Keep Your Copy For The Web Short And But Sweet.

Keep Your Web Copy Short and Sweet

You are looking to keep your visitors coming to your site and also get them to return.  There are a number of points you should consider when copywriting for the web.

Keep your copy short and simple

What you should remember is that unless a visitor has been directed to a particular page on a site, more often than not, they will only read 1 or 2 lines of the text.  So the longer your text is, the less likely they will want to read it.  So if you can, do not add any long copy to any pages where visitors are not expecting it to be.

Also keep your copy simple.  This is just as important as the length of your copy.  It is important that your visitors are able to understand what has been written on their first reading.  They do not want to have to spend time thinking about what you have written.

In most cases, you should be able to convey one key idea effectively in just one or two lines of writing.  By writing any more than that, you are most likely to ruin the chances getting your initial message through.

So by anticipating that your visitors will be willing to learn more about something, then they will look for the page that has more copy on it.  So provide them with a link to another page of your site where they can get hold of the information that they need.

 

What if you do need to write long copy?

If you do need to include some longer copy, then organize it.  Even if your visitors are expecting to find a page heavy with text, they may not actually be willing to read it.  So in order to help them, divide any distinct ideas you have into separate paragraphs.  Provide them with useful headings, sub headings and bulleted lists.  This is a great way of introducing key ideas to them deliberately.

It is best to assume that not all visitors to your site will read long pieces of copy.  So write copy that’s easy to skim through.

Although longer copy does not need to be as direct as short copy, it should still be easy to read.  You will find that those visitors to your site who have difficulty understanding what has been written, will stop reading it.

Make your Copy Lively

Keep your copywriting clear and write vividly.  You should be aiming to write in a light, unassuming tone of voice.  If what you have written is boring or overbearing, this will in turn affect the reader, and what you are trying to convey will not get through to them.

So use a consistent voice throughout your copy.  By doing this, visitors quickly recognize it and so become familiar with it.  The more familiar a site or subject is to them, the more effective it will be.

Introducing How To Find Good Keyword And Keyword Phrases For Your Copy

How to Find Effective Keywords and Keyword Phrases for Your Copy

Search engines are the most important tool on the web for bringing new customers to a site.  Many people who have never heard of your site will use a search engine to find what they are looking for, at your site or at someone else’s.  But unfortunately, a search engine is not psychic and not very intuitive either.  They will not be able to find what people are actually looking for but rather what they are asking for. 

But just how do you know what people are looking for?  There are a number of different ways in which you can get ahead of the competition in relation to people’s search habits.  There are many effective programs around and one of these is Word Tracker, which can be found at WordTracker.com.  You are able to license this program either by the day, week, month or year.  What this program does is provide you with feedback in relation to key phrases that you submit to it.  It will also make recommendations in relation to similar key phrases, and you are then able to test them against the most important search engines and directories on the web.

What it then does is tells you just how many people are searching for a particular phrase, and how much competition there is from other sites.  Once this is done then Word Tracker assigns each phrase with a Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) ranking.  So by using the phrases that attract the most interest, but the least competition, throughout your site in both copy and page titles, it will make it more receptive to the search engines and directories.  So when it comes time for people who are looking for a particular product or service, then your site should be one of the first they see in their search results.

The best time to do any keyword searches is when you are first building your site.  This will then mean that you do not need to rewrite your copy later on.  But really, it can be done at any time. It is important to remember that if you are not researching what your customers need, then your competition will be

Introducing How To Write Effective Copy For The Web

How to Write Effective Copy for the Web

In order to write effective copy for the web, there are two primary areas that you should look at.  It is the page title and the META descriptions.  Both of these are usually the first two things that a person will see when searching the web for a particular product or service.

However, this does not actually apply to all search engines or directories as some will not show the META description at all.  In some cases, they will show a snippet of the content from your site.

Below we provide a list of particular areas that you should focus on in order to write effective web copy.

1.  Page Title – This is the first thing that any visitor will see when carrying out a search on the web.

2.  META Description – Usually the second thing the visitor will see when carrying out a search through a search engine or directory.

It is important to remember that both of these are likely to be produced on the Search Engine’s Results Page (SERP’s).

3.  Heading Tags – This will relate to specific subjects within your site.

4.  Visible Content – This is another area of importance that you should focus on in order to produce effective copywriting for the web.    These are provided below in order of importance.

a.     Hyperlinked Tex and Title Attribute – This is frequently displayed as a “tool tip”.  Which is a short message that will appear when the pointing device (cursor) pauses over a particular object?

b.     Alternate Text Tags – This should be for an image and is not to be used for stuffing with keywords that do not apply to it. 

c.     META Keyword Tags – Unfortunately, due to abuse by unethical marketers and uneducated consumers these are not as strong as they use to be.  In fact, most search engines will no longer be looking at these as a relevancy factor during their search.  So it is important that you make sure the keywords you use in this tag are to be found in the visible content for the page. 

So effective copywriting for the web can only be achieved if you carefully research your keywords and keyword phrases.  What is the point of writing any copy, if you do not know what it is actually that your target audience is searching for?  By targeting the correct keywords and keyword phrases you are taking one of the most important steps in writing effective copy

Failing To Plan Is Preparing To Fail In The Field Of Copywriting

Planning your copywriting in Order to Succeed

It is vital that during the planning stage of your copywriting for the web, you understand what it is, exactly, you hope to accomplish.

You have already determined that you need to increase direct sales, build a subscriber base, circulate information, as well as provide technical support.  But in order to do this, you must make sure that your web copy can help you to achieve these goals.

It is important to decide who your ideal customer is and just what it is that they really want.  Then find and craft the words that will most effectively bring these people to your site. 

It is also important to remember that without a detailed plan, it will become impossible to know who you are targeting.  Without a target, you are likely to miss out on those people who are willing and eager to pay for your help and expertise.

So when planning your web copy, it is important to know that your target audience is normally smarter and more knowledgeable than the typical visitor to a site. 

Now that you have started planning, you need to start looking at whom to target. 

Targeting is used to figure out which customers will have any problems that can be solved by using your particular product.  It is therefore vital that you become an expert in relation to every single benefit that your product offers.  Then, once you are able to determine who you need to target, you can begin to search them out.  So start building a profile of those people who will benefit from your help the most.  Once you know who they are, then begin by repeatedly using strong web copy, and the most magnetic of the benefits your product can offer as bait.

At last, you have found your target audience, and now you must develop a strategy for writing your copy.  In order to do this, the best way is to do the following:

1.      In the first part, write about what exactly the customer wants.

2.      Match the tone of your writing to those that you are targeting. 

3.      When executing your copy it is important that you are able to present your idea to them in an easy way.

What is most important is that you think about all three of these things in equal amounts, and do not allow any one of them to overshadow the others

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