How to write consultant website copy that wins enquiries

Plenty of consultant websites are perfectly accurate and still don’t bring in enquiries. They list qualifications and years of experience, plus a long menu of services, and leave the visitor to figure out whether any of it applies to them. If visitors can’t see their own problem described in the first few lines, most of them leave.

This article is about the words. Page structure is a separate job, and if you’re still deciding which pages to build, our consultant website checklist covers it. Here we look at how to write what goes on those pages, as part of a website designed for consultants that turns visitors into enquiries.

What should your homepage say first?

The first screen has a single job. It has to tell the right person they’ve come to the right place. Name who you help and the problem you solve, using the words your clients use instead of the jargon of your profession.

Look at these two openings:

• Weak: “Established HR consultancy offering a full range of people solutions.”
• Stronger: “Helping owner-managed businesses with 20 to 100 staff handle disciplinaries, grievances and restructures without ending up at a tribunal.”

The second one shuts some people out. That’s deliberate. A visitor who spots themselves in a narrow description will trust you far more than one reading a line that could describe anybody.

How do you write about the client’s problem?

Use their words, not yours

Clients hardly ever search for “organisational development”. They say “our managers keep falling out” or “we are growing and everything is breaking”. Pay attention to how prospects describe the problem on a first call and write those phrases down, because they belong in your headings.

Describe the cost of doing nothing

A short passage on what the problem costs them in time or money, or in stress, makes the page feel relevant. Keep it factual and calm. You’re showing you understand. Scaring people is not the aim.

Then move to the outcome

Once the problem is clear, describe what changes when they work with you. Be careful with promises. Say what you help clients achieve, and never suggest you can guarantee it.

How specific should consultant website copy be?

More specific than feels comfortable. Vague claims like “tailored solutions” or “a partnership approach” are what every competitor writes, so they tell a reader nothing. Specifics are what make copy believable.

You can mention the sectors you work in and the size of business you work with. Explain how an engagement runs and how long it usually takes, and what the client gets at the end of it. Be honest about what you don’t do as well, since that saves time for everyone.

What counts as proof on a consultant website?

Visitors are deciding whether to trust a stranger with something important, so your proof should sit right next to the claims it supports. Tucking it away on a separate page wastes it.

Client quotes work best with a name, role and company, where you have permission to use them. Short case studies should show the situation and what you did, then what changed. Credentials and memberships help if a client would recognise them, as long as you explain each one in a few words. Clients’ logos can go on the page too, but only if they’ve agreed.

Keep testimonials honest. The advertising regulator’s guidance says marketers must hold documentary evidence that a testimonial is genuine, along with contact details for the person who gave it, and that testimonials mustn’t be edited in a misleading way. Keep the original email or message every quote came from.

How do you write clear offers?

Consultants often sell through conversation, but visitors still want to know what they’d be buying. For each service, write a short description built on four things: who it’s for, what the problem is, what you do and what they come away with.

Where you can, give a feel for format and scale, whether that’s a half-day diagnostic, a three-month programme or a monthly retainer. You don’t have to publish prices. Explaining how you charge, though, for example a fixed fee after a scoping call, removes a worry that stops a lot of people from getting in touch.

Steer clear of long lists of services with one sentence each. A handful of well-defined offers will beat fifteen vague ones every time.

What makes a good call to action?

A call to action tells the visitor exactly what to do and what happens afterwards. “Contact us” leaves them guessing. “Book a free 30-minute call, and I will tell you honestly whether I can help” takes the guesswork away.

1. Offer one main action, usually a call or an enquiry form, and repeat it on every page.
2. Say what happens next: who replies and how quickly, and what you’ll ask them.
3. Give people who aren’t ready yet a lower-commitment option, like a useful guide in return for an email address.
4. Keep the form short. A name and email plus a free-text box about their situation is normally enough.

What tone should a consultant website use?

Write as yourself. Clients are paying for your judgement, so copy that reads as though a committee wrote it works against you. Use “I” if you’re a sole adviser, and save “we” for when there’s a real team behind you.

Short sentences and everyday words are easier to read on a phone, and so is one idea per paragraph. Jargon is fine where your clients use it themselves. Anywhere else, explain it.

Google’s guidance on helpful content makes much the same point from the search side. It asks whether content shows first-hand expertise and depth of knowledge, and whether it was made mainly for people as opposed to pulling in search visits. Copy written to help a real client tends to do both jobs at once.

How we can help

We write and build consultant websites where we plan the copy and structure alongside the design, so each page delivers on what the words promise. We can also support the rest of your marketing as a consultant, from photography to social media. We agree a clear brief, scope and fee with you before any work begins.

Sources

• ASA and CAP: Testimonials and endorsements
• Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content