After 10+ years of working with customers, it's fair to say that we've learned a thing or two about the timeless art of copywriting. In the age of AI slop, here's how we use words to instantly build trust and win customers online.
Your headlines and copy are not placeholders. They are there to do important work. Most of all: to convey the unique value you bring to the market place. Every word on your website needs to bring your ideal customer closer to a decision to work with you. Every word needs to work for you to help you win. Win a customer. Win in trust. Here's how we achieve that.
After engaging with your website, your ideal customer should be able to answer the question: why they should hire YOU rather than anyone else.
The value proposition is the reason why your ideal customer should hire you rather than anyone else. Sometimes this is simply solved by geographical proximity — you are the only service provider of a certain service in your area (hence making you unique, you're the only choice). But more often than not you are one of many, and you need to give your ideal customer a reason to hire you.
90% of websites get this wrong. They say "Painter in [City]" and think that's enough. But that doesn't give the visitor a reason to hire you — that's simply a placeholder. "Painter in [City] with up-front pricing" — now that's starting to look like a reason.
A website should be an outgrowth of the value proposition. Whenever we build a website, we start by developing a value proposition. This is such an important concept we've dedicated another page to it.
Show key information about your company that produces a conclusion. When any company makes a claim, we naturally defend against it. You get around this through inferring value — not stating it.
"Trusted" is one of the most misused words on the market. Saying that you are trusted doesn't make you trusted. Instead — showing one thousand 5-star reviews helps your visitor draw the conclusion that you are trusted.
You win a customer through inference — by showing undeniable claims of value. Statistics, facts and third-party reviews help your visitor conclude that you are a good fit. They don't believe your claims. Claims are a waste of space, unless they are backed up by verifiable evidence.
The key to winning a customer is to instantly build trust. Give them shortcuts to give them the reassurance they need to contact you.
Your website visitors are looking for shortcuts. They are looking for a reason to call you. They are looking for reassurance. What can you tell them or show them to instantly build trust? To show that you've done the exact job they are shopping around for, 100s or even 1000s of times, successfully?
You need to make believers out of your website visitors. Telling them you're the best or the most trusted simply doesn't cut it. Placeholder SEO text does nothing to convince them. You need to show them proof. You want to demonstrate — convincingly — that you can in fact do the job, and that you can do it well.
That's where before-and-after photos, past jobs and reviews become so important. An image speaks louder than a thousand words. An attractive before-and-after picture will do a lot of heavy lifting for you in the belief department.
Use your best before-and-after photos to show the customer, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that you can do the job.If you have third-party awards or certifications — show them prominently.That vibe-coded website your competitor built might look cool — but how many customers does it actually bring? Does it build trust?
An AI website is like a cheap car — it takes you from A to B, sure, but it won't impress anyone. Does it instill confidence and trust? You need a website that represents your company and shows your ideal customer who you are. AI generated images just add anxiety — who's really behind it?
Authenticity is the key. Be a mensch. Being a mensch means being authentic. That means having a voice, a perspective. Incidentally, this also helps you rank — Google appreciates unique, human-sounding copy from a real person speaking from experience.
Develop a clear value proposition. Before we write a single line of code we make sure to answer the question: you are the best choice BECAUSE… The visitor should quickly be able to tease out a value proposition simply by engaging with the content.
Present data — don't make claims. We make sure to research and develop your key claims from verifiable third-party data, and present it in a way that's quantifiable — to get around your ideal customer's BS-detector.
Offer shortcuts to lower your visitors' defenses. The things that influence the mind the most are not things you say, but what others say. We build websites where it's easy to spot trust signals such as real reviews, awards, certifications and trust icons.
Be human — leave the AI slop to the amateurs. Just because it's fast and easy doesn't mean it's good. AI slop hurts your company rather than helps it — it doesn't instill confidence in your target customer. A good company website should be a window into your company, so your ideal customer can get a sense of what you're like. That means not using AI generated images, but real photos.
We'd like to be friends. To instantly help you boost your rankings we offer a free audit of your Google Business Profile. Wanna see if we are a good fit? Send us a message — as a gift we'll audit your online presence for free, no strings attached.
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The principles we follow to design websites that build trust the moment they load.
Read more → Blog — Business InsightWhat it is, and why you need one — with the story of how Lucky Strike won by simply saying "it's toasted."
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