This time, we will be looking at the first section of body copy. This is where the bulk of your information to push people to convert will come from. This is also a section where understanding what Google wants comes into play, as its not just potential customers browsing your website. Designing and writing for both your customers and Google is important for a successful website.
Here is the section we will be talking about today, so let’s get started.
Compelling H1 or H2 Headlines
Just like a newspaper, headlines on a website attract attention. This sought-out attention is to let viewers know what this section of copy is about and also to give information to Google. Google pays more attention to headlines on a webpage than it does to body copy, so make sure you have some compelling headlines with organically placed keywords. These headlines come in the form of H1’s, H2’s, H3’s and beyond. A little SEO tip: only have one H1 and as many H2’s as you want. This is because the H1 should be the overlaying theme of the page while the H2’s divides the page into more sections of that theme. Using this tactic with well written headlines will both entice your viewers and convince Google what your page is about to send more search traffic your way. Clear and quality content wins out over spammy content riddled with the same keywords over and over again.
Guarantee
This section of your website will give the viewer more information about your business or service, but it will also function as an area of building trust and legitimacy. Adding a guarantee will do both of these things. Hopefully you will be able to come up with one for your site, but here are a few that we suggest: 100% Money-Back Guarantee, Express Delivery, Free Delivery, Same Day Delivery or Dispatch, Get It in 5 Days or It’s free, Happiness Guarantee, or 1-Year Refund Policy. Not every business or service is the same, so you will have to sculpt a guarantee that you are comfortable with. This is not just for show. This is to tell your potential customer that you care about them and the quality of your service or product.
Keyword Rich Body Copy
Here is the meat and potatoes of this section. The body copy should be between 300-500 words long and should be structured in a way that is interesting to read. Don’t place it all in one big box and call it a day. People will not read it. To get people to read it, add line breaks, add small headlines with H2’s or H3’s. You could also add a list to break it up. People tend to read in a certain pattern for articles and webpages called the F-Pattern. People don’t necessarily read the entire copy, but they read a headline/sentence, skim, read a headline/sentence, and skim. Bolding a sentence will also help drive attention to it for people to read. These headlines and bold sentences are there to get people to not skim but to read the rest of the content.
But, as we said earlier, it’s about both the viewer and Google, so there’s one more part to this. Through your body copy you should be sprinkling in keywords related to the page’s theme. Don’t just start adding keywords for the heck of it. The content still needs to be of a certain quality, so having a word written over and over won’t look good. But having these keywords in the content will help show Google what the page is about and how relevant it is to a topic. For example, if a page has the word “java” all over it and not much else, Google won’t know if you are talking about the software program or the beverage. Adding extra keywords will show relevance and clarity of what the page is about.
Internal Linking
Websites tend to have many different pages, and the usual way of getting to these other pages is from the navigation menu at the top of the page. But, another way for people to navigate through the site is through internal linking, which is simply adding a hyperlink to a word or many words in your website’s copy. Adding a structured internal linking strategy to your website and pages will help navigate people to more pages of your site and will keep them on your site longer. Ultimately, the goal is to get the viewer to where they want to be by adding content to the link. In the navigation, there is no context to the pages, but the body copy will give the internal link context on where the reader will go and what they should expect.
The word or multiple words you hyperlink is called anchor text. It is important to keep in mind that this anchor text is what will tell both the viewer and Google what they should expect by clicking on the hyperlink. For example, when we write out to contact us and hyperlink it, you will know that clicking that link will lead you to some way of contacting us.
Secondary Calls to Action
Now that you’ve hooked them with your copy and guarantee, visitors will want to know more or contact you. They won’t want to scroll back up and hit a contact button or go back to the navigation. Don’t leave your visitors hanging and add a call-to-action at the end of your content. Make sure the CTA is related to the copy next to it. This could be a white paper download, a link to your contact page, or a link to another page to learn more. Think like your customers and give them what they would want to see.
Keyword Rich Services
This section varies between businesses, but if it is applicable to you then it can be a powerful area for both information and ranking power. If you have multiple services, pick the most important ones for your target audience to showcase to your visitors. Having them in separate boxes calls attention to the visitor’s eyes. Include a headline, some copy, and an image/icon to showcase the service. Within the headline and copy should be where you are focusing on the benefits of the service and keywords people would search for that service. Although you are talking about your service, also remember that you should be talking about your customer and why they would want or need this service.
Testimonials or Reviews
Remember when I talked about showing trust and legitimacy? There’s no better way to do that than to show off testimonials and reviews left by past customers. There are widgets in WordPress that can help you add your Google reviews to your page, or you could write out testimonials that were given to you. Of course, people will be able to see all of your Google reviews on your Google listing, but here is your chance to show your visitors what you want them to see. Adding these testimonials or reviews will help show off your quality of service or product and will entice people to trust you more.
Value-Driven Call to Action
Last but not least is adding another call to action. This call to action is different than the one we added in or after our body copy earlier. After all that information you’ve given the visitor, it’s possible they are now ready to convert. Don’t give them the option to run away or give up on finding a way to convert. Give them a nice big button with value-driven text to convert from. They’ve learned about you, they’ve seen blurbs of your services, and they’ve seen what other people have to say about you. This is the perfect time for them to convert, so don’t miss this opportunity.
We are now half way through our checklist. Is your website utilizing these elements? Are you going to try them out? If you have any questions about anything here don’t hesitate to contact us to get it all straightened out. We love website design and have been working on websites for many years. We want you to be successful, so if you’re in need of a website upgrade or help designing a new website, give us a call. You can reach us at 302-259-1644 or send us a message on our contact page to get started.