10 tips to improve your website copy

This is what the internet looks like these days.

I bet you thought I’d got hacked when you saw that headline. Because I would never use such awful click-baity writing. But I just have.

Why? On the basis of “if you can’t beat them, join them”.

Everyone’s an expert these days. Everyone’s got advice to give. And most of it is wrong.

I saw an article with a similar headline to mine recently, by people who present themselves as website professionals. The information was simplistic, the terminology was inaccurate and there was no explanation of why they gave the advice they did. In layman’s terms, it was crap. And I see articles like this all the time.

As someone who does this stuff for a living, I feel personally insulted that nonsense like this is taken seriously by the people who read it. I’ve done training courses, I’ve read books and I’ve built up years of experience about writing and editing for websites. I know what works, I know why it works and I know what’s important. I also know that a listicle is not a “best practice guide”.

So why is it happening?

It’s all part of the internet noise. Or “10 ways to build your brand with content marketing”. Or “10 expert tips to increase conversions”. Or “How to write web content that will help you SELL”.

None of it is original. You know how we’re all worried now about generative AI scraping all the internet noise and regurgitating it badly? Well, actual people have been doing that for years. Call them hacks, call them amateurs, call them work experience kids, the result is the same. A big carbon footprint for the internet, and no discernible benefit.

Have you ever looked for actual information on the internet, say about actual real-life problems like cleaning your house or pest control? And it turns out that all the articles on page 1 of Google contain almost identical information. And none of it answers your actual question.

It’s the same for information about websites and digital comms. People are copying each other regardless of whether the original information is actually useful or accurate. And if someone tries to rewrite the information, but doesn’t understand it in the first place, even the best source material ends up as rubbish.

So you get told to use headlines but not why, or how to use them effectively. You get “rules” like a minimum word count for search engines (a myth). And you get told to use the Hemingway app to fix bad writing.

Wrong.

Here are my top ten tips for good website content.

1. Hire a professional.
2. Hire a professional.
3. Hire a professional.
4. Hire a professional.
5. Hire a professional.
6. Hire a professional.
7. Hire a professional.
8. Hire a professional.
9. Hire a professional.
10. Hire a professional.

Oh, and if you don’t know where to find one, here’s my business website.