Monday, February 6, 2012

Does Your Website Content Stack Up?



Your website copy can be one of the most underestimated weapons in your marketing arsenal. Businesses often put a lot of resources and care into the design of their website, and rightly so. It’s the copy, however, that will take that viewer and turn them into a customer.

Every few months or so, you may want to take a quick read through your website content, to see if it is still a good representation of your business. At this point it’s a good idea to consider whether you have new products or services available, or something posted that you no longer offer.

Your website content is pivotal to your business. A beautiful design with a weak approach to content will fall short of the goal every time. It needs to make your website viewer feel warm and welcome. It needs to answer questions before they even know they have them.

Your content should be friendly. It should draw people in and make them want to do business with you. It should make them want to complete your call to action, whether it is to contact you, purchase online, or drive to the store.

Here are a list of five things that will help your viewers through that call to action. It’s a list of five things that will help show them you are ready for their business.

Is Your Header Engaging?

Think of newspaper headlines. The whole point is to grab your reader’s attention, and pull them in. You want to do the same thing here. This should be the place where you tell readers exactly what it is your business does. If you can, use your keyword phrase in the same headline. If not, two headers is generally OK.

Is Your Content Timely?

Nothing shuts a viewer off quicker than clicking on an events page, to see that the lead item is a preview for an event that happened three months ago. It’s important to stay current, and pull that type of information from your site right after it happens.

Consider the Voice

It is possible to use a distinct voice, and still be professional in the way that you present your business. Sometimes a little personality is what makes your business stand out from the competition. Go ahead, give yourself a little flair. It may just be what propels somebody from point A to point B in your copy.

It’s OK To Brag A Little

This is your website, and you are trying to increase sales. Go ahead, tell us about the awards you’ve won. Tell us what the satisfied customers think of your business, with a testimonial section. You’d do the same thing if you were looking for a job with a resume. It’s the same principle here, only you are looking for customers.

Give Some Value

Think about that viewer who doesn’t intend to buy today. Did they still learn something by going through your website? Your website is the perfect place to take a minute and explain what it is you do, and why it is important.

2 comments:

  1. Hi, Matthew.

    Overall, I think that this is a god blog post.

    My favorite part is the last part...you suggest that the website owner ask whether the visitor will get any value from his or her visit.

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  2. Thanks Chris! I appreciate it. If you can educate the person on the issue, they're more likely to come back to you.

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