Your new website is going to look fantastic, that’s a given.

But what about the content… the words? Will the copy you’ve written be working just as hard as the design?

Google cannot rank your website based on how gorgeous it looks because it can’t ‘see’ your site. It will rank your website based on how your visitors react, for instance, how long they stay, how many pages they visit, how they move around your site. If a visitor lands on your home page and clicks out of your site within a few seconds, your site notches up a negative. When a visitor stops and browses several pages, your site notches up a positive in the eyes of Google.

So the words you use need to keep your visitors interested and wanting more…

The tone and style of language used is important – pompous expertise is trumped by friendly expertise, that’s obvious, but how do you know if the copy you want to use in your website will turn people on, or off? What if we suggested that you get it checked over by a complete outsider who’s task is to give you a totally objective review?

To ensure your website sounds as good as it looks, consider the following options:

Website copy checklist:

Definitely don’t…

  • Hand over your copy and let us review it objectively – no obligation, no charge.
  • Provide us with ‘what you’ve written so far’ and let us complete the work for you.
  • Use our in-house copywriter to create your website content from scratch (after a one-to-one consultation to determine your needs).
  • Source your own professional copywriter and supply us with finished website-ready copy.

We cannot stress enough how important your website copy is – it can literally kill a website to populate it with poor quality copy writing, for which no amount of superb SEO will get your site moving up the page rankings (and precisely why we are happy to give you a free copy ‘health check’!).

If you do decide to write your website copy yourself, before submitting it for a free review, below are a few helpful tips…

  • Get your point across quickly – time is precious – wordy copy will generate a high click-away rate.
  • Is your copy style lively and friendly, does it retain interest? Try to avoid jargon, corporate ramble, clichés and padding.
  • Have you communicated your uniqueness? Is your copy impressive and persuasive?
  • Have you provided evidence that you do what you say you do, for instance, testimonials and case studies?
  • Are your words believable? Do they come across with integrity? Gushy, insincere copy is a turn-off.
  • Is your reader prompted to take action immediately? Are all your contact details easily accessible?
  • What questions might your customer be asking as he or she reads your copy? Have you answered all potential questions?
  • Can you walk a mile in your customer’s shoes and look at your website from their viewpoint?
  • Would the sentence structure, spelling, punctuation and grammar get you a high grade in a GCSE exam?

…copy text from anywhere, especially other websites – copy must be unique – goggle can detect duplicate content and will skim over what it recognises as duplicate copy, which won’t help your page rank (you can also land up in court for intellectual theft!).

…stuff your copy with keywords, this is an old technique that is no longer relevant.  Your copy needs to flow naturally, easily and be a pleasure to read, constant mental interruptions caused by unnecessary extra keywords is thankfully a thing of the past!

…dither! If in doubt, hand it over to us to do!

If you want page-rank-boosting copy that your website audience will love, let us help you – it’s what we’re good at!

For more information and an idea of costs, please call us on 01908 507848 or email copy@narkedesign.com