Website copy that gets you calls does four things. It says what you do in the first line, it speaks in your customer’s words rather than yours, it proves you can be trusted, and it makes calling you the obvious next step. Clever writing is optional. Clarity is not.
This post is about the sentences. If you want the wider page (what to include, in what order), read website content that converts after this. They are related. They are not the same job.
Why should the first line answer the search?
Most visitors decide in seconds whether they are in the right place. Do not open with your history or a slogan. Open with what you do and who for.
Compare these:
- Weak: “Welcome to our website. We are passionate about quality and customer service.”
- Strong: “Emergency electrician in Hassocks and across Mid Sussex. Same-day call-outs, fully qualified, no call-out fee.”
The second one answers the question the visitor arrived with. That is what earns the next scroll, and eventually the call. The first one could sit on any site in the country.
I write this way for the firms I actually build. BW Electrical in Hassocks does not open with a mission. The page says electrician, NICEIC, the towns, the jobs. Oilfire in Uckfield says oil boiler, OFTEC, one visit for the wiring too. The words match the search. That is the whole trick.
How do I write in the customer’s words?
Your customer does not search for “bespoke domestic electrical solutions”. They search for “electrician near me” and “why does my fuse box keep tripping”. Use the words they use.
A useful habit: think of the last five questions people asked you on the phone, and answer those on the page. You already know the language. It is whatever you say back to them in the van, minus the filler.
Trade jargon is fine as a label if the customer already uses it (EICR, Gas Safe, consumer unit). It is not fine as decoration. “Full CCTV drainage surveys and high-pressure jetting solutions” is how you sound busy. “We will find the blockage and clear it” is how you get the call.
Read the draft aloud. If you would not say it to a neighbour over the fence, rewrite it. A bit dry is better than a brochure.
How do I talk about them instead of us?
Copy that gets calls is about the reader’s problem, not the business’s ego. Every “we are” is stronger rephrased as what it means for them.
- “We use quality materials” becomes “The work is done with materials that last, so you are not calling us back in a year.”
- “We have 20 years of experience” becomes “Twenty years in, there is very little we have not already fixed.” Only write the number if it is true.
- “We are fully insured” becomes “You are covered if something goes wrong.”
Keep the fact. Add the “so what”. People call when they can see what is in it for them.
This is also where fluff dies. Lines about being passionate, or about quality and customer service in the abstract, say nothing. Cut them. If a sentence could sit on a dentist’s site and a builder’s site without changing a word, it is not doing any work.
What counts as proof in the copy?
Claims are cheap. Proof is not. Back up what you say with things a nervous customer can believe:
- Real reviews, quoted with a first name and a town.
- Photos of your own work, described in a short caption, not stock images.
- Genuine accreditations, named: NICEIC, Gas Safe, OFTEC, FENSA.
- Plain specifics: your area, your hours, how you quote.
Specific and true always beats polished and vague. Inventing figures or reviews is not worth it, and customers can usually smell it. I will not write “number one in Sussex” for anyone. Sindall can mention more than 200 Checkatrade reviews because that count is public and real. Most firms should quote one recent review and leave it there.
Ruby’s Bakery in Burgess Hill is the shopfront version of the same rule. The copy has to sound like the counter, not like a food-brand agency. If the page is slower or fussier than the product, the words will not save it.
How do I make the next step impossible to miss?
You would be amazed how many sites bury the phone number. Do not. On every screen the reader should see how to act:
- Phone number visible without scrolling, tappable on mobile.
- One primary action: call, or request a quote. Not five competing buttons.
- A short, honest line: “Call for a straight answer, no hard sell.”
If getting in touch takes any thought, you lose people who were ready. A cluttered call to action is one reason sites get traffic but no enquiries. We go through the other reasons in why you are not getting website enquiries.
Buttons should say what happens. “Submit” and “Learn more” are vague. “Get a quote” or “Call now” are not elegant. They work.
What should I cut?
Read every sentence and ask: would a busy customer care? If not, delete it. Banish the phrases that appear on every agency site. They say nothing and they make you sound like everyone else.
Cut the warm-up. Cut the company history unless it earns trust in one line. Cut “Welcome”. Cut any sentence you wrote because the page looked short. Short and specific wins. Long and generic loses, even if it took all evening.
A simple order for the words on a local page:
- A headline that states what you do and where.
- A line or two on the problem you solve.
- Proof: a review, a registration, a photo caption.
- What you offer, in plain bullets.
- Your area and how you work.
- The number, again.
I write this into the websites for tradespeople I build from Hassocks. You talk me through the jobs. I turn that into copy you would actually say. A standard site is £99 to set up and £29 a month, or £299 a year. If you want the words done as part of the build, get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
How long should my website copy be?
Long enough to answer the real questions and no longer. For most local businesses a single, well-written page beats a sprawling site. Say what you do, prove it, and make it easy to call. There is no prize for word count.
Should I write my own copy or hire someone?
You know your customers and their questions better than anyone, so your raw material is gold. If writing is not your thing, get help turning it into clear copy. Do not let a writer bury your plain expertise under marketing gloss.
What is the biggest copywriting mistake small businesses make?
Talking about themselves instead of the customer, and hiding the point behind a warm-up. Lead with what you do, speak in the customer’s words, and make the call obvious.
Can I use ChatGPT to write the page?
You can use it for a first draft. You still have to put back the towns, the tickets, the hours and the sentences you would actually say. Generic AI copy sounds like every other site. That is the problem, not the tool.
Should prices go in the copy?
If you have a simple, honest figure you are happy to publish, yes. If every job is a quote, say that and say how you quote. Fake “from” prices that only exist to rank will catch you out on the first call.
Does Page Forge write the copy?
Yes, for the sites we build. It is part of the job, not an extra novel. Multi-page and shop copy is quoted because there is more of it. SEO and GEO from £99 one-off if you want the search side done as well.