subject: Is Your Web Content Encouraging or Discouraging Sales? [print this page] Great web content is critical to the success of any website. Although you can track every sale you make, you really don't know how many potential sales are lost because of poorly-written, ineffective content.
This first step is to examine each page and your entire site in general to see if you are:
Clearly and consistently delivering your message
Identifying and addressing the needs of your potential customer base
Using action words that generate sales
Portraying yourself as an expert in your field
Developing confidence in your customers
Using the kind of vernacular your typical customer uses
Being concise and clear
Using testimonials in the proper way
Not leaving out important demographics
Using proper tone, style, grammar and spelling
I offer a very inexpensive website content "check up" where I examine each page of a client's website using the ten guidelines above to measure the website's overall effectiveness. To be quite honest, most websites come up short. Many, in fact, satisfy five or less of the these important guidelines. It's not necessary that all are incorporated into every page, but the very best web content is written with all ten guidelines in mind.
When checking content, I also look for copy that's Compelling, Persuasive and Convincing. Each potential customer visiting your website must be intrigued and interested in what you have to say, given a number of reasons why they should buy your product or service, and finally be convinced it will improve their lives, solve their problems and make them feel better.
