Are you looking for tips on copywriting for websites? Our copywriters at Vocal have plenty of industry knowledge to share! At Vocal, we are loud about:
Our content creation agency has diverse experience in a wide range of industries. We love sharing our thoughts and we have provided services for businesses in countries across the world. If your company needs support, our creators are on hand to help. So, here are some tips from our experienced copywriters to help you with copywriting for websites.
Our first tip to remember when copywriting for websites is to use compelling headlines. A headline is often the decider between whether or not a user will read your content. It is your chance to draw readers in, so you have to make it count. There are many formulas on creating effective headlines. The main points to focus on are addressing an issue that the audience has and show that you have solutions.
Your headlines should also be treated as a promise. Make sure that whatever you promise in your headline, you deliver in your copy. Sometimes, writers use clickbait headlines or do not deliver on the content/information they claim to have. If you do not deliver, you risk earning a reputation of being unreliable. You do not want that!
Here are some examples of great headlines:
Using search engine optimisation (SEO) methods are key to getting discovered online. A lot of the time, this can be a slow and steady rise. But if you give it some attention, it’ll give back over time.
When copywriting for websites, you should always consider SEO. There are several elements that our copywriters keep in mind whilst writing. And we repeatedly check for them to make sure we optimise our SEO strategy.
One of the main things that our copywriters focus on is sentence length. Our sentences are never any more than 20 words long. This is because Google’s algorithms do not like long sentences, but neither do readers! Short and snappy sentences are a lot easier to read. You don’t want your reader getting bored whilst drudging through long-winded sentences. So, keep your sentence length to a minimum.
As for the overall structure of your copy, you should break it down into sections. Each of these sections should have a subheading. This makes it easier for readers to scan through to the relevant information they’re looking for. These sections should not be any longer than 250 words. This makes your copy way more appealing as most people don’t want to read a huge chunk of writing.
Google does rank longer copy higher as it registers them as more informative. So, it is best to write long copy, and it should be at least 1000 words long. The longer, the better!
One of the most important things to include when copywriting for websites is keywords. These are words that people search for quite often. If your web copy uses these keywords multiple times, you will rank higher on the search engine results page (SERP). You can use tools such as SEMrush to help you research the best keywords to use. These should always be relevant to your web copy.
You should also be sure that you do not use these keywords so often that it becomes obvious. If you use them in almost every sentence, Google will pick up on it and it won’t like it! So, make sure it comes across as natural as possible.
You can also use long-tail keywords, which are more specific keywords for a smaller audience. If someone is searching for something in particular, they will likely use these. For example, someone looking for “minimalist interior design ideas” will find more results by specifically searching those words. If they were to search for “interior design”, there would be a lot of competition from larger companies. So, smaller businesses would be hidden deep within the SERPs. And their audience would spend ages looking for what they want.
So, being specific can also be great. It gives you a much higher chance of being discovered by those searching specifically for your services/products.
As mentioned in the last section, you should break up your copy to make it easier to read. You can also use multimedia to do this when copywriting for websites. If you have relevant images, GIFs, charts, diagrams, or videos, then use them! Users are way more likely to stay engaged with your copy. And, again, it looks more appealing.
It can also be a good way of getting across certain information. People sometimes find spoken words in videos a lot easier to understand. And graphs/charts/diagrams can address certain information a lot clearer. Even bullet points can work great!
When copywriting for websites, it is important to make sure you use the correct tone, language and an active voice. For example:
Louis is baking a cake.
A cake is being baked by Louis.
You may wonder why passive and active voice are important. The reasoning is because passive voice is often more descriptive and tends to be used in academic work. Active voice is more suited for marketing and content.
Active voice is more engaging as it is more direct. It improves readability, and this is essential for your web copy. It can also be more persuasive and carries momentum. It is an easier way for you to engage your audience and get them interested in your product or service.
You should also be familiar with your brand’s audience and how you want to communicate to them. This will determine the tone used when copywriting for websites. Your tone and language will differ if it is aimed at adults in comparison to when it’s aimed at teenagers.
As with using tone and active voice when copywriting for websites, you should be sure to include some personality. Web copy needs to be engaging, so if it sounds more like an academic essay, readers may lose interest.
The best and most interesting copy will tell a story and connect with the audience on an emotional level. So, fluffing up your copy can help to make this effective.
What is the best way to make sure your USP is seen when copywriting for websites? Lead with it! If your audience gets bored halfway through your copy, they’ll never see your main point at the end. So, to ensure it is never wasted, make sure it is the first thing you address.
All writers should be used to proofreading and editing their work. And it is no different for copywriting for websites. In fact, it is super important, as you want your copy to appear as professional and high-standard as possible. If your copy is littered with incorrect grammar or spelling mistakes, you instantly lose a bit of credibility.
Our copywriting team always proofread each other’s work. This is because we understand how easy it can be to miss mistakes in our own work. A fresh set of eyes will likely pick up on mistakes easier. So, if you can, it is always a good idea to have someone else proofread your copy. And always thoroughly check your work multiple times.
Our final, and perhaps most important, point is to include an effective call-to-action (CTA) at the end of your copy. A call-to-action is a method of encouraging your audience to act. This could include inviting them to try your product or follow your social media. When copywriting for websites, this is a crucial element. If you cannot get your audience to act, the rest of your copy becomes a bit pointless. Some effective CTAs could be:
We hope our tips from our copywriters will be helpful for those copywriting for websites. For those new to copywriting for websites, it may seem like a lot to remember. And, to some degree, it is. However, you’ll quickly find that the more you write, the more natural it will come to you!
We would love to hear about your business goals. So, why not contact us and speak to one of our team? We can brainstorm how we can produce the best content for you. Then, we will use our experience to make recommendations. We pride ourselves on delivering results. We will provide you with predicted outcomes so that you can make an informed decision. If you give us the go-ahead, we will provide you with a quote. Our team will then get to work on creating the content of your dreams!