How to Make Your Website Copy More Engaging

13 Jan ‘20

In: Web Design & Development, / By: Ripe Media

Web copy can either help or harm your business. When customers visit your business online their first impression is partially determined by words.

Are the words engaging? Or do they push leads away?

If you want success in online marketing, you have to know how to write copy that converts. This kind of copywriting is engaging, interesting, educative delightful, and inspirational.

Keep reading to check out these tips on how to write a great website copy.

Know Your Target Audience

Before you start planning out your writing you’ll need to understand your target audience. Who is your primary audience? And who is your secondary audience?

What questions do they have? Which online platforms are they likely to be found? What kind of information are they interested in?

For example, if you are building a site for a health organization, the primary audience is the patients, while the secondary audience may include doctors, nurses, and surgeons.

Find a balance to ensure that your content is valuable to all your readers.

Write Scannable Copy

People might read books but they scan web copy. Online readers have a very short concentration capacity.

To get the best results from your blog posts, use the inverted pyramid method. Begin your copy with the most important information and end with the less vital details.

Also, use short paragraphs, headers, subheaders, bullet points, and numbered lists. With these components, your content will be reader-friendly and produce better results online.

Use Active Voice

Try to avoid passive verbs when writing your website copy. Using active voice helps create clear and reader-friendly content. For example, say, “She ordered a burger,” instead of, “A burger was ordered.”

Instead of “Services can be booked on our website,” say, “You can book services on our website”. Your content is also more engaging when you address the audience directly. Another good example is “You can accomplish your goal” instead of “Any goal can be accomplished”.

This helps with the overall readability of the content.

Stop Using Jargon

Content gurus have been emphasizing the need to use simple language when writing for an online audience for years. Overcomplicating information is a common digital marketing mistake that can ultimately make readers go in the opposite direction.

As much as you want to flex your knowledge muscles, be careful with making it too difficult for others to understand. Readers want to have a conversation with you when they visit your website. To achieve this, make a habit of writing close to the way you speak.

Keep in mind that not all your customers have a background academic in your field.

Research Your Keywords

In the future, you’ll probably hear many experts say keyword research is a waste of time. This depends on the angle you approach it.

If you are planning on stuffing keywords on your web copy to rank on search engines, then you will continue getting poor results. Research to help your customers find you. For example, if a customer wants to buy a donut in NYC, they will search for “Donut shop in NYC.”

It will pay off if you appear on the first page of search engines for the keyword in such cases.

Add Visuals in Your Web Copy

Learning how to craft an excellent website copy is not solely about writing. You have to know how to use visual content too. Think screenshots, infographics, memes, stock photos, and more.

Reading a 3000-word blog post can be very exhausting. Adding images to break it down can help kill the boredom. To provide a visual break for readers, include relevant and informative images such as screenshots to explain a point.

Layer Website Content

It’s easy to direct your web visitors from one page to another. Help your readers get more relevant information by hyperlinking related phrases and keywords in your website. This will keep the reader stay engaged and keep them on your website for longer.

For example, let’s say you were discussing ways to stay productive at work and you have a sentence like “having a schedule for all your activities, avoid distractions, and create time blocks”. You could hyperlink “create time blocks” to a page/blog post on time management practices from your site.

Including internal links also boost the SEO equity of your website. Keep in mind that only relevant links and helpful links will serve the purpose.

Google advises that you moderate the number of internal links in a blog post (2-3 are enough in a 1000 blog post). Otherwise, the reader will be overwhelmed and not know what to click.

Introduce Yourself to Your Readers

Customers want to have a human experience. If a person visits your site and can’t figure out what you sell within a few clicks they are likely to leave the site. Create a lasting impression by clearly showing what you do and why you’re unique.

One way to connect with the user is by telling customers a story about your company. Tell them how you got started, why you choose your field, and what your plans are.

Take time and think about what makes your brand stand out and include this in your web copy.

Leave Them Wanting More

A good web copy always has a call-to-action (CTA). This could be:

• Contact for more details
• Instruction for downloadable material
• A related blog post that may interest the user
• A video link

CTAs encourage web visitors to interact more with your brand and spread the word to their friends. Make sure you start your CTAs with action verbs such as “Sign Up,” “Join,” “Learn More,” or “Watch.”

Take Your Website Copy to the Next Level

Writing a website copy can be hard work and time-consuming but if you’ve pulled all the essential components together it can be an effective weapon for converting leads to customers. Take your time to make sure you are putting your company’s best foot forward with your words.

Results won’t happen overnight but if you’ve been struggling for a long time to convert visitors from your site then it may be time to reach out for help. Feel free to contact us today if you’re looking to make your web copy optimized for more conversions.

 

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