Why Generic Web Content is a Bad Idea

Your website must differentiate you from your competitors. Generic website content is not going to show your competitive superiority.

When website content is mediocre, your customers will not be impressed. Your content must be fresh, distinctive, original, and compelling. It should engage customers like a friend or a trusted adviser.

For website content to be effective, specific information about a business must be included. A content writer can't just make up copy. It can't be magically spun out of the thin air.

If you have a client that needs content for their website, here's how I operate.

I will need, from you, information about the client's business, brochures, lists of events, product specs, organizational history, whatever I deem relevant to the web content and cannot acquire on my own. Clients have printed material and specifications that need to be delivered to me in some form.

I will provide you with a list of data that I need from the client. I will not contact the client.

The client is not "writing the content" -- they are providing me with the information they already possess and use in mailings, office handouts, fliers, print ads, etc. I then tweak it, put it in user-centric language, build SEO values into it, and format it for web display.

I don't write generic web content that doesn't require any information from the client.

I don't just make up content based on nothing.

I don't have standard, pre-written content that is targeted toward various industries, which just needs changes in the business name and product titles.

Generic template web copy from remote content-grinders is typically duplicate content with slight modifications that is sent out to all websites in a given field and often relies on keyword stuffing and we-oriented fluff.

Web content that satisfies search engines and meets customer needs in a friendly and authoritative manner must be completely unique, sufficient to achieve "Best Page on Topic" status, and written in a FAQ format, mirroring the actual queries that customers use in searches.

Yoast, a Wordpress plug-in, is a poor SEO analyzer, which encourages using the same keyphrase in multiple locations within content and meta tags. Synonyms, variants, and substitute phrases must be used, rather than the exact same phrase over and over. Yoast can give some helpful suggestions, but slavish conformance to the "green button" activation will result in content that violates Google Webmaster guidelines. 

I provide marketing-savvy, personalized, user-centric SEO website content writing that is based on Google Hummingbird compliance and keeps pace with changes in the search algorithms, keyword usage, and customer interests.

Your website project will receive high quality expertise that will result in a good ROI.

Here's a report on buying a generic Android tablet:

http://the-digital-reader.com/2012/02/15/on-the-perils-of-buying-a-generic-android-tablet/#.U9MD9uNdWSo

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SEO, Carpentry, and Website Productivity

I was talking with a person recently who does carpentry work. I told him I make websites more productive with SEO and content development. He said, "I have a website, but I don't get any business from it. All my business comes from referrals."

He is probably wrong. What he doesn't seem to realize is that even when a customer is referred to him by a friend, I'm sure the customer looks up the carpenter's website to verify that the carpenter's insured, licensed, been around a while, has a land address, is no fly-by-night con artist.

It also helps if the website contains before and after photos of his carpentry projects, a photo of the carpenter and an interesting bio, and website content that answers questions people have about various relevant topics. That's just to start with. There is much more that should be included.

So the website is a partner in the sales transaction; it's a vital part of the chain of events that transformed a person with a need into a paying customer for that carpenter.

If he had no website, or if his website was poorly designed, that would make a bad impression on the customer, and would very likely reduce the number of referrals that turned into customers for him.

You may think your website is just an internet presence, something you're supposed to have, but you're not sure if it's really doing anything for you. Your website should be a salesperson, working hard to attract web visitors -- and to convert visitors into customers.

Part of my work in SEO is advising companies to analyze the effectiveness of their website in terms of achieving conversion goals (product purchase, call phone number to set up appointment, sign up for newsletter, visit store, watch a promo video, etc.)

We do a benchmark study prior to the SEO work and content development. Then we do subsequent studies to measure the ROI, which is accumulative and gradual, not instant riches beyond your wildest dreams. It's incremental.

As you keep adjusting SEO factors and building new content, Google starts ranking your webpages higher, and the pay-off begins to snowball.

Most websites just look okay, but tend to have a lot of underlying code problems and slim content issues that impede effectiveness. They don't attract qualified customers, nor do they do a good sales job.

So it's rather easy to get a substantial competitive advantage by implementing Google Hummingbird compliant SEO.

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