5 Common Website Copy Mistakes You May Be Making
Coming at you today with some of the top website copy mistakes I see daily. These messaging and strategy flubs are committed by small and large brands alike, so no judgement if these will all be on your to-do list to correct!
Let’s jump into the 5 most common website copy mistakes I see:
Putting all of your navigation links at the top.
It’s natural to want to show people all of the menu options right away, in case they want to dig into any page on your site. Sort of like a choose-your-own adventure story. But this isn’t the most strategic thing to do on your website–actually quite the opposite. We don’t want to overwhelm viewers with all of your website pages at once. Let’s keep it simple and clean.
You can either hide your navigation in a sidebar, or better yet, pull everything into a footer menu known as your JUNK DRAWER. Then you site will look more clean and keep the emphasis on your main call-to-action button (which we really want them to click, right?!).
2. Too many CTA buttons.
Like we said, it’s natural to want to give people the option to go in any direction they choose on your website. I commonly see LEARN MORE links, ABOUT US links, EXPLORE WHAT WE DO links, and a million other buttons or text links down a homepage that take the visitor to just about every other page on your website, or sometimes even off of the site to other profiles or social feeds. This is not best practice. We want to show people exactly what next step we want them to take.
So we want to have a clear CTA message such as BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION CALL or PURCHASE A PACKAGE or something else more specific. Whatever it is you decide is the first step the visitor needs to take to do business with you, that’s what you’re going to repeat over and over again on your website, even multiple times down a page. Use the same language as well as the same visual design (i.e. a repeated orange button) so it’s easy to comprehend. We don’t want to dilute the action we want them to take by presenting too many other options (hello decision fatigue!).
3. Confusing or vague headline.
I think where people get derailed here is that they want to have a clever hook to get viewers intrigued, but by focusing on being clever or cute we lose clarity. People should be able to know exactly what you offer them within seconds. There is such a high bounce rate on websites, so use the headline not to differentiate, but be super clear on what you can offer someone so they can understand within seconds why they might need your brand.
And example of a vague headline would be “ENJOY A LIFE YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED” … it sounds nice, but what exactly are you selling me? I may think you offer career coaching so I can get the job I’ve always wanted, or a weight loss program so I can get the body I’ve always wanted. We need to have a headline that is specific and clear to what you offer.
4. You don’t talk about the problem.
A lot of business owners that I work with want to avoid talking about their customer’s problems in their marketing messaging. They want to be nice and uplifting and not too sales-y. They certainly don’t want to be accused of throwing around fear to get people to buy from them. And I get it. But if you don’t say what problems you fix, your viewer isn’t sure why they need your help. They might not even be aware that they have the problem that you can help them solve.
How does having that problem make them feel? Talking about the problem is like a little salt in the recipe, a little goes a long way.
5. Never outlining the steps or process they will walk through to do business with you.
People love seeing 1, 2, 3 steps listed showing them how to have success with anything–including your brand. Regardless of how simple it may seem (remember, you know your business inside and out, but your potential clients do not!), clearly outlining those steps help them mentally see the other side, sort of like placing rocks in the river.
This could be as simple as:
Purchase a consulting package
We define your goals and strategies
Start to see results within 30 days
Now, go kick website copy mistakes to the curb and start converting more visitors! If you’re looking for assistance crafting compelling website copy, sign up for your free 15-minute consultation call today.
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