Visitors come to your website seeking answers. If you’ve done a good job marketing then it’s you who’s put the question in their mind. Either way, when a person lands on your site it’s answers they’re looking for.

It could be a straightforward “how to” kind of question or more of an intrigued “what’s this all about?”. The point being that the searches people make and the links they choose to follow are driven by a need for answers.

Well written copy must provide answers and that means first understanding the questions your target audience are asking.

A question of timing and a timing of questions…

For example, in these Credit Crunch times are your potential customers asking “How will you make me more profit?” or is it a case of “How can I cut costs?”; are they asking “How can I expand my business?” or is it “How can I stop losing customers?”.

When people are looking for low-cost and risk-free answers to fight the downturn your copy better not be making bold statements about amazing ROI. And you’d better get your tone-of-voice off the hard sell make big bucks vibe.

If your web copy isn’t answering the right questions then you’re losing visitors — they will continue their search elsewhere. How can you hope to engage visitors and build trust/ credibility when your message is so far off the mark?

Are you still trying to provide answers to seriously outdated questions that no-one’s asking?

When opportunity knock, knocks… who’s there?

In difficult times it doesn’t mean there are no opportunities; but it does mean that, unless you’ve reacted and are providing the right answers, you’re missing them. Or don’t you think people are looking for answers more than ever right now?

There are people out there who are looking for ways to beat the crunch — sure they’re harder to find and the competition may be ferocious — but that’s why your copy has to be working harder than ever to convince potential customers that you have the answers.

What answers are you giving in your web copy, your marketing, your advertising… everywhere your voice reaches?