Fact or Fiction: People Will Read All Your Website Content

By Dave Young, Professional Writer and Founder, Young Copy

Article originally published in Ping! Zine web hosting magazine, issue 44, pages 22-23, 25-26.

I often hear people say, “Nobody reads website content, they just skim.” What do you think? As a business owner, marketing executive, or someone who makes decisions about the content and copy that is published on your website, will people read all your website content or just skim the headings?

Should you just create snippets of information with bold headings or go all out and develop well crafted, compelling website content and copy to promote your products and services? The answer could mean the difference between a stagnant business and a highly successful business.

In this article, you will learn the realities of professional copywriting, the truth about how prospective customers read text online, and how original, unique website content can speak directly to your new and existing customers alike. Drawing on years of experience, I will give you insight into the value of well written and well organized website content writing and give you the knowledge you need to create powerful copy that yields incredible results.

Do people really read website copy or do they just skim the headings?

When a prospective customer visits your website, what grabs their attention first? It depends on the content, copy, and how you have presented and formatted the content and copy on your website. If you have well written website content organized with bold, formatted headings that grabs attention and provides a snapshot overview of what you have to offer, then yes, prospective customers will skim the headings first.

Why do visitors skim the headings first? Prospective customers want to see if you have done your job well by creating content they can read to learn about your company, brand, products, and services. If they are not excited and engaged by what you have to offer just by reading the headings and skimming your website, your prospective customers will click away to your competitors. In practice, this culture of instant, immediate gratification keeps visitors moving quickly through your website, often browsing for only a few seconds initially.

On first impression, this would suggest that people do not read website copy, that they simply glance at headings, never investing further than a quick, accessible list or a few bullet points. In fact, for a professional writer who understands the traits and trends of website users, using effective headings can be an impressive asset that delivers phenomenal results.

How do your audiences consume website content?

The most important thing to learn about website content is the way audiences consume copy online. Exceptional website content is carefully tailored to the reading habits of Internet users, specifically, your target audiences. Your target audience’s approach to reading your website’s content is non-linear. You will often find that visitors scan the page from top to bottom, browsing the headings, waiting for powerful, compelling copy to grab their attention. With the right headings and the right content and copy, prospective customers will invest more time reading beyond the headings.

High quality website content uses headings as an extension of website navigation, enabling your visitors to quickly see what each web page has to offer. Headings provide a glimpse at the information you have regarding your products and services, and they give your prospective customers an opportunity to ‘focus in’ on things that are most important to them as they do their research.

So how do you get potential customers to read beyond your headings and dive right into your website content? You write content tailored to your specific target market. You create quality content, written to attract the attention of those most likely to order your products and services or ask for a quote, proposal, or whatever method you use in your sales channel.

Write website copy specifically for your target market

With the Internet as the largest marketplace in the world, you lose valuable prospects when you write your website’s copy and content to cater to everyone.  Sure, you can write compelling content and copy to attract multiple audiences, but it has to be done correctly. The right mix of website content including copy and design can take your business to new heights of success, and this comes as a direct result of appealing to those visitors who are most likely to turn into long-term customers. Website copy that attempts to engage with every kind of visitor is not as effective as content created with a specific audience in mind.

A professional writing service will begin by discussing who your target audience is, identifying what is important to them, what interests them, and what they are looking for when they begin to browse your website. The most effective website content speaks directly to a specific group of visitors and educates them, gives them insight into your business, and explains to your target market why and how you deliver exceptional products and services.

By using a professional copywriting service, you can get website content and copy that captivates your visitors and makes them read beyond the headings, educates them about your business, and motivates them to take action, from contacting you for a quote to placing an order.

Captivate visitors with powerful, well written professional copywriting

The Internet is a crowded marketplace, but the potential for increased revenue as a result of great website content is soaring. You need to grab your prospective customers’ attention and motivate them to stop, learn, and explore what your business does and how you can help them reach their goals.

In part, this comes as a result of style, tone, and formatting that work together to make your website copy easy to read, welcoming, and engaging. Additionally, it is essential to develop a tone that remains consistent throughout your web presence, defining the characteristics of your brand and creating a robust overall image that new and existing customers will get to know.

In addition to conveying important brand messaging, it is vital to remember that well written website content should be functional like the design and layout of your web presence. Just like the navigational quality of web content and sub-headings, great copy should provide visitors a path through your website, leading them to the final goal of getting a quote, placing an order, or getting in touch.

Combine excellent design with outstanding professional copywriting services to grab the attention of your target audience and motivate both current and prospective customers to take action.

Share your expertise to educate your audience and generate results

Once you have the attention of your visitors, how do you keep their attention focused on you, your business, and your products and services? What can you say that will keep them reading? And how can you keep visitors motivated to take action?

The best website copy educates audiences about your business, thereby giving your prospective customers a strong understanding of what you do, and how you do it. Educate your readers on your products and services step by step, explaining technical terms and identifying the key benefits of working with you. Tell your audience why your products and services stand above the competition. Position your business as a market leader who provides exceptional products and services. Unique, original, informative content written by a professional writer builds significant brand equity and trust in your business.

Motivate readers to turn ideas into actions and increase sales

In my experience, the best website copy sets your brand apart as an authority in your industry, offering products and services that come with brand reliability and trust built-in. You have caught the attention of your audience, educated your target audience on your products and services, and positioned your business as a key organization within your industry, capable of delivering what they need, when they need it. Now, you need to tell prospective customers what to do next.

When motivating visitors to take action, remember that your goal is not always to generate immediate sales. The Internet gives your business the ability to easily open lines of communication with potentially lucrative customers, not only to generate orders but also for continued marketing and building brand confidence. If website content has the potential to draw in thousands of new customers for your company, just think of the larger growth offered by a long-term, comprehensive marketing plan?

Online, the immediacy of purchasing, getting in contact, or ordering a quote means that every visitor from within your target market can be converted into a customer, if not now then over time. You can motivate every potential customer to take action, if you effectively seize your window of opportunity.

Use professional web content to guide your visitors to success

Every piece of writing on your website should include motivational phrases that tell visitors to take action. These ‘call to action’ phrases might be instructional sentences within your text, or woven into your website design through buttons, pictures, or other graphics. You would be surprised how often companies do not tell people how to get in touch, place an order, or explore more products.

The best professional copywriting services will ensure that your web content acts as a guide, pointing people in the direction of other content they may need as opposed to instructing them to buy. Couple motivational copywriting with sensible website organization ensures that your current and prospective customers always know what to do next.

The role of Search Engine Optimization in quality web content

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of tailoring your website content to include certain keywords suited to your business and products. Of course, SEO is much more than just well written website content and copy. When search engines like Google, Yahoo! or Bing build their indexes, your website appears to potential customers searching for relevant terms, but only if your website content and copy has been optimized for search engines.

SEO is often misunderstood as practitioners often use far too many keywords and they create pages that are incomprehensible to qualified visitors delivered by popular search engines. In order to maximize the potential of high search engine rankings, qualified visitors need to explore your website fully. Well written website content uses a delicate balance of keywords and natural language, creating unique, well-organized copy that complements your website organization and design. As a result, qualified visitors will be more engaged and spend more time on your website.

Take advantage of a website copywriter with expertise in SEO to ensure that your content is both functional and enjoyable to read, capable of drawing in potential customers and keeping them.

Professionally written website content can increase revenue

Imagine a prospective customer finds your website, with no prior knowledge of your business, your brand, or the products and services you offer. With the right selection of informative, interesting web content, you can define yourself as a credible, trustworthy organization, ready and willing to help prospective customers turn into long-term paying customers.

Do people really read all your website content? If your website content and copy connects with your target audience, is well-written and well-organized, then yes, people will read all your website content. From website content on products and services pages to blogs, articles, press releases, white papers, testimonials, case studies, and more, I have seen first-hand how businesses can reach out to new clients and reopen lines of communication with existing clients with the help of powerful professional copywriting services.

See how the right expertly-written website content can transform your business

By working with experts who truly understand the way your target market consumes written content, you can easily grow and expand your business to reach new levels of success. So the next time someone says, “people only skim the headings, they never read all your website content,” tell them that is only partly true unless you have well written website content and website copy that attracts, educates, and motivates prospective customers to take action. And tell them that by outsourcing to a professional copywriting services company, you can generate more revenue as a direct result of high quality content and copy.

Explore the possibilities of high quality web content writing and see for yourself what the right web content can do for you.

About Dave Young

Dave Young is a professional writer, technical writer, website auditor, marketing consultant, SEO guru, and founder of Young Copy, a leading promotional and technical writing services firm. Visit www.youngcopy.com to learn how you can boost your company’s revenues.