Why You Need a Professional to Write Your Website Copy

By Haines|Published On: August 6, 2014|

Have a leaky drain, you call a plumber. Trouble with termites? Find a pest control company in the Yellow Pages. Need medicine for a nagging cough? Go see a doctor.

So why would you write your own website copy?

Perhaps you’re thinking of enlisting the services of a friend who writes well but has no web experience. Bad idea. Or worse—cutting and pasting content from a competitor’s site (a surefire way to get Google to ban yours).

Why would a professional roofer, who warns his customers against do-it-yourself shingle repair, resort to writing his own website copy? Because he doesn’t realize the power of the written word in the right hands—those of the professional copywriter.

What Professionally Written Website Copy Can Do for You

The truth is that powerful, expertly crafted web copy can make a significant difference for your company. While you certainly know your business best, using a skilled wordsmith who lives and breathes web copywriting can take your site to a whole new level. (It can also relieve you of the anxiety of having to face the proverbial blank page.)

The right copy, in the right amount, can:

Drive web traffic
Promote your brand voice and image
Complement your website’s design
Distinguish you from your competition
Give prospects the confidence to contact you
Persuade those who may be “straddling the fence” to make the call
Answer questions and overcome objections that affect a prospect’s buying decision
Convert feature-laden copy into benefit-rich language
Help turn your site into a revenue-generating machine rather than an abandoned outpost languishing on the web’s vast terrain

You’ve spent the money to make sure your site looks spectacular. Now take the next step and fill those vacant pages with killer website copy. Here are a couple more reasons to relinquish this duty to an experienced pro:

Improve Search Engine Optimization

A homeowner in Compton, Iowa, needs a quote on having his driveway repaved. He knows there are several companies in town that specialize in asphalt paving, so he goes online to research.

He enters “Compton Iowa asphalt paving” in Google and scrolls down to view three area pavers near the top of the page. The websites of three other local pavers are buried on pages 5, 9, and 12.

Which companies do you think the prospect will call?

Through smart use of keywords and up-to-date knowledge of preferred Google and Yahoo copywriting practices, a web copy expert can increase the chances of your business securing a higher search engine ranking.

Make a Great First Impression

A landscaper in Summerton, Vermont, shouts from his home page that his company is recognized for its FINE ATENTION TOO EVERY LAST DETAIL. The message appears loud and clear in red 32-point type, in all caps, and centered at the top of the page.

The problem is that “ATENTION” is misspelled and “too” should be “to.”

The irony of the mistakes is not lost on observant surfers looking for a reliable company to build a retaining wall. The rest of the site is similarly littered with typos, questionable grammar and critical omissions, such as an incomplete email address.

Granted, web copy is not meant to sound Shakespearean. But to avoid suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous errors, your site deserves the same attention to detail that you devote to making your company stand out from the crowd.

Every site we build is professionally copywritten—something most web firms charge extra for. Our goal is to leave your prospects with a positive impression that will impact your bottom line.