"Experience the underwater paradise." "Crystal clear waters teeming with marine life." "Our professional and friendly team." Of ten dive centre websites reviewed this week, most repeat these lines. The logos could be swapped without anyone noticing.
Divers, however, do notice. They are a particular audience. They read a dive site description three times, check the depth, look up the current, read the reviews, ask on a forum, and then email you a question your page should have answered.
The operators who understand this write a different kind of copy: less promotional, closer to a briefing.
What should a dive site page open with?
With what the diver will see. A diver reading your page wants to know first what awaits them underwater.
Not your history, not your mission statement, not your team's passion: the fish, the coral, the wall, the wreck, the chance of a manta.
A good dive site page opens like this: "A sloping reef that drops into a wall at around 18 metres, with turtles most days and the odd reef shark out in the blue." The reader can picture the dive and decide whether it suits them.
By contrast, "a stunning dive site with abundant marine life" conveys no information. Every dive site in the world is described that way.
This principle applies beyond diving. A restaurant page should start with the food. A cottage rental should start with what you see when you wake up. Whatever the customer is picturing when they search should appear first.
Why state depth, current and required level transparently?
This is the aspect that concerns operators most.
Divers read the details. If a site has strong current, say so. If it is for advanced divers only, state it. If visibility drops in the rainy season, mention it. It is better for them to learn about the current on your site than at 20 metres.
The concern is that transparency discourages some customers. It does discourage a few: those who should not be on that dive in any case. Those who remain are the ones who will enjoy the experience, and they trust you more because you told them the truth. Around Nusa Penida, for example, the currents can be significant, and the operators who state this clearly do not appear to lack customers.
A simple block at the top of every dive site page does most of the work:
- Depth range.
- Typical current, and how much it varies.
- Minimum certification level or experience required.
- Best time of year, where relevant.
- What you are likely to see, and what you might see with some luck.
Keep "likely" and "with luck" clearly separate. Promising mantas on every dive leads directly to negative reviews on TripAdvisor.
How do people actually read a web page?
Most people do not read web pages from top to bottom: they scan. Jakob Nielsen wrote about this in 1997, and the Nielsen Norman Group has continued to test it ever since. Their article on how users read on the web is short and its conclusions are sound.
For dive copy, this translates into a few simple principles.
Place the important information at the start of each paragraph. Use descriptive headings, such as "Current and conditions", rather than "More info". Break up long text. Use a list when the content genuinely is a list, like the one above. Favour short sentences.
Divers are more patient readers than average when the subject interests them. Even they scan first and read second.
How can course pages be improved?
Course pages are currently the weakest: the agency's official description pasted in, a price and a "book now" button. Someone who has never dived has many questions this page does not answer. How long does the course take? What if I am not a strong swimmer? What if my ears hurt? What actually happens on day one?
Answer these questions in plain language, in the order people would raise them. The official description can appear further down for those who want it.
There is also an SEO consideration. If fifty dive centres use the same official text, Google sees fifty copies of the same page. Since Panda targeted thin and duplicate content last year, this situation should be avoided. A description written in your own words, about your own course, is the version worth featuring.
Why publish trip reports?
The easiest content a dive centre can produce is a short report after a good day: which sites, what conditions, what was seen, a few photos. Nothing complex.
These reports serve two purposes. They show that the centre is real and active. Over the months, they also build into the best available record of what can be seen and when. Someone searching for "mantas in August" will find them.
Why limit each page to one call to action?
Every page should have a single purpose.
Many dive sites display five buttons on every page: Book now, Contact us, Newsletter, Like us on Facebook, Visit our shop. The reader does not know which one matters and chooses none.
Choose one per page. On a course page, it is booking or asking about the course. On a dive site page, it might be "dive this site with us". On a trip report, it might be the newsletter sign-up. Make that call prominent; everything else can sit in the menu and the footer.
This rule applies to almost any small business, whether a dive centre or not.
Why is low-cost content not enough?
Many operators pay for mass-produced articles: ten "SEO articles" at a few dollars each, written by someone who has never been underwater, filled with "best diving in Bali". The result shows: "Vibrant marine life." "Breathtaking." "Unforgettable experience."
That writer cannot tell you that the current picks up after the tide turns, or that the turtles stay around the second bommie. That knowledge belongs to the people who dive the site every week. Accurate detail from people who were there is what makes copy worth reading, and all indications are that this is what Google increasingly seeks to reward.
If you write for guests in more than one language, avoid word-for-word translation. Customers from different places ask different questions before booking. Good bilingual copywriting starts from what each group actually wants to know.
The test is simple: would a guest who has done the dive say "yes, that's exactly how it is"? If so, the copy succeeds.