Copywriting Tips: The 5 Website Copy Must-Haves

When it comes to dishing out website copy and copywriting tips, I absolutely love to take the common questions I get from my audience and my copy clients and turn them into education. As a website copywriter, usually, these questions come down to website copy (I guess no surprises there!). Have you ever wondered what the website copy MUST-HAVES are? How about wondering what SEO or keyword research has to do with copywriting? Or maybe you’ve spent time wondering how on earth to lay out the copy on the page. All of these questions and more are answered in this blog post!

This is by no means an exhaustive list, as there are many considerations to make when it comes to creating website copy, but these are the top 5 musts to ensuring you’re creating engaging, high-converting website copy. ​

1. SEO Keywords

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of ensuring that your website is friendly for search engines like Google. There are many aspects of SEO, including elements on the back end and your website’s design. That said, there are vital considerations you want to make for SEO in terms of copywriting, especially in terms of our keywords. Keywords are the terms that people are using on Google to search for the solutions that you’re here to serve them, so taking the time to research and select your keywords before writing your website copy is really important if you want to be found on Google!

The key with keywords is to make sure you’re selecting terms that your ideal client would actually be searching for. For example, if you go by a super and innovative title for your Instagram marketing purposes, like ‘Head Bitch in Charge,’ all the power to you! But no one is going to be searching that up.

You want to be taking the time to think about what your people would realistically be searching for when they’re seeking the solutions you offer. From there, you’ll want to select 1-2 longtail keywords that match that searcher intent that you have a realistic chance to rank for and optimize each webpage around those keywords accordingly.

There are multiple free or low-cost tools for keyword research! Here’s a couple I use:

• Ubersuggest 
• Moz Keyword Explorer

For optimizing your website pages around your selected 1-2 keywords, ensure you include those keywords in your:

• Title
• Headers wherever relevant and natural*
• Meta description
• Page URL
• In the alt-text of your images where relevant
• In your anchor text where relevant 
• Naturally, throughout the copy body*

*The key here is naturally. It’s 2020, and SEO best practices have evolved quite significantly, as search engines have become smart enough to recognize when you’re stuffing your keyword into your copy. That’s why you must write for your ideal client (the human) first, and the search engine second.

This is a very high-level overview of SEO; if you’d like to explore this topic further, here are a few of my favourite resources:

• ​Hubspot: Guide to Blog SEO 
• Moz: Full SEO Guide
• Neil Patel’s Guide to Keyword Research 

2.  Powerful Above-the-Fold Content

… That makes it abundantly clear WHAT you have to offer and WHO it’s for. This is essential. When someone lands on your website, you have 5 seconds to make a first impression. That’s why, especially on our home page, we want to pay attention to our above the fold section of copy.

Above the fold is a term that goes back to the newspaper days, when newsstands would place papers folded in half. As people walked by, they would either be engaged enough to make the purchase or keep on walking. It’s the same in the digital age, except maybe even more important. People are busier than ever before and exposed to much more content than ever before! We need to make sure we help eliminate their need to spend precious brain calories trying to decipher who we are and what we have to offer.

Make it abundantly clear – don’t overcomplicate it. If you can have fun, showcase your sense of humour, and really get playful with this content, you’re more likely to make an impact.

Here are a few examples of powerful, witty + creative  above-the-fold content:

3. An Abundantly Clear WHY

When we start with why we operate from a space of integrity while still attracting our dream clients from a deeper perspective.

I want you to get comfortable asking yourself, as you write and review your website copy, WHY. Everything you put in your website copy needs to have a purpose. But the concept of WHY goes a lot deeper than that. The concept of WHY connects to the bigger reason behind what you do.

Make your WHY abundantly clear in your copy – it’s what bonds you and your ideal clients.

When trying to identify and get clear on your why, turn inward not outward.

Consider…

• What SPARKED you to really take action and create this business?
• How aboutthe DEEPER impact that being a business owner has on your life?
• What is your VISION for the world?
• Consider… what DRIVES you?
• What do you do that gets you so IN THE ZONE you lose track of time?

Take the time journaling on these questions, and your why will become much clearer.

When we start with why we operate from a space of integrity while still attracting our dream clients from a deeper perspective.

Are you struggling to dive deep here? Try my free copy workbook, 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Writing Your Website Copy

4. The TRANSFORMATION You Provide Your Clients With

The potential dream clients who are taking a look at your website and considering making a purchase or working with you want to know the tangible results they can really expect from you.

• What transformation do you provide your clients with?
• Are there any types of compliments do you get time and again about the work you do?
• What is the more profound impact this has on your clients’ lives?
• Consider… what are the deeper pain points you’re helping them with?

The transformation needs to be really clear throughout your website, particularly on your Home + Services pages. You can highlight this really well in your copy, and support it with powerful testimonials, or even a case study! The key here is that the transformation can’t be simple and surface level, like ‘helping them save time.’ Think about the deeper emotional impact that time saved has on your clients!

5. Enticing and Relevant CTAs

Calls to Action (CTAs) are an absolute MUST for creating high-converting copy. If you don’t ask your reader to take a next action, guess where they’re going? They’re bouncing!

Calls to action are small boxes of text that encourage your reader to take action. Of course, this needs to be relevant to the content you’re sharing on that page and naturally nurture them along the journey.

At the end of the day, and anytime you’re in doubt, simply tell them EXACTLY what you want them to do next.

You’ve Got This, Lovely!

At the end of the day, website copy can have the flair of you as an individual, and I’m not the one to call hard and fast rules. That said, these are 5 of the best-practices that I bring to the work I do with my clients. As a website copywriter, I help my clients put their powerful visions and their WHY into words that convert prospects to dream clients.

Tackling your website copy is an excellent milestone in your creative business, so be sure to celebrate yourself along the way as you craft the copy of your dreams.

DIYing Your Copywriting? Be Sure To Ask Yourself These 5 Questions First!

There are some very important questions to ask yourself and elements you need to gain clarity on before you begin DIYing your own copy in your creative business. This free workbook is here to guide you through that process!

Download The Workbook Now

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