Is Your Website Ready for a Copy Audit? (Hint: It probably is!)

When was the last time you looked at your website with an objective eye? I mean, really, really, looked at your site. Not just to see if you have your latest product featured on the home page, or a lack of typos in your blog posts, but instead a top-to-bottom, consumer-centric perspective overview. Is your site telling your brand story in a way that builds lasting human connections? Has it got brief, compelling copy that catches a consumer’s attention in the few seconds they grant you before heading elsewhere? Moreover, are you too intimately involved to know the difference?

If you paused for a moment on any of those questions, it might be time for a copy audit.

While a professional copy audit is worth its weight in gold, here are some simple do-it-yourself steps you can take immediately to put you on the path to having website copy that actually converts.

CHECK YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION

Let’s never forget the first truth of the internet: you only have a matter of seconds (5-7 to be exact) to make an impact. Think about what a potential customer sees on your site when they first land there. Is it blatantly clear from first glance who you are and what you can do for them? Have you done everything you can to make sure they know they are in the right place, while encouraging them to continue scrolling through the site or, better still, take action? Sometimes we are too close to our own content to know if we have nailed this or not, so my advice is to get a friend to take a look and see if they understand who you are and what you do within the first 10 (let’s be generous!) seconds of viewing your site.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Did you know that one of the toughest aspects of website copywriting is being able to communicate a message that speaks volumes in the minimum amount of characters possible? It’s not easy. In fact, there are books focused solely on that topic, such as Roy Peter Clark’s How To Write Short. (Yes, I know… it’s ironical that there’s an entire book written on the topic of writing short!) Aside from the fact that seconds count when it comes to capturing attention online, you also need to consider that short, punchy headlines and sub copy is far more effective from a marketing perspective than long, drawn out sentences that bore and fail to leave any lasting impression.

AIM FOR CONSISTENCY

Did your website copy come together bit by bit? Did you initially write the home page copy, while Max in Marketing added a couple of blog posts, and your product descriptions were put together by the designer? You wouldn’t be alone. But you will also most likely sound like you don’t quite know who you are, or, worse still, that you have a personality disorder. In an ideal world, people should be able to recognize your voice before they even see your logo. Patchwork quilts are a work of art. Unless they apply to website copy.

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STORYTELLING

Think about what you are selling to your potential customers… Is it a product? A service? While that might be your literal offering, it’s not what people are buying into. No, they are buying into the experience of your brand. The feelings it evokes. And the aspirations it brings with it. Simply talk to them about your product, its features, and why it’s better than your competitors, and you are not achieving your full potential as a brand. Brand affinity comes from almost everything else. It starts with your Why -- (if you’ve not yet read Simon Sinek’s Start With Why I highly recommend it) -- and it goes on to inspirational stories of people in your space doing great things. It comes from influencers and user-generated content. In fact, it comes from everything and anything that tells the story of who you are and why people would want to be part of your tribe. Don’t miss the opportunity to tell your brand story throughout your site. (If you are unsure exactly what your brand story is and how to build out on that, let’s talk!)

BE ACTIONABLE

When someone lands on your site, is it obvious what action you want them to take? Are you purely informational (unlikely,) or is there something you would like visitors to do? This might be something obvious, such as buying your product, or perhaps you want them to download a pdf as a lead capture. Whatever your goal might be, make sure you are taking people down that path throughout your website copy and giving plenty of opportunities in different places to take this action. In other words, make it easy for them!

LOOK AS GOOD AS YOU SOUND

Ok, I know this one does not refer specifically to copy, but I’ve been working in branding long enough to know that you can have the best copy in the world and have dialed in your voice until you are unmistakably “you,” but when your visual appearance doesn’t keep up, it will be falling on deaf ears. Let’s say you have decided on a fresh, conversational voice with a slight edge and your storytelling is focused on the aspirational lifestyle around your brand. What happens then if your logo is stale and dated and your site is filled with stock imagery? It will confuse viewers, forcing them to question if you are who you claim to be. If you don’t have someone internally who can lay out a visual direction for your brand, there are plenty of great designers out there who offer this service. Plus, it really doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get some original images taken for your site, and will be worth every cent you invest on it.

Ready to go examine your website to see how conversion-happy it is? Hopefully this will give you a good starting point. If you think you might need a professional eye and some actionable insights, hit me up -- you’d be surprised at how small changes can make a big impact.