A copy audit is an evaluation of your sales and marketing materials to identify potential problems and areas for improvement. By auditing your copy, you can identify any weak points in your message and make sure that it’s effectively connecting with your readers.
Let’s face it, performing copywriting audits sounds as exciting as filing your quarterly taxes. You know it needs to be done, but it’s not particularly thrilling. The thought of spending hours and hours combing through your site’s copy is enough to make any seasoned copywriter want to run for the hills.
But here’s the thing: copywriting audits play an essential role in driving conversions. No matter how well-crafted your sales copy is, it needs to be regularly maintained and updated to ensure it’s still doing its job.
In this blog post, we’ll show you how to make your copywriting audits painless (so you won’t dread them like your quarterly taxes.) We’ll look at 11 simple steps to performing a successful copy audit:
Step 1: Take Note of Your First Impressions
Your website homepage is like the front door of your business. It’s the first thing that people see, and it sets the tone for their entire experience with your brand.
Just like you wouldn’t want to open the door to a messy, disorganized store, you don’t want your website to be cluttered and confusing.
Aim to create an inviting and welcoming atmosphere that encourages visitors to explore your page.
Take note of what grabs your attention – is it a call to action, a background image, or the homepage headline? Have you captured their attention quickly and effectively or do they find themselves scrolling endlessly without knowing what to look for? Look for friction points and areas where you could improve. Note down any ideas and changes you may have.
This process needs to be quick, so don’t get lost in the details – focus on what stands out immediately. It should let you know whether you need a complete rewrite of your sales pages or just a few small tweaks.
Step 2: Evaluate Your Audience Persona and Target Audience
Audience personas evolve over time. As your business grows, your target audience may shift, and your understanding of their needs, behaviors, and preferences may change as well. What you thought was a great customer experience five years ago may now be outdated.
Take the time to review your customer personas and brainstorm how you can appeal to them more effectively. Think about what resonates with them and how you can add more value to your sales copy.
Of course, this requires you to conduct customer research to understand your ideal clients – so be sure to gather data, interview customers, or do surveys. This will help you create a more accurate customer persona and craft copy that answers their needs.
By regularly reviewing and updating your personas, you can ensure that your marketing efforts are always hitting the mark.
Step 3: Analyze Your Copy Constructs
Now it’s time to take a closer look at your website copy. Copywriting is more than just crafting words – it’s an essential component of storytelling.
Start by looking at the individual elements that make up your sales page. Analyze how they work together to create a cohesive message and determine if they are serving their purpose.
For instance, is the headline drawing attention and motivating readers to continue reading? Are you using a subheadline or other transition elements to keep them engaged and enticed?
Does the copy have a clear purpose? Does it provide readers with the information they need and answer any potential questions they may have? Is every element helping to paint the story and create an emotional connection with your readers?
Once you’ve identified any weak points, it’s time to move on to the next step.
Step 4: Examine Your Brand Messaging and Value Proposition
Your brand messaging should be consistent across all channels, from website copy, and sales page, to social posts. It’s important to ensure that you’re accurately conveying who you are, what you do, and why people should trust your business.
Take a close look at the copy on your website – does it accurately reflect your brand? Does it represent your core values, mission, and unique selling proposition? Does your value proposition stand out and make an impression?
By re-evaluating the brand messaging on your website, you can make sure it’s in line with your overall brand identity.
Step 5: Analyze User Experience
Think of user experience as the host of a party. You want to make sure that your guests are comfortable, entertained, and can easily find the snacks (because let’s be real, that’s the most important part).
Similarly, user experience on a website is all about making sure that visitors can easily navigate, find what they’re looking for, and enjoy their time on your site. They shouldn’t get frustrated by dead-ends or confusing layouts; instead, they should be encouraged to explore and learn more.
Take a step back and look at your website from the user’s perspective. How easy is it to use? Are the menus intuitive, or do they lead to unexpected outcomes? Is everything organized and labeled correctly so that users can find what they need quickly? Take note of any dodgy navigation or design elements that need to be improved in your copy audit.
Step 6: Assess the structure and flow
Your copy should be structured in a way that leads your readers on an effortless journey. Every sentence and paragraph should build upon each other, and the flow should be natural. Your readers should move seamlessly from one topic to another without getting confused or overwhelmed.
Make sure that you are using relevant headers, sub-headers, and bullet points to break up long paragraphs and guide the reader through your copy. Your writing should be clear and concise, with no redundant information or unnecessary fluff.
The goal is to make sure that your dream clients can grasp the core messages quickly and easily, and take the desired action without friction.
Step 7: Examine Your SEO Strategy
As a professional copywriter, you love weaving words together to paint vivid pictures and stir emotions. But the technical side of things, like SEO, might not be your cup of tea. You’d rather daydream about the perfect turn of phrase than sift through spreadsheets of keyword research.
However, as much as you might want to ignore it, SEO is crucial for your copy’s success. It’s like rocket fuel for your poetic words – it can boost your content to the top of search results and get more eyes on your writing.
Take the time to review your current SEO strategy and make sure that you are optimizing for key search terms. Look for keyword gaps. Are there low-hanging fruits you can use to boost your copy’s visibility? Are there any crawl errors or broken links that need to be fixed?
Finally, look at your competitors and assess where you stand compared to them. Are they dominating certain keywords? Do they have content that is outperforming yours? You can use this information to come up with ideas and strategies to improve your landing pages.
Search engines often rank the most up-date-content, so make sure to check back once in a while and see what’s new. Update your landing page regularly to maintain your SEO profile and stay ahead of the competition.
Step 8: Evaluate Your Headings and Calls-to-Action (CTAs)
Creating winning headlines and CTAs are probably the most important aspects of your copy – they’re what compels people to click, read on, and eventually take action.
Make sure that your headlines are optimized with relevant keywords and trigger the right emotions. They should be eye-catching, clear, and above all, convincing.
Your CTAs should be strategically placed throughout your copy. They should be easy to spot and engaging enough to compel readers to act. They should also be consistent with the message in your copy, so as not to confuse your homepage visitors.
Finally, make sure that the actual buttons are attractive, clickable, and big enough to be noticed. Your copy audit isn’t complete until you have made sure that your CTAs are up to par.
Step 9: Assess Your Copy’s Readability
If your writing is difficult to comprehend, full of jargon, or overly complicated, your audience may quickly tune out and move on to something else. It’s like trying to follow directions in a foreign language — frustrating, confusing, and ultimately unhelpful.
You want your words to be crystal clear and easy to read, so your audience can quickly understand your message without getting a headache.
Use tools like the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Readability Test to assess your copy’s readability and make sure it’s not overly complicated.
The Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test measures the readability of text based on sentence length and syllable count – a score of 8.5 or below is considered easy to read and understand.
Keep in mind that while you may be tempted to use complex, obscure words, they won’t do your copy any favors. Stick to simple, straightforward language that your audience can relate to and understand.
Step 10: Check Your Grammar & Spelling
Small mistakes like typos and incorrect grammar can be a turn-off for readers. They can make your copy look unprofessional and give the impression that you don’t care about the quality of your work. Your credibility is at stake, so make sure to check for any errors before you publish.
Use online tools like Grammarly and Hemingway to check for errors in your copy audit. These tools will help you improve the readability of your writing and make sure that your message is conveyed accurately. You can also get a second opinion from a colleague or trusted friend. An editor can also fine-tune your sales copy and make sure that it’s free of errors.
Step 11: Keep on Analyzing Your Metrics
Your copy audit doesn’t end here. To ensure long-term success, you have to keep track of your metrics and see how your copy is performing.
Analyze your KPIs such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, average time on page, and bounce rate. Look for areas where you can improve and tweak your copy further.
You should also look at customer feedback and reviews to get an idea of what your readers think about your writing. This will help you make further improvements and ensure that you’re delivering the best possible copy to your readers.
FAQs: How to Do a copywriting audit
Why should I perform a copywriting audit?
A copy audit will help you identify any areas of improvement in your writing, allowing you to create more effective copy that engages and converts readers. It will also help you ensure that your message is consistent and clear, giving you the best chance of making a sale.
Regular audits also allow you to keep track of how your copy is performing and make further improvements as needed.
What tools can I use to audit my website copy?
You can use tools like Grammarly and Hemingway to check for errors, and the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test to measure readability in your copy audit. SEO tools such as Ahrefs and SEMrush are also useful for assessing your SEO performance in your audit copy.
Also, social media analytics tools such as Hootsuite and Sprout Social can help you monitor your social media performance.
Is social proof important for my copy audit?
Yes, social proof is an important part of effective copywriting. Testimonials and reviews can help to build trust with potential customers and make them more likely to purchase your product or service. It’s also important to showcase any awards or recognitions you may have received in order to build your credibility.