Have you ever clicked through to a website and thought to yourself, “Hmm, something about this wording is just a little… off?”
You can’t quite put your finger on it at first, but it’s definitely not engaging. You don’t feel inspired or excited by the messaging – in fact, parts of it are downright confusing.
And every now and again, weird, robotic sentences jump out at you. This isn’t how humans talk – is it?
Welcome to the world of overly SEO-optimised websites.
How much is too much when it comes to SEO?
SEO has changed a lot since the early days of Google – and that means best-practice website copywriting has evolved too.
Instead of “keyword stuffing” where you cram as many keywords as you can into prime positions on your website and hope for the best, it’s now all about authentic messaging – weaving compelling, relevant phrases throughout your copy in a way that appeals to search engines AND humans.
And that’s good news for everyone. Because at the end of the day, while a search engine will find and rank your content, there’s a real person at the other end reading it – and they need to be inspired and persuaded by your copy, not totally confused by it.
SEO is like the sign outside a shop – it’ll get people through the door, but what really matters is the experience they have once they’re in there.
Do you want them to feel weird and awkward and search for the exit sign sharpish, or do you want them to love the vibe, love the decor, have a big ol’ chat with the sales assistant and leave with an armload of things?
Your copy is the key to that.
How to use SEO to your advantage
Yes, SEO will always be important – but at Crisp, we write for humans first, algorithms second.
The core purpose of your website copy is to engage the reader, to show them that you understand them, to outline the ways you can help them – and most importantly, to build trust.
And the great news? Writing this way helps people stay on your site for longer – which is a key marker Google uses to decide if your content is useful (something that contributes to your rankings).
When it comes to your webpages, not all sections are equal. Hierarchy is important for SEO, and our team knows the best places to focus on adding keywords and the best places to focus on real, human language.
SEO is also a constant work in progress, which is why we recommend booking regular time in your calendar each month to focus on improvements (or alternatively, we can do that for you).
Struggling to rank or convert? We’d love to help!
Read our articles SEO 101, Website Content Upgrades to Boost your Rankings, and then book your free Marketing Kickstarter call so we can talk you through your site’s challenges and opportunities.
Because when it comes to your website, you want people to think, “Wow, this company really gets me,” not, “Wow, look how many keywords they’ve used on this page”.