You might think that with the rise in social media use that websites are no longer the main focus and SMO (social media optimisation) is more important than SEO (search engine optimisation).

No matter how good your social media profile is or how many followers you have your website is still something people look at and base decisions on. A professional looking web site design is vital for success but that’s only half of it. Great website copy and content is equally, if not more important than the appearance of your website.

Copy attracts the search engine that drives traffic to your site AND words convert people into clients and customers.

When you first start out, like most people, you’ll probably bootstrap your business and create everything from scratch with very little or no money. You’ll build your web site, get a little logo and pick some colours, write your own marketing copy, set some goals and create your content. 

Eventually you’ll want to polish everything up, clarify your message and get your business professionally branded and get some professional photos, maybe even work with a coach.

Hiring a professional copywriter doesn’t always come top of the list but a good copywriter understands marketing, how to develop your brand tone and carefully select the right language to build trust and connect with potential clients.

Here’s what a copywriter will do…

• Catch the attention of your ideal client
• Draw your ideal client into your sales copy with a strong emotional appeal
• Make the person feel like you’re talking directly to them
• Describe the benefits of your products or services with persuasive sincerity
• Demonstrate how you can solve the problem that led them to your site
• Close the deal and ask for the sale / call / order

Words are powerful so do you consider carefully what you’re writing?

If your communication isn’t clear or reflecting your business and message then you will struggle with content marketing and marketing is pretty vital in business.

Every word on your website should serve a purpose and add value to the page. 

A study found that people read only 20 percent of the text of a website on average. So keep your pages clean (lots of white space), use bullet points where possible and break up paragraphs.

Less is more.

Katie Carr is a copywriter helping small businesses to reach their ideal clients through the content.