Get the major points
  • And keep the eye moving.

2. Speak Your Buyers’ Lingo

This is harder than it sounds. In your own industry, you have specific terminology for everything from your services to even the problems you’re solving. But think about your normal buyer – do they know what those terms mean? Probably not all the time.

Instead of focusing on what YOU would say, think about what THEY would say. Not entirely sure how to do that? Talk to a couple of your best clients, and see how they talk about your service. After all, as much as they might love you and your business, they’re mostly focused on how you can solve their problems. So make sure you’re using terms they’ll get without thinking about it too much.

3. Turn it Into a Conversation

I’m not sure if this is entirely social media’s fault, but business has become very personal. With the way the internet makes it feel like people are closer to us even when they’re thousands of miles away, we seem to crave that connection in every aspect of our lives, even in business. And with social media marketing becoming a normal part of business, consumers want more and more to feel like they’re connecting with a real human being on the other end.

That translates into your website copy, too. Make your browser feel as if you’re talking to them. It not only helps keep your language from being stilted and stuffy, it also helps keep your readers’ eyes moving. Most people in conversation don’t speak in long, rambling, run-on sentences. Think about how you and your office talks (out loud) and try to emulate that in your copy. Then when those browsers want to become buyers they’ll feel like they know you already.

4. Always Include a Call to Action

This is important for so many reasons, but key is directing your user into the “what next” action. They’ve read about how awesome you are and all the great work that you do, but what do they do now? That’s different depending on your business. You might want them to Buy Now, Call You Today, or Fill Out This Form, but whatever it is, you need to make that answer clear and easy to determine.

And a Call to Action doesn’t have to be just at the bottom of the page either. If you have a longer page of content, see if one naturally fits after a block or paragraph of copy because their mind may be made up by then.

Make it Easy to Take Action

At the end of the day, the point of your copy should be two-fold: showcase your benefits (what problem you solve) and make it easy to take an action. The longer you make your customers wait to get in touch with you, the more sales you lose. Think about your copy as a conversation with a prospect. What do you jump into with your in-person sales pitch? Do you ramble for 30 minutes, or are you more casual and spending more time getting to know about them and their needs? When you approach your copy as you would a sales call, you’ll be surprised how it can change and become less salesy and more benefit-driven for all of your readers.

Not sure how to get there? Let’s talk about it! (See what I did there???)

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