It's often easier to write about something or someone else than it is to write about yourself. It's no different when writing your company's marketing materials. When you're too close to something, it can be difficult to see what isn't clear and needs revising. What you think makes sense may not make sense to your intended audience.

Below are some common mistakes companies make with their web content.

1) Is your website too self-centered?

"We're so great at this, so great at that. Want to see all the awards we've won? No? Well we're going to tell you about them anyway." This might seem over-the-top, but too many business websites do just this. I'm sure businesses that do this haven't stopped caring about the prospective customers and started caring only about how they look to others—it's human nature to want to showcase strengths and people are attracted to it—but it won't work on a website.

The key to influencing your market and attracting clients is all in how your website copy speaks to your customers and how it illustrates your company's goals, values, and, obviously, products and services. Your web copy should work to build relationships with your prospective customers and illustrate a transparent business message.

2) Do prospects understand what services / products you offer?

How many times have you stumbled across a website that describes its services / products and you have no clue what they're talking about? While many businesses have the intention of trying to stand out and be completely unique from the competition, all they end up doing is stringing together a bunch of fancy words that have no meaning. It's nearly impossible to express your uniqueness when you say that your "creative services are unique." (What does that even mean?)

The key is not about saying you're different from the competition, but rather, it's about showing your prospective clients that you offer something different from the competition. This is expressed in a clear, result-driven brand message. When you become clear on your brand message, your target audience becomes clear on what you sell.

3) Do you even know what products / services you offer and to whom?

You may think you know what products / services you offer, but how clear are you? Businesses evolve. Services change. And so does the market. Often, what happens is companies add information to their website over a period of time. The result is a smorgas bord of information that can easily confuse prospects.

If you aren't specific about the product / services you offer and how they benefit your target market, it is extremely difficult for you to convert prospects into customers. Similarly, if you don't follow shifting markets, how can you expect to sell products to a customer you no longer know?

4) Are you speaking "Greek" to your prospects?

Your business is unique, and this uniqueness sets it apart from the competition. But, there's a difference between expressing that uniqueness in industry terms, and illustrating it in layman terms. You understand the industry jargon, but do your prospective customers? Probably not, which is why you need to understand who your target market is and how your brand message and language can be written to connect with them. Remember, it's important to speak to your prospects and not at them because, many times, they are your peers, not others in your industry.

-by Michelle Salater. Michelle Salater is an award-winning writer and president of Sūmèr, LLC, a company which specializes in web copy writing, SEO copywriting, and the promotion and marketing of websites after they launch. Michelle is the author of Charleston: A Photographic Portrait and has published dozens of articles in national and international publications.