Website copywriting is an irrefutable essential component of an integrated digital marketing strategy. Specifically, it falls under the responsibility of a company’s content marketing team to ensure that a business’s site has well-optimized and engaging copy on its website’s pages.
Not only is good website copy necessary for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes, but it also serves as a persuasion tactic to convince your site’s visitors to take the desired action.
If you’re not sure how to write great copy for a website, then you’ve come to the right place. Whether your goal is to persuade your site visitor to take a desired action, or to direct a hot lead to a salesperson on your team, these website copywriting tips will definitely come in handy.
Let’s delve in, shall we?
What is a website copy?
A website copy refers to the written content that appears on a website. It includes everything from the homepage to individual product pages, about us sections, blog posts, and more. Website copy is important because it serves as the voice of the website, representing the brand and communicating its message to visitors.
When creating website copy, it's important to consider the target audience. Different audiences will have different needs and preferences when it comes to website content. For example, a website aimed at a younger audience may use more informal language and incorporate social media trends, while a website targeting an older audience may use more formal language and larger text for easier readability.
What type of content does website copywriting entail?
Website copywriting entails creating written content for various types of pages of a website.
1) Homepage
The page that you definitely to have a good web copy is your homepage. This page typically serves as the main entry point for your site visitors. It typically includes a brief overview of the business or organization, internal links to other pages on the site, mentions of the key benefits your business provides, and some form of social proofing.
2) Landing page
Next, your landing pages should also have well-optimized web copy. These are pages that are specifically designed to convert visitors into leads or customers, often by offering something of value in exchange for contact information or purchase. Landing pages typically have a clear call-to-action (CTA) and are optimized for conversions. The term “landing page” is a generic one that is used to describe a wide variety of web pages. These include service pages, product category pages, and product feature pages.
3) Service page
Services pages: These pages provide information about the various services that a business offers. They should explain what the service is, how it can benefit the customer, and why the business is uniquely qualified to provide it.
4) Product category page
Product category pages: These pages group related products together and provide an overview of what the customer can expect from each category. They should help customers navigate to the products they're interested in and provide information about how the products are different from one another.
5) Testimonials
These are quotes or statements from satisfied customers that provide social proof of the value of a business's products or services. They can be used on various pages of a website to build credibility and trust with potential customers. Some sites, on the other hand, prefer to have a dedicated page just for testimonials and reviews.
6) Product pages
These pages provide detailed information about a specific product, including features, benefits, and pricing. They should help the customer understand why the product is valuable and why they should consider purchasing it. An optimized product page should have a well-written production description that not just explains the product’s features, but also why the reader should buy it.
Why is website copywriting important?
1) Increases your site traffic for SEO purposes
One of the primary reasons website copywriting is essential is that it can help increase your site traffic. If you publish SEO-optimized copies, your website can rank higher in search engine results pages, leading to more traffic to your site.
SEO-optimized copywriting involves incorporating keywords that your target audience is likely to use when searching for your products or services. By optimizing your website copy with the right keywords, you can rank your web page on the search engine results page (SERPs) of the specific queries people are searching for and improve your site's visibility.
Let’s not forget that good website copywriting can also help you generate backlinks from other websites. Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your site. When you have high-quality content on your site, other websites are more likely to link to it. This, in turn, can further push your web page up the SERP.
2) Communicate your brand’s USP, benefits, and brand voice
Website copywriting is also essential because it enables you to communicate your brand's unique selling proposition (USP) and benefits to your target audience. Your USP is what sets you apart from your competitors, and it's what makes your brand unique.
When creating your web copy, it's important to focus on the benefits of your products or services. By effectively communicating your USP and benefits through your website copy, you are helping potential customers understand why they should choose your brand over your competitors. It makes them see how your products or services can solve their problems or fulfil their needs and how you can address their pain points.
3) Enhances your brand’s image
First impressions count.
A well-crafted copy can help build trust and credibility with your target audience. When your website copy is clear, concise, and engaging, it shows that you care about your customers and their experience with your brand.
By showing that you understand your customers' needs and concerns, you can build a stronger connection with them and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry.
4) Persuade your site visitors to convert into leads
Website copywriting can also persuade your site visitors to convert into leads. Your website copy should be written with the goal of encouraging your visitors to take action, whether that's making a purchase, filling out a contact form, or subscribing to your newsletter.
[blockquote] Compelling copy is necessary to help convert site visitors into leads. [/blockquote]
To persuade your site visitors to take action, your website copy should be written in a way that is compelling and persuasive. This involves using language that resonates with your target audience and highlighting the benefits of your offerings.
By showing your visitors how your products or services can help them solve their problems or fulfil their needs, you can increase the likelihood that they will convert into leads.
Top copywriting tips of 2023
1) Use simple and basic sentence structure
When creating web copy, it's important that your content writers keep in mind that visitors are looking for information quickly and easily. That's why it's crucial to use simple and basic sentence structure that is easy to read and understand. In fact, site visitors typically leave a site within 10 to 20 seconds. If you don’t convince them to stay within that timeframe, they can easily go to your competitor’s site.
By using simple sentence structure, you can ensure that your message is clear and easy to comprehend. This can help visitors quickly find the information they're looking for, which can keep them engaged and encourage them to take the desired action.
Besides, the average reader has a reading ability of an eighth grader (someone around 13 to 14 years old). Basic sentence structure thus makes your content more accessible to a wider audience. It can be particularly helpful for people who are non-native speakers of the language, have lower literacy levels, or have cognitive or learning disabilities.
Because at the end of the day, you are not an academic and your site visitors aren’t scholars. So write simply.
2) Directly addresses your target customer's pain points
Directly addressing your target customer's pain points when writing web copy is an effective tactic for several reasons. Doing so helps you communicate with them directly.
By highlighting the challenges or problems that your target customer is facing, you can demonstrate that you understand their needs and are offering a solution to their specific pain points. This can help build trust and establish your brand as a credible and reliable solution provider.
In fact, this is common among software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies. Workstream, for example, is a hiring software that aims to streamline and automate much of the hiring process. By highlighting that many companies still use traditional methods of recording data on paper, it can evoke a sense of frustration among those who potentially need their software solution.
This can appeal to the emotional needs of their target audience and increase the likelihood of them taking action and converting into hot leads.
3) Use persuasive language
Using persuasive language is crucial when writing web copy because it helps to create compelling copy that encourages visitors to take a desired action.
The ultimate goal of web copy is to inform and persuade visitors to engage with the business in some way. This can come through making a purchase, filling out a form, or subscribing to a newsletter.
Persuasive language helps to make the copy more engaging and effective by tapping into the emotions and desires of the reader. This can be achieved through powerful words, vivid descriptions, and persuasive techniques such as social proof, scarcity, and urgency.
For example, a well-written call-to-action (CTA) can persuade visitors to take a desired action by using persuasive language that clearly communicates the benefits of taking that action. A strong CTA can make the difference between a visitor leaving the website without taking action and a visitor becoming a customer.
4) Optimize your copy for SEO
Writing for SEO is important when creating web copy because it helps to improve the visibility and ranking of a website on search engines like Google. By optimizing web copy for search engines, businesses can increase the chances of their website being found by potential customers who are searching for relevant keywords or phrases.
SEO involves various strategies and techniques that are designed to help search engines understand the content of a website and determine its relevance to specific search queries. This includes keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, and content creation.
By incorporating relevant keywords and phrases into web copy, businesses can signal to search engines what their content is about and increase their chances of ranking for those keywords. However, it's important to use keywords strategically and not overdo it, as keyword stuffing can actually hurt a website's ranking.
5) Strategically structure your content with headings and subheadings
Structuring your content for SEO when writing web copy is crucial because it helps search engines understand the organization and relevance of your content. By properly structuring your content, you can increase the chances of your website ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attracting more organic traffic.
This is done through the use of header tags, which are HTML elements that help to organize and structure content on a page. Header tags range from H1 (the main heading) to H6 (subheadings), with H1 being the most important.
Strategic use of header tags in subheadings can improve the user experience by making the content more scannable and easier to navigate. Visitors can quickly understand what a section of content is about by reading the subheading, and search engines can also use this information to better understand the content of the page.
When using header tags in web copywriting, it's important to use them strategically and avoid overusing them. Overusing header tags can confuse search engines and dilute the significance of your content. Aim to use one H1 tag per page for the main heading and use H2, H3, and other subheadings as necessary to organize and structure the content.
By properly structuring your content with header tags, you can also improve the readability of your content, which can improve engagement and encourage visitors to stay on your website longer. This can also help to reduce bounce rates, which is a key factor in SEO.
6) Include images and videos
Including images and videos when web copywriting can greatly enhance the user experience and improve engagement on your website. When done correctly, visual content can capture the attention of visitors and make your website more visually appealing and interesting.
Images and videos can help to break up large blocks of text, making the content easier to read and more visually appealing. They can also help to illustrate complex ideas or concepts in a way that text alone cannot.
Another benefit of including images and videos in your web copy is that they can help to improve engagement and reduce bounce rates. Visitors are more likely to stay on a website that offers engaging and visually appealing content, which can ultimately lead to higher conversions and sales.
7) Use emojis and bold important words or phrases
Using emojis and bold important words or phrases when web copywriting can help to draw attention to key points and make your content more visually appealing. Emojis can add personality and tone to your messaging, making it more engaging and relatable to your target audience.
Bold text can also help to emphasize important information, making it easier for visitors to quickly understand the main points of your content. This can improve the readability of your web copy, and make it more effective at conveying your message. You can even couple this trick with bullet points to make your content even more readable.
8) Ensure that your content is genuinely helpful
Ensuring that your content is genuinely helpful when web copywriting is crucial for building trust with your audience and improving your website's performance. With Google's helpful content update, search engines are prioritizing content that provides real value to users, and penalizing content that is thin or unhelpful.
To improve the helpfulness of your content, it's important to focus on depth and quality. Providing comprehensive and in-depth information on a topic can help to establish your authority and expertise, and make your content more valuable to readers.
In addition, including testimonials or case studies can also help to improve the helpfulness of your content by demonstrating real-world examples of how your product or service has helped others. This can help to build trust with potential customers and improve the credibility of your brand.
9) Use technology to support your content writing
Using technology to support your web copywriting process can offer several benefits that can help you to streamline your workflow, enhance the quality of your writing, and achieve better results for your website.
One way to use technology to support your web copywriting process is by leveraging language generation tools such as ChatGPT. These tools use artificial intelligence and natural language processing to help you generate content ideas, improve the flow of your writing, and suggest alternative wordings that can make your writing more engaging and effective.
By using ChatGPT, you can quickly generate content ideas and get suggestions for improving your writing, which can help you to save time and enhance the quality of your content. This can be especially helpful if you're struggling with writer's block or are having difficulty with the process of writing.
Another tool that can help to support your web copywriting process is Grammarly. This software uses advanced algorithms to analyze your writing and offer suggestions for improving your grammar, spelling, and sentence structure. This helps you produce higher-quality content that is free from errors and mistakes.
9) Ignore your writing for a few hours once you’re done. Then proofread it.
Ignoring your writing for a few hours once you're done can help to improve the effectiveness of your proofreading process. When you've been staring at the same content for an extended period, it's easy to become blind to errors and mistakes.
By taking a break from your writing and returning to it with fresh eyes, you'll be better able to spot mistakes and identify areas that could be improved.
This is because your brain needs time to reset and process the information you've been working on. By taking a break, you allow your brain to "forget" some of the details of your writing, making it easier to spot any errors or awkward phrasings that you might have missed before. Additionally, returning to your writing with fresh eyes can help you to identify areas where you might be able to reword or reorganize your content to make it more effective.
11) Conduct A/B testing
Conducting A/B testing can be an effective way to improve the effectiveness of your web copywriting efforts. By testing different versions of your content and comparing the results, you can gain valuable insights into what works and what doesn't, and make data-driven decisions about how to optimize your content for maximum impact.
A/B testing involves creating two versions of your web copy, with each version featuring a different element that you want to test (such as a headline, image, or call to action). You then randomly show each version to a segment of your audience and compare the results to determine which version performs better.
By conducting A/B testing, you can gain insights into how small changes to your web copy can impact your audience's behaviour and engagement. This can help you to refine your content over time, improving its effectiveness and ultimately achieving better results for your website.
But good website copywriting isn’t sufficient to drive good results
While good website copywriting is certainly important for driving results, it's not sufficient on its own. A well-designed website can be just as critical to the success of your online presence, as it can affect everything from user engagement to search engine rankings.
When it comes to designing a website, there are a few key factors to keep in mind. Your website should be visually appealing, with an intuitive layout and easy navigation that encourages users to explore and engage with your content. It should also be mobile-friendly, with a responsive design that ensures it looks great on any device.
GoDaddy's website builder tool can be a great solution for creating a well-designed website, even if you don't have extensive design or coding experience. The tool offers a range of customizable templates and layouts, making it easy to create a website that reflects your brand and captures your audience's attention.
With GoDaddy's website builder, you can also easily add and customize key website elements like contact forms, social media integration, and e-commerce functionality. And with its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, you can make changes to your website in real-time, without needing to know how to code.
Whether you are a real estate agent trying to design your lead generation site or someone simply trying to create a professional portfolio, GoDaddy’s Website Builders has all the tools you need and more.
Couple compelling copy with a well-designed site to drive optimal results!
And there you have it!
These are the top web copywriting tips of 2023 and we hope you’ve found them helpful. Whether your goal is to persuade first-time site visitors to take a desired action through your CTA or smash those SEO metrics, great copy is definitely a quintessential component.
That said, your web content doesn’t act in silos. In fact, it always works in tandem with other aspects of your digital marketing strategy. And your website design, in particular, plays another crucial role in cementing a credible brand image in the minds of your site visitors.
So what’re you waiting for? Start building your site with GoDaddy’s beautiful templates and fill them up with great copy today!
