Over Optimized Copy Isn’t Good Web Site traffic Optimisation & It’s Just Plain Stupid
If I asked you to write ten sentences on your holiday to Greece would you include the phrase ‘my holiday to Greece’ five times within those ten lines? No, because that would look unnatural and like it was written by a six year old. So why is it that people still insist on stuffing web pages full of keywords that make for an extremely off-putting read. For some unknown reason it is still believed by many that this practice serves as good web site traffic optimisation.
I see copy everyday and wonder whether the owner has any intention of providing valuable information or selling a product/service. I wonder if they even thought Google would appreciate this methodology. Over optimised copy doesn’t look good, it doesn’t read well, it isn’t SEO friendly and quite frankly it’s just something people do because a friend told them that this constitutes good SEO.
Is it really necessary to repeat the word dog products for every dog product you have on a page littered with dog products? Keyword density is one thing but over optimisation isn’t cool. It is counterproductive and you are likely to achieve next to no results.
In my time as an SEO services provider, I have stumbled across websites with content so poor I wonder how it ever got agreed by the Board or Senior Management. While some copy appears like it was written by a child, some companies insist on overloading pages with technical jargon which would annoy even those who might have a remote understanding of what they are talking about.
Before writing the content for your website consider the following:
- How many words would you personally read on the average webpage?
- Will your audience understand the terminology you are using?
- Does the tone suit your target demographic?
- What is an acceptable keyword density to use without putting off the reader?
- What are the most readable fonts and font sizes?
If you don’t feel comfortable writing the copy yourself, then rather than make a complete hash of it ask your SEO services provider to refer you to a professional copywriter. Over optimise copy at your own peril, but you’ll only have yourself to blame when profits are shy.
