Five Objectives of Website Copy


While many businesses concentrate a great deal of emphasis on website graphics and the creation of an aesthetically pleasing, provocative site, they end up lacking immensely in verbal content. Informative, compelling text is not only vital for the confidence of potential clients, but it allows search engines something to search. SO, where should you start? Let’s look at five significant things you can accomplish with text.

1. Establish what sets you apart from other competitors.

What would compel a customer to buy from you rather than another businesses offering similar products or services?

It’s not necessary to discredit your competition – this isn't necessary or even advisable in most cases. Instead, express to visitors genuinely what makes your approach to the business unique. What is your competitive advantage? If you specialize in a certain area or have a unique approach, tell them how and why. Establishing your differences helps your visitors become more informed buyers of the products or services you offer.

2. Satisfy their need to know.

Studies have shown that researchers often use the web to do basic searches first, going back later to convert on a site or look up your business. To the extent that you anticipate and answer research questions, you give your visitors exactly what they are looking for and begin to earn their trust and loyalty from the start.

To create this content, ask yourself, "What would I need to know if I were in the market for this product or service?" Think of different ways to present the information. To show your visitors how your businss could benefit them consider adding one or more case studies to your site, describing how your product or service has helped a customer to solve a problem and overcome challenges in the past. You might also add a Frequently Asked Questions page, which can be a powerful marketing tool that raises questions that you think customers may ask.

Sometimes, just by raising an issue and providing information, you will be able to establish a competitive difference. As visitors research other sites, they may look for more information on issues, benefits, and features that that they learned about on your site. If a competitor's site doesn't adequately address something that they have become interested in, you will have gained an edge.

3. Teach!

Chances are that visitors will appreciate any advice you care to give. Writing articles related to your business and publishing them on your site can put you in the enviable situation of being perceived as an authority.

Consider asking visitors for their email address in return for access to your articles. You'll build a targeted contact list that allows you to create ongoing relationships, send special offers and continue to provide useful information.

4. INCREASE your visibility.

To a search engine, the best sites consist of many HTML files, each one text rich. If one of your articles mentions a topic for which you have more information, embed links to the extra information.

Even more importantly, you'll find that other sites link to pages with useful information. For example if you run an online art store, having numerous sites linked to your articles on art techniques will direct artists to your business, improving your natural (free) search engine rankings.

5. Learn what interests your visitors.

One of the great things about adding a lot of text-based information to your site is that you can find out which topics and issues are most interesting to your visitors. In Google Analytics, the Top Content report (in the Content section) shows you how many visits to your site resulted in views of each page and the average amount of time that visitors spent on the page.

You can also look at the Site Overlay (in the Content section) and see which links visitors click on most frequently, giving you an idea of what your visitors find most interesting.

Try to continuously improve your content mix using what you learn from these reports. By keeping an eye on what the analytics are telling you, you'll learn more about your visitors and be able to provide just the information they are looking for.

To find out more, please contact us using the form at the bottom of the page.