R.N. Johnson Creative Marketing

This is an old post that we thought might deserve another look. It contains some observations on copy and content, which in my mind is always helpful. Much of this was inspired by Jacob Nielsen’s famous research on “prioritizing web usability.” He can be tough on creative types, art directors in particular who chafe at his hide-bound rules and restrictions on design values. But there’s no getting around the quintessential strength of his advice.

So here’s the original post written a few years back. As always, please let us know what you think:

“Through technology…”

… we have adapted our eyes into optical tools that seek nuggets of information. Think for a moment what it means to scan content (as opposed to reading a novel). Your eye is searching for keywords, lists, highlighted phrases and links.

Because of this usability research now shows us how Web content should look:

• Concise subheads
• Highlighted keywords
• One core idea per paragraph
• Concise lists
• Succinct headlines, page titles and first paragraphs
• Lean copy (cut word count)
• Dark type on white (or on light background colors)

For direct marketers, much of this is old news. Yet, old school hard sell tactics or hype (often misused in print advertising and direct mail) is a very bad fit online. Users are busy people in control of their searches or verification of online credentials. They want hard facts and real information, without exaggeration or hype.

If you’re an old school marketer, it’s time to learn new ways. High quality graphics, good copy and outbound links show that you know your stuff. Credibility goes up. People respond to the content because so many websites are driven by people who are trying to exploit or misinform.

Save money by writing your own Web copy? You may want to think again. Does it make sense to save money and lose sales? Or, at the very least, if your site has poor information architecture, convoluted copy or dense blocks of text, you are not doing your cause any favors.

As in everything else in marketing, it pays to put things into their proper place of importance.

It’s not too big a stretch to think of keywords as fueling a successful website. Keywords are the live coals that feed the online fire. Most search marketers preach the gospel of keywords, and for good reason. Where would we be without a proper keyword strategy to provide some energy?

“To Fuel…”

1. Something consumed to produce energy, especially:

a. A material such as wood, coal, gas, or oil burned to produce heat or power.

b. Fissionable material used in a nuclear reactor.

See http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fuel

Yet there’s more isn’t there? Not to take away from keywords, they’re certainly important.  But, the point can be too simplistic if you don’t think more broadly about why and how keywords should be used. This week, I saw this post by Derek Gordon on MediaPost.Com: Why Content Strategy Matters In Search Marketing. Here’s a useful quote:

What isn’t discussed enough, at least from my perspective, is the need to go beyond keyword lists and strategies to get a long-term, thoughtful content strategy.

In my experience, clients tend to resist the idea of providing a continuous and sustained flow of new and insightful content on their website or blog. Down deep they think it’s too much work. They may try to go along with the idea for a while, yet end up objecting when they realize they have evolved from running a business to becoming a publisher. Inside news, tips and ideas to entice and engage site visitors? Ah, maybe not. That can mean months of original content driven by hours of employee time. It’s a lot easier to think about keywords and not get too emotional about all that writing, research, videos, photos… all that stuff you’ve got to contend with in building an effective web presence.

Yet, the Internet has transformed marketing in a compelling demonstrable way. You can’t argue with success. So here’s another way to think of it…

“You can’t have really good SEO without really good content (in all it’s forms)…” (ibid).

I like this a lot and shall plan to use it more. Good SEO, strong keywords, and good content, are one. Try this with your boss or manager when he starts cutting back on the content commitment. Tell him the SEO strategy can start to unravel if it’s just about keywords. When you get right down to it, he’s not going to fool anyone, especially the more celebrated search engines, without content. You can play with keyword phrases; do the meta tags and meta descriptions, but you won’t gain traction until you put up some good, engaging, readable, interesting posts, videos, white papers, eBooks or amusing games.

What do you say when the commitment to publishing excellent content softens up? Does the energy level go down? Is the tank a little bit empty? Do you need a little more… fuel?

You can’t just string the keywords into a daisy chain and wear them. No matter how becoming they might be. Content is what you do with those keywords.

Please share your thoughts. Do you see the same tendency to justify strategic keywords and phrases with less time devoted to substance? Do you have any easy answers for clients who hesitate on committing to content?

Thanks to all who read and comment.

Best wishes…