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Tips for Writing Web Copy (Part II – Writing for an Online Audience)
Writing for the Web can be a bit tricky. It’s different than writing for any other medium because you really want to engage the reader and get them to take action immediately, right there on the site. With the average user spending a maximum of 7-12 minutes on a site, you have very little time to catch their attention and persuade them to take action so its important to that your site is as clear and easy to use as possible. Keeping that in mind, here’s a few things you may also want to consider when you’re writing content for your Website.
1. Write for the Scanner – Keep your content short and break it up. When it comes to the Web, less content is almost always more. Don’t worry about using big words or impressing your readers with your extensive vocabulary. It’s about communicating, plain and simple. So keep your writing plain and simple. Lists, bullet points, headings and subheading breakup the content and make it easier to digest. Don’t be afraid to use graphics to draw the readers’ attention to important information or your compelling offers.
2. Write for your Target Audience – You want to write your content for your target audience, using a wring style appropriate for them and words they are likely to use, not industry jargon. It’s okay to speak directly to your reader using “you” rather than “our customers” or “clients.” It sets a more conversational tone, which is typical for the Web and it conveys a more personal message, which can also be an affective advertising strategy.
3. Write for the Searcher – An important thing Web content can do for a site is supply keywords so the site can be found in search engines. It sounds simple, but what you want to do is put the words people are searching for into your site’s copy. And unless you are one of the luck few, those words are probably not going to be your brand or company name. It may be the benefits of your product, the service you provide or the product itself. Here’s a couple of keyword generating tools that may help you identify some words your target is searching for:
When it comes to Web copy, repetition is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s important to get those keywords into your page copy and headings a couple of times, as well as in the title and description tags.
These are some simple suggestions to help you write more effective Web copy, but when it comes down to it, content is about selling. If you want to get more out of your Website, make sure your content effectively communicates your marketing message, including competitive positioning and compelling offers, and drives your reader to take action.
