Put Your Words to Work: Tips for Writing a Winning Website

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Date: 11 Jan 2012 |

Put Your Words to Work: Tips for Writing a Winning Website
By Julie Roberts

In today’s digital universe–complete with apps, tweets, and the cloud –a regular website may seem positively old-fashioned and quaint. However, maintaining an effective website is still one of the most important things that you can do to achieve greater success in your business. In fact, eMarketer estimates that by 2015, 170.3 million people, or 76.3% of the online population, will make a purchase on the web.

So, how can you capitalize on the benefits that the Internet has to offer? Here are some tips for writing a website that will work for your business:

Understand your audience. Before you start writing your website copy, conduct some research about your target audience members to understand their needs, values, and expectations. Once you know what your readers are hoping to find on your website, you can style your website writing accordingly.
Know your business. To some extent, your writing style will be dictated by the standards within your chosen business. For example, websites for law firms will typically feature more formal writing, but advertising firms might use a more fun and whimsical tone.
Establish your purpose. Your website’s readers should know right away who your company is and why your products and/or services are better than the competition’s. Hold your reader’s interest by providing these essential pieces of information on your home page.
Keep it simple. Separate your text into chunks of related information and use descriptive headings to make your site easier to navigate and understand. Avoid lengthy sections of text; website writing should be concise and accessible.
Use the best possible keywords. Maximize the number of visitors to your website by choosing keywords that most frequently appear on Internet searches. You may want to hire a marketing firm that specializes in search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) techniques.
Update your content. One of the greatest benefits of your website is that you can update it whenever you want. The best way to ensure that your website copy is current and relevant is to maintain an in-house editorial calendar. Remember—the websites with the highest traffic feature the most fresh and exciting content.

Julie Roberts is a Copywriter at Redirect. She can be reached at Julie@redirectnow.com.