Your website is the pièce de résistance, the crème de la crème, (okay, I’ve run out of French idioms, but you get the idea) of your business. It’s your target audience’s first port of call when they want to learn more about you. But is your copy making the right first impression?
A website copy audit is one of the best ways to pinpoint glaring weaknesses, hone your tone of voice, and ensure your website is as optimised for conversions as possible – without the blood, sweat, and tears of a full rewrite.
This business owner’s guide to a website copy audit will walk you through the key steps involved in this process so you can maximise your copy to its full potential. Let’s get started!
Table of contents
- How effective is your website copy (signs you need an audit)
- Website copy audit steps
- Your website copy audit checklist
- Next steps with your website copy
Is your website copy helping or hurting your business?
We’ve already established that your website is the greatest tool in your arsenal for your business, but that’s only if your copy is actually doing its job.
So, how can you tell if something’s amiss? Here are a few common signs you might be in need of a website copy audit:
🚫 Your visitors are bouncing without engaging
🚫 You’re not getting much organic traffic
🚫 People are confused about what it is you offer
🚫 Your copy hasn’t been updated since you first started your business
🚫 You’re embarrassed to share a link to your website
If any of this sounds familiar, it’s time for you to give a website copy audit a try. And here’s how you can do it…
Website copy audit steps
1. How seamless is the user journey?
Before getting stuck into what is and isn’t working with your copy, you need to take a step back and look at the user journey.
What do I mean by this?
Every business has a main conversion goal, whether it’s purchasing a product, booking a discovery goal, or signing up to an email newsletter. All of your copy works towards guiding your visitors to this very action (or at least it should).
But how fool-proof and seamless is this journey? Take off your business owner hat for a minute and pretend to be one of your potential customers.
- How many steps does it take to reach your goal? Is the process relatively smooth, or are there unnecessary barriers? (e.g., distracting pop-ups, confusing copy, or complicated forms)
- Is the navigation straightforward enough? Can your visitors find what they need quickly, or do they have to click through multiple pages/scroll back and forth?
- Are there clear CTAs on every page? Are they relevant to where the visitor is at in their journey, and have they been placed above the fold (when necessary)?
- Are there any distractions? Does anything slow down your visitors, confuse them, or give them a reason to doubt taking the next step?
Simplicity is key when it comes to the user journey. Try to reduce unnecessary clicks, make sure your CTAs are snappy, engaging, and easy to spot, and do everything you can to remove distractions that might cause your visitors to bounce.
2. Are you making the right first impression?
You know that phrase, “never judge a book by its cover”? It doesn’t apply to websites.
The moment people land on your website, they are judging the hell out of it. And if they don’t like what they see (or don’t get what they’re after), they’re going to bounce.
So, what exactly are you meant to do? Look at each of your key pages from the very top and consider if it tells your visitors:
- Who you are: is your brand message clear? Does it set you apart from your competitors?
- What you do: does your headline and subheading immediately make it clear why someone should continue reading?
- Why they should give a f*ck: does your copy speak to their pain points and offer clear solutions?
- What they’re meant to do next: is there a clear CTA directing them?
You can’t assume that your visitors will take the time to get to know you. Consumers are fickle creatures and will jump away to one of your competitors if they don’t feel like you’re the right match within mere minutes.
Clarity is an absolute must for making the right first impression. Your headlines, subheadings, and CTAs need to answer all of your audience’s questions quickly and efficiently.
3. “What’s in it for me?”
Your visitors don’t care about you or why you started your business. Okay, that’s a bit cruel. Some of them might care, but their primary focus is all about what you can do for them.
When looking through your copy, think about these questions:
- Have you described the benefits of your product/service, not just the features?
- Does your copy home in on your audience’s key struggles and needs?
- Are you writing for yourself, or for your audience?
We’re all selfish when we’re on the lookout for something. If a business feels too self-focused, or doesn’t seem to offer us the answers we need, we’re not going to stick around.
You need to look back at your buyer personas and rework your copy so that it focuses on your audience’s pain points, goals, and desires.
4. Are you using social proof effectively?
Social proof like reviews, testimonials, and case studies are an incredibly powerful way to increase your trustworthiness to your audience.
The vast majority of new customers will look at your social proof before considering making a purchase.
So how do you know if your social proof is up to snuff?
- Is your social proof being used to back up statements you’ve made in your copy (increasing your credibility), or has it just been plastered on a separate page?
- Does it pinpoint exact results and benefits, rather than vague compliments?
- Have you used a variety of social proof types (reviews, statistics, trust badges, case studies, etc.)?
Misplaced or bland social proof is almost as bad as having no social proof at all. Pick out proof that validates your copy, and be sure to utilise it on the right pages to increase its effectiveness.
5. Is your copy visually engaging?
You could have the best website copy in the world but it’s about as useful as nipples on a batsuit (am I the only one who can’t scrub Batman & Robin from their brain?) if it doesn’t look good.
- Is your copy broken up with subheadings, bullet points, images, tables, and so on?
- Have you balanced out your text with white space so it’s not too cluttered?
- Are there too many images, GIFs, or other interactive elements that take too much focus away from your copy?
Readability is one of the most important factors of a website copy audit, as it can make or break user experience. Break up your copy with a nice mix of visual elements, and try not to overwhelm your visitors.
6. Are your pain points hitting hard enough?
If there’s one thing you can’t afford to be generic with, it’s your audience’s pain points. They need to be specific to your audience’s key challenges and issues – giving you the chance to set yourself up as the solution they didn’t know they needed.
- Does your copy clearly describe your audience’s biggest pain point(s)?
- Do you make them feel seen and understood?
- Are you being respectful/sympathetic? Or are you using outdated shame tactics?
If you can’t figure out how to make your pain points hyper-specific enough, conduct new buyer personas, look at customer feedback, and see if you can ask your target audience why they didn’t make a purchase with you.
Once you’ve got your pain points, adjust your website copy to speak to the emotions and goals associated with them.
7. What are your contact options?
It’s not enough to simply offer one type of contact option to your audience – that’s just the minimum nowadays.
You need to think about how your audience prefers to communicate, otherwise you might be turning them away without even realising it.
- Would your audience prefer a contact form, a phone number, a chatbot, or discovery calls?
- Do you only offer a mailto: email link? (words can’t express how disappointed I am with you…)
- Have you made sure to collect only necessary information to avoid friction? (you really don’t need their entire life story)
Conduct some research into what types of contact options your specific audience prefers. I’m not saying you need to offer up every single option, but you do need to use the ones that will get you higher engagement and response rates.
8. Is it clear who you don’t work with?
One of the cornerstones to any thriving and successful business is knowing who your ideal customers are. Your website copy is meant to effectively target them, whilst also filtering out those who don’t fit the bill.
- Does your copy set clear expectations about who your product/service is and isn’t for?
- Have you made it clear what’s expected from your clients where necessary? (e.g., if they need to invest their own time and engagement in a specific service)
- Are your working hours and policies clearly outlined? (e.g., “I don’t work on weekends”, or “all projects require a 20% deposit”)
There’s no such thing as being too specific in your website copy. You want to deter irrelevant leads and make your boundaries abundantly clear to avoid unnecessary friction further down the line.
Your website copy audit checklist
Feeling a little overwhelmed? Don’t worry – I’ve summed up all your website copy audit steps into a single checklist!
| 1. User journey ☐ Is the navigation to conversion simple, with minimal steps? ☐ Is navigation intuitive, and are key pages easy to find? ☐ Do CTAs clearly direct visitors to the next step? ☐ Are there any distractions slowing visitors down? 2. First impressions ☐ Is your brand messaging clear? ☐ Do your headline and subheading quickly convey what you do and why it matters? ☐ Does your copy address pain points and offer clear solutions? ☐ Do CTAs direct visitors effectively? 3. Speaking to your audience ☐ Does your copy focus on benefits over features? ☐ Do you explain how you solve specific pain points? ☐ Are you writing for yourself or your audience? 4. Social proof ☐ Does your social proof back up your copy effectively? ☐ Are your testimonials/reviews specific and results-driven? ☐ Have you used a variety of social proof types? 5. Readability ☐ Is your copy broken up into short sections with headings and other visual elements? ☐ Do you use whitespace to avoid clutter? ☐ Is there too much going on at once? 6. Pain points ☐ Does your copy clearly articulate your audience’s biggest pain points? ☐ Are these pain points specific enough? ☐ Does your copy position your product/service as the clear solution? ☐ Are you respectful/sympathetic enough? 7. Contact options ☐ Have you chosen contact options that suit your audience? ☐ Do you offer more than just a mailto: email link? ☐ Do your forms collect only necessary details to avoid friction? 8. Relevant vs. irrelevant leads ☐ Is it clear who your product/service isn’t for? ☐ Have you outlined what’s expected of your clients? ☐ Are your working hours and policies clearly stated? |
Next steps with your website copy
Not sure what to do next with your website copy audit?
Start with quick wins like improving your headlines, refining your CTAs, and improving navigation. Then, move on to high-impact changes, like enhancing your pain points, optimising your social proof, and ensuring your copy speaks to the right people. Finally, end with structural improvements that will refine both user experience and the user journey.
By making these seemingly small changes, you can enhance your website copy so that it speaks directly to your target audience – and drives the results you’ve been after.
Need expert help? Get a copy audit complete with feedback, recommendations, and easily actionable changes. Fill out the contact form, or email grace.hall@cryingovercopy.com, to get the ball rolling!
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