If you’ve paid good money for a website and then more money for marketing, if you have plenty of visitors to your landing page, but you’re still not generating leads or sales, this is for you.
Your website needs to tell people what they need to know right away, with a minimum of scrolling or clicking.
We’ve all got a friend who take ages to tell a story, goes off on tangents and sometimes forgets to ever actually get to the point. Entertaining, endearing, but not the most reliable source of information.
Is that your website? When visitors land on your page, they are usually looking for a solution to a problem. No beer? Let’s try this beer website. Broken shower? Can this plumber site help?
The KISS Principle
Maybe you’ve heard of the KISS principle? Used a lot in engineering, it stands for “Keep It Simple, Stupid!”
We have our own version at Backona: “Keep It Simple and Short!”
Why is this important? Your customers cannot concentrate for very long before you lose them. According to Professor Gloria Mark at the University of California:
“In 2004, we measured the average attention on a screen to be 2½ minutes. Some years later, we found attention spans to be about 75 seconds. Now we find people can only pay attention to one screen for an average of 47 seconds.”
Still with me?
It’s Break-Up Time
But maybe you have a wide product selection, a large range of services, perhaps you need to explain complex ideas. How can you give a lot of information and still Keep It Short?
Break up your content up into chunks with headings. Large blocks of texts can be daunting and unappealing. Make it easy for your visitors.
- Headline – you’ve got probably 3 seconds to hook your visitor. Use it well. Keep your headline clear and simple – no fluff.
- Sub-headline – briefly expand on the headline – explain the goods or services you offer – target a major pain point your customers have. You’re here to solve their problem.
- Headings – Website designers and SEO experts talk about H1, H2, and so on. H1 is your headline. H2s are your sub-headings, going down the page. Google web crawlers use these to work out what your website is about but more importantly, they are your tool to break up your content for your readers.
Get to the Point!
CTA, Above the Fold – Double jargon here. You need to get a couple of CTAs (Calls To Action) in early, to draw your visitor into your website and start them into your sales funnel.
In old-style newspapers, advertisers paid extra for their ad to appear “above the fold”, so they could be seen even when the paper was displayed on a newsstand. Nowadays, it refers to the prime real estate of your website – the part that can be seen without scrolling down.
Get your CTAs in ‘above the fold’.
Cast the Right Spell
A single grammatical or spelling mistake on your website can cut sales in half, while just one typo can reduce CTR (Click Through Rate) on a Google ad by 70%.
It’s all about creating the right impression from the start and not doing anything to push your customer away. Take your time over spelling and grammar. Read everything back to yourself, out loud. You’ll be surprised how much you notice when you hear it out of your own mouth.
Consider hiring a professional copywriter to produce your content. It can turn out to be a wise investment, saving you more time to focus on your business,
Photos, Graphics, Visuals
Yes, this is an article about copywriting, not design. But it is true that a picture paints a thousand words.
And some nice visuals, wisely placed, can help create that welcoming, appealing effect to draw visitors in.
Just try not to rely too much on cheesy stock photos. Invest in some decent visuals and infographics to project a professional image.
In Short…
So, your website needs to be clear, uncluttered and simple to navigate. Use headings to break your content into small chunks. Use some graphics to soften the look of the site and check your spelling and grammar.
And keep checking back here for more top tips on getting the absolute best out of your online marketing.
Article penned by Bill Mair
We would be grateful if you could take a moment to visit Bill’s website and explore his services.
Leave a Reply