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What makes the top-tier business websites stand out and get the most traffic? From their business niche to the quality of their products, a lot of factors play a role. The one thing they all have in common is the effort they put into website copywriting and creating an attractive copy.
Great website copy drives more traffic, helps you get more leads, and in turn makes you successful. Do it the wrong way and you will end up with little to no traffic.
Don’t worry. We can fix that in a jiffy. We’ll cover the basics of how to start from square one, a step towards SEO DIY, and compete with your peers to get the best results.
Before getting into the art of website copywriting, let’s do an assessment, shall we?
Carefully planning helps you understand where you are and where you could be after you put in the work. This applies to your website too.
I hope you are not one of the few businesses that just create a website and let it sit there for no reason (yes, they do exist!).
What you need to know is that 75% of customers judge you based on your website. That is three in every four visitors.
The question is this: what do you want your website to do for you?
In my opinion, a website should be able to promote and advertise your business. It should also contain information about who you are, what product or services you offer, and where you’re located; overall, it should represent your business online. When you have well-crafted web content, you can go a long way.
Not all web pages are the same. Every page on your website has a specific goal, and you need to write a suitable copy for that.
The About page shows who you are, what plans you have, and the long-term vision for your business. On the other hand, the Services page focuses on convincing the customer of the value of what you offer and seals the deal. The intent, target audience, and style of writing are entirely different.
Source: Content Marketing Institute
“How many pages do I need for my website?”
The answer to this question depends on the type of website and how many pages of content you are willing to create. No matter what your area of expertise is, every business website must have these 4 pages:
Outranking.io helps you write copy for your website quickly with the help of AI. No matter if you want to create long-form blog posts or a page with only a few hundred words, this will become your reliable writing assistant.
Did you know that with a poor website design, you are constantly losing potential customers? 38% of visitors don’t tolerate poor web design.
Website copywriting goes hand-in-hand with responsive web design. The layout supports the content and in turn, makes it more engaging. You can go outside the box to design an innovative web page.
Here’s the About page of Blake Suarez. This unconventional page has a contact form so that the visitor can sign up for the newsletter or contact him.
The visitor checks out the details and signs up on the same page. Two birds with one stone!
You are now at the drawing board. It’s time to learn the basics of copywriting.
As a business, you offer a product that is the solution to the customer’s problem. To sell your product and gain the visitor’s attention, you need to address the problem first.
Take nutritional supplements for instance. Here is how the best brands write copy for them: they emphasize the visitor’s issue. It could be improving physical performance or working on a deficiency. They address why they should work on this issue and advise them to take action. The website copy then offers their product as the solution.
Did you see how they started? Address the visitor’s issue because that is what matters the most.
Have you read a business web page and an informational article side by side? Try it out and you will find significant differences. Writing an article, an essay, or an eBook is entirely different from writing a webpage.
Website copywriting takes you to a different dimension. The language is assertive, direct, and intriguing. That is how effective web pages should be: the content should convince the visitor to make a move.
Another difference you see is the content length. Even the catchphrase is chosen in a way to stay in the visitor’s head (and some brands are known for their patented catchphrases).
Here’s what a webpage should not have:
Have you heard the modern saying, “Speak less, they’ll listen more”?
Well, it’s true.
Do not clutter your copy with unnecessary information or big words. Keep it short, concise, and to the point. You can add a few details here and there, but do not make it your main goal to leave a long message.
You want visitors to come back because they enjoyed your copy, not because they could not understand it.
Website copy is not just a hook to lure in your visitors. Marketing aggressively is one-dimensional, and it does not bring the expected results. It’s not just that. If you don’t customize your web content and choose a solid web template, people may find it unappealing and skip it altogether.
Instead, imagine that you are talking to a person, understanding their needs, and offering your product. Convince them that it could be the answer they have been looking for all along.
Calls-to-action is part of copywriting 101, but new copywriters often don’t get this right.
Here’s the important thing: all copies must have a strong CTA. Period. If you leave it out, that’s an essay, and now you leave your visitor stranded with no option but to leave.
Do you want them to leave? Of course not. Start with one relatable action they can take after reading the copy. We’ll now cover how to build strong CTAs that offer the best results. Keep reading.
If you want to know what a good copy is, start by discovering how it’s written. Here are the elements that make up an effective copy:
The top websites have a conversion rate of 5.31%. Now, that’s massive!
Have you checked out the top landing pages of successful eCommerce websites? Check out this landing page from Lyft. Notice how simple it looks.
You will notice one thing in common—good landing pages have a single focus, and they produce results. This is what your landing page should be: direct and precise to get the job done.
There is no need to distract visitors with unnecessary information. Focus on your theme, product, or service, and don’t try to do everything at one go. Make it simple for visitors to understand and engage with you.
The first thing that comes to your mind after launching your business is that you want everybody to notice it.
In reality, that doesn’t happen at all. Only those who are interested in your niche check your website, and the website copy offers just that.
Here’s what you should do: have a vision of who your audience is. Most likely, they are a smaller group than you think, and that’s okay. It’s better to aim and fire than to wait and hope that you will hit the target in some way.
You are confident about your products and the services you offer. But when Sam, Peter, and seven of your other customers approve of it, now that means you are on another level.
Why not show it off? Customer testimonials are a sign of credibility, and 91% of visitors trust them. It psychologically reinforces that you can be trusted.
Think about it. What happens when you’re shopping online and you see a one-star review? You read the review that explains how bad the product is and you start doubting it (even though there are 40 five-star reviews!) Your visitors care about the stars, so make them prominent.
The point is simple: quality over quantity.
Check out Amazon Prime Video’s CTA.
It’s simple to copy with only one CTA. You know what? That one CTA is perfectly designed with no distractions, with the right size and color to help the visitor sign up.
Imagine that the same page has two extra buttons. It could help, but for landing pages like this, one solid CTA works magic.
One of the best ways to stand out is to point out the issue that your product or service can fix. Sometimes the issue is so painful that the customer desperately needs a solution for it. The best example here is Spotify’s ads.
Everyone knows that ad-free music is great. Spotify stresses this in all of its ads and offers multiple plans so that the listeners have options to try out.
What you offer is unique and helps your customer. So, hold back on the promotions a little and analyze what the customer really needs.
Remember where we said your Contact page is one of the four essential pages on your website?
Your customer might be reading your blog, going through your products, or looking at your landing page waiting to get in touch. A CTA is not the right option here.
Check this contact form from Pixpa. Notice how easy and simple it is.
The best part of a Contact page is that it can act as a newsletter page too. You can add a contact form where you request their email. Now that is hitting two birds with one stone!
Yes, it does!
How many website copywriters do you think to settle for their first draft? The answer is zero.
Everyone knows that there’s room for improvement, so here’s what you can do. Write the first draft with whatever you have in mind. It will end up longer than you expected.
Now, follow an elimination process by cutting out things that don’t offer value. Once you reach the end, you will have a crisp and precise webpage that delivers the best results. That is what the best web copy does, right?
Many businesses decide that they can save money by hiring someone with less skill and experience to write their website copy. But most of the time, things don’t go according to plan.
Hiring freelance website copywriters can cost anywhere from $40 to $150 an hour. Not all freelance copywriters are the same, and they can be tedious to work with.
Here’s what you can do: hire a website design services company. Spend time and money deciding on the best copywriting plan for your website.
To write a Services page, it will cost about $250 to complete the job. Articles can vary between $100 and $300 depending on the niche and content length.
If you are looking to skip the hiring process and forget about website copywriting rates, you can write copy on your own. I know that starting off would be tough, but you can find a ton of copywriting templates and copywriting examples online.
If you need assistance down the road, choose Outranking’s AI-based editor, which helps you create web content that delivers the best results. Hop on and try it out now!
