For optimum website content, you need to achieve a very fine balance between copy and images. This is especially important as web content must be as concise as possible and the temptation to replace words with images can be remarkably strong.

Before giving in to this, you need to consider the drawbacks of losing web copy. You can’t have ‘key pictures’ as you would key words. Images are not picked up by search engines in the same way (although you can add an ‘alt’ tag to tell the search engines what the image is about). This instantly cuts down on your visibility to vital marketing outlets.

If you are worried that your site will appear text-heavy then keep paragraphs short, with plenty of white space in-between. This makes for more memorable writing, allowing your key messages to jump out at the reader.

When selecting images make sure they have an obvious relevance and are not open to misinterpretation. The relationship between words and images is crucial and should amplify meaning rather than confuse it. An excellent but apocryphal example of how not to choose an image comes from a baby food company, said to have put a picture of a baby and no text on their tins, only to see their sales drop in Africa as people assumed they were selling canned babies.

However, when used correctly images can add visual interest to your web content, emphasising key messages of the copy to create a more memorable experience for potential clients.

What do you want your website content to do for your business? You probably want to attract the attention of search engines, to raise your online profile and to gain potential clients’ confidence in your business. One way you can help achieve all of these goals is to include a ‘News’ section on your website.

The most efficient news sections are designed to be quickly updatable and usually keep news items to 250 or so words, an ideal length for attracting Internet readers. This can always link to a longer article on your company blog if you feel there is more to say. However, if you do create longer versions, ensure they have a purpose. As with all web content, news items and associated articles should be kept clear and concise. Use exactly as many words as you need - not a single letter more. A regular schedule of fresh content means your site will be crawled more often by the search engines.

A frequently updated website also sends a strong signal to potential customers that you are an active and dynamic company. It gives them an insight into your aims, achievements and work in the current market that product descriptions and static pages can’t achieve. To this end, consider a variety of news posts on a variety of topics. Types of posts may include articles on product and company news (upgrades, promotions, recent press coverage); as well as wider industry news.

Online news sections can work really well in tandem with business blogs: the former can demonstrate your organisation’s leadership in its industry, whereas the latter offers a more informal platform for potential customers to interact.

The internet has now become one of the first ports of call for customers looking to learn more about a business. Therefore, as with any good marketing material, your website copy should make a strong first impression and be aimed at driving enquiries and sales.

As Walt Disney once said, “always leave them wanting more”. Your website copy should be concise and provide enough information to hook your audience. Many companies make the mistake of attempting to answer every possible question on their pages, which can lead to text-heavy clunky sites.

So you’ve got to be focused. Once you have your website structure, make a list of key points for each page. The list should only be 3 or 4 items long. Stick to this list and ensure that pages don’t openly duplicate text across the site. You’ll also need to bear in mind your keywords and ensure these are scattered throughout with the necessary frequency to attract search engines.

As with your blog content, you will need to decide on your tone. This will be largely dictated by your corporate identity and demographic.

Regardless of your demographic, you should be aiming to galvanize them into finding out more. Calls to action are a frequent, and crucial, part of any website design. Make it very clear what you want the user to do: if you’re an ecommerce retailer you’ll need lots of prominent ‘Buy Now’ buttons. If you sell professional services and you want the website to act as a lead generator, you’ll need to make every effort to capture your visitors’ ID, via contact forms, newsletter sign-up boxes, or free information products in exchange for contact details. The psychology of many web users is to ‘look and not touch’. Converting your traffic to sales has to be the primary aim of your web content, so make sure you give you visitors clear incentives to leave their contact details with you.

Content has to be at the centre of a successful link building strategy. That’s the verdict from Bing, the new search engine from Microsoft which aims to rival Google. The search engine’s webmaster blog clearly states:

“We’ve said it before, and you’ll hear it said again: content is king. Providing high-quality content on your pages is the single most important thing you can do to attract inbound links.

“If your content is unique and useful to people, your site will naturally attract visitors and, as a result, automatically get good links to your site. By focusing on great content, over time, your site will naturally acquire those coveted inbound links.”

Here are Bing’s top tips for stellar web content:

•  Develop your site as a business brand and be consistent about that branding in your content

•  Identify relevant industry experts, product reviewers, bloggers, and media people and let them know about your site and its content

•  Write and publish concise, informative press releases online as developments warrant

•  Publish expert articles to online article directories

•  Participate in relevant blogs and forums and refer back to your site’s content when applicable (Note that some blogs and forums add the rel=”nofollow” attribute to links created in user-generated content (UGC). While creating links to your content in these locations won’t automatically create backlinks for search engines, readers who click through and like what they find may create outbound links to your site, and those are good.)

•  Use social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to connect to industry influencers to establish contacts, some of whom may connect back to you (be sure you have your profiles set up with links back to your website first)

•  Create an online newsletter on your site with e-mail subscription notifications

•  Launch a blog or interactive user forum on your site

•  Join and participate in relevant industry associations and especially in their online forums

•  Ultimately, strive to become a trusted expert voice for your industry and let people know that your website contains your published wit and wisdom

How can you successfully communicate your brand’s message to your website’s visitors? Here are 8 ways:

1)    Your web writing needs to spell out why people should buy from you and not your competitors: we live in a world of similar businesses with similar prices targeting similar customers. Tell people why they should bother to buy from you.

2)    Highlight all the customer benefits of what’s on offer as well as a clear explanation of the product or service. Don’t go overboard on technicalities: you only need to tell people enough to get them interested and motivate them to take action; you don’t need to educate them about every single detail straightaway.

3)    Weave your keywords into the text (and especially into your headings) to improve your chances of a good search engine ranking.

4)    Structure your text so the main points are put across even to people who initially scan your website copy, rather than read it in detail. Use headings and formatting with this in mind.

5)    Write to your customers, not just about the product or service.

6)    Put your message forward in clear, concise English – no jargon or corporate-speak.

7)    Drop ‘teasers’, ‘tasters’ and ‘soundbites’ into your web writing to stir up the desire in your visitors to know more about what you can do for them.

8)    Make sure your copywriting is crafted in keeping with the graphic design and layout of your website.

1)    It’s gotta be regular! If you want your website to appear anywhere in Google, you MUST update it with fresh SEO content on a regular basis. At a minimum, you need to be adding content to your site once a week – if you can do it more often, that’s even better. The operative word here is “adding”. There’s a mistaken belief in some circles that you should re-write your existing pages on a regular basis, when in fact it’s adding new content that will really boost your chances in the search engines. Try to ensure that the majority of your SEO content is unique. It’s OK to post an occasional piece of content from another site but keep in mind that Google is looking for sites with something original to say.

2)    Write a blog. A lot of websites are “static”, i.e. basic brochure-style sites with content that don’t really need embellishing or updating. Installing a blog is therefore a neat solution to the problem of needing to add regular content. The blog can have its own section on the site (www.sitename.co.uk/blog) and any number of posts can be added without disrupting the overall usability of the website. If you use a CMS (Content Management System) like Wordpress for your blog, you’ll find it’s as easy to use as Microsoft Word. Lace your blog articles with your keywords and link those keywords to other pages of your site for extra SEO brownie points.

3)    Say something useful. A business blog is only as good as the topics it writes about. After all, you want the readers to engage with your carefully crafted SEO content and subsequently take an interest in your products and services. What do your customers find interesting and useful? The reason our own SEO content focuses on blogging is because we’re a team of article writers and blog writers and we want to attract readers who share our interests. Don’t make the mistake of using your business blog as your personal diary. Your blog needs a consistent theme that’s relevant to the needs and interests of its readership.

This checklist was put together by Internet Marketing expert Nikki Pilkington, who was in turn inspired by Social Media expert Chris Brogan. Follow these social media marketing strategies every day to develop your relationships with customers, future customers, suppliers and other business contacts.

Daily Social Media Marketing Checklist

Twitter

1.    Retweet 7 things – to my mind, retweeting is the life blood of Twitter, and sharing of information is key. But let’s not forget, retweeting someone’s tweets instils a sense of loyalty too, and they’re more likely to retweet your items in return. DON’T retweet willy nilly – before doing so think “Are my followers going to be interested in this?”

2.    Reply to at least 5 people, with FULL replies – Twitter should be a 2 way thing – use it to build relationships, not as a broadcast medium. Don’t just reply with a ‘I agree’ or ‘Thanks’ – take the time to reply with a full message, a thought, a question.

3.    Recommend 1 person you admire – bring their tweets to the attention of your followers – you’ve found your followers someone new to follow, and you never know, it might catch on and you’ll be the focus of the next recommendation. People like to be appreciated – if someone’s done something good for you, let the Twitterverse know!

4.    Follow back at least 10 people - not following for the sake of following, but check out your new followers and see who’s worth following back. Chris and I both use an autofollow system (I cull the spammers, broadcasters and people of no interest to me regularly), but you could do this by hand if you have the time.

5.    10 minutes of polite chit chat goes far – it’s easy to ignore people who send you messages if you don’t know them, but spending a few minutes chatting might be the difference between them remembering and recommending you or just dumping you for being rude .

6.    Tweet 3 business related Tweets – these could be related to your industry, or links to your own blogs or products / services – people seeing your tweets will begin to align you with that industry in their mind. After all, a lot of us are using Twitter to promote our business.

7.    Tweet 2 personally related Tweets – let people see the person behind the Twitter account. I’m not talking about ‘I had a cheese sandwich for lunch’, but the more people feel they know about you, the more they feel they’ve built up a relationship with you.

8.    Ask at least one question that requires answers - asking questions and discussing the answers moves Twitter back into that 2 way medium, and who knows what nuggets of info you’ll find out? My favourite is to ask people what 3 words they think of when they see my name – the answers are illuminating (and sometimes a little bit odd!)

Facebook

1.    Check in on Birthdays on the homepage - it takes 2 seconds to post a Happy Birthday message on someone’s wall, or drop them a Facebook message. Posting on someone’s wall means that all their friends get to see your message too. Chris recommends sending the Birthday Wishes by email for the surprise factor, which is also cool and maybe a little more personal!

2.    Respond to any comments on your wall - it’s polite to respond to any comments on your wall, if they warrant a reply, so get into the habit of doing so before you forget!

3.    Post at least one status message daily – keep people updated and keep you in their minds – don’t get over eager though and post all of your Twitter updates (including retweets and @ messages) into your Facebook status feed – it’s one of the quickest ways to find yourself ‘hidden’! Use the different parts of the status update – make a comment, share a video, share a link – promote conversation where possible!

4.    Share at least 3 interesting updates you find - if someone posts an update you like, use the ’share’ button to post it to your profile – much like retweeting on Twitter it promotes the originator and allows you to share new things with your contacts.

5.    Comment on at least 7 updates or status messages – it doesn’t take long to put a quick comment or ‘like’ on the status updates on your feed page – and people like to have comments; who knows, they may reciprocate  Also remember that comments you post on people’s links or updates are available for all of their contacts to view.

6.    Leave a message on 2 fan pages – spend a few seconds posting on a fan page – not only will you help the page out, you’ll reach people you’re not connected to

7.    Leave a message on the walls of 2 people – not been in touch with someone for a while? A simple ‘hey, how are you doing’ message on their wall shows them you’re thinking of them and keeps you in touch without taking up loads of yours or their time.

8.    Respond to event invitations – I respond to all event invitations by posting on their wall, whether I can attend or not. If I can’t I wish them well and apologise for not being able to make it. A link to my website mens they can find my details if they want to, and I’ve made many new contacts this way.

9.    Recommend at least one person to your contacts – OK, you might not want to do this every day, but in the same way as you’d recommend someone on twitter, why not do the same on Facebook  you can do this in your status update and it doesn’t take long. I sometimes post details of pages I’ve become a fan of here.

10.    Add at least one update to your group / fan page - I’m as guilty as anyone of not always doing this, but the worst thing you can do with a group / fan page / business page is leave it stagnant – update it daily even if you think no-one is reading!

LinkedIn

1.    Accept any invitations it makes sense to accept – a minute or so each day accepting invitations means they don’t pile up and become unmanageable. If you don’t think it’s sensible to be connected, then by all means don’t accept.

2.    Enter any business cards to invite them to LinkedIn – if you network offline it makes sense to connect to the people you’ve met on LinkedIn (and any other online networks they’re a part of)

3.    Drop into Q&A and see if you can volunteer answers - showcase your expertise with a quick answer or two – I’ve gained business from this, and you neverknow what opportunities may arise.

4.    Provide 1 recommendation every few days – if you’ve worked with someone or are happy to recommend them, then write an honest recommendation -  people like to be appreciated, and you’ll find that you get honest recommendations in return.

5.    Update your status at least once a day – people seem to forget that there’s a status update facility on LinkedIn too, and it feeds into an ‘activity feed’ that is shown on your contacts’ LinkedIn home page.

6.    Make at least one introduction - again this doesn’t need to be every day, but if you see someone needs or wants something and you know someone who can help – introduce them – it makes sense and makes all three of you happy!

Blogs

1.    Reply to at least 5 comments on your blogs – if people have taken the time to comment on your blog, it’s polite to reply to at least a few of them where possible. It makes them more likely to reply again in future, and stimulates conversation on your blog.

2.    Comment on a couple of your commentators’ blogs – follow the links your commentators leave, and have a quick read of their blogs. Repay their comments by leaving a few of your own. You get to make them happy and leave a link to your site. Win/win I say!

3.    Stumble or Socially Bookmark your commenters’ blogs – if you like what they write, give them a bit of a traffic boost by Stumbling them – they might do the same for you.

4.    Write the occasional blog post promoting another blog – not only is it an easy blog post to write, new content for your blog / site, but it helps your readers find new blogs (so they love you) and the owner of the blog you’ve recommended will love you for ever more. (This may be a slight exaggeration).

5.    Email a synopsis of recent posts at least once a month – I have to admit I’m a bit lax on this, but when I have done it regularly (to members of an opt in list of course) it has resulted inmore traffic, more comments, and ultimately more enquiries.

6.    Find 2 new blogs to comment on every day – it’s easy to stick with the blogs you know, but new blogs are cropping up all the time – take a few minutes to find them and leave a couple of comments. You get to read new things, leave your ‘brand’ in new places, and help out a blog that might need comments.

Forums

I’ve generalised here as you could be a member of many forums, and they’re not all the same.

1.    Reply to at least 2 threads every day – it’s easy to let your forums go when you’rebusy, but it really takes no time at all to scan through recent threads and drop in a couple of replies. You’re helping to keep the forum going, making sure people don’t forget about you, and people love people who reply to their threads.

2.    Post one new thread – I admit this one sounds easier than it is, and it’s not great t post for posting’s sake – but if you have news, have read something in the news, or simply want to raise an issue, don’t wait for someone else to do it – start a thread yourself!

3.    Make a point of thanking people who reply to you – a takes seconds to drop someone a line to say thanks – they’ll appreciate it more than you imagine.

4.    Accept any connections that make sense – lots of forums allow you to ‘connect’ with other members – it’s worth accepting any connections that make sense to you, and maybe initiating a few too.

5.    Recommend a member’s blog or website and say why – in the same way as you’d recommend someone on Twitter etc, a quick post saying why you like someone’s blog or website, especially if they’ve done work for you, goes a long way. Some forums have specific groups for this, so make sure you’re witin the rules. And granted, you wouldn’t do this every day, but there’s nothing to stop you from replying to someone’s posts on a thread with a quick ‘love your blog’ message.

‘Copy’ is the industry accepted term for any writing that is used to promote or sell a product. Therefore, the quality of the copy of any business is key to its success.

When it comes to effective web sales technique, the simple fact is that no matter how compelling your idea or business model, if you don’t have good copy it won’t sell.

First impressions count in every aspect of life, and the web is no exception. When potential customers glance at your website, they want to see professional, assured copy – not something unclear, poorly written and rambling.

Sharp, relevant, jargon-free copy is what differentiates your product from the hundreds of others that are badly and incoherently presented. A well-written site emanates consummate professionalism, and affirms your customers’ belief in your expertise and ability.

Producing effective copy that manages to both embody and sell your product is a highly specialised skill, so - as for any other mechanism of business - it is best to employ a skilled professional to do it.

Copywriting agencies offer teams of skilled copywriters, who are highly trained and experienced in the art of promotional writing. They require only a relatively small amount of information – and you don’t need to write it down, a phone-call is fine – to generate articulate, proficient copy, that will market your product and enhance sales.

Copywriting is not about being the next Shakespeare, and copywriters will not drown your site in difficult, obscure language. They will use only the clearest, sharpest text to encapsulate and sell your product. Copywriters understand that your customers need to both understand and desire what you are selling, and it’s their job to make sure that happens.

Copywriters have a highly attuned understanding of the business and marketing world, and they know exactly what sells – and the typical mistakes which mean something doesn’t. The most important part of any business is appealing to its audience, and copywriters often see businesses which demonstrate a great deal of passion and flair – but no understanding of the market.

Your customers do not want to waste hours of their time reading overly-elaborate, laborious copy – no matter how passionately it’s presented. They want a precise, to-the-point website, which tells them exactly what they want to know. Copywriters know how to communicate your message in a way that sells.

Copywriters also understand the importance of targeting the style of the copy to its audience, so as not to confuse or alienate them. For instance, if your market is the 16-24 year old demographic, and you are selling a ‘trendy’ young product, a colloquial tone is likely to be appropriate. However, if you are selling professional services in business, then a more formal tone would normally be expected. Copywriters are fluent and adept at practicing whatever style would be the more suitable for your company.

A good copywriting agency will provide you with examples of work and/or references. This is usually enough to assure you that employing a copywriter is a very wise investment, and one that will see business boom.

A few days ago, we received the following email from Acer, who last year supplied us with some computer equipment:

Hi,

Every month we want to share a bit of us,

enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating it!

Click on the image to open the online magazine.

drag and drop the page.

You can always go back to read Acer news by visiting:

LINK

Now, aside from the ghastly grammar and the spurious syntax, we have just one question: who cares what’s happening in Acer?

If there is one thing a company newsletter or email should NOT do it’s to talk exclusively about the company. The reason is simple: it’s boring for the reader. Acer’s online magazine may well be excellent, but we wouldn’t know because we didn’t have any incentive to click on the link.

Something like this might have done the trick, though:

Hi Write My Site,

You purchased a computer system from us last year – thank you, we hope you’re delighted with your equipment.

We’re contacting you today to invite you to check out our FREE online magazine, which is packed with useful tips and advice about how to get the best from your Acer computer system. Inside the magazine you will find:

•    Breaking news of the latest technology in computing, like screens that don’t hurt your eyes and software systems that make your machine run faster.

•    Reviews from our SME customers of Acer products and systems.

•    Special offers available on an exclusive basis to readers of the online magazine.

Take a look today.

So, why is our version of the email an improvement on the original? Essentially it boils down to five things:

1.    It starts with a personal acknowledgement and an appreciation of the recipient’s status, i.e. a customer.

2.    It goes on to explain, succinctly, what’s on offer, why it’s relevant to the customer, and that it’s FREE (still a very popular word, despite its wide usage).

3.    There is a bullet point list of reasons why the magazine is both relevant and beneficial to the customer.

4.    The call to action is straightforward, with none of the “click here, drag there” stuff of the original email.

5.    The tone of the email in general is more personal, more conversational, and more likely to elicit a positive response.

A website writer has claimed that the English language now has one million words. Paul Payack is the chief word analyst of the Global Language Monitor, which accepts as a word any coinage that enjoys sufficiently wide usage.

According to website writer Mr. Paypack, the one millionth English word is – appropriately enough – “Web 2.0”. Its official definition is “the next generation of web products and services, coming soon to a browser near you”.

Other recent words to enter the lexicon of the Global Language Monitor include hybrid words in Chinglish (Chinese English), Hinglish (Hindi English), and Spanglish (Spanish English), as well as Hollywords (terms created by the film industry), computer jargon and words created by website writers.

Not all sources agree with the GLM’s definition of a word. The Oxford English Dictionary, as of 2005, contained only 301,100 main entries. Even when combination words, derivatives and phrases are included, the total is still just 616,500 word-forms.

This hasn’t put off website writer Paypack, however. “The Million Word milestone brings to notice the coming of age of English as the first truly global language,” he said.

Mr Payack estimates that new words are entering the language at the rate of 14.7 words every day. The explosion in website writing has revived the possibilities for independent word-coinage in a way last seen in Shakespeare’s time, when English was modernising and words were being invented at an unprecedented rate. Shakespeare himself used 24,000 words, of which approximately 1,700 were his own inventions.

Mr Payack and his team of website writers use what they call a Predictive Quantities Indicator to assess whether a usage qualifies as a word: each contender is analysed according to depth (number of citations) and breadth (geographic extent of word usage). The formula also takes account of how many times a word has appeared in the global print and electronic media, the Internet, blogs, and social media such as Twitter and YouTube. Words must be cited at least 25,000 times to qualify.

Three other words almost beat “Web 2.0” to the one million mark: “slumdog” (made popular by the film Slumdog Millionaire), meaning a child slum dweller; “Jai Ho!” a Hinglish expression signifying a major accomplishment; and “n00b”, a mixture of letters and zeros which is a mocking term for an online gamer newbie.