SEOverload is a really poor substitute for smart strategies.
Here’s a question for you: if the primary function of your company’s website content is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – what the hell are you doing? About the only thing a business website filled with poorly-written and useless “articles” (posted purely to please robot search engines) will consistently pull in are disappointed potential prospects and/or paying customers. They were obviously interested in what your company does, since they did a search for it. Too bad your website offered no smart, valuable content once they got there. Kiss that visitor (and their dollars) goodbye…for good.
Why relevant search results are irrelevant to your brand.
Sure, any crap-laden website can rank as having “relevant” content (according to the aforementioned search engine robot). But “relevant” to SEO robots has nothing to do with what’s relevant to actual humans: thoughtful, unique content or a website that’s a terrific representation of that company’s products and brand. Hell, they don’t even search for copy that makes sense, as proven by this truly awful online article about SEO that came up when I Googled the term “relevant SEO.”
Just two (of the umpteen) examples of this article’s dreadful copy:
• It is adorable to activate your banderole with a keyword
• Help seek engines do their job with summaries and ballast text
Would you do business with a company (deemed “relevant” to Google’s search engine, mind you) that features this kind of gibberish on their site? Of course not. So why waste your time and money filling your site with useless search engine-pleasing junk – instead of hiring REAL copywriters to write REAL content that has REAL value to your REAL current and prospective customers?
Make sure the robots don’t dictate your messaging.
Now, I’m not saying to ignore or dismiss SEO on your company’s website. But remember that every word on your site is a reflection of how your business is conducted. Interesting and smartly-crafted content – with strategic keywords expertly (and invisibly) weaved into the copy – says that you guys have your act together. On the flip side, rambling, repetitive and no-reader-value writing screams poor attention to detail and sub-standard quality. Not exactly the way to build a brand, is it? Remember: your goal is to entice readers…not robots.
~ Lenni Lee | 2011 robot wrestling champion
