You’ve either got an existing website, or are getting ready to build one. And your website designer, in the nicest possible way, indicates to you that perhaps you might want to contract a professional copywriter. At first you are confused. Who better to talk about your business than you? And then you are slightly offended, are thy implying you aren’t good enough? And then you are practical. Why on earth should you increase the cost of website development by hiring someone else to describe what you do? The important thing to know is that the investment in a quality copywriter will have the same benefits as a quality website designer creating your site, or a quality graphic designer working on your brand. A professional copywriter will take your site to the next level, and since you are relying on your site to help take your business to the next level, it only makes sense to be smart about it. After all, the prettiest, easiest to navigate site in the world is only, ultimately, as good as it’s content. Even here at Digital Peabody, where great websites are our business, we utilize professional copywriters for our own website, and have several whom we recommend to our customers to help them optimize the content in their sites.
About 80% of all the hits that a web page gets come from a search engine like Google or Yahoo. This is a large chunk of traffic and ignoring that statistic is perilous for anyone who wishes to attract customers to their websites and in turn make money. The reason that so many hits come through search engines is that most people believe that when they put in a search query, the result that they get is more trustworthy than any other type of result,( i.e. Pay Per Click Ads, Banner, Paid Placement, etc.) This is called an organic result, because the programming behind the search engine found the result naturally, and not by having the web site’s owners paying to be the top result. So getting your website to the top of that organic query is number one priority for all web site managers. If you “optimize” your website with carefully chosen and placed “keywords” then traffic should naturally come to you, through search engines. There are two tricks to getting this done:
1) A search engine’s programming (sometimes called an algorithm) has to find your page on the web.
2) Your web page must be attuned to the right keywords that customers are searching for when they look for your products or services.
Not only that, you want to make sure that in the list of websites that appear when a potential customer does a search query through their favorite search engine, yours is one top (or as close to it as you can get.) Since consumers feel that organic results are best, this will only help you when they find you “naturally” on the web.
Now, natural results are a matter of course here at Digital Peabody. On the Internet there is a certain untamed flow that even mimics natural selection and evolution. We focus on the development of content that subscribes to the organic philosophy. Part of that is utilizing professional copywriters in site development. Everything you can do to get your web page get to the top of the food chain helps you get noticed on the web and sell more of what you offer. The first and simplest method of getting yourself found by search engines and the consumers doing the searching is to get that copy optimized.
While some people may search for one keyword, like “scarf,” “beer,” or “art,” many use a string of terms to find what they need like “wool scarf,” “IPA beer,” or “modern art.” Most even use longer terms, a combination of terms or even whole sentences to search for what they are looking for. A professional copywriter is not only skilled in incorporating as many of the best tags into your content, they create the right tone for your site. Are your potential customers and clients more comfortable with a site that is written in a clear businesslike style, or are they likely to respond better to something conversational? Is your site designed to have someone linger and explore, or do you want to attract people who will get to the site, find the relevant info, and get out quickly. With a copywriter on board, you get the best of both worlds. Content that is specifically written for your target market, and content that is optimized for keyword searches.
Look at your web copy. Does it satisfy all the possible search terms that customers may be using? Do you utilize tags, titles, headlines, and optimized copy to capture that business? Do you know all the terms? Do you know how to use them eloquently so it doesn’t look like you are “stuffing” the HTML with random words you think may get you noticed?
While it may be satisfying to set up, publish and even host your own business’ website, the scary thing is that you may be the only one who cares or even notices. A webpage needs to shout out to the world that you are open to business and here are the things you offer to the public in a real and virtual way. Yes. You may be the expert in your particular field of interest and have the knowledge of the terminology that your customers look for when they seek you out, but how do you get those disjointed terms and keywords onto the computer screens of potential clients? By adding a professional copywriter to your team, you not only guarantee that your website is operating at the highest standards, but you free yourself up to do what you do best, focusing on growing your business, not sitting at a computer writing about it.
