The Turner Ink blog contains rants, bloopers, observations and opinions. It also has handy tips on grammar and punctuation such as colons: semicolons; and full stops. As well as some very useful ‘how tos’. Feel free to leave comments. Be nice though.

Turner Ink

Copywriting Services London

Posts tagged 'web writing'

New website? Start at the bottom and work your way up

17th
Nov
by Sarah Turner

So you’re having a house built. It’s a superb design. A grand design in fact. And yes. It is the same house from yesterday.

But this time the walls have gone up, the windows have gone in and the roof has gone on. And it’s looking mighty fine. But wait. What’s this? There’s no foundation? No problem, you say. We’ll put that in at a later date. Maybe next month. Or later on in the year.

Can you imagine what a pain that would be? To try and install a foundation under your house once it has been built? Not impossible. But not easy. And completely arse about face.

Building a website without thinking about SEO is like building a house without a foundation.

Keyword research reveals which keyphrases are actually being used when people – potential customers – are looking for your products or services. From the keyword research we decide what pages your site needs and the content of each page. Then you get a brilliant copywriter to write optimised copy, with the keywords cleverly weaved throughout so your visitor doesn’t notice them but the search engines do. And then your developer and designer come on board, once they know how many pages there are and how much copy there is.

SEO, like a foundation, underpins your website. It should be the first thing you think about not the last. Don’t be tempted to get your website up as quickly as possible and then consider SEO. It’s not impossible to optimise a site once it’s live. But it’s not easy. And it’s completely arse about face.

Find out more about SEO copywriting or get in touch.

Image courtesy of terren in Virginia


Tags: seo, seo writing, web writing
Posted in Copywriting, Website & SEO copywriting | comments icon 2 Comments »

Copywriting: Why it’s a lot like tiling a roof

16th
Nov
by Sarah Turner

So you’re having a house built. It’s a superb design. A grand design in fact. The builders are dedicated and conscientious and they’re on site on time every day. The materials are superb, the craftsmanship is second-to-none and the whole build is going well.

There are some great features including a spa bath, massive walk-in wardrobes, and a huge kitchen that’s perfect for entertaining. It’s got a home cinema and a gym; under floor heating; motion-sensitive lighting; and a garage that takes four cars.

In short, this is your dream home. And when it’s finished you’re going to be the envy of your friends and neighbours.

And then your builder asks what roof tiles you’d like.

“So, what’s it to be? Clay tiles, slate tiles or reclaimed tiles?”

“Oh don’t worry about the roof. I’ll be doing that myself.”

“Errr…are you an experienced roofer then?” Enquires your builder.

“Nope. But seriously, how difficult can it be? I’m going to get a book off Amazon and teach myself. I was always good with my hands at school. And I just want to save a bit of money.”

And so you do the roof tiling yourself. And it looks rubbish. There are cracks and leaks. And soon water is seeping through the holes and down the walls. The carpets are ruined, the electrics are busted and your house is a mess.

You’re not the envy of your neighbours. You’re a laughing stock. And to think – your new house could have been fantastic.

So when it comes to building a new website, why would you pay a designer and developer a substantial amount of money to make your site look great and work well and then ruin it all by writing your own copy? Or worse, getting Rachel the receptionist to “have a go at it” because “she’s good with words”. (And that’s a true story.)

Now, I’m not saying you couldn’t teach yourself to be a copywriter. But why would you? In much the same way you wouldn’t teach yourself to be a chef, when a function at the office needs catering. Nor would you run out and buy Car Maintenance for Dummies when your company car breaks down. 

Think of copywriting the same way. Don’t try it yourself at home. If you’re in the process of having a new website you’ll need a developer and designer to build it and make it look nice. And you’ll need a copywriter to put the roof tiles on.

Need copy? Get in touch.


Tags: web writing
Posted in Copywriting, Website & SEO copywriting | comments icon 1 Comment »

Why you shouldn’t aim to get to the top of Google

21st
Oct
by Sarah Turner

If you’re in the process of getting a new website, or jigging around with your old one, have you sat down and thought about what you want your site to actually do?

Very often I have conversations with potential clients whose sole aim is ‘getting to the top of Google’. Come hell or high water, they want their site to appear at the top of the search engines. That’s it. That’s their goal. And nothing more.

So, ok, you’re at the top of Google for your chosen phrases, but now what?

Well, that’s just the beginning. Because the next part is actually getting visitors to click through to your site. So we’re talking about a well written page title and meta description tag to improve your ‘clickability’.

And then, of course, there’s the site itself. How easy are you making it for your visitor to buy; download; book; donate; add to basket; find out more information; or call? Easy as possible if you want to increase sales. Because, let’s face it, for most of us it’s all about sales.

And this is where some people go really wrong. Because if the sole aim of your site is to achieve number 3 on page 1 of Google you’re going to feel it’s job done the moment you’ve achived that. 

I got a comment on the blog the other week from a chap who runs a bed and breakfast in Blackpool. He told me he was really high on Google, he got hundreds of people a day visiting the site, but wasn’t getting any bookings. A quick visit to his site and it was easy to see why: it was awful. Hard to read, hard to look at, hard to navigate, hard to book, and hard to find out any information. Seriously, when I close my eyes I can still that site; the image of it has burnt into my retinas.

The point is: don’t have ‘getting to the top of the Google’ as your sole aim. That’s just the beginning of the job. It’s great that you’re driving visitors to your site. But what are you going to do with them once they’re there? Getting sales should be your real focus.


Tags: google, seo writing, web writing
Posted in Website & SEO copywriting | comments icon 5 Comments »

Why techies shouldn’t write web copy

24th
Jul
by Sarah Turner

Ok, so I know this isn’t aimed at me; but even so. What does it all mean? Answers on a postcard. Or leave a comment.

With considerable experience in the application of advanced integration technologies to drive business strategy, partnered with experience in pragmatic enterprise architecture consulting, [business] has the skills and experience to be able to get to the bottom of the business direction and challenges and then be able to match these with the available technology.


Tags: bad copy, web writing
Posted in Bloopers, Website & SEO copywriting | comments icon 1 Comment »

Why lawyers should never write web copy

26th
Jun
by Sarah Turner

Recently came across this little gem on a law firm’s website. Did anyone actually read this out loud to see what it sounded like? I think not.

The Group is a market leader and works very closely with the Technology and Intellectual Property Group and the lawyers in each draw on the experience and expertise of lawyers in related fields including Competition Law and Intellectual Property so as to be able to deploy on behalf of clients the wide range of legal specialisations which have been developed within the firm and so as to enable all relevant legal transactions and services to be undertaken rapidly and efficiently on behalf of clients.


Tags: bad copy, web writing
Posted in Bloopers, Website & SEO copywriting | comments icon No comments yet »

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