Jun

Web Copywriting and the Too-Long Wine List

By Sid

“Have you selected a bottle of wine to go with your dinner?”

I stare at the 15 page wine list, take a deep breath, and quickly scan for any bottle of red that is in the mid-priced range. It can’t be the cheapest, and I certainly can’t afford $120 for a bottle of wine. It’s doubtful I’d know the difference anyway.

I quickly look for anything remotely familiar in my price range. Of those, I select one I can pronounce without sounding like a complete idiot. Finally, I find something. It’s from California, so I can’t go wrong.

“We’ll have the ‘02 Cline Cellars Syrah, please.”

He makes a quick note, nods is head, and lets us know that he’ll be right back to take our food order. No “nice choice.” Nary a “that’s my favorite.” Not a peep out of the guy. Did I make the right choice? Or, am I simply another wine illiterate who probably should be hanging out in a pub where I belong. Truth is… I prefer a good microbrew anyway.

Here’s The Web Copy Question of the day for You…

Does your web site look like that too-long wine list to your web visitor?

I’d estimate that about 80% (or more) of the web sites I see are like the lengthy wine list. They’re packed full of options, services, products, and gizmos that will do everything from cure your cat of hair balls to make your computer run faster.

I wonder if your web visitor takes one look at your site, turns glassy-eyed, and hightails it back to dodge for a stiff shot of something more familiar. If so, here’s what you need to do:

Think of Every Page as a Landing Page

Your web visitor “lands” on a page, typically from the search engines, and perhaps from an advertisement you’ve placed. Either way, he or she is searching for something specific.

They “land” on the page because Google (or Bing, Yahoo, etc.) thinks the page has something to do with the search query. What if they get there and are confronted with a hodge-podge of options that may or may not have anything to do with their present need?

Simple… they’ll go away if they don’t see what they’re looking for.

That fancy restaurant with the 15 page wine list can get away with highly-inflated prices and a too-long list because you’re captured prey. You won’t get up and leave because the wine list makes you look like an idiot.

Not so with a web site. When they “land” on the page, they’d better see something familiar that quenches their thirst, or they’re off to the next site on the list. The purpose of a landing page is to offer a solution to a specific problem.

What this may mean for many companies is that they need not one, but MANY web sites, sub-domains (or better: blogs). Each subdomain website or blog handles specific niche products and services. All these sites will in turn point back to the “main” web site that has a simplified and easy-to-navigate design, and that ties all the various niche sites together.

For example, a company that finds jobs for job seekers, helps companies find qualified employees, offers resume services, and other services to employers might have a number of different websites or blogs, each dedicated to one area of their business.

All of the sites are connected to each other, and each is connected to their “mother ship” site.

This technique will help with the search engine placement, since the site offering help with resumes will be highly focused. Someone seeking help with his resume will more easily find this site, see that it is dedicated to resume services, and will be more inclined to trust the site to solve his problem.

You can see what happens if…

The alternative is what most companies do – put everything on one site. It’s confusing to your web visitor, and it doesn’t put your best foot forward. Plus, it’s harder for the search engines to rank your site for a particular niche. Instead, you get ranked really low for a number of keyword phrases.

If someone does find you for a particular keyword phrase, such as “resume writers,” what they’ll find is that big wine list with stuff they’ve never heard of. When that happens, they’ll click the “back” button and go to the next site on the list.

I suggest you take a good look at your site from the perspective of EACH visitor, especially if your company offers multiple products and services. Do you think they’ll find exactly what they’re looking for within seven seconds?

Look at your site and let me know what you see.

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