Looking to boost traffic to your website, turn more visitors into customers or create a more dedicated and responsive audience? You’ll likely want to give your website a copywriting audit.
What do I meant by “copywriting audit?” I mean that every so often you should review all of the website content on your page with a keen eye in order to determine if the content is exactly the way you want it to be.
A lot of people write static pages (such as a website’s home page or the “About” page) once and then forget about those pages for a long time. I’ve even been guilt of this myself in the past. However, even static content should be reviewed regularly.
Why conduct a website copywriting audit?
First of all, you’ll need to make sure that your website’s written content is still conveying the message that you’d like it to convey. Are all of the facts on the pages still accurate? Do you now offer additional services or have additional experience that you didn’t list before? If so, you’re not presenting the best possible image of yourself or your company to the world.
Your website should tell visitors everything they need to know about you and your company. If it isn’t, you will need to make some changes.
What are you looking for in a website copywriting audit?
When you’re conducting your website copywriting audit, you may want to consider adding (or possibly removing) some sections or pages. The direction and the goals of your website may have changed since you last edited your website and you’ll want to make sure that your website reflects these changes.
You may also want to restructure or reformat your content in order to make it more clear and easier to read. Adding headings or breaking up content into several pages can help you accomplish this goal.
You will also want to look at your website’s content to make sure it’s performing the way it should be.
Is the content easy to read? Is it interesting to visitors? Is it persuasive? Does it have the right tone? Does it present your business in the best possible light? Good website content is straightforward, to the point, informative, entertaining and makes a visitor want to keep reading. It also sells your company and the products and services that you offer. Website copywriting is very powerful and it should be given the time and effort needed to make it perfect.
Good website content is also geared towards the principles of search engine optimization (SEO.) Website copywriting should be focused enough that a search engine can understand the page’s topic. There should be appropriate usage of key words and phrases and strong formatting as well. Tweaking your website content slightly can lead to a huge increase in website traffic if it’s done correctly.
You’ll also definitely want to pay attention to spelling and grammar. We all make typos on occasion, but having a typo on a website can make a company look unprofessional and amateur. Make sure you read over all of your written copy to catch any errors. It sometimes helps to have a friend, relative or co-worker read over your content as well. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes helps catch mistakes you may have missed.
How often should you conduct a website copywriting audit?
There is no set time, but you should do it at least every six months to a year and more frequently if your company has gone through recent changes. Of course, if you find that your website is not performing the way you’d like it to, you may want to do a full website copywriting audit right away.