Most websites tend to have at least four pages, including:
- Home page
- About page
- Services/products overview page
- Contact page

If I’m writing copy for additional pages (such as FAQs, blog, projects, case studies and sub-pages to describe services or products in detail), that will increase the price.

The price indicated above is just a ballpark figure to give you a rough idea of costs. Sometimes a single-page, scrolling website will need more copy than a website with multiple pages and some copywriting projects involve more research, briefing or planning than others, so each project is quoted on an individual basis.

Yep, there are some cheaper prices floating around. But it’s important to make sure you’re comparing apples with apples.

Here are a few things to consider when shopping around:

- Has the writer allowed plenty of time for briefing, planning and additional research? Some copywriters skip the briefing stage (or rush through it) and write the copy with very little input from you. As a result, their first draft is often totally off the mark. I have an in-depth, comprehensive briefing process which means better copy and fewer rounds of revisions (so you won’t need to re-read the copy and provide feedback for the 6th, 7th, 8th time)

- How many rounds of revisions are included? I always allow time for two rounds of revisions in the quote, as it’s important you’re 100% happy with the website copy before it goes live. If a copywriter has only included one round of revisions in their pricing, you may be tripped up with unexpected costs if additional revisions are required - particularly if they’ve written the copy without much input from you

- Is the website copy optimised for search engines? If so, how? Some copywriters don’t know how to optimise copy or they use outdated techniques (which can do more harm than good). I constantly keep myself up to date with SEO best practice and always optimise website copy if Google is a priority for my client

- Will the writer provide title tags and meta descriptions for each page? Some writers don’t include these, but I see this as a crucial part of a copywriter’s job - not something the client, website developer or SEO pro should have to whip up themselves. It’s particularly important that the title tag and meta description are written well, as these are the first things your audience will see when your website appears in the Google search results. It’s one thing for your website to rank at the top of the results, but if the title tag and meta description aren’t written in a compelling way then you won’t get many clicks (and Google will eventually drop your website in favour of other sites with a higher click-through rate)

I know how tempting it can be to opt for the lower price. But is that $500 website copy package truly going to be money well spent? Your website is the backbone of your marketing efforts and your brand’s most important asset, so it’s worth investing the time and money to get it right.

Most of my clients find themselves copying and pasting the words I write for their website into all sorts of marketing and sales collateral (from their Instagram bio through to award applications), so it’s an investment not only towards your website but your brand as a whole.

Absolutely. If you can’t afford to invest in copywriting for your entire website, we can reduce the scope of the project and work within your budget by prioritising one or two pages.

However, I still need to spend plenty of time getting to know your business during the briefing stage before I can start writing your copy, so reducing the number of pages might not reduce the price as much as you might think.

But here’s the good news: we’ll only ever need to do the briefing once (unless your business changes significantly), so if you want me to write more pages later down the track I’ll already be familiar with your business and ready to hit the ground running. This means the cost of writing additional pages will be minimal in comparison to what you paid for the first page.

I don’t include keyword research in my core pricing because I don’t believe it’s necessary for every business.

If it’s likely that your potential clients or customers are proactively looking for businesses like yours on Google, I’ll recommend that we do some keyword research and allow time for this when putting your quote together.

But if your target audience isn’t aware that the type of product or service you’re selling exists (often the case if you’re selling quite an innovative, unique product or service), keyword research may not be necessary.

It’s also an unnecessary expense if you’re working with an SEO professional and already have a list of keywords ready to go. If this is the case, I can just take the list of keywords supplied by your SEO pro and weave them into your website copy - there’s no need to double up on the work they’ve already done.

If I’m doing keyword research for you, I’ll identify the keywords and phrases your potential customers are using to find businesses like yours on Google, then I’ll dig into the data to figure out which of these keywords you should prioritise (based on things like search volume and competition for each keyword).

Once I’ve determined the high-priority keywords for your business, I’ll weave these keywords and phrases into your website copy.

Not in an old-school, spammy kind of way though. Cramming keywords into website copy too many times makes it awkward and unenjoyable to read. That’s not going to impress your audience and it’s not going to impress search engines either. Google is getting smarter and smarter, using signals like the average time spent on a page to work out which websites are best and rank those websites higher in the search results.

Rather than stuffing your copy full of keywords, I focus on writing clear, compelling copy that people genuinely want to read. I write copy with your audience (i.e. humans, not search engines) in mind, incorporating keywords naturally within the text.

When you’re uploading copy onto your website, you’ll have the ability to add a title tag and meta description for each page.

These two tags are for search engines. They tell Google what text to display for your website in the search results. The title tag is the blue clickable headline shown for each result and the meta description is the paragraph of text underneath that.

Even if SEO isn’t a priority for your business, I believe these tags are important and should always be written by a copywriter. Why? Because they’re the first pieces of copy your audience will see when your website appears on Google if they search for your business name (or keywords related to your business).

And if SEO is a priority for your business, these two tags are even more important. The title tag is believed to have a direct effect on your ranking and both tags can influence your click-through rate on Google. It’s one thing for your website to rank at the top of the results, but if the title tag and meta description aren’t written in a compelling way then you won’t get many clicks (and Google will eventually drop your website in favour of sites with a higher click-through rate)

When writing title tags and meta descriptions, I always make sure the character count and formatting are in line with current best practice. And if SEO is a priority for your business then I’ll ensure the primary keyword for that page has been included in the title tag. Most importantly, I write enticing title tags and meta descriptions.

If you want your website to rank higher in the search results, professional copywriting is one of the best investments you can make, because the copy on your website has a huge influence on your ranking.

In saying this, I can’t guarantee your ranking will improve. Copy is just one piece of the puzzle and there are so many factors outside my control, from the speed of your website right through to the design of your logo.

If you’re thinking about investing in website copy, we’ll chat about things that might prevent your business from getting good results and I’ll point you in the direction of people who can help.

But even if you get all your ducks in a row, there are still too many variables for me to make any guarantees. Some things - like your competitors - just can’t be controlled.

Here’s how you know you’re in safe hands with me:

- I have more than 10 years’ experience writing copy for businesses

- I’ve been operating my own business for more than three years

- I honed my skills at one of New Zealand’s top PR agencies, writing press releases and scoring media coverage for clients like Kmart, Freedom Furniture, Cadbury and Moa Brewing Co.

- I read blogs and listen to podcasts every single day, constantly finding ways to improve my writing skills

- I have a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Marketing and Management), so my writing is grounded in a solid understanding of traditional marketing methods and consumer psychology

- I have a Diploma in Publishing, which means I know how to edit and proofread my writing effectively