Good writing consists of good thoughts, clearly expressed. This becomes very important on your website. Consider the following statistics.
A recent Webmarketingezine survey of 327 business sites indicated:
– 96.3% had content nobody appeared to read
– 72.4% never mentioned product or service benefits
– 74.4% used jargon words their own target readers were unlikely to understand
You want your business website to do one, two or all three of the following:
1. Be informational
2. Sell a product or service
3. Capture leads
Good content is the best way for your site to achieve its purpose. Here are six ways to improve your website words and with it, your internet marketing:
Print readers read, web readers scan- This means your copy must be easy to read. Keep your important points in the beginning of paragraphs. Keep your sentences short (less than fifteen words) and paragraphs shorter (no more than seven lines). Use bullet points, numbered lists or underlined beginnings to focus your visitors.
80% of web searches begin with keywords- Develop keywords/phrases that match your business. Then place them on each page of your site. Tools like Wordtracker or Keyword Discovery can help you find which words get searched the most. For example, the top three searched words in 2008 were lyrics, yahoo and my space.
Write to express not impress- As with sentences and paragraphs, shorter words work better. Use car instead of automobile, meet instead of assemble and crook instead of criminal.
You also want to be specific. Use the phrase 200 pound dog rather than large animal. Half carat diamond is better than jewelry and 5701 South Mayfield says more than 57th and Mayfield.
Use one idea per sentence- While writing this, I did a yahoo search for insurance agency. Here is a sentence from the first website I found:
“As an independent agency, we can provide coverage from several different companies which enables us provide you with the right insurance coverage for your needs.”
This 25 word sentence contains three separate ideas. This is how that might be rewritten:
We serve you as an independent insurance agency. Being independent means we have access to several top insurance companies. Having multiple choices means your insurance needs will always be met.
Highlight benefits. Not features- You want your site to bring out the benefits of your product or service. Instead, too often, websites feature… well- features.
Below is a sentence from another google search I just did for consultants.
XXX experienced staff of engineers, planners and environmental scientists understands the issues and challenges of public works projects and expertly solves them to make plans into realities.”
Experience, scientists, understands and solves are features of the company, not benefits to the prospect.
If you were to point out benefits, it might read something like this:
At XXX Consultants, 134 years of scientific knowledge will be put to work on your environmental project.
Make sure your copy reads well for your prospect- I just did a search for desks. Can you guess what the words below described?
“The XXX laminate line offers a variety of mix and match modular components constructed of a thermal fused melamine laminate and finished with a 3mm matching PVC edge. All workstations are equipped with grommets and all floor standing units come equipped with leveling glides. All components meet or exceed ANSI/BIFMA standards.”
If you guessed reception desk you must be in the office furniture business.
The funny thing is that the words below follow the ones above:
“Greet your visitors properly with the LEGACY reception unit. Providing ample workspace and storage to help enable you to get your work done and a 42 high counter for the convenience of your guests. Give your reception room an extra touch with our lounge area furniture including sofas and wood frame guest chairs.”
Now, that works! In fact, I would use these three sentences only (with some simple changes, of course!).
I would label the other words as technical information and put them elsewhere on the site.
According Internet World Stats, in 2008, internet usage penetrated 21.9% of the world population of 6.6 billion.
Now, your business may be as complicated as a rocket engine. But when you put it on the internet, for 21.9% of the world to see-
Simplify, with Benefits.
Steve Wyrostek- Internet Copywriter
Steve brings years of management, owner and word experiences to your internet writing project. All writing includes keyword research/placement, rewrites and proofreading.
Contact him at 847-803-6991
steve@noclichecopy.com
noclichecopy.com