Did you know you’re being watched? Your technology firm is under online scrutiny by prospective clients—at least, it should be. Here’s what the research tells us about how professional services firms, including tech firms, are being checked out these days:
So if your website’s not converting viewers or if visitors leave your site right away, it might be helpful to take a look at the content and copy on your website. How is it written? Is it easy to skim? Is it intuitive what a user should do next?
We’re not all top-notch writers. And knowing how to write for the web is not as simple as knowing verb-subject agreement. And even if you’re on top of your grammar, effective web copy is challenging in that you have distill the volumes you currently have about what you do into succinctly worded paragraphs, or even bullets.
SEE ALSO: 9 Essential Elements of an Effective Website Homepage for Professional Services Firms
Here are ten website copywriting tips to keep in mind as you craft or revamp the language on your website:
1. Write well. We’ve heard it a million times: quality over quantity. This goes double for website copywriting. Focus on making your copy readable and relatable. As a technology firm, subjects can be complex and confusing, so make sure the writing is easily skimmable.
And when you’re done, read it out loud—this will reveal otherwise invisible typos and show you how well your writing flows.
2. Teach. Your goal should be to inform your target audience, not throw a hard pitch at them. Don’t scream in bold letters about being the best. Provide plenty of information about what your firm is capable of and let your readers realize that you’re the best choice. When a client comes to a conclusion on their own that you’re the firm they want to work with, they’re more likely to stick to it.
3. Engage. On the blog portion of your website, focus on writing blog posts that answer questions your prospective clients face. Emotionally connect with them by telling a story (think case stories), understanding their issues, and don’t get too abstract—use how-to’s and practical, tangible language.
4. Include a Call-to-Action (CTA). Getting prospects to read what’s on your website is just the first step –you want them to do more. Include a call to action or an “offer.” It can be as simple as “Register Here” or “Download Now.”
The key is to make it very clear what action you want the reader to take. If a reader has to think twice about exactly what clicking the button will do, they are likely not to do anything.
5. Use keywords, and keep it to one keyword per page. Keywords count for being found in search—so find appropriate ones with reasonable monthly search volume and less competition. (These metrics will, of course, vary on the keyword you are trying to rank for, but a keyword with a few hundred to a few thousand searches is a safe bet.)
Try Google’s Keyword Planner to search for keyword areas, volume, and competition metrics. Keyword Planner is a helpful tool that lets you type in topic areas you want to write about and gives you specific keyword clusters and individual keywords that are related to the topic. It’s primarily a tool for Google AdWords users, but you can just as easily use it to find keywords to use in content.
6. Optimize body content. Make sure you use your carefully chosen keyword in the title, but also get it into your body content as well. Shoot for two to four times in the body, depending on the amount of copy.
And be careful when dropping in those keywords – you don’t want them to feel random or forced. If you’re having trouble fitting a particular keyword into a passage, maybe you’ve picked the wrong keyword – or the wrong topic.
7. Optimize images. I know, I promised to talk about website copywriting, but optimizing your images is important too. It’s as simple as using the keyword you choose in your images’ filenames and alt text.
8. 300+ words. Though search engines have no known bias regarding length, web pages with 300 or more words generally get better results and more readers. Remember to keep #1 in mind—quality over quantity—but saying enough matters too.
9. Share. Again, it’s not all about the writing. You’ve got to get social and share your content. Make sure to include buttons for your audience to connect to you and share your content with their own audiences.
10. Show off. What high profile clients or impressive certifications do you have under your belt? A member of the Information Technology Associate of America? Let the world know.
Drop the names of brands or partners you’re associated with. The prestige and credibility of your connections can go a long way to boosting your own reputation, as well as boost social sharing as the partners or experts see they were mentioned in a post.
These are the basics. There’s always more to learn about copywriting best practices and optimization. But if you follow the above advice, your website copywriting efforts will be rewarded: increased traffic, a higher conversion rate, and more leads coming your way.
For more information on creating an effective website, check out our free Lead Generating Website Guide.
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