By Karon Thackston © 2014, All Rights Reserved
Have you noticed the evolution? If you’ve been paying attention the last few years, you have seen a progression that started with search engine optimization which led to website optimization and finally to conversion optimization. Each has focused on priming your web pages to produce optimal performance in one area or another (search, visitor experience/usability or conversions).
What’s at the center of all of these? Copy. Words. Text.
Whether you’re looking to rank higher on the search engines or sell more/get more leads, good copy on your site (either spoken or written) plays a major role in reaching your goals. Here are 3 specific instances where improving your copy can ultimately boost your conversion rate.
#1 – SEO Copywriting Brings in More/Better-Qualified Traffic
It sounds odd to talk about search engine optimization as part of the conversion process. It is the beginning of the process because your search engine copywriting actually starts with your title and description tags.
If you use your title and description for more than a place to stuff keywords, you can attract more-qualified leads to your site. People who are more targeted to what you’re selling stand that much greater of a chance of converting.
Instead of just cramming all the keywords you possibly can into the 65-69-characters or visible space, differentiate your company/product a bit. Even one carefully chosen word can set you apart from your competition and cause people to click to your web page over someone elses.
#2 – Copywriting Pulls More Sales from Existing Traffic
Once those prospects arrive on your site, the copy on your web pages will have a heavy hand in keeping them engaged. Copywriting that speaks your target customer’s specific language and connects emotionally with them on their level will create an environment that allows your visitors to find just what they are looking for.
Combine that with clearly stating your unique competitive advantage (UCA) and your leads will quickly see why you are the obvious choice for them. When’s the last time you visited your competitions’ websites? If your copy reads the same as theirs, offers the same products and services, and states the same benefits as your competition, it would be difficult for your customers to make a confident decision.
#3 – Calls-To-Action are More Effective with Good Copy
Whether you’re writing a couple of words for a button or an entire paragraph for the closing of a long-form landing page, calls-to-action (CTA) are vital for conversions. Taking for granted that visitors will automatically know what to do next or will actually do it is a disastrous mistake.
I’ve seen many instances where perfectly good copy was ruined by the lack of a well-crafted call-to-action. When writing yours, make sure each one is:
- Compelling – Give visitors a reason to click or call. Using a benefit, an end result or an intriguing vision statement can work well. “Begin losing weight the minute you call” is more compelling than just “Call now.”
- Clear – Offer precise instructions so visitors have no misunderstandings. Pages with no call-to-action (and perhaps just a phone number at the top of the page) or those with unclear direction leave visitors confused and unlikely to move forward. If, for example, you want people to call, tell them so and give the telephone number in the CTA. Don’t assume people will take the time to search for your contact information.
- Visible – Also never assume that your visitors will notice various elements of your design. Using the example above, you may very well have your telephone number in the banner at the top of your page. However, online surfer move at the speed of light so they will likely skip right over that information. Make the CTA a different color than your design pallet, bigger, surrounded by more white space or otherwise set apart so it stands out like a beacon.
Once you decide to optimize your web pages (whether for the search engines, usability or conversions) following these 3 tips can help you improve results.
There are other steps you can take as well. If you’re serious about getting higher rankings and conversion rates from each of the pages on your site, you can start by correcting these 3 common mistakes.
From there, both rankings and sales should rise naturally.
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