The Brandcast

While the web continues to revolutionize the way information is disseminated, there is one thing that (at least for now) remains steadfast and paramount: your copy.

Copy, or, the written words that appear on your website, can make or break the case for a potential customer to do business with you. And while browsers, design theories and plug-ins continue to evolve, nothing can match the consistent potency of a well-written message.

Perhaps the most important thing your copy can accomplish is search engine optimization, or SEO for short. For someone to first find your website, it must be search friendly via Google or Yahoo. By using keyword rich text (and by doing a few other things, more to come on that soon) it becomes easier for Google to find your website, and then direct any people looking for your services to you.

So if you are, for example, starting your own pet boarding facility, the more often you mention keywords like “pet” or “boarding”, the better your chances are of popping up somewhere closer to the top of someone’s search query.

But not so fast.

One needs to strike a delicate balance between keyword rich text and coherent, sensible thoughts. Simply repeating the same words over and over, or cloaking them in the background of a page is called keyword spamming, and is heavily frowned upon by the greater web community. If Google finds you doing this on your page, penalties include getting booted, permanently, from their database.

So, what’s a person to do if they want to optimize the copy on their website?

- Start with your business mission statement. That material will likely have a good, well-thought out synopsis of what your company is or started out doing. The goals and achievements the company was founded on are important ideas for your customers to understand.
- Read this paragraph as-is, does it sound appropriate for your audience? If you’re opening an arcade, your business plan might sound too complex for your pre-teen audience. Think of ways to rearrange your copy so your audience gets your point.
- After you’ve tailored your business message to suit your audience, proof it for spelling and punctuation. We’re the generation of spell-check, and this tool (meant to make life easier) has hurt most of us in the long run. We can’t be perfect all the time, but take necessary safeguards. Not only can misspelled words hurt your SEO (because Google can’t find you) but potential customers might wonder if consistent errors are an indicator of sloppiness throughout your company.
Place your final product on your home page. Once completed, there should be a clear and targeted paragraph that explains the services or products offered. Not only will it be easier for Google to find you, but for customers to understand and interact with your company.