How to Write Effective Web Copy

Writing effective web copy begins with an understanding of what the goals of your web site are. Are you trying to get your visitors to purchase something or have them sign up for your newsletter? Remember you are trying to get someone you can't see and have never met take a step towards building a relationship with you or your company.

1. Create a customer profile - try to find out what are the needs and desires of your visitors. Here are some examples of questions you could ask: Are they young, middle aged or senior? Are they primarily male or female? Are they financially secure or budget-minded? What gets him or her excited? What are his or her most pressing concerns?

Try to brainstorm a list of topics that might interest your target audience.

2. Create a Unique Selling Position (USP) - This is a statement of 2-3 sentences that explains why you are different from everybody else. This is the unique factor that sets you apart from your competition. Make this the first thing your visitor sees when they arrive on your home page.

3. Focus on benefits - most web users want to find the information about the product or service they need as fast as possible. If they land on your site, they want to know how they will benefit from buying your product or subscribing to your ezine. You will need to answer that question as clearly and concisely as possible or you will lose that visitor.

4. Use the inverted pyramid style - provide a summary of your information by clearly communicating the direction of your discussion. Use informative headings and subheadings with a paragraph of 4 to 5 lines that supports them. You only have a few seconds to grab your visitors attention. Most will simply scan for the information they are seeking.

Use bulleted or numbered lists, boldface or colored font to emphasize the points you wish to make. Include links at the end of your paragraph (or within the text) to direct visitors to other pages of your site for more in-depth information.

5. Write in an informal or personal style - write in a unique way that differentiates you from other small businesses in a similar business or niche. It doesn't have to be elaborate or super-creative. You simply provide a style that gets the attention of your visitors.

6. Keep your sentences simple - you are not writing to impress. You are writing to communicate. You want to pre-sell your product or service, therefore write as if you are talking to a 13 year old.

Don't use large words but opt for strong verbs over weak ones. Use the active voice instead of a passive one. i.e. Instead of "a good score was achieved by the team".say "the team scored a season high". Speak "to" but not "at" your visitor. Keep your sentences short and snappy.

7. Include searchable keywords - use targeted keywords in your web copy that will allow the search engines to find your site. Include these keywords in your meta tags, links and file names also.

8. Eliminate the fluff - don't waffle on in your writing. You will only bore your visitors and they will click elsewhere. Try to remove filler sentences that contain phrases like "for those of you" and "all of you".

9. Proof read your web copy - errors in your web copy give the impression of being unprofessional or sloppy. Read the copy aloud to yourself or get someone else to proof read it. Often they will find more errors because they are more objective.

Use the spell checker but don't rely on it. Often it doesn't pick up all incorrectly spelt words. Print a copy of your content. It's easier to find grammatical or spelling errors on a hard copy.

10. Take a break - revise your web copy after taking a break from it for several hours or a few days. This allows you to see it from a different viewpoint. You may find a better way to say something to further improve your copy.

11. Use images sparingly - images should only be used if they relate and support your web content. If not, they will only distract the visitor from reading your web copy. Too many images will slow down the time it takes for your visitor to load your site in their browser.

12. Use effective navigation - your navigation bar should help visitors easily find the main sections of your site. Read: "How to Create an Effective Web Site Navigation Structure" (http://www.isitebuild.com/navigation)

Writing effective web copy is the key to converting visitors into buyers. Getting 1000s of visitors to your web site doesn't guarantee sales. Reading your web copy should pre-sell your product with the words you use. Once you achieve this, your web site will become very profitable.

Simple Copy Writing Secrets
According to Wikipedia.org, Copywriting is the process of writing the words that promote a person, business, opinion or idea.
How to Write an Effective Article
Writing a great deal of articles myself, I see a lot of the other articles that are submitted. Although the majority are spot on, many are not nearly as effective as they could be. Hopefully I can impart some insight on the Do
Ten Reasons Why People Don't Buy From You
Heres ten simple yet POWERFUL ideas for you to reflect on. This will help you adjust your marketing strategies... which will have a GREAT effect on everything you sell!
Copies Sell
Ive been in the SEO business for a while now, but Ive been a copywriter for a much longer period. SEO is challenging, but writing is my first love... and not without a reason too. If I take a little liberty with an old phrase, it should sound like...A keyboard is mightier than a sword... and...
Optimizing Online Catalog Copy for the Search Engines
It only makes sense. You have an e-commerce catalog site. You want lots of visitors to come to your site and buy. The best (and most cost-effective) way to do that is with grea...
4 Effective Search Engine Optimization Practices
Search engine optimization is the most effective way to drive traffic to your website. By maximizing the benefits that search engine optimization bring, you will be able to yield lots of earnings for your business. However, due to the complex process of bringing a website to high rankings for variou...
Javascripts For Your Website
Here is a list of short but invaluable Java scripts you can insert into your own site code to implement a number of small but extremely useful features.
17 Highly Effective Strategies to Increase Search Engine Rankings
Search engines are still one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your web site. This is because it is highly targeted traffic. A person searching for a particular phrase on a search engine, gets taken to your web site.
It makes sense then, to make your site as attractive as possible t...
Search Engine Optimization & Copy Writng A Winning Combination
There are plenty of ebooks that purport to teach you how to write copy for the Web or put together a website that the search engines will love. But every once in a while, something special comes along that makes you sit up and say nicely done. ...
Can You Write Naturally And Get Good SE Ranking?
The most effective way to write for your website is to keep the subject matter of your web page under tight focus. Notice I didnt say website; thats because the search engines dont spider websites, they spider web pages...