How
Well do your Web pages communicate to your visitors?
By
John Alexander
Do you think your Web pages say
exactly what you mean to say to your visitors. Obviously, you
probably think they are communicating well to the visitor and if
your Web site is working well, generating leads or making plenty
of sales, then perhaps you are communicating well.
For the first part of this article I want to talk to those of you
who may NOT be doing so well with your Web site.
Most of the time, people like to talk about the search engines and
better visibility but once you begin to gain that visibility, the
next question that presents itself is why are more people not
buying from me?
Let's start by talking a little bit
about the writing style of your Web pages. When
you write for the Web you want to include a variety of words that
like building blocks, form a proper flowing dialogue to
communicate the message that carries the meaning you intend to
deliver.
So what's the big deal with writing dialogue?
The fact is that most of us who were educated in the public school
system, were taught with a focus on spelling, sentence structure,
grammar and some writing and yet very few of us were ever
encouraged or really taught how to write for the sake of
"communication."
Indeed we were taught to write to "sound intelligent"
which usually meant a principle of the bigger the words we use the
better. But in the world of Web copy, we find that most readers do
not want to look at a lot of extraneous content that detracts from
the message.
In fact what most Web users want is just to just simply understand
exactly what the meaning or benefit of the message is to us. Is
there something here for me or is there nothing here for me. The
sooner your visitor understands the meaning of what you are saying
on your Web page, the sooner they are likely to interact or
respond to your call to action.
Often when you glance at a Web page, your eyes may not even know
where to begin if it has a poor layout or is poorly written. But a
page that is well crafted usually has a good solid headline that
reads well and immediately gets the reader flowing into the
message.
Writing Tip 1. The power of a good headline delivers on
benefits and understanding.
Often a good
headline is written to eliminate confusion and add some punch to
exactly what the Web page is all about.
Many professional writers spend as much as 20% to 50% of their
time crafting their main headline because they know the importance
it holds. Your headline not only starts the page but it may often
be reflected in your Title Tag which is also what users see in the
search results.
What types of headlines work well?
A Questioning Headline works well:
Google’s
Universal Search…Is it Going to Affect our SEO Efforts?
Submit
Your Web site - Fact or Myth?
What
is Social Media Marketing?
Develop
headlines that appeal to as wide of an audience as possible:
How
to capture one of the largest target audiences ever - Women
Cool
Tools - that are also free!
Remember to
create headlines that reflect the benefit of an article:
Keyword
Research - Shift Your Focus to employ A more Lateral Thinking
approach
Remember the
power of the numbered headline:
15
Keyword research Tips for finding the Hottest Niche Phrases
Quickly
The
Use of Muscle Words. . . 148 power words designed to draw
your customers in
25
ways to Add Quality Content to Your Web Site
Remember that showing numbers as numerals is more effective
than showing numbers written out.
"25
ways" is more effective in a headline than for example,
"Twenty five Ways."
Remember to use good descriptive words in your headline:
Reigning
Keywords – A Quantum Leap in Learning to Explore Legitimate Data
Easy
Tips for Adding some Zest to your Click Through Ratios
Writing
Tip 2. Learn how to cut down on the long-winded introductions and
get right to the valuable content.
So often when
people first start creating their Web content it's nearly
like they are trying to fill up empty space. In the early days of
the Web, the business owner might think to themselves "I need
to come up with several pages of content for my Web site so
perhaps I'll load my site up with the things that we have already
produced."
Then you often found that early Web sites were loaded with
"filler material," corporate brochure material, mission
statements and other existing material that really was of very
little interest to the user. The only trouble is, that your Web
site needs to be built up with content that is genuinely useful to
the visitor and highly valuable content based on the needs that
your searching customers are looking for. The cost of creating
fresh, original, high quality content has it's price, but you are
paying an even greater price if you are filling your Web site with
extraneous low quality content that is just taking up space and
distracting your readers.
Writing Tip
3. Learn how to shift from a traditional "print related"
writing style to a "voice related" writing style.
We don't speak
to each other the way we normally write. By the term "writing
for voice" I am referring to writing similar to the way a
professional broadcaster writes for their listeners. Have you ever
noticed the difference between copy for traditional print and copy
written "to be spoken by voice?" The difference is in
the delivery and the style of writing. Printed copy tend to be
written with much less customer focus and because it is in print,
the reader has the option of going over a story a second time.
Broadcast copy that is written for voice, is written with much
greater focus on the listener because it is written to be spoken
only once. If it is not communicated well the first time, you've
missed it because on the radio you generally can't rewind or
replay what you've just heard.
When you write your Web copy, particularly if it is a sales
letter, learn how to write your copy so it is extremely customer
focused. Instead of talking so much about your services, talk
"to the reader." Test your copy to see whether it reads
like the voice of a friend talking to you.
Example:
Instead of: saying "Our years of service," talk about
the same benefits using the words "you" or
"yours"
Instead of: "Our 20 year guarantee," you might talk
about "a guarantee that....gives you 20 years of peace of
mind."
Instead of: "We can," make it "you can."
Instead of: "We will," make it "you will."
Focus on words that allow all of the emphasis to be on the reader
NOT your company.
You, you're, yours, you will, you can enjoy, you can experience,
you can benefit by
10 more general writing tips specifically
for your fashioning your Web page content:
- For readability, avoid complex
sentences. Try to phrase your thoughts as simple as possible.
- Make sure you say exactly what
you mean.
- Try writing with an "active
voice" instead of a "passive voice."
- Don't make your paragraphs too
long - but make them smaller and easy to absorb.
- Try to work on eliminating
sentences if they are unnecessary or don't contribute meaning.
- Try to always write in present
tense.
- Choose either Verdana or else an
Aria font for easy reading.
- Always write dark text on a
light background for easiest reading.
(Light text on a black or dark background is harder on the
eyes and tends to sparkle.)
- Try to avoid using industry
specific acronyms and/or jargon.
- Links in your body copy are
favorable providing what you are linking to is relative to
your readers interests.
(For example linking to someone's blog post or to a resource
or a source that your article is referencing.)
- Remember that there are
different types of content and they each require a little
different focus.
Example: writing press releases need to be newsworthy or
related to hard news.
Example: writing a sales letter - needs strong customer focus
copy
Example: writing articles - should always be written for the
reader first
Writing Tip
5. Remember your message needs a strong call to action
So many times we
can publish something but once we come to a conclusion, it's like
we forget to tell the reader what we would like them to do next.
If you don't simply include an instruction at the end of your
content, don't assume the user will ever take any action at all.
It sounds simple but many people forget this simple step.
What do you want your customer to do at the end of your page?
Do you want them to sign up for your newsletter? Don't forget to
tell them.
Do you want to give them more resources? Then give them a link and
make it easy for them.
Do you want them to call you? Then tell them to walk over to the
phone and give us a call at 1-800-Whatever
In conclusion:
As you work on
writing your Web content to better convey useful, high value
information that is of genuine interest to your readers, you'll
also find that the search engines will also gravitate towards
favoring your content thanks to the high tech components of
artificial intelligence that are working in the background. Spend
time your time building useful pages that satisfy the reason why
your customers are searching the Web in the first place and reap
the benefits of having rich content that will stand the test of
time.
Would you like to read up on issues
concerning Web usability?
One of the most exceptional experts on Web usability is Dr.
Jakob Nielsen Ph.D. who holds 79
United States patents, mainly on ways of
making the Internet easier to use.
Check out Dr.
Nielsen's Alertbox for loads of excellent advice.