Thread by @semrush

Hi everyone!👋 Gill Andrews here. I'm a conversion copywriter and a UX specialist who turns underperforming websites into slick lead-generating machines 💪

I'm here to talk about 6 mistakes of #smallbiz websites that kill your business.

Thread🧵👇

#SEOThread @StoriesWithGill

Before we dive in, here's what your prospects need to understand ab. your offer to give you their $:
* What it is
* How it helps them
* How it works
* What they need to invest
* Why trust you
* Why choose you

☝️At least 1 violation = website mistake
#SEOThread @StoriesWithGill

With respect to your website, it means that your prospects need to:

* Understand what you're saying

…and find it:

* relevant
* valuable
* specific
* trustworthy

OR ELSE! 😱

Or else they'll walk away & take their $$$ with them.
#SEOThread @storieswithgill

Let's start with 3 mistakes related to #webdesign

Fact: Web design influences your prospects' first impression the most.

Good news:

❌ It doesn't have to be beautiful

✔️ It's enough if the design is trustworthy & doesn't interfere with your message

Mistake #1: Visual clutter

❌ Impacts trust

❌ Every image, icon, and new font (family, size, or color) creates friction - a speed bump that interferes with the reading flow

💡 Add a new visual highlight to your site ONLY IF it makes your message stronger.

Mistake #2: Stuff that moves by itself, i.e. automatically rotating:

❌Banner sliders
❌Testimonial or logo carousels

❌+ extensive animations on scrolling or cursor move

Studies show people find it irritating. And irritated prospects don't buy.

Mistake #3: Making your text hard to read

Among things that immediately come to mind:

❌ Font size too small
❌ Too long paragraphs
❌Too busy text background

...it's also:

❌ Centering a larger amount of text

#SEOThread @storieswithgill

…and my absolute favorite one:

❌ Overdoing the bold highlights

Highlights draw attention.

Unless reading only the highlighted words make sense, let your prospects read in peace. Otherwise, they may skip important parts of the text.

#SEOThread @storieswithgill

Ok, so now that you've fixed your web design mistakes, let's talk about the 3 most common copy mistakes that kill your business.

Those are:

❌ Wasting above-the-fold space
❌ Unclear / unspecific copy
❌ "We"-focused copy

#SEOThread @StoriesWithGill

Mistake #4: Wasting above-the-fold space (top part of the page visible without scrolling) on your homepage.

That's the only part of your page ALL page visitors will see. Treat it like a sales pitch.
Steal this fool-proof above-the-fold structure 👇

#SEOThread @StoriesWithGill

Mistake #5: Unclear and/or unspecific copy

If you remember just ONE THING from this thread, it should be this:

⭐If your prospects can't imagine it, they won't buy it.⭐

This happens when they:

❌ don't understand what you're saying
❌find it too vague

Let's play a quick game. It's called Crappy Copy Bingo.
See how many words from this card you can find on your website. Found 5+ on one page? You lose because those are:

❌ Claims with no proof
❌ Unnatural speak
❌ Things that mean nothing concrete
#SEOThread @StoriesWithGill

A quick & easy way to fix unclear copy: "In a Nutshell"

1) Pick a section on your page
2) Replace every sentence with its main idea in a nutshell
3) Does it still make sense?
4) If not, create a better "nutshell" version

Example 👇

#SEOThread @storieswithgill

Mistake #6: Self-centered copy
Your prospects don't care about you. They only care ab. how you can help. If you use:
❌ "I/we" more often than "you"
❌ Describe features w/o benefits
❌ Ramble on about your journey, mission or philosophy

…you lose $
#SEOThread @storieswithgill