Consider the change of a single word or headline has boosted response rates by a whopping 76%! Clearly, copywriting is a very specialized skill.

Unfortunately, many business owners only change their copy when all else fails. What few realize is compelling copy is the main factor influencing people to buy. It ranks over and above fancy graphics and company achievements. It is your website's salesperson - often referred to as salesmanship in print.

NOT ALL COPYWRITING IS THE SAME

There are copywriters that specialize in web content, sales letters, print advertising, search engine marketing and more. It should be clear that each of these mediums needs a special kind of copy. Never assume a top-class copywriter in one area will reproduce the same results in another.

Keep in mind there are two main approaches any copywriter must consider. Let's take SEO and web content as an example.

SEO copywriting involves writing copy for search engines that ultimately attracts visitors to your site. This is the warming phase where whetting the prospects appetite is priority. This style involves a certain level of finesse and intuition on the copywriter's behalf.

The web content style is converting prospects into customers once they visit your site. Both writing styles are totally different.

Sadly, most sites only convert between 0.05% - 2% of their visitors. More often than not, it's not the domain name or the product - it's the copy. If first-rate copy can increase your conversion rate by even 1%, that's dozens more customers for you.

Excellent web copywriters write in a way search engines find absolutely irresistible. It's like they invented the equivalent of online chocolate that search engines crave. Unless you know what you're doing, don;t try and write your own copy. Stick with a proven expert and witness the dramatic effect powerful copywriting can have on your business.

SEO Copywriting

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) copywriting is probably the most critical aspect of your entire copywriting effort. It acts as your sites doorway for drawing in visitors.

SEO copywriting aims to:

1. Boost your website's search engine ranking using specific keywords

2. Bring your site qualified traffic which is pre-disposed to your services and subsequently

3. Increase your sales

Yet SEO copywriting is unlike any other writing. It's grueling work and extremely challenging due to its twofold purpose:

1. Writing for web users and

2. Writing for search engines

An SEO copywriter strikes this fine balance by strategically placing keywords throughout your site for higher search engine placement without compromising the flow or eloquence of the content. Accomplishing this optimizes your site and attracts hordes of qualified traffic.

SEO copywriting is not just about writing pure content. It encompasses everything in your website that search engines recognize and assign a value to. This includes:

? Keywords: The words your customers use when searching for you

? Page-elements: This includes little-known items like H1 and H2 tags, page titles, headings, keyword frequency and density. It requires a little more technical knowledge.

? Organizing content into a systematic manner so both users and search engines find it easy to read

Bringing these components together in a cohesive way is critical to a site's success. By tactically positioning keywords all over your web pages, capturing potential customers is inevitable. Once a user enters the same keywords in a search engine, the search engines detect a match and shuttles your site up the rankings for the user to see.

Your site will only be thrust as high as your SEO copywriting allows. That's how critical world-class SEO copywriting is to your business. Also, don't assume any copywriter will automatically write effective SEO copy - they won't.

Make sure you ask a copywriter if they have written for SEO before hiring them.