An Actionable Guide to Website Copywriting

‍If you’ve been in the digital marketing game long enough, you’ve seen your fair share of crappy web copy. You might even be responsible for some of it in your early days (we’ve all been there).

‍At any rate, chances are you have learned by now that good copy can make all the difference in purchase decisions. So you put in all your time and resources, hoping to create converting texts.

‍But what happens when the results you get don’t match the efforts you pour in?

‍The truth is that with SEO being such a fickle mistress, your copy needs to tick the right boxes before it even stands a chance in the chaos that is the Internet.

‍In this guide, we will take a look at the website copywriting process, what makes a good copy, and how to craft your own killer texts that actually convert.

‍Generally, ‘website copywriting’ refers to the process of creating written content specifically for web pages. While many think it only applies to the Home and About pages, it’s more than that.

‍In reality, it includes blogs, product descriptions, landing pages, etc. So, if you have ever written anything like that, congrats – you know what web copy is.

‍Some marketers also expand the definition of this term to include writing for social media posts, digital ads, and any other marketing materials published online.

‍That’s why the web copy could be this:

‍And this:

‍What is the main goal of web copywriting, then?

‍The most obvious one is probably to motivate users to take action (whether it’s making a purchase, filling out a form, or any other desired conversion). Yet, it can range from building industry leadership to turning your one-time clients into loyal customers.

‍When it comes to any SEO tactic, it’s easy to make claims, but at the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding.

‍In this case, we’ve got 58% of B2B marketers who credit content marketing with helping them increase sales by up to 42% compared to last year. But apart from growing sales rates, copywriting for a website also helps to:

• Communicate your brand message effectively and uniquely;
• Make a strong impression even in a world overloaded with information;
• Drive SEO benefits. Yep, good web copy can drive more traffic, allow you to target a variety of keywords, and increase your business’s online visibility;
• Cement your brand personality and help build stronger relationships with your customers;
• Highlight the value of your products or services to your target audience and convince them to buy from you.

‍Okay, clearly, copywriting for websites is worth pursuing. But you’ve probably already tried it at least once. Were you satisfied with the results, though?

‍If that wasn’t the case, the following best practices can definitely help you make more progress:

Write for Your Target Audience

‍Ever wanted to buy something that looked like a good idea, but once you started reading the product description, you just knew that the product was definitely not for you? Well, that’s the power of copy.

‍When you craft your website content copywriting, you need to write with the image of the person who is going to read and buy that product in mind.

‍That means your copy needs to show that you really understand your target audience – their needs and how your products can help.

‍Source: @wakatokuroda on X

‍But how can you figure out their needs in the first place?

• Do keyword research;
• Check out what they’re saying on forums, social media platforms, etc.;
• Look through the comment section of your competitors’ blogs (if possible);
• Create user personas based on your findings.

‍Since web copy aims to encourage users to take action, it’s crucial to have a deep understanding of your product to organically highlight its key selling points without overwhelming or annoying the reader.

Optimize for Search Engines

‍Know what’s worse than a bad web copy? One that is not optimized for search engines.

‍It’s shocking how much content there is out there that never gets to see any traffic — over 96%, according to Ahrefs. Yikes!

‍So, unless you want to end up in this category, you have to do everything you can to make sure your copy gets all the attention it rightly deserves. It starts by making sure that search engines can find your content and understand it so they can rank it well on search engine results pages.

‍How do you pull this off?

• Add keywords in strategic places like the title, headers, and body text of your copies (be sure to keep it to a ratio of 1 keyword per 100-150 words to avoid keyword stuffing);
• But an even more important aspect is making sure your copy aligns with search intent, as Google is all about semantic search these days;
• Your content must be focused on the user — what message do you want them to get, and what action would you like them to take;
• You’ll need a good internal and external backlinks system to convince the search algorithm that you are worth the top position in search results.

‍When copywriting for a website, make sure your content is user-centered. This way, you won’t have to worry about resorting to shady tactics that can attract penalties.

‍The same goes for your guest post content, you know, those articles you send off to sites with write-for-us sections in hopes of scoring more backlinks.

Use Catchy Headlines

‍Your headlines can make or break your copy, and that’s because they are usually the first (and hopefully not the only) thing your visitor sees. In that first three seconds, you want to make sure you grab their attention and compel them to read the rest of the article.

‍But this only works if the headline also accurately reflects the content — clickbait is so out.

‍Source: @matt_gray_ on X

‍So, here are some tips to make your headlines intriguing when writing website copy:

• Throw in numbers, stats, or new facts: “Over 90% of content doesn’t get any traffic, and here’s why” certainly packs more punch than “A lot of content doesn’t get any traffic.”
• When in doubt, frame the headline as a question: “Why is 90% of all web content not getting any traffic?” or “How can you make sure your blog isn’t one of the 90% that get no traffic?”
• Create a sense of urgency to stir up FOMO: “XX hours left: Get 30% off our hottest-selling course.” Don’t overdo it, though, because the only urgency you’ll create is people rushing to leave your site.
• Use words that encourage people to take action: “Test these secrets to smashing SEO rankings.”

‍Now, all these good tips are of no use if your headline is also not optimized for search engines and, most importantly, aligned with the audience’s needs.

‍You need to show that you understand people’s pain points. So, add keywords to your headlines and tailor them to match the goal (aka search intent) of the user.

Make Your Content Clear and Simple

‍Source: @jonbrosio on X

‍You probably know the basic rules of copywriting for website content – keep the text clean, add keywords in the body and headers strategically, etc. But that’s not all.

‍In addition to all that, you will need to:

• Use a lot of short sentences and bullet points for readability;
• Ensure there’s no unnecessary fluff, buzzwords, or overly technical jargon;
• Use active voice, as this makes the reader connected to your messages;
• Focus more on the benefits the customer stands to gain from using your products and services;
• Keep the tone consistent with your brand voice (which is hopefully friendly).

‍At the end of the day, you need to add one more thing— links. No matter how well-written and optimized your content is, you want to earn backlinks from authoritative sources so your pages can rank higher in search results and gain more visibility and traffic.

‍If you feel like link building is too complicated and time-consuming, you’re right. That’s exactly why many businesses choose to get paid links and save their time.

Structure Your Pages Carefully

‍There is an old saying that the eyes get fed first before the mouth, and it perfectly applies here. No one wants to read an eyesore of a web copy. That is why structure is so important when copywriting website content.

‍When your copy is well structured, it also looks visually appealing. As a result, you’ll attract more clicks. Here are a couple of tips you can use to get that clean structure:

• Use H1, H2, H3, and H4 to create a hierarchy in the headers;
• Follow 5Ws and H framework – a logical flow that answers the question of who, what, where, when, why, and how;

‍Source: Chisel Labs

• Address the most important points first and save the least important ones for later. This is what’s called an inverted pyramid;

‍Source: School Journalism

• Add a hyperlinked table of contents for long-form articles to make it easy for people to jump to what they want to read;

• Break up the content with white space, interesting graphics, images, and other visuals;
• Consider adding a TL;DR — text snippet that summarizes the article.

Don’t Forget About the CTA

‍As a rule, your internet copywriting needs a CTA – an invitation to take a desired action, which is the focus of most texts out there. It could be to guide visitors to sign up for your newsletter, buy your product, fill out a form, etc.

‍Source: @semrush on X

‍Here are the best practices to make your CTA more effective:

• Use action words that appeal to their senses or desires and be clear about what you want your readers to do, like: “Join the exclusive club,” “Shop smarter,” etc.;
• Use colors and designs to make the CTA stand out from the rest of the page;
• Don’t just wait till the end before you add a CTA. You can put one in the first section, another somewhere in the middle, and then one at the end of your copy. Yes, it’s okay to use CTAs a couple of times. But if you have multiple calls-to-action, be careful not to confuse people;
• Make sure that at each step where you have a CTA, it feels like a natural progression from the content preceding it — if it looks forced or odd, it won’t have the desired effect.

Edit Regularly

‍There are so many web copywriting pieces that are like milk — good today and bad tomorrow. If you don’t want your work to belong in that category, you will need to update your posts regularly.

‍This helps it remain relevant and fresh. Plus, it improves your SEO rankings.

‍What can you do?

• Update statistics and add any new data to keep things fresh and interesting;
• Find better images and visuals to illustrate your points? Swap the old ones out for more engaging graphics;
• Add new paragraphs or sections with current trends or remove sections that are now false or misleading;
• Add new keywords and update your meta description — it’s like giving your copy a makeover to make it more attractive to search engines.

‍Doing this signals to the algorithm and your audience that you’re actively interested in presenting only accurate, current, and valuable information.

‍While many think that content writing is easy (even ChatGPT can do it, right?), that’s far from the truth. That’s why you should take it seriously if you want to achieve anything with your digital marketing efforts.

‍And one more thing – let’s appreciate this wonderful Semrush’s tweet:

‍Source: @semrush on X

‍Copywriting for the web has many components, and if you have been following along so far, congratulations! You are now armed with tips to take your content to a whole new level.

‍There’s only one thing left to do — get acquainted with some tiny tips that can make your efforts so much more effective. So here’s what you can do:

• Avoid using passive voice. It’s a no-no if you want to make your content engaging;
• Use short, concise sentences;
• Use transitional words (e.g., also, additionally, moreover, etc.) to connect ideas, sentences, and paragraphs;
• Read, edit, and proofread over and over to catch any errors that can water down your message. The best thing you can do is leave your copy for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes.;
• Read your copy out loud — you would catch more errors this way since your mind tends to automatically fix typos when you read silently.
• SEO and editing tools are your BFFs, and you don’t need to break the bank to get some of the benefits — start with the free ones like Grammarly, Hemingway Editor, and Google Search Console;
• Monitor and tweak your content strategies as often as needed — being afraid to change something that’s not working can leave you stuck;
• If possible, ask your readers for their feedback — this is a great way to really tap into what they want to read.

‍You are now fully equipped not only to help explain “what is web copywriting?” but also to walk someone through the entire process from start to finish.

‍That said, great content has a lot of moving parts. So, here’s our final piece of advice—keep it simple. There are way too many tips out there, and trying them all at once can leave your head spinning.

‍Instead, start small. Try new things one by one and master each before moving on to the next. With consistency, you’ll be churning out clickable copy in no time.