by Jon Wuebben
If you are a law firm, do you need copy written for a Shopping Cart web page? Probably not. Likewise, if you are operating a website that manufactures guitars and you have a network of retailers, do you need to write copy that discusses pricing of certain models? Not really. Let the retailers do that. If you are running a Japanese restaurant, do you need to use SEO articles, blog copy, and press release copy? Probably not. I mean, you could do a blog I guess, but how would that affect your brand? Is it necessary? Not really… If you are an advertising agency or search marketing firm, I would say, hands down, yes! The fact is that every site has unique needs as it pertains to SEO copy. There’s no “one size fits all.” But be careful not to totally disregard a new type of web copy because at first glance it looks like it may not be applicable to you.
Important to note: you need to make the copy on your site simple to “scan” read! Many sites are making the mistake of not making their copy scan-friendly. People don’t read the web like a newspaper.
For those retail sites out there this: online shopping is not really a true “browsing” experience. Yes, we look around and surf from site to site, but unlike retail stores, where we can window shop, go in and pick up the item, touch and feel it, online shoppers really are “directed.” People go on to a site and utilize the search box to find a very specific product. This is what could be called a directed approach. Knowing this, we want to make the copy more succinct, segmented and specific so we can help the customer to buy quicker and easier. This is a good thing to know. It’s a little tough to employ at first, but helpful because we always need to be reminded to tailor the copy we write to the way humans act and behave.
If we were to look at all the types of sites on the Internet, there seems to be a simple way to categorize them based on user experience, goals of the site and the way products/services are sold. So, we’ll use the following grouping for site types:
- Blogs/Social Networking Sites
- E-commerce sites
- Lead Generation/Sales Sites
- “Brochure” Sites (the main selling is not done on the website)
There are probably other types of sites that you could identify and sub-categories of each, but for our purposes, this works well. In terms of SEO copywriting and the types of content you need, you’ll see that there are some types that are more important or take on greater meaning than others.
The goal? To get you thinking in terms of the “total online SEO copywriting universe” and to see that different types of optimized content can serve you in different ways.
Good luck!
