Carefully crafted copy
There are lots of web directories around – like Hot Frog, Carry On Surfing, Best of the Web, VivaStreet and Splut.
Now I know that everyone likes to submit their websites to directories because you get SEO-boosting links, but does anyone use these directories?
Who uses directories to look for a website or a particular type of business? If you regularly use web directories to find websites and businesses, please let me know.
I’m going to say something that is bloody obvious, but bears repeating: Google’s search results do not always reflect real life.
What I mean is that many successful businesses have quite under-nourished websites, which appear on page 2 or 3 of any relevant SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). While a number 1 position in Google’s results may be the Holy Grail of web marketing, it clearly isn’t everything.
I help my clients find success on the web. I use Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and off-site tactics to drive people towards their websites. I look for ways to generate interest and income in and around their websites. But it’s crucial that my clients and I remember that the web is just a part of the business environment.
The web is a great place, and it’s very useful for businesses, but it should not be the only aspect of a firm’s marketing activities. A website makes a perfect platform from which to start and to focus marketing activities around – but businesses also need to stand up in the real world. Those who don’t risk being overtaken by their more active counterparts. You may be winning the war on the web, but what are your competitors doing in real life?
I write a lot of copy for websites. After writing web copy, the natural progression is to ask: what next? And:
In short, writing copy for websites leads to thoughts of web marketing. And quite naturally my work has slipped from pure copywriting into Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and web marketing. I recently added additional pages to explain these services – read about my approach to web marketing.
Being a marketing kind of person, I view things from the point of view of the customer. I put myself in the shoes of my clients’ customers. As with all marketing, it never hurts to consider the marketing of a thing when you’re deciding the fundamentals. So don’t be afraid to ask a copywriter for their thoughts on your project.
Judging by the websites I encounter during my work, many are under-optimised. Which means there is extensive scope for improvement, which means they could do more for the businesses that own them.
Many websites appear to have been created some time ago, by an outside agency, plonked down on the web and left to fester. Such websites can be spotted by their misjudged positioning, missing SEO elements, ancient blog posts or ‘news’, references to summer when it’s autumn, misspelled or grammatically incorrect copy, low or non-existent Page Rank and minimal links pointing to it.
These websites are sad creatures, attracting few visitors, making no sales, converting nothing and generating no leads. The money invested in these websites is wasted. The return on investment is £0.
In the current economic climate, it strikes me that many businesses need to evaluate their web presence, and consider how it might do more. Now is the perfect time to tweak existing assets into useful, profitable tools.
The web is an amazing place that offers a wealth of potential. But websites need to work hard to compete among the billions of other websites. Websites that are just dumped on the web will do nothing but take up space, cost money and gather e-dust.
Optimising websites is simple – you just need to know how. Most websites require a few key changes and some work off-site to get the ball rolling.
I believe that any business that wants their website to do more should start by appointing someone to be Web Manager, or Web Lord, or whatever they prefer to be known as. Give your Web Lord some time to regularly think about your website. Take some of their least favourite tasks away from them so they have mental space to think creatively about web marketing.
If you’re unsure of how to get started, and would like a few pointers, drop me a line. I offer web marketing reports which come packed with effective techniques for making websites work harder.
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