What are the Most Overused Words In Website Copywriting
Date : 19th June, 2014
When a company hires a freelance writerthey want the writer to create something original and unique for your business. Most of the time, a good freelancer will be able to write copy that reflects your business and connects with customers in an interesting and engaging way like websites such as "Freelance Copywriter Dot Co Dot UK".
However, there are some copywriters who have been somewhat stuck on repeat and keep using the same cliché marketing buzzwords over and over again. It’s easy to understand why – everyone gets a little bit lazy at their job and using the cliché words is the easiest option – because they are the first thing that springs to mind. Unfortunately, this means that there are a few words and phrases that are becoming ridiculously overused in website copywriting.
Here are a few of the words that have been used way too much in website copywriting. If you are a freelance writer, you should avoid using these words so that your writing is fresher and stands out from the crowd. If you are a company hiring a freelancer who defaults to these words, you can point out this article to them and ask them to think of something different instead.
The Most Overused Words in Website Copywriting
- Revolutionary – Did your product or service actually cause people to rise up and start a revolution against their monarchy or government? The truth is that it probably didn’t, so using this term seems overkill and is becoming a cliché.
- Cutting Edge – This is used to describe almost every new product or service, even if there are many other similar products and services like it. Cut out the phrase “cutting edge.
- Exclusive – This work makes your product sound special, but what does it really mean? If your product or service isn’t restricted to only one person, then the term exclusive doesn’t really apply.
- Passionate – Every company in the world likes to claim that they are passionate about what they do. After all, you aren’t going to tell your customers that you hate every minute of serving them! However, passionate has been used so much that it has started to mean nothing. Instead, give examples that show in a concrete way how much you care about your business.
- Pioneering – Are you really leading the way in research and development? Unless you are Henry Ford inventing the Model T, you probably aren’t.
- World-Class – Chances are that you are not actually the best in the world, so using exaggerations like this will just make your company’s claims less credible. If you actually are the best in the world at something, post the award or recognition you received for it instead.
- Fast Delivery – This is relative doesn’t really mean anything, unless you specify exactly how fast the delivery is. Can the customer expect to receive the product within one week? Or perhaps by the next business day?
- Excellent Customer Service – So many companies claim to have excellent customer service that the term has started to become meaningless. Why exactly is your customer service great? What do you have to offer for your customers? Instead of using this cliché phrase, give concrete examples that really illustrate why your customer service is better than the rest.
- The Best – It really loses a lot of meaning when a company calls themselves “The Best” on their own website. With all of the other similar companies referring to themselves as “The Best”, the claim is really meaningless. It is better to include customer testimonials stating that the service they received from you is the best they have experienced.
These are just a few of the examples of words that have been overused in website copywriting, to the point that they have become cliché and meaningless. When these words are used, the reader will tend to skip over them and negate them in their mind, because they don’t actually add anything of value to the writing. The focus should be on sounding more “human” in your copy, rather than sounding like a cheesy infomercial salesperson who is reading from a script filled with buzzwords, exaggerations and superlatives.
Whether you are a freelancer writing webcopy, or working with a freelancer, keep these overused words in mind and try to avoid them whenever possible. Instead, insert actual statistics and concrete examples of why the company excels in the industry. This will make for original, convincing and powerful website copywriting that will really convert readers into customers.
