Congratulations – you just tanked your conversions!
Wait a minute…what?
You have a sexy design in place. You got great inbound traffic. Your on-site SEO is spot-on.
In a nutshell…you’ve done everything right!
But what about your copy?
Most websites, even the big dogs at the corporate level, throw up whatever they can on there and forget about it. But, that’s like giving a car an awesome tune-up and paint job, but then putting up a sign that says, “Car: $5000.”
If you described it more precisely and why it’s such a great car for the next buyer, you could probably get much more, couldn’t you?
View your website copy the same way.
On the front page of her website, Heather Lloyd-Martin, who invented the idea of SEO copywriting, says, “Your website doesn’t need more content for Google. It needs the right content that makes your company more money.”
This article will elaborate on that idea a little further.
Website Copywriting Mistake #1: You, or Someone on Your Own Staff, Did Your Copy
Specialists always do a better job, no? You hire specialists at your company to take care of every set of tasks because you know that repetition at it improves skill.
The same idea applies for writing: someone who does it full-time as a professional knows how to do it better, which nets your company improved results versus using the nearest warm body to do the job.
At a basic level, a website copywriter knows to develop a benefits-oriented headline, create an interesting lead-in sentence and paragraph, write in active voice, and use emotionally charged language, as these provide the best opportunity to get a response out of visitors to your website.
You or your staff person can probably make words flow together well, but that carries a very low likelihood of eliciting the desired response from your customer.
Website Copywriting Mistake #2: No Conversation with the Company
It’s possible to make copy flow well and sound “good” without talking with the client. But good is much different than memorable. If you’re busy hiring work to content mills, you get basic copy that maybe sounds good, but that’s it.
Companies have a number of insights that only they and their staff can have. They also have a ton of great general knowledge that may not be incorporated directly into copy, but it makes a huge difference in its overall presentation.
One of the largest keys in the final copy is the questions the interviewer asks. A standard questionnaire helps, but it’s more of a starting point for extracting the right information from the client.
When I talk with companies and key personnel, I question them aggressively (in a nice way) until I fully understand exactly what’s needed. The information follow-up questions uncover is invaluable.
This happens because business owners, while well-intentioned, don’t know the intricacies behind website copywriting. Therefore, it’s up to a pro copywriter to uncover them.
Website Copywriting Mistake #3: Not Researching the Competition
I can safely say without looking at the copy of most websites that it sucks. I try to be diplomatic in what I say, but frankly, “sucks” is the best word for describing most web copy.
Businesses and corporations like that stale, corporate speak with fancy words like “integrated, dynamic, stand apart, exceptional, capability” and a host of others that project a fancy image but contain no real substance or meaning to anyone. They’ll also say things like “dedicated to excellence, exceptional customer service, and committed to quality and excellence.”
These words sound great, but they don’t sell, and neither do they connect with the modern consumer. This stuff worked 20 years ago.
However, it’s still important to research the competition because, even though the copy sucks, it gives you an idea of the company’s personality. Some smart companies include guarantees and very specific evidence to back up what they say.
Slowly, many others are realizing the need for professional SEO website copywriting services, and occasionally you stumble on that 1 website that does it just right, which gives you a great idea of how to do copy.
Website Copywriting Mistake #4: Not Writing to a Persona
I’ve done writing for many small businesses – very small businesses. Unfortunately, they don’t have the time or resources to develop a customer persona document.
What is this document? It’s everything you know about your customer – gender, relationship preferences, income, standard of living, hobbies, typical employment, and so on.
The reason this is so important is because when you’re writing to a specific person, you’re most likely to get the response you want.
For example, say you’re writing to teenager girls to buy a journal. Do you use dense technical terminology to describe the wonderful features of the journal? Or, do you use their language and talk about exploring fantasy and keeping record of personal secrets?
That’s a pretty high-level discussion, but you get the point: by writing to a specific person, you are more likely to get them to take your desired action.
Website Copywriting Mistake #5: Describing Features, Not Benefits
I harp on this one all the time because it’s the most common copywriting mistake, and it even exists on websites of high-profile products. I always use Amazon as an example of truly awful copywriting.
You can read all about the technical specs of any product, which are features. Benefits don’t talk about features, but instead discuss what a product does for the potential purchaser. If it’s a business laptop you’re buying, you need to know it’s fast, secure, and reliable. Perhaps you’re also interested in large amounts of storage and big screen. Instead, I see “Lenovo G580 15.6? Laptop (Dark Brown IMR/Metal).
What the hell is that and how is it different than any other laptop on that page?
Since there’s no good answer to that question, you’re most likely to move on to somewhere else.
But, here’s the exception to this rule: expert users (business people) or people who just really know the product, buy features. I bought a Lenovo laptop recently because I saw a 15.6? monitor, core i5 processor, 6 GB ram, and 640 GB hard drive space for $500.
What a steal I thought!
But, for people who aren’t laptop experts, you would sell the benefits because that’s what they connect with. They connect with fast, reliable, and affordable.
