Copyright 2006 Inspiration, Inc

Did you know that the average person will spend less than 15 seconds reading your webpage? So much for all that perfectly-precise text where you describe absolutely everything you do in loving detail! Guess what-no one's reading it. They're skimming. Are you skimming now?

A couple months ago I bought some website traffic analysis software so I could tell how my search engine placement is going and see what my popular pages were. I about fell over dead when I realized how quickly people click in and out, especially because I do some pay-per-click advertising that costs me over $1 per click! Being a detail-queen myself, I had to completely re-think my copy writing.

To be the most effective, your website copy should be written for 3 types of website browsers. If you make these small tweaks, you'll have your bases covered!

Tweak Number 1: Write for People Who Scan: Most people surfing the web are page scanners. To speak to them, employ a combination strategy for easy readability:

Use effective headlines (big and small)
Be sure to bold text on important words
Include text boxes with small bits of copy
Utilize photos with word captions
Give them bulleted lists

If your page is scan-friendly, a reader will be able to understand the main benefits of what your business does, without ever having to read the tiny text.

Tweak Number 2: Write for People Who Love Details: Now that you've grabbed someone's attention with your headlines, then you want to deepen their interest with the small text. Don't put very much detail on your home page. Put the detailed information a level or two deep, in the places where someone is looking for specific information. Remember, you want to break up the tiny text with lots of breaks for those page scanners.

Tweak Number 3: Write for Computers: Thats right, I said write for those computers you know the ones that determine your search engine placement. One of the best ways to improve your search engine placement is to include lots of keywords in your writing. (Don't be obnoxious and type your keywords in a nonsense fashion. That can get you banned from search listings.) But, DO use your relevant keywords on every page, in the headlines and in the details. Here's another trick you might not know: if you use bold font for your keywords, it can help your results. Detailed articles & newsletters (with your keywords) work well too. Go ahead and build your site deep with rich content, just don't lose the page scanners by putting the detail up front.

When you strike a harmonious balance of all three types of website copy, you should notice better results. When I focused on keywords, Google bumped me up to the 2nd page for "small business coach." When I revamped my home page, my newsletter subscription rate tripled. When I started archiving my newsletter articles, I noticed that I got more traffic from people searching for those specific topics. Try some of these small changes, and watch what happens.