Exceed Online uses digital copywriters to make websites that sell, sell, sell

One of only 40 companies worldwide that has achieved Google Analytics certification, Exceed Online doesn’t just build websites – it specialises in ongoing strategic marketing for websites.

Google Analytics allows them to minutely track and evaluate the behaviour of real customers interacting with their clients’ websites and then modify those websites to better align them with their customers’ needs.

“That’s why face-to-face selling has always been so successful: because good salespeople can adapt their pitch based on the feedback they get from the customer. Websites have to do the same thing, and copy is key,” says Greg Randall, Exceed’s Head of Online Strategy.

“Use of copy and language and voice is all very important because that becomes the identity of the salesperson. The use of hyperlinks within the copy and the way that you word the hyperlinks sets expectations for visitors and helps them move on to a purchase or a lead or whatever.”

So when the company was building a new online business solutions portal for Australian telecommunications giant Optus (www.optussolutions.com.au), hiring a digital writer Belinda Robinson from The Pond made perfect sense.

“When we briefed the Pond we defined the structure of the website page by prioritising the key messages on each page. Certain messages had to be viewed within the active window and other messages were better suited further down the page.

“We actually mapped out every buying process for each of the four main [customer] personality types. So when a customer comes to page there are two or more primary buttons that lead certain personality types down certain sales pathways, and there are secondary and tertiary pathways for other types too.”

Randall says while digital writers need to keep the copy focused around certain key terms for search engine optimisation purposes, there’s no need to go for “key word saturation”.

“We do coach writers on the kinds of words that we want but I don’t like to pigeonhole them too much because to me the core message is really important. And there are a lot of things we can do that will subtly affect the content but not mess with the message.”

One of the biggest problems Randall encounters is convincing clients of the value of copywriting their content.

“The problem with copywriting is everybody thinks they can do it themselves. That’s the biggest barrier that we overcome. I say look at all this jargon you have on your site. You guys get it but no one else does. You’re killing yourselves here.

“For those clients who do not agree to copywriting initially, we get them into a new website and use Google Analytics to show them which pages are being heavily viewed. We then introduce copywriting to these pages and measure the impact it makes. Once the client sees the improvement in financial performance, copywriting is applied to the rest of the website.”