- Copywriting, SEO and PR 

Website Copywriters' Audit

Follow these guidelines to find out whether

your website copywriter can do the business

Why an Audit, you’re probably asking?  And how can website copywriters like Buzzwords help me decide which website copywriters are best for my website?

The simple answer is - it takes one to know one!  In other words, only highly experienced website copywriters know what qualities to look for in other website copywriters!

What to look for in a website copywriter…

As an experienced freelance copywriter, the qualities which a good website copywriter must have are fairly obvious to me.  And yet, anyone who searches the web for website copywriters will have a completely different perspective. 

To start with, it’s unlikely you’ll be a copywriter.  And even if you’re an experienced marketing professional, selecting the website copywriter whose profile best matches your needs can be a hit and miss affair - especially if you need a website copywriter who’s also a SEO copywriter!

Hence this Audit, an easy-to-follow run-down of the qualities, skills and experience to look out for in the good, the bad and downright ugly world of website copywriters.

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  • Website copywriters don't have to feel loved - but it helps!

• Like people, website copywriters come in all shapes and sizes (Who said website copywriters aren’t real people?  Pinch me and see!).  In many ways, that’s a good thing, especially when it comes to personal chemistry and specific types of experience.  Sometimes, if the personal chemistry isn’t quite right, it may pay you to offset this against a particular copywriter’s expertise.  In other words, ask yourself if it’s worth sacrificing the ‘feel good factor’ in the knowledge that you probably have an ace website copywriter in your midst.

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  • Website copywriters need wide-ranging skill-sets!

• Putting together website pages which sum up a company’s history, its products, services, people and philosophy calls for exceptional copywriting and organisational skills.  Add to this stylistic and SEO copywriting demands and you’ll see why outstanding website copywriters are hard to find.  Anything less than an outstanding website copywriter will be bad for both your website and your business.  Ask yourself if that’s a risk you can afford to take.

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  • Is your website copywriter HTML-savvy?

• Professional website copywriters should have a working knowledge of HTML - the website coding language – and search engine optimization (SEO).  Website copywriters should be able to discuss optimization, layouts and all aspects of SEO with programmers and website designers.  Website copywriters without these capabilities are at a serious disadvantage when it comes to providing you with a website that really does the business!  Don’t pay good money for a website copywriter who isn’t professional enough to learn the essentials! 

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  • Your website copywriter: the minimum requirements

• Avoid website copywriters who don’t have a portfolio of websites on their own website.  (Click the link to see examples of Buzzwords’ recent website copywriting work.)  Also, avoid like the plague so-called website copywriters who don’t even have a website!  Apart from the likelihood they won’t have a clue about SEO and how to optimize the copy for your website, you should question the professionalism of a copywriter who doesn’t see the value of investing in a website.

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  • Make sure your website copywriter is well-equipped!

• Website copywriters should have wide experience in other areas of copywriting.  That’s because website copywriting calls on many different skills:

- Experience of writing sales letters, for instance, will provide the skills necessary to sustain a persuasive ‘sales pitch’ throughout your key web pages and the articles supporting those pages.

- Experience of writing corporate brochures provides the skills which enable website copywriters to analyse and synthesize all aspects of an organisation’s activities.

- Although not essential, experience of advertising copywriting will give your website copywriter an appreciation of how copywriting and design concepts work together.  It can also pay huge dividends when you’re looking for incisive and benefit-led headlines.

- Websites have their own unique copywriting demands, not the least of which is SEO copywriting.  Although this should be an integral part of the website copywriter’s armoury, it’s important to check for SEO copywriting experience.

Top website copywriters improve your bottom line!

It’s clear from this short check-list that a website copywriter’s toolbox in the 'twenty-tens' will contain entirely different skill-sets from those required even a few years ago.

Given that online and website copywriting are at the heart of all marketing activities, website copywriters not well-versed in the finer points of website copywriting and SEO will put you and your business at a serious disadvantage.

For more information…
Having written this Website Copywriters’ Audit, Buzzwords is aware of the pitfalls of selecting a website copywriter.  To discuss your specific website copywriting needs, contact Mike Beeson today for an enthusiastic (and reassuring!) response. 

Buzzwords Limited, Knutsford,
Cheshire (south Manchester, UK)
Tel No 01565 654023
e-mail: open@buzzwords.ltd.uk