The good, bad and ugly – web content writing

Search engine optimisation (SEO) has to be the buzz phrase of the day – digital channels and content that raise your search engine rankings and your online presence.

How about this one – search engine disaster – the ability, once people have found you on the web, to disengage them immediately through the uninspired content on your website.

While good communications can only leave a positive impression on your target audience, bad communications – online or offline – are the kiss of death. Here’s the good, bad and ugly:

Good

Your business audience only wants to know what they can gain from dealing with you. So make your copy benefit-driven. This does not mean continuously boasting about your brand – over-bragging is a turn-off. But it does mean being demonstrative. What services do you offer that your competitors don’t? What makes you unique? What are your key value attributes?

Bad

Keep it short and concise. Get to the point why your prospective clients should deal with you and what makes you different. Engage, but don’t kill through boredom. On the other side of the scale, avoid the overuse of lists, bullets, technical specifications and facts/figures. These are guaranteed to cure even the most chronic insomniac.

Ugly

Grammatical mistakes, typos, ambiguous language, or errors that completely change the meaning of the sentence, will kill any chance of engagement. Another is careless formatting. Scrutinise every word, punctuation mark, spacing and every other presentation detail.

If you opt to use a professional copywriter, look for someone who:

• Asks the right questions – takes the time to find out who you are, who you’re aiming to engage through the writing project and what you want to achieve.
• Brings new creative perspectives and value ideas to the table, and can be part of the brainstorming process.
• Can adopt the best writing style to reflect your brand identity.
• For web or social media content, a knowledge of SEO and the use of the right key words is certainly a bonus.