Author: Bob McClain, Web Copywriting Expert

Famous architect Mies van der Rohe was quoted to have said, “God is in the details.” What he meant by that comment is that you can create a beautiful building design but it’s the details that make it special.

This is also true in website copywriting. While you may write a great page of copy or blog post or online article, it’s the image details that make it special. More importantly, the details also increase your readership and conversion rate.

Let’s look at some of the tricks advertising experts have used for decades…

Trick #1 – Break up the copy with images…

Let’s face it. The vast majority of people are visual. You may write brilliant copy but if people come to your website page and see nothing but copy, odds are they will simply leave.

DO NOT use pictures you grab off the Internet! That can get you in copyright trouble. DO NOT use generic images! This is something I counsel every one of my business clients to watch out for.

Most website designers will simply buy some inexpensive pictures off the Internet of business people standing around talking or some generic city skyline. Nothing turns people off faster than these generic pictures they KNOW have nothing to do with you, your business or your product.

If you can, hire a professional to take pictures of your product or business or yourself. If you can’t afford a professional, everyone knows at least one person who is pretty good with a camera. Get them to take the pictures for you. Worst case, take them yourself.

Trick #2 – Place your images carefully and thoughtfully…

Nothing says amateur like having images carelessly scattered around the page with text either tightly butted up tight against the images or huge gaps where the copy doesn’t “wrap” around the image.

Also, remember that the eye will move to the image first before it starts reading the copy. That’s basic human nature and has been proven over and over in studies. Put the first image as high up on the page as you can and on the left hand side.

Then, alternate the images. The next one on the right; next one left; next one right. It can also work well to use large images that span the entire page width if you’re reviewing a piece of software or creating a “how-to” manual and it’s important for people to see details in the images.

Trick #3 – Every image should have its own copy…

There are two things about each image that heavily relate to your copy. Every image should have “alt text”, and every image should have a caption. First, let’s talk about alt text.

Alt text is the words you see when you place your cursor over an image. I’m not going to go into how to put alt text in an image here. There are plenty of resources on the Internet for that.

What I am going to tell you is that you have to be very careful about what you do with the alt text. I try to get one of my keyword phrases into the alt text for every image on the page. HOWEVER, the European Union passed a law that the alt text for an image must explain what the image is of.

They passed the law to help people who are blind and use website “reader” software. It also helps people who turn off the images to speed up their browser. Either way, in the EU you’re looking at the risk of fines if you don’t comply and since other countries may pass similar laws and you can’t be sure where your website page may turn up, best to play it safe and comply with the EU law. Still, you should try to think of a way to enhance your selling message with the alt text.

The other instance of using copy with images is in creating a caption for your images. Think long and hard about the caption. Studies have shown that up to twice as many people read image captions as read the copy!

Luckily, no one has tried to dictate how we can use our captions. Try to put a brief selling message or human interest factoid that enhances or compliments the selling message in your body copy.

You may have not thought of the images as being so important. Now you know. As a website copywriter, it’s your responsibility to make sure that the images used enhance your message and that they get used correctly (and legally.)