Writing website copy that brings in enquiries

In short: good website copy says in the first sentences what you do, for whom and where, and names the next step. It uses the words customers search with, has short paragraphs and customer questions as subheadings. And it is honest, including about limits. It doesn't need a particular length.

How a single target page is structured, from the heading to the form, is covered in our article create a landing page. This one is about language: how copy on the home page and service pages should sound. It is based on our own experience and Google's guidance, as of October 2026.

The first sentences decide

Anyone arriving on a website wants to know within seconds: am I in the right place? So every page should start by answering three questions: what do you do? For whom? Where?

Before: “Welcome to Muster Electrical. For more than 25 years we have stood for quality, reliability and customer satisfaction.”

After: “Electrical installations for family homes and small businesses in the Mödling district: from a new meter cabinet to a wallbox. Give us a call and we'll come round for a quote.”

The second text is no longer, but says everything the visitor needs. Everyone claims quality and reliability. You can show them further down, with photos, reviews and examples.

Write in your customers' words

Professionals and customers often use different words. In its SEO Starter Guide, Google recommends thinking about which terms someone might search for, and points out that experts search differently from beginners (Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide). If you write “distribution board”, someone searching for “fuse box” will find and understand you less easily.

Where do you learn your customers' words? From enquiries, from phone calls, and from Google Search Console. It shows which queries your pages are found for. For us, for example, the German word “Werbetafel” (advertising board) appeared there, a word that did not occur on our signage page at all. Now it does. How to set up Search Console is covered in the article set up Google Search Console.

Benefits instead of self-praise

“Innovative”, “competent”, “solution-oriented”: words like these take up space and say nothing, because everyone uses them. Better is what a customer gets out of it:

• Instead of “flexible appointments”: “We also come on Saturdays.”
• Instead of “many years of experience”: “In the district since 1998, more than 2,000 bathrooms renovated.”, if the figure is true.
• Instead of “individual advice”: “We look at the wall on site before we write a quote.”

Concrete details convince more than adjectives. But they have to be true. An invented number will be noticed eventually, at the latest in conversation.

Customer questions as subheadings, short paragraphs

On screen, people skim first and only then read. Google describes good content as easy to read and well organised, and advises breaking long content into paragraphs and sections. Subheadings that sound like customer questions help with skimming:

• “Roughly what does a new façade cost?”
• “How long does installation take?”
• “Do I need to be at home?”

Under each heading, two or three short paragraphs with the answer. Anyone with a question finds it, and anyone without one reads on. A paragraph running over six or seven lines becomes a wall on a phone.

Stay honest, including about limits

Google calls trustworthiness the most important aspect of good content and asks whether content clearly demonstrates first-hand knowledge (Google Search Central: helpful, reliable content). For a business this means saying what a product can do, and also what it can't.

That is why our page on safety and security films says that a film does not turn window glass into a safe. It buys time, holds splinters together and reduces the risk of injury, but does not replace an alarm system. At first that sounds like an obstacle to selling. In fact it builds trust, because the reader notices that nobody is exaggerating here.

Name the next step

Every page should end with a clear action: call, send an enquiry, book an appointment. One sentence is enough, plus a clearly visible button and the phone number as a link so it can be dialled with one tap on a phone. “Contact” in the navigation is not enough. Someone who has just been convinced should not have to search.

Title and description for Google

Two short texts are not visible on the page itself, but in the search results: the page title and the description. According to Google, the title should be unique to each page and describe the content clearly and precisely. A good description is short, unique to that page and contains the most relevant points (Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide). Having the same title on ten pages wastes this opportunity.

What you can skip

• Writing to a word count: on the question of a preferred word count, Google says explicitly: there isn't one.
• Stacking search terms: Google calls repeating the same words over and over tiresome for users, and keyword stuffing violates its spam policies.
• Writing for the search engine: Google asks whether content is mainly created to attract visits from search engines. If so, that is a warning sign.
• Leaving typos in: Google also lists spelling and stylistic errors as a sign of careless content. A second pair of eyes is worth it.

One home page in two versions

The case is constructed, but typical. A joiner has a nicely designed website. The home page opens with “A passion for wood”, followed by a picture and three paragraphs of company history. The services are in the third menu item, a phone number only in the legal notice. Hardly any enquiries come in.

The revised version opens with one sentence: “Made-to-measure kitchens, built-in wardrobes and interior doors, made in our own workshop in Mödling.” Below it, three tiles for the three services, each with a photo and its own page. The phone number is at the top right and at the end of every page. The company history is still there, but on the “About us” page, where it belongs.

Our view

Good website copy is rarely written at a desk alone. It comes out of conversations: what do customers ask on the phone? What do you explain afresh at every appointment? Those sentences belong on the website, ideally in your own words. We help with structuring, cutting and design. More on this on our web design page, and how copy fits into the rest of marketing in our overview marketing for small businesses.

Checklist for every page

• Do the first two sentences say what, for whom and where?
• Do they contain the words customers search with?
• Do concrete details replace the adjectives, and are they true?
• Do the subheadings sound like customer questions?
• Are the paragraphs short on a phone too?
• Does it say what the offer cannot do?
• Does the page end with a clear next step and the phone number?
• Does the page have its own title and description?

Frequently asked questions

How do I write good copy for my website?

Say in the first sentences what you do, for whom and where. Write in the words your customers search with, not in jargon. Keep paragraphs short, use customer questions as subheadings, and name the next step at the end of each section, such as a call or an enquiry.

How long should website copy be?

Long enough to answer the visitor's question, and no longer. In its guidance on helpful content, Google states explicitly that there is no preferred word count. Writing towards a target number usually just means padding.

Should I build keywords into my website copy?

The terms customers search with should appear naturally in the text, especially in the heading and introduction. Repeating the same words over and over, on the other hand, does harm: Google calls it tiresome for users, and so-called keyword stuffing violates its spam policies.