My favorite discussion at the CMS Expo was during the basic SEO class. We ended up talking about bland, happy talk on websites:
"We provide first-class widgets to satisfied clients", "We offer premier widget solutions to our clients" and other such meaningless, corporate text.
People came up with some great examples and we saw that webdesign companies are the often the biggest offenders:
10 Webdesign Claims I Found on Google
- We offer website solutions to fit most budgets.
- We offer website solutions from single page sites to complex communities.
- We offer website solutions to clients world-wide.
- We offer website solutions for anybody that needs a website
- We offer website solutions to fit your needs.
- We offer website solutions for every budget and every business size.
- We offer website solutions that won’t break your budget and allow you to be in control.
- We offer website solutions that speak to different sectors within the Corporate and Entertainment industries.
- We offer website solutions on time, within budget and that work for our clients.
- We offer website solutions with no hidden fees or catches.
Think anyone would buy a website from a company so bland and forgettable? I guarantee you and I probably both have some text like this on our sites.
I think the main problem is that people are afraid of writing for the web and choose to play it safe. We learned newspaper and magazine writing in school but no-one ever showed us how to write interesting copy.
Solution? Find a Niche
There’s no webdesign company in the world that’s able to server
"anybody that needs a website" or that can meet "every budget and every
business size." The key is to find a niche.
If we can create a successful business from markets that didn’t even exist, such as "Joomla SEO" and now "Joomla Training", you can also dominate or even create your own niche. It might be "Vancouver Webdesign", "Mexico City webdesign", "Virtuemart websites", "Community Builder websites" or something else but you get the idea. Targeting a focused market almost immediately forces you to abandon vague, meaningless generalities:
- We offer training for Joomla beginners.
- We offer search engine advice for Joomla sites.
- We offer Virtuemart help.
- We offer Community Builder expertise.
- We offer webdesign to Vancouver small businesses.
Now you’re saying something meaningful.