A Guide to Website Copywriting Services

Effective website content goes beyond a brief description of your business with location and hours. While business websites once functioned more like an online Yellow Pages listing, today you need to grab the reader’s attention to get noticed. But how do you do it? The secret is creating quality content that is persuasive and succinct. Website copywriting services can help you achieve that kind of content.

What Is Website Copywriting?

Website copywriting is anything written on a website that helps advertise, market or inform customers about products or services. Basically, it is what makes up the bulk of the internet. That being said, what makes good website copywriting?

Good copywriting incorporates a few different principles. First, any content you create should be high-quality. This means you need to avoid grammar mistakes and focus on readability. Second, good copywriting should include aspects of SEO, or search engine optimization. Each piece of content should be directed toward the audience and focused only on one or two keywords. Proper formatting, including bullet points and headings, should be used.

Along with formatting and readability, every webpage, email newsletter, social media blast and blog post should have a call to action encouraging the reader to take the next step, whether you want them to sign up for a free consultation, attend an event or make a purchase. That doesn’t mean using the exact same approach across the board. Often, those of us in the copywriting business distinguish between two main types of content:

• Direct-response, which features a call-to-action that ideally drives the reader to act immediately. This type of copywriting creates a measurable response to your CTA, which in turn helps you calculate the return on your content investment. Sales emails, ads, landing pages, fundraising letters and sales scripts all fall into the direct-response category.
• Content marketing, which is written to educate the reader and position your brand as an authority in addition to selling your product or service. Examples of content marketing include whitepapers, newsletters, ebooks, home pages, product pages, special reports, case studies, press releases, articles and informational videos.

No matter what the purpose, the best website copywriting shares a few key attributes. It should be clear, concise and have an appropriate tone for your audience. Short sentences and frequent paragraph breaks make it easier to navigate content on tablets and smartphone screens. Active voice provides reading ease and conveys a direct, trustworthy sense of authority. Website copywriting services often focus on these key features when writing content for businesses.

Why Is Website Copywriting Important?

Every aspect of your marketing strategy holds weight. However, content marketing through website copywriting may be one of the most impactful and crucial aspects of building your brand and finding new customers.

As mentioned above, websites are no longer used as online Yellow Pages listings. Instead, they are often the main source of traffic, sales and customer awareness. For online stores, websites are the heart of the business and must look and work at their very best. For brick-and-mortar businesses, websites are still important features because they build brand authority and help inform customers before showing up in person.

But do websites do all of this on their own? What draws customers in? The answer is obvious: website copywriting.

Landing pages, product descriptions and catalogs give customers information they need, and good copywriting in these areas can make the difference in a sale.

Even more than pages and product descriptions, website articles and blog posts are powerful generators of traffic. Google processes over 3.5 billion searches every single day. These searches may include keywords that relate to your business. If you have articles that rank in these searches, you have the potential to find new customers and build up your brand.

Website copywriting can be the right outlet for interested users to find you. If your content is engaging and informative, visitors may soon become customers. The bottom line is this: the higher your copywriting is ranked in google searches, the more exposure and traffic you get.

What Are Website Copywriting Services?

If writing good website content is so important, then how can you ensure your copywriting is high-quality, SEO-friendly and useful to readers? That’s where website copywriting services come in.

Website copywriting services create content optimized for online viewing, such as blogs or landing pages. Through these content creation companies, teams of writers craft original content for websites while incorporating SEO practices. Depending on your needs, you can purchase content specific to your website at almost any scale.

While you can do a lot of this yourself, persuasive content (and a lot of it) is hard to produce all on your own. Using website copywriting services can help you get the quality content you need without the hours and hours of work it would take to create it all. Besides, these professional services strive to persuade and entice the reader, giving them the need-to-know about your product or service while encouraging them to learn more about how it can solve their pain points.

Hiring a website copywriter agency unlocks access to a slate of great writers who can help you achieve your brand’s content marketing objectives. Simplify business workflow and take the pressure off you and your team by leaving copywriting to the experts.

The Benefits of Working With a Website Copywriting Agency

When you hire website copywriting services, you gain access to a team of professional writers who specialize in areas of content marketing and direct response. Depending on your needs, you may work with:

• An advertising writer who specializes in the short-form copy required for character-limited pay-per-click ads. These focused advertisements appear on social media and other websites, encouraging new readers to find out more about your brand.
• A technical writer who has the prowess and research expertise to explain even the most in-depth and scientific products and services to consumers. For example, a technical writer can create instruction manuals and guides that help convert avid readers to active customers.
• A blog writer who creates current content that appeals to readers who want to know more about your niche area. Unlike static pages on your website that only receive updates every so often, your blog provides fresh, value-added details like statistics, case studies, news and FAQs, often on a weekly or biweekly publishing schedule.
• A social media writer specializes in grabbing audience attention as your readers scroll through their feed. This professional is an expert in the casual, friendly tone that tends to make an impact in the social space.
• A webpage writer creates the core content of your site. For example, he or she explains the essentials to your visitors while incorporating keywords that help your site rank in organic search.

Why Should I Invest in Website Copywriting Services?

When you started your small business, you needed a website quickly. You wrote some basic content to let your customers know what your brand is all about. As your company grows, however, that starter site no longer fits the bill. Your brand needs a serious sales tool that attracts potential clients and guides them through the marketing funnel.

1. Web Content Writers Help Your Company

Content marketing is one of your biggest sales tools online. Detailed landing pages, persuasive sign-up forms, optimized how-to blog posts and so much more can guide potential customers to your products and services. Quality content is very important, but if you’re tempted to do write it all yourself, consider these common reasons to hire a website content writer or website copywriting service that specializes in online content:

• They can clarify your value proposition. Your readers should understand how your product or service can help them as soon as they land on your page.
• They can engage your audience. A professional copywriter will help you nail the tone that speaks to your prospective and current clients. This step can also improve conversion. If you get significant website traffic but few sales, high-quality copywriting has the persuasive power to boost your revenue.
• They can help you get noticed with better search engine optimization, or SEO. Website copywriting services can help your content rank higher on Google and other search engines based on your target keywords.
• They can help you generate leads by building trust in your brand. Well-written content positions your company as an authority that can solve problems for your readership.
• They can maximize the impact of your content throughout the marketing funnel. Each step in the purchase process should have targeted copy that navigates the reader to the next step.

2. Work Directly With Website Copywriting Services

Most companies, regardless of size, don’t have writers on hand that can adeptly engage, persuade and retain an active readership. While you can hire a staff writer or an independent freelancer, choosing an agency that specializes in website copywriting services has distinct benefits. Because you don’t have to find and train a freelancer (or try to write your own content), you’re saving valuable time that could better be dedicated to your core business objectives.

You may find that the team approach of these services lends a fresh eye to your brand that can give your content a much-needed spark. Many content agencies can also facilitate the planning process and help you develop a copywriting strategy that fits your goals when you aren’t sure where to start.

When Should I Invest in Website Copywriting Services?

Proper preparation can maximize the power of your investment in great content. Before you hire a website copywriting agency, you should know exactly what you want your copy to achieve. Without specific objectives in place, after all, you won’t be able to measure your success. As long as you know WHY you need content, a writing service can help you figure out exactly WHAT TYPE of content you need. If you can’t answer the question of why, then you aren’t ready to move forward with a copywriting strategy.

Once you have figured out that question, start making a plan. What do you hope to accomplish? If your landing pages and product descriptions need some help, start there. If you are solid in most areas of your website, you may want to start producing blog content consistently. Many businesses publish high-quality articles at least once or twice a week. If you are ready to dive into the benefits of website copywriting, this may be a great option for you.

How Do Website Copywriting Services Work?

The best website copywriting services have established publication workflows with responsible team members, clear action items and detailed deliverables at each step. You should understand who you’ll be working with as well as what to expect from that person. While each service has its own methods, you should recognize these five general stages of online publication when an agency describes its workflow:

• A learning phase in which the team gets up to speed on your brand, your content strategy and your goals.
• An insight phase in which the team strategies about how to address these objectives.
• A brainstorming phase in which the team comes up with content ideas for your copy.
• An execution phase, which of course is where the magic happens.
• A measurement phase where you determine how well the copy delivered met your stated goals.

In addition to understanding the agency’s process, you should also review the available fee structures. For example, if you only need a few content assets, you might want to go with a company that charges on a per-word or per-project basis.

If you need regular batches of high-volume content or want to execute a comprehensive strategy, managed services with a dedicated project manager and a monthly retainer fee might make more sense for your budget. Even for larger projects, consider starting with a trial order to make sure the content you receive meets the mark before making a major commitment.

What Should I Look for in a Copywriting Service?

Every online copywriting agency is different, which can pose challenges to finding the right fit for your business. Understanding positive attributes to seek and red flags to avoid can help you narrow down your list of prospective website copywriting services. When evaluating a website copywriting service, you should look for:

• Knowledge about best online copywriting practices that inform content creation, strategy and benchmarks for success. Avoid agencies that ignore key concepts like SEO and user experience.
• Open communication that fits with your preferred work style, whether you like to text it out, talk on the phone or email with your team.
• Familiarity with your industry and the keen research skills to fill in the blanks. Look for examples of projects the agency has done for clients in a range of diverse industries, especially pieces that demonstrate the ability to write as a thought leader.
• An understanding of how to measure success with your content strategy. Ask your prospective online copywriting service to share case studies of work they’ve done for other clients that illustrate tangible impact.

Asking the right questions is an essential part of the process. Some questions to ask a prospective copywriting agency include:

• Who will manage my projects and serve as the daily point of contact?
• Will my copy be written by staff members, or do you outsource to freelance writers?
• What materials will you need from me to start the project?
• Can you meet our target deadlines?
• How can we help the process go smoothly and avoid common issues?

You might also want to ask for references from past clients. A limited portfolio or lack of online reviews can signify inexperience.

How Can I Partner Effectively With Website Copywriting Services?

When you hire website copywriting services, the professionals will take time to completely understand your brand and its message. The more details you can provide about your product or service, the better your writer can find an engaging yet clear way to call your readers to action. You can also request a writer who has specialized experience in your niche since many content creators focus on one or more sectors such as travel, entertainment, tech, education, medicine, manufacturing, law or finance.

1. Create a Brief To Guide Writers

Every effective copywriting project starts with a strong creative brief. This document compiles all the information your writer needs to succeed, including:

• The goal of the piece
• Intended audience
• Word count
• Format
• Special features such as metadata, internal and external links, target keywords, images, headings and other ancillaries that enhance the reader experience and make your content pop

Including an outline with your brief is especially valuable for long-form pieces. If you aren’t sure how to best structure your content, your writer can provide information about best online practices, such as short, scannable sentences and paragraphs with lots of entry points for readers.

2. Include Information About Your Target Market

Your website content writer will become quite familiar with your intended audience. Demographic information, reader personas and surveys paint a picture that helps your writer develop targeted content that speaks to the right market sector. Visual inspiration can also be helpful. Share images, videos and other media that reflect the tone you want to convey with your brand’s copy.

3. Find Great Keywords

Website copywriters are well-versed in the factors that influence SEO. As part of the copywriting process, they’ll seamlessly and naturally weave in keywords so your articles, blogs and web pages get noticed by your readership. Conducting keyword research can help drive this process so you see measurable results.

4. Give Feedback

When you receive copy that doesn’t hit the mark, provide constructive criticism to your team early and often. Over time, your desired tone will become second nature to your website content writer.

Get Started With Website Copywriting Services

Working with website copywriting services can certainly save you time and create real value for your brand through an effective content strategy. For best results, plan to collaborate closely with your agency so the team can serve as a true content partner. You should feel comfortable with your writers and confident that the company’s core values jive with your own.

When you choose BKA Content, you’re choosing an agency with a singular focus: creating outstanding copy for our clients. Schedule a consultation today to learn more about working with our experienced professional copywriting team.