Have you ever visited a web site, started reading the text and realize you have no idea what is being communicated to you. Have you ever felt that the web site you are reading appears to be written for a machine and not a person? Have you simply clicked away from the appalling web site?
I know I have.
You can always spot a web site that has been optimized by a amateur search engine optimizer. First, they are usually covered in a ridiculous amount of text. Second, they tend to repeat words randomly throughout the site. Third, it appears that somebody has puked up links or navigation systems all over the web site, links at the top, links on the side, links in the content, links at the bottom, etc.
Question: Has Google ever purchased your products or services? If like most of us you answered “no”, then why would you write your content for Google and not your prospects?
Sorry to burst the Google bubble, but the majority of your local business traffic will come through your own initiatives such as, meeting people, handing out your business cards, brochures, emailing your prospects your web site URL, etc.
Let’s make one thing clear; your web site needs to be written for your users.
Here is my 3-step plan for writing and communicating good content on your web site.
Forget search engines – they don’t exist
Forget Internet Marketers – they don’t know your business
Observe what you have been doing since the start of your business. How do you communicate with customers over the phone, over email, in written correspondence, how does your sales team communicate with them, etc.
Do you get my point in all of this? If you communicate your company, products and services in the same manner you do in the traditional world, your web site will generate phone calls and sales for you. Google is important, just don’t let any Internet marketing expert butcher your text or information for Google’s sake; I guarantee you it will not be worth it.
Try this the next time you visit a web site, or if you are looking at yours, read it out loud. That’s right, read the web site. If you can comfortably read the web site out loud, chances are you are looking at a web site that works for its owner.