Business owners who write their own website content often find that visitors are scarce and response is low. Discover the 7 most common mistakes and how to correct them. Topics covered include geo-specific SEO, formatting, copywriting, negative framing, and more.

1. Top Seven Web Copy
Mistakes Business
Owners Make

2. Fix the top 7 mistakes in
your web copy!

3. What’s Keeping Customers from
Responding to Your Web Copy?
It might be…
1. Lack of relevant SEO
2. Poor formatting
3. Wrong amount of content
4. Irrelevant content (fluff and filler)
5. Failure to initiate a relationship
6. Negative framing
7. Imitation instead of innovation

4. What Is On-Page SEO?
On-page Search Engine Optimization is the use of
specific keywords or phrases on a web page that tell a
search engine (like Google) what the page is about.
People doing a web search for a specific keyword or
phrase are more likely to find a page on your site if it is
optimized.

5. When You Don’t Need SEO
You probably don’t need SEO if you are the
only company on the web offering a
particular product or service.
For example…

6. Crocodile Speed-Dating!

7. Local Businesses Need
Geographically Specific SEO
Geo-specific SEO uses keywords about your
product or service along with the name of your
city, state, or region.
For example:
“commercial cleaning services DFW”
Don’t compete with every company in the
world. You won’t win. Target YOUR customers.

8. Bad Formatting Kills.
Stop Making Readers Click Away!
Tips for Getting It Right…
 Use headers and sub-headers.
 Intersperse bullet lists between
paragraphs of text.
 Use some images, but don’t overdo it.
 Keep the formatting clean and simple!

9. Be Easy on the Eyes
Wrong
This is a single block of text. It
is not reader-friendly because
it does not cater to the
scanning habits of today’s
online readers. Lengthy
paragraphs work fine for
books, but not as well for
reading on the screen. Also,
the font is small and the text is
aligned to the left so there is a
jagged, unsightly edge along
the right side. Fully justified
text often looks less choppy.
Right
This works well for a
number of reasons:
 It’s concise
 It is easy to read
 Everyone likes
bullet points!

10. Science Is Cool!
Heat Map Showing How People Typically Read On-Screen

11. The New Home Page Is Lean
Responsive web design means text-heavy
home pages are going out of style. Visitors
need to grasp your brand message at a
glance on any device:

12. Offer the Highlights and Invite
Readers Inside to Learn More
Wrong Right

13. Don’t Skimp on Content for
Internal Pages!
Make sure interior pages offer enough
information to keep readers engaged.
BUT…
Don’t get fixated on word count and ignore
quality. You need both.

14. According to :
“One of the most important steps in
improving your site’s ranking in Google
search results is to ensure that it contains
plenty of rich information that includes
relevant keywords, used appropriately, that
indicate the subject matter of your
content.”

15. Is there a magical minimum
word count for a web page?
Not necessarily. But consider this: If a page
contains only 100 words of content, readers
can scan and click away in seconds. To
Google, that behavior may indicate the
content is not very useful.
Bottom Line: Your visitors should feel the
content is worth the click!

16. Talk about what matters to
your website visitors
Everything about your business might be
fascinating to you. Your customers only
care about the things that are relevant to
them.
Don’t get bogged down in technical
details.

17. What Do Customers Like?
Boring
 A detailed history
of widgets
 How widgets are
manufactured
 Current debates
between different
widget makers
Awesome!
 How to select the
best widget
 Color, style, and
material options
 Ways to use the
widget to make life
more enjoyable

18. Focus on Relationships 1st,
Benefits 2nd, Features 3rd
 Establish credibility and
rapport
 Talk about how the
product or service
helps solve a problem
 Highlight important
features so customers
understand what you
offer

19. Basic Structure for Sales Copy
on a Business Website
1. Demonstrate that you understand the
customer’s problem (empathize)
2. Present the solution (with an emphasis on
benefits and a description of features)
3. Suggest reasons they should choose your
company (focus on key differentiators and
build more trust)
4. End with a call to action (something they
can do right now)

20. Going Negative Is Bad for Your
Image…Really Bad
Poor Framing Puts You on the Defensive:
“I am NOT a crook!

21. Don’t Put the Wrong Idea in the
Customer’s Mind...
Example of poor framing:
“We offer a 100% money back guarantee. If
you aren’t fully satisfied, you can cancel
your contract at any time.”
Your customer subconsciously hears: “You
aren’t fully satisfied. Cancel your contract.”

22. Positive Framing
“Over the past ten years, we’ve received
hundreds of outstanding reviews from
happy customers.
This track record gives us the confidence to
offer you a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We
look forward to working with you.”

23. Want to answer a possible
question or objection?
If 5% of your customers have a concern,
don’t plant the same concern in the minds
of the other 95% by addressing it in a page
of sales copy.
Instead…

24. Put it in the FAQ Section!
That’s where it belongs.

25. Why You Shouldn’t Imitate a
Successful Competitor
Obviously, you shouldn’t copy their content.
That’s:
 Wrong
 Illegal
 Pointless (Google knows what you did!)
But what about imitating their strategy?

26. It’s Too Late for That Now
Fact: The strategy your highly ranked
competitor used over the past five years to
grab the #1 spot in Google search results is
NOT the same strategy you can follow to
claim that spot for your website.
The web is changing too quickly…

27. Get Fresh
Don’t Imitate.
Innovate!

28. Big Marketing Budgets
Don’t Always Win Online.
Companies that have been at the top of
the rankings for a long time often get
complacent. They let their web presence
go stale.
Take advantage of opportunities your
competitors overlook. Don’t outspend them.
Outthink them.

29.  Long Tail Keywords
 Faithful Blogging
 Attractive Infographics
 A YouTube Channel
 Slideshows (SlideShare)
 LinkedIn Marketing
 Strong Social Media
 A Responsive Website
 Expertly Crafted Copy!
Good Strategies for the
Underdog

30. Are You Ready to Reinvent
Your Business Website?
Contact me at 682-478-7243 or email
empowermybiz@daisymccarty.com
to talk about:
Strategy
Branding
Content

31. Connect with Daisy:
LinkedIn
Facebook
DaisyMcCarty.com
Call Daisy McCarty at 682-478-7243 or email
empowermybiz@daisymccarty.com to book a
presentation, training event, or workshop.
Together, we can make your message sing!