Just stuff it with keywords, will you?
That line feels like fingernails raking across the chalkboard. It’s too irksome to describe. I still remember the dark days of searching online and reading articles that do not make sense. However, we can all say goodbye to the SEO agency who think they can get away with cheating. Thanks to Google’s algorithm updates, we can finally grasp the goodness of organic SEO.
Understanding what smart copywriting can do for your website makes a world of difference. You see, content is entirely different from copywriting. If you want to talk about your products and their descriptions, you can use content to your advantage. Press release is another form of content marketing.
Copy, on the other hand, is more complex. A good copywriter must have a solid background on marketing, must know how to tell a story, entices your customer to take action and creates posts that are compelling.
What makes a smart website copy? Read on, find out and start applying them.
Website Copy: Be Different, Get Noticed.
“I don’t want to go! I don’t know anyone and I’m afraid I’ll just stand out.”
Too often, I hear those words uttered by friends whenever I encourage them to seek out a different crowd. Most people want to wear the same clothes as their peers or talk about the same topic every day. That’s perfectly understandable. After all, we don’t want to be around someone we can’t truly understand.
It’s alright to belong to a more popular crowd. But when it comes to online marketing, standing out is exactly what you should aim for. You can be among a number of local plumbers, lawyers, or doctors but you need to be different and be more specific. Now, I’m not saying that you should do something outrageous and resort to crazy antics. There’s absolutely no need for that. Focus and use your creativity to your advantage. However, if you’d rather concentrate on business, getting an SEO firm to help you out would be a viable option.
Stumped for ideas? Check your biggest competitor. What do you have that they don’t? Put a big emphasis on that. Let your clients know the distinct difference. Shout it out with your beautifully designed and easy-to-navigate website or unparalleled customer support.
Create an Advantage (and Back It Up!)
If you want to draw attention to your business, you need to emphasize what you have and what your customer can get from buying your products or paying for your services. I can hear you saying, “That’s fine. I’ll give them a discount if they subscribe to my newsletter.” In essence, you can do that but the secret to getting the conversions you want is to persuade your potential customers to take action. You’d want to tell them outright, but customers are like women during the courtship stage. You need to cajole and flatter them. You have to make them trust you. It’s hard to do, but easy to achieve if you truly understand them.
Let’s just say that you are selling hand creams online. Take a look at this:
Our hand creams are made from natural ingredients which will not dry your skin. Buy our soap, lotion and hand cream package now and get a 15% discount off.
Do you see anything wrong with it? Aside from using NOT, which is negative and should be avoided as much as possible for web copy, “get a 15% discount off” sounds weird. Avoid grammatical mistakes because you don’t want to come across as someone who does not care about details. You can’t just say “Oops, I missed that.”
Unfortunately the copy does not really offer anything else besides savings. Your customer will most likely say, “I can get the same discount at the local drug store. It really doesn’t make sense why I should wait for the package when I can buy it now.”
Now, compare it to this copy:
Our beautifully packaged, all natural hand creams moisturize your skin, leaving it healthy and younger looking. With our secure payment options, you can buy our complete skin care package now and get 15% off plus expert beauty advice from our skin care professional.
Pair those words with a powerful image (not a Googled image, but one done by a professional) and it won’t be long before I’ll be seeing your website on page one of Google’s search results.
If you’re still stuck with an outdated SEO service and marketing practices, stop staring at your analytics and wondering why you are not seeing any conversions. Now’s the time to make a change. Look for a copywriter from a reputable web design and SEO company who can turn traffic into actual conversations.
By Debra Wright
Debra Wright is a creative and innovative blogger and online marketing specialist. She uses her wordsmith skills to share her ideas, thoughts, and tips to other people about topics that fascinate her, such as understanding smart copywriting . Follow Debra on twitter @debrawrites…
