• Future Now, Monday, February 25, 2008 11:30 AM

Clients that target a specific niche of well-informed customers may think that they don't need a Web site full of descriptive copy--or that they can get away with having product images and a one-line description to draw those customers in. But Robert Gorell says that even companies in the most obscure verticals need copy on their Web page. After all, the best SEO is great content.

Take a retailer of industrial construction tools like 100-ton drill rigs, for example. Gorell counsels a search strategist who's struggling with getting this construction retailer to understand that they need more on-page copy. "Descriptions are hardly necessary," the strategist says, as the products are auctioned to companies who "already know what kind of equipment they're looking for."

Gorell says that the first step is to stop taking the client's assumptions about things like how knowledgeable their target is at face value. "Yes, they know their business better than she (or any other consultant) possibly could, but that doesn't mean they know how to market it," Gorell says.

The strategist should go back to the client and "push back for answers" about their business, get them to reexamine their goals, and understand that even the most educated customers will come to the Web site searching for info like how long the retailer has been in business, what the return policy is, whether they sell replacement parts--and most important--why they should trust the retailer's brand. Just answering those kinds of questions can fill up a few pages worth of copy.

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