Many marketers mistakenly assume that writing copy for the web follows the same principles as all other communications copywriting. Well BIG no! The copy on your brochures and shareholder reports will not do the trick, and taking the easy road of wacking the copy you have on hand up on your website equals fail.Customers behave differently online.They scan read, looking for the most relevant bits of information to confirm their on the right track. You’ve got a maximum of seven seconds to engage them before they click the back button or the little red cross top right. Keywords, headings, concise sentences, clear and simple language and short paragraphs are paramount. If it proves to be the information they were searching for and it’s a subject that warrants their attention they might give more time for a more thorough read, otherwise they’ll continue with the other site activity they had in mind. Now this means that in at least some cases the copy isn’t necessarily for reading so much as for SEO. But even if it is mainly for SEO nonsensical gobbly-gookis not going to cut it.There’s a formula to keyword optimisation.

In 99% of cases they find your website through search engines. Optimising website copy for search is a technical skill. Balancing the length of copy with the appropriate rate of optimisation per keyword string can be tricky. In most cases I recommend at least 500 words per page, a keyword ratio of 1% and sticking to a maximum of one to three keyword strings per page. Different pages can be optimised for different keyword strings too and is actually better than trying to cram your whole keyword set onto every page.

The right keyword set isn’t as obvious as you might think.

Selecting the right keyword set requires research. One of the most common mistakes that businesses make is to assume their customers use the same language they do. However, a simple customer survey and keyword research may reveal otherwise. Google has a free keyword research tool that gives a rough estimate of the number of searches per month and level of competition. Don’t choose keywords with high or heavy competition, but don’t choose keywords with a lack of search numbers either. The rule of thumb is that the less words in a keyword string the higher the competition, so focus on keyword phrases with at least two and better still three words in the phrase, and the key is finding the right balance between search numbers (traffic) and competition.

Web copy forms part of the site’s structure.

SEO involves a number of techniques that are performed in the site’s coding. The most basic of these is the Title, H1 and Meta Tags, which contain the optimum keyword sets. Each page should be optimised so that keywords in the Title and H1 Tags correspond with the keywords in the copy. Any keywords that correspond to those in the Title and H1 Tags on other pages should be linked to their pages. Internal linking strengthens the site’s SEO, but also provides additional pathways for users to more easily find the information they are looking for.

Managing users’ behaviour increases conversions.

Smart marketers map out the site’s keyword pathways to correlate with their goals. Links and calls to actions on the site provide direction for the users and make it simpler for the user to make decisions about their next step. This element in the planning stages of web copywriting can mean massive increases in goal conversions.

Don’t underestimate the importance of the copy on your website, social media, landing pages and other online campaigns. Give it high priority and consult an expert web copywriter for a review to be sure you are maximising your marketing potential.

Melissa How is a Melbourne based Marketing Consultant specialising in Strategic Planning, Digital Marketing and Communications.