26 January 2010
Writing good quality copy that reads well, keeps the search engines happy and attracts clients to your site is vitally important..

Content Is King!

Content is still king on the web, and content means text. Good text means good copywriting. The words on your website need to fulfil two very different and potentially conflicting functions. They need to capture, inform and entertain your target market, ensuring that page views translate into business, and they also need to ensure that Google and other search engines rank your pages highly.

Input a few relevant search terms for your industry into Google and have a look at the sites that come top. You will find clear, concise text with a reasonable but not excessive percentage of keywords and key phrases.

So what should you include? In addition to clear and full descriptions of the businesses and services you provide you should consider including sections or pages containing information that is not of immediate relevance to your business but is of interest to your potential clients. Well-written articles may well bring in potential customers. For example, if you are selling fishing tackle it makes sense to include articles on where to fish and how to fish.

How do I know if what I have written is good?

Read it through - out loud. Does it flow? Is there a logical progression of ideas? Are phrases and words obviously repeated? (If so use a thesaurus and a dictionary to improve the text). Does it have anything original to say? Does it emphasise your USP (Unique Selling Point)? Are your top three keywords or key phrases in there sufficiently often without it being too obvious?

Good copy writing is as important as good design, if not more so. A site that cannot be found or that has sparse or poorly presented information or that reads badly or doesn’t make sense is a liability, not an asset. A good web design company can suggest research and write copy from scratch or alternatively co-edit and optimise any copy you provide yourself. If they are for any reason not able to offer this service then you might want to consider the services of a specialised copywriter.

Copywriting & SEO For Existing Sites

If you already have a site you are happy with the look and feel of but which is under-performing in Google and other search engines then you might want to start by taking a look at your copy. Web copywriting does not just involve writing informative keyword-rich paragraphs of text - you need to look at your page titles, use of header tags, keyword density and overall readability then rewrite the critical areas of your site to do better for your chosen search terms. Rewriting the content on a fundamentally sound site which is underperforming may be all that is required.