Because that’s the thing, the words you use and those your potential clients use might not be the same. And it’s a crucial distinction if you want your business website to appear in searches.
When you are in the flow of writing about what you do, talking about your services and offer, it’s tempting to make it sound, well, a bit more flash. You might want to use technical terms or marketing lingo.
Here’s an example. I came across a company name, and I wanted to check what they did. I had an inkling were an office fit-out business.
So I Googled the company name to find their website and clarify what they did.
After spending 10 minutes scrolling through various pages on their website, I was still not 100% sure if they were an office fit-out company.
Fancy phrases vs clear and simple
The reason? Nowhere on the website did it mention ‘fit-out’. Instead, they used phrases like ‘end-to-end workspace solutions’.
If you were looking for a company to fit out your new office, would you search for ‘end-to-end workspace solutions’? Or would you search for ‘office fit-out company’?
It’s not unusual for B2B website copy to leave visitors confused about what the business actually does.
I may be a regular customer but that doesn’t mean I don’t review the value I get from my weekly fruit and veg box delivery.
Abel & Cole don’t wait for me to cancel or reduce my order, instead, they occasionally send ‘A Little Freebie’ which makes me feel valued as a customer.
But not only that, the friendly note they put in with my freebie directs me to their website to a blog post with handy tips for upcycling the packaging.
So to recap:
👉 They have made me feel valued.
👉 They’ve given me another reason to visit their website.
👉 They have reminded me of their sustainability credentials which reinforce the brand image and appeals to my own values.
I’ve been writing for the web for many years, both for work and on my theatre blog, making some of the common mistakes along the way.
But I’ve learned from those mistakes, and I wanted to share some of the tips I’ve picked up.
This is practical advice rather than what to write and how to write because if your carefully crafted words aren’t easy to find and read, they won’t get read.
1. Keywords
For Google to find your content, it needs to contain the search terms your target audience would use when looking for information on that topic.
Don’t be too clever; use the common words and phrases, and if several different terms can be used, include them all.
For example, if you are writing about flexible office space, some people might search for articles on ‘flex space’, ‘ serviced offices’ or ‘co-working space’, so it’s a good idea to include all these terms.
Don’t stuff your content with keywords; rather, make sure you’ve covered the common bases.
And don’t forget to include keywords in your headline.
2. Mobile-friendly
Remember that people could be reading your blog post, article or web content on a phone or tablet, not just a laptop or desktop.
Current trends show that the proportion of web searches made on mobile devices has overtaken laptops and desktops.
So it’s important to check how your content looks and reads on all devices and make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
