— Write to Excite Google & Online Buyers Too! —
A lot of small businesses will go to a web developer for a new website or to have their website upgraded to a responsive, modern design. As the project nears completion, the website is looking great and excitement builds. Finishing touches are put in place, and it’s almost ready to go public. But then, when the new website is finally online, after all that anticipation, there’s waiting. Waiting for leads to roll in. Which isn’t happening. What went wrong?
The website may be mobile-friendly, functional, and look impressive, but most Web Developers aren’t writers. They’re coders. And business owners? Most aren’t writers either. They’re busy with running the day-to-day operations of their businesses. And then, there are SEO Specialists who aren’t Marketers. And Copy Writers who aren’t SEO Specialists. Let’s get it straight. There’s a balance of skills required to craft words that both satisfy Google and appeal to online buyers.
Websites built with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind from the onset will have a competitive advantage. Still, even with the best SEO in place, only half the work is done. When writing for the web, there are tactics to be employed in being discovered online AND then efforts to carry out that are aimed at getting users to act on a webpage they’ve been brought to. All in all, there are 4 key strategies – all starting with the letter “C” — to address:
1. Come Across
If you want users to come across a link to your website on search engines, the process begins with an analysis of competitive websites related to your business. At Innovast Digital Marketing, we research which keyword phrases your competitors are ranking for. Then we conduct further research comparing the actual search volume of related keyword combinations. Armed with that information, we determine which phrases to target, how to work core messaging around those terms, and how best to structure page content. Done properly, website pages that are optimized will be viewed by more potential customers via search engines such as Google and Bing.
If your website pages are successful in coming up within the first few results displayed for keyword phrases pertaining to your products or services, this would be deemed an SEO victory. The goal has been reached. However, we’re only halfway there. Once a web page displays at the top of Google search results, something must compel users to click on your listing. Bear in mind, other results displaying among yours are also vying for user attention.
2. Compel
Here’s where professionally written marketing copy comes into play.
The words in your website’s META description tag are what shows up on search engine page results. You have 160 characters, to not only include your targeted keyword phrase but more importantly, to compel users to click through to your destination page. (*Meta descriptions can be any length, but search engines generally truncate snippets longer than 160 characters.)
The verbiage on this line has magic to do — not so much with Google anymore — but with the human being on the other side of the screen.
3. Capture
If you succeed in getting the click, now you’ll have an active user on your website. The determination of whether that user will stick around long enough is made within 3-7 seconds. Therefore, your website must not only load quickly, but immediately capture interest – ideally, addressing the “why.” Why did that user arrive here? What are they looking for? Can you fulfill that desire?
4. Convert
Clearly identifying the problem faced by your prospect and communicating how you will solve it is essential. Assuming the content on the destination page has already been prepared for SEO, it must also be tailored to tap into the emotion behind the unfulfilled need. Your goal at this point is to convert the user into a customer.
At the same time, the messaging woven throughout the page should be concise. Add a call-to-action that’s crystal clear, and you’ve cracked the secret code to an online sale!