Some Simple Guidelines to Writing Better Web Content

This is often a neglected and overlooked area of website design but having good copy on your pages is extremely important - quite simply it can make or break your website.

You can have the best web design on the Internet but if your content is not compelling then your visitors will just hit the back button and visit one of the other websites that they found on the search engine results pages. So if you are having trouble getting your visitors to buy and converting them into customers, then maybe you need to look at your web copy.

It can be difficult to adapt your writing style to suit the web, as conventional writing is not really suitable for the Internet. It is a totally different media and generally speaking, web users have a much shorter attention span than someone who is reading a book, newspaper or magazine article.

Above all, when surfing the net, people expect to be able to find what they want quickly and easily without having to read or scroll through lots of text before they find the information they are looking for.

Here are some simple guidelines to writing better web content...

Whats in it for me?

When visitors arrive at your website they will be thinking purely in terms of "Whats in it for me?". So your page content needs to directly address this, rather than focusing on your company and how great you are. Instead write in terms of what you can do for them and emphasis how your product or service can help them solve their problem.

Break your page up with subheadings

When people read on the Internet they scan the page, so dont have your content in one long chunk of text. By using descriptive subheadings you will divide your content into clear sections; allowing your visitor to easily scan through your webpage and read the bits they are interested in.

Use bulleted lists

Get your point across effectively and use bullet points to clearly present important information - especially benefits. Dont hide the benefits of your product or service in a paragraph of text - think about items 1 and 2 above...

Bulleted lists stand out, so not only will you be able to tell your visitors exactly "whats in it for them" but they will easily see the list even if they are only scanning the webpage.

Write short and to-the-point paragraphs

Keep your paragraphs tightly focused, dont waffle on about many different aspects of your product in the same paragraph. Keep them to-the-point and deal with just one issue, when you want to focus your readers attention onto something else, highlight it with a new paragraph.

Include customer testimonials

Including some real customer testimonials in your copy backs up your reputation and reassures potential customers that it is based on real, positive customer experiences rather than just hearsay or some clever marketing techniques.

Be selective about what testimonials you use. Again, remember item 1 above and think about things from your visitors perspective - what will grab their attention? Good testimonials to use are ones that focus on the (potential) customer benefits rather than how great you are!

If you have been reading this article then you will have noticed that I have used most of the above techniques when and you can too! Just remember to write content that focuses on your visitors and what they want, make it easily readable, stick to the point and back up what you say with real customer feedback.

Do this and hopefully your web copy will have your visitors interested enough to keep reading until they reach your most wanted response - whether that be a newsletter sign up form, an affiliate link or the buy button!

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