Most people would cite design as the deciding factor in whether or not they were drawn into a website– but this is not completely true.
Put it this way — if you arrive on the landing page of the best, most beautifully designed, technical website, but the copy reads like a primary school literacy project, you’re probably not going to buy whatever they’re selling. Similarly, if you visit a website who’s design hasn’t been updated since 2004, but the copy they’re producing is amazingly compelling and personable, you’re more likely to keep reading.
An article from econsultancy.co.uk reiterates this idea that ‘writing compelling web copy is a hugely undervalued skill’, and calls for copywriters to keep in mind those busy people who skim pages instead of reading through them – what they call a ‘digital mindset’.
While quality copy is crucial to increasing traffic and interest in your website, how you present it is critical to how people receive it.
Usability expert Jakob Neilson comments that only 16% of online visitors will read web copy word for word, and so, while great content is crucial, it’s important to create a double-readership path – formatting your website’s content so that it appeals to both The Analytical Reader (those who read from start to finish) and The Scanner & Skimmer (those who need something to stand out to draw them in). protofuse.com
So, while Google Adwords and SEO rely on quality copy – Google rewards websites on their ability to encourage the customer to click on calls-to-action and to interact with the site by placing their ads higher up on search results – this copy needs to be engaging yet still easily scannable. And, if you have amazing content, your posts will be naturally shared and linked on other websites – the exact form of backlinking that Google rewards the most!
To summarise, as you’ve probably already gathered from the title, you can never underestimate compelling, quality content as, combined, of course, with quality design, it is crucial for success.