When Writing Websites Start with the Title

The Title Tag on your website may be the most important content you write.  What is the Title Tag? It is the blue line at the very top of the web-page.  See below it says “Ohio’s Best Web Writer – AllWrite Ink – Web Writing”

You can use about 8-10 words in the Title Tag. Most people put the company name and then the title of each page like:

Brown Company – Home
Brown Company – About
Brown Company – Products

The Title Tag is rich content in that the search engines look here first so you want to make sure you use the words wisely.

Here are a few tips:

• Put a geographical location in the title like Ohio, Midwest, Summit County , Cleveland. Whatever makes sense for your business.
• Include key words and phrases – these are the words your reader is searching - not necessarily your company name. If you have room for it great, but remember your company name will be through out the rest of the content. Use the title for the key words the reader will be using.
• Change the title for each page. Each page has its own purpose for the reader and consequently the reader might be using different key words for their different needs.  The reader won’t necessarily land on the home page so make each title tag of each page work for your business.

Check out this article from SEOmoz Blog on more tips for using Title Tags to help your search results and for advice when writing websites.

Writing Websites with a SEO Firm

You may be considering hiring an SEO firm to help manage your website’s keywords and phrases and work to get and keep your site on the first page of search results.

Before you do, you may want to consider asking a few questions.  In an article entitled The Perfect Match, about finding the right SEO marketing firm to contract with, the article includes 20 questions to ask SEO marketing firms:

1. Is your paid search solution full-service? If yes, define full-service.

2. What technology supports your full-service solution? How often is it updated?

3. Does your technology have direct API integration with the top engines?

4. Do you use API data or referral data for reporting purposes?

5. Is the technical support team separate from my account team? Is support 24/7?

6. Who will manage my account on a daily basis?

7. Is the account manager responsible for bid, keyword, copy and landing page management or do separate teams manage these efforts? click for the rest of the list.

Hiring an SEO firm can be expensive. Make sure you do the research before saying “yes.”

Maximize Your Seo When Writing Websites

I’m web site copywriter, not an SEO specialist – that is a unique and complex science.  However, there are a few key things to keep in mind when writing websites that pertain to SEO.  Entrepreneur Magazine published an article offering 5 simple secrets to making the most of your search engine rankings.

The third tip is to use your key words wisely. Select your key words based on what you think the reader will type into the search engine.  But you can’t use one phrase over and over and so you need to make sure the phrase is used in strategic places to benefit your site the most:

“…include those words in product titles and descriptions, page headers and wherever else they can be used without being a turnoff to customers.”

What are the key words your readers are searching?  Do you have it narrowed down to two key phrases?  Check to see which one is more popular by visiting Google Trends.  Type in both phrases and the site will graph the popularity of both phrases based on the number of times readers have entered them into the search engine.

Writing Websites: Questions to Ask

Before you start writing websites you have to ask a few questions.  The first is about your target audience:

1. Who are they – age actually makes a difference.  The younger they are, the more they like a website that is interactive with surveys and quizzes and video.  The older your audience the more you’ll want to have targeted content, a little more formal and less slang.

2. What is their primary problem?  Why are they searching the web in the first place?

3. The next question should be about you – not how long you’ve been in business or how your products are top quality (that is assumed) but what value do you offer that sets you apart from the competition.  In other words – why should the reader stay long enough to learn more and if they do, why should they buy from you?

4. What action do you want the reader to take? This is a key in determining the ultimate value of your website to your business.  If you don’t have a clear understanding of what you want the reader to do, and state it loud and clear on your site, the reader won’t know what their next step should be.  So understand the action you want and then include a call to action for the reader.

Once you’ve answered these questions you can begin writing websites that reflect your business goals and effectively reach your target prospects.

Set Goals for Writing Website Content

You already have your website but you realise you need to make some updates.  Where should you start?

Goal One:  Address Different Audience Groups

First determine if you have the right pages based on the customer’s need.  Think like a customer.  When they arrive on your site, what will be most important to them?  Most likely you have more than one customer group – you’ll need to address each separately because they have different needs and different motivating factors.

Create landing pages that address each audience type separately.  You may have one primary landing page and then offer the opportunity for the different audiences to click on the page that addresses their needs.

Example:  A medical insurance company has patients looking to be insured or to check on a claim.  You also have medical providers – hospitals, doctors, nurses that will want to come to your site for information.

On your landing page, briefly acknowledge both groups and then have a page, link or video that leads them to a landing page that meets their specific needs.

Goal Two: Each Page Has it’s Own Purpose

Another goal for your page will be to make sure each page is broken down into focused topics.  Rather than having a site with one page that tells your entire story, break the sales process and company information into multiple pages that have additional sub-heading pages beneath.

Example:  Your primary pages may be Home, About, Contact, Products, Services, Testimonials

Your products page can have a sub landing page following by additional pages that provide more information about each products.  The same for your Services page.

Goal Three: Be available on every page

Prominently display your contact information on every page so that the customer doesn’t have to hunt you down.

Goal Four: Eat the Elephant One bite and a time

Writing websites or updating the website content can be an overwhelming task.  Just take it one step, one page, one paragraph at a time.  The best landing pages are updated on a regular basis – it is a continual process.

When in doubt – hire a freelance web writer to help you out!

Writing Websites with Coupon Offers

In an effort to gain customer loyalty, some companies are offering coupon discounts to their loyal customers or as an incentive to gain new customers.

Over the past 18 months there have been 95 instances of verified coupon counterfeits, according to Coupon Information Corporation. 

Protect your bottom line by ensuring that your coupon offers are guarded against fraud.

CIC offers these five suggestions when writing websites with coupon offers:

1. Website  are ripped off by bots.  Constantly update security to keep up with the scammer.
2. Use the CIC Hologram - it’s Free.
3. Set short expiration dates.
4. Monitor redemptions to ensure it is a current offer.
5. Never issue a coupon in a PDF format – it can be reprinted or scanned.

Writing websites with coupon offers is a great way to inspire the reader to take action but be careful that the coupon offer doesn’t negatively impact your bottom line due to fraudulent behavior.

Website Content and Images – Which is More Important?

They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words.  But Search Engines are looking for the words.

The pictures are pretty – but it is the content, both on your site and in the HTML behind the  site – that captures the attention of the search engine spiders surfing the web for key words and phrases.

However, that’s not to say writing websites loaded with content are perfect either.

It takes a keen balance between images and content – effective website content geared toward the reader – that make the best connection with prospects.

Images need to SUPPORT the content.  Not conflict.  Not compete.

Images and website content need to complement each other.

Keep in mind the length of time a page with pictures will take to load on a prospect’s computer or mobile devise.  Images should be sized for the web so they load quickly or your prospect will go somewhere else before they even have a chance to see the beautifully crafted website content you or your web copywriter have uploaded.

Make sure each image and logo have an Alt tag (HTML text with a brief description of the picture) behind it or all the search spiders will see is the content.

Quick.  Go and make sure that your company name is spelled out in words and not just in your logo design!  If the only place your company name is mentioned is in an image – the search spiders are missing it every time!  Unless each image has an Alt Tag.

So which is more important?  As a web copywriter, I like to think the words are – but the truth is – a successful website uses content and images in tandem to effectively reach the target prospect.

Does Your Website Content Ask Questions?

What happens when we ask a question?

Someone gives an answer.

What happens when two people engage in a series of questions and answers?

A conversation takes place.

One of the challenges with connecting for the first time with prospects through your website is that you aren’t there to have a conversation.

However, if your website content includes pointed questions that make the reader sit back, think about their answer and then respond – you’ve made a valuable connection.

Use questions in your header to grab their attention:

Are you struggling to find enough time in the day?

Would you like more money to flow to your bottom line?

Having trouble getting your teens to mind you?

What ever your industry – find the key pain your prospect has and ask them a question that will catch their attention.

You only have a few seconds before they leave your site and move on to a competitors.  By writing websites with questions – you will hopefully keep the prospects on the site long enough for them to read more or send you an email or pick up the phone.

Do you use questions in your website content to capture the attention of your readers?

Why not?

Writing Websites for One Audience

Who is your audience?

Did your web copywriter ask that question as you began to create your first website?  They may not have.  It is just in recent years that the focus has turned from graphic images and fancy animation to a focus on how to write websites people read.

A key element in writing effective website content is to first determine the audience.  Many companies have multiple audiences:

• Company owners
• HR Directors
• Chief Financial Officers

Or in the case of education you are trying to speak to parents and prospective students.

In the assisted living industry you are trying to reach the prospective resident as well as their caregiver or social worker.

Each audience has a different agenda.  Different needs.  Speaks a different language because they are of a different generation or a different mind set.

There is no such thing as writing websites for everyone.  Everyone doesn’t need what you have to say.

I’m currently writing content for a nursing college.  They have two different audiences:  the 28-38 year old single mom returning to the work force and the 18 year old newly graduated from high school. 

Each audience has different life priorities, is attending college for different reasons and needs to find a website written with them  in mind.

How do you reconcile the fact that your website needs to reach different audiences?

You can’t.

A successfully written website recognizes that they can’t be all to everyone and selects a target audience and directs their message to that audience.

The beauty of the website is that we can have multiple landing pages that speak to each individual audience which in turn, point back to the primary website which addresses every-one’s needs.

Just like with traditional advertising – you have to sacrifice communicating ineffectively to the masses and focus on reaching the few, targeted people that are the best fit for what you have to offer.

In the case of the nursing college – we are focusing on the older audience.  When they reviewed their enrollment they realised that the student most prevalent and most successful within their college was the single mom.  She is more motivated, more dedicated and uses the Internet to research and make decisions. 

That’s not to say the 18 year old won’t find the site and find value in the information – but the conversational website content will be directed at the 28-38 year old student.

Who is your audience?  Look at your website content. Have you tried to reach every one and found the result is that you are ineffective in CONNECTING with anyone?

Consider rewriting your Home page in a way that connects with your target audience.

Writing Websites that Garner Trust

Trust.

A key element necessary to get customers to make a buying decision.  Yet, how do you illicit trust from a website?

People buy from those they like and trust and that usually requires a face-to-face interaction.  However, if you are writing websites with establishing trust as a key component – it can be done.

How?

First you need to truly understand your customer.  You need to speak their language and offer relevant solutions.  Writing websites filed with “sales speak” is a big turn off, but offering information of value, with conversational content lets the reader know two things:

1.  You understand who they are and what they need

2.  You have the expert knowledge, skills, experience and solutions that will solve their problems or make their life easier, better, faster, cheaper

Watch the words and phrases you use when writing website content.  Steer clear of catch phrases like “dial in” or “close the loop” or “break the paradigm.” 

Instead, use:

• Easy to understand language
• Short sentences
• Short paragraphs
• Bullet pointed lists
• Bolded headlines to draw their attention

Another important component in gaining the trust of your reader is to give away information for free without expecting anything in return.

By giving away information you let the reader know that you really care about them and want to make sure they have the necessary information to make an informed decision.

Your website should include several components that will inform and also build trust with the reader:

• A Frequently asked question worksheet
• Tip of the Month/Week/Day of value to the reader
• Articles/newsletters or blog posting that offer value rather than a sales pitch
• Resource listings making your site the “one stop shop” for all information necessary within your industry

Writing websites that gain trust from the reader takes thought and a true understanding of the customer. 

If you need help reviewing your existing content for the Trust Factor – give me a buzz. I can help.