The change of even one word on your website can increase clicks by 90%.
Using ‘my’ instead of ‘your’ on your call to action may seem insignificant but in a study by Michael Aagard of Content Verve, it resulted in a 90% increase in clicks.
Having the right content on your website is important, not just for increasing clicks but also to build trust, get visitors to take action, and help you to rank higher in search engines.
Common content mistakes on websites include not highlighting how you are different, not being clear, or not showing the value of the service or product you offer.
But there are ways to fix this and have your website become a 24/7 salesperson that attracts your audience, convert them, and retains them.
So, how do you do this?
The dynamic duo: content and web design
Most people (94%) will instantly create an opinion on your business by its website design. If your website doesn’t look appealing, then they won’t stick around to read the content.
Ensuring your website is designed correctly is your first hurdle.
White space
You may have a lot to say but don’t put it all on your website.
Make sure you are concise with your copy, only including the most relevant information.
This allows you to have lots of white space on your website. This means a clean and uncluttered design that has lots of space between information and visuals, making it easier to read.
Visualisation
If you have content such as statistics, can you make them visual instead? Could you create a graph that makes the information clear on a glance?
Web visitors will skim read information and making the information visually appealing lets them do this quickly without missing the point.
Formatting
Make your copy easier to read by including headings, bullet points, and keeping paragraphs to around four sentences or shorter.
Content that converts
Once your website looks good, it’s time to focus on the copy.
Tone of voice
How you speak to your audience across all your marketing channels should be consistent to create a personality that your customer associates you with.
Are you a positive personality or maybe you’re sarcastic. Whatever tone you want to create, make sure it’s consistent.
Voice of customer
To get your copy right, you need to know your customer.
Do you know what their role is, what their challenges are, where they get their information? For your copy to resonate with your audience you need to understand them and what they’re looking for.
You can also add the ‘voice of customer’ to your copy. This means getting direct quotes from your ideal customers and using those words and phrases in your copy.
You can get this information from previous customers, competitors’ customers, review sites, and lots of other places.
For example, if a previous customer said, “I can integrate the principles into practice.”
You could use this phrase, “principles into practice” in your copy such as a headline which will show your customer you get them.
SEO success
Once you’ve created your copy, you can think about SEO.
Keyword research helps your content to be found by your audience, but you must write your content with the customer in mind first.
Use keywords when appropriate and only when it sounds natural. You can also add keywords to your headings, your URL, your meta descriptions and image descriptions.
You can also include them in your call to actions. For example, instead of having ‘click here’ on the main button on your website, you could say something like, ‘get my free web audit’ or ‘book my holiday getaway’.
Your content can make a big difference to the success of your website. It’s often best to get an outsider to at least look over your copy to ensure you’re on the right track.
If you’d like help writing your web copy, get in contact with Rebecca at Rebecca Boyle Copywriting.
