you, or where to read other relevant content.
5. Get familiar with the concept of carewords and use them well
Carewords are the words that help your customers perform tasks on your site, or simply gives them the confidence and confirmation that they are in the right place when they land on your website. So do use familiar words. Imagine you want to take a ferry to France on holiday and are looking for a cheap deal. What phrases will you search for? A cost effective ferry crossing to France, a low ferry fare or a cheap ferry sailing to France? Well it is most unlikely that anyone will search for the phrase a cost effective ferry crossing to France.
And as a word of caution, remember it is human nature to big ourselves up by making us sound much better than we really are. We embellish, we use fancy words and phrases, or technical jargon. But your website visitor is looking for familiar words to comfort them, not over exaggerated claims.
- A telephone number and/or email address that appears in the top right hand corner of your website header ticks this box.
7. Expect people to arrive anywhere on your website
People usually read a book from chapter one, via chapter two to three and four and so on. Importantly, websites are accessed and read in an entirely different way. Imagine someone picking up a book and starting to read completely at random, perhaps at the start of the last chapter or ten pages from the end. That is how the web is and many people will not start to browse and scan from your home page.
There is sophisticated, free software to help you understand where people land on your website, such as Google Analytics. You can easily see how many web visitors arrived on each web page.
So what does that mean for you if each web page can be an entry page?
Well here are a few pointers for consideration: - Each page should be easy to scan and understand.
6. Writing great copy for lazy people
Ensure you do not make your website visitor work too hard for the information they are seeking as previously stated. Make your copy easy to read and understand. Here are some pointers: - use short paragraphs, a maximum of four sentences;
- use short sentences and not Dickensian style endless prose;
- avoid unnecessary words and jargon;
- avoid presenting your copy in the passive tense;
- steer clear of repetition - address your website visitors directly by using the word you
66 | The Report • March 2019 • Issue 87
- Each page should clarify to people whereabouts they are on your website and should explain simply what your site is about and what you do.
- Each page must have a call to action telling people where to go next and how to contact
- However, just relying on your navigation bar to tell people what to do next will not always work and the addition of a link or button in the body copy of the page will help too.
8. Make it simple for searchers to find you
Remember that someone who lands on your website is looking for something specific. You must try to help them find what they are looking for. You are looking to lure potential customers to your website by providing useful information that will fulfil what they are searching for. - Make sure you answer the questions potential customers are likely to ask – best done by discussing only one key topic per page.
- Include internal site links that steer searchers to other related content.
- Remember to use phrases and words that are likely to be the ones these searchers are looking for.
- Be helpful and upbeat with exaggeration.
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