Do search engines spell the end for ad-speak?

Does the growth of search engine marketing spell the end for “marketing-speak”?

It’s no surprise that more and more consumers are buying online. But with internet volumes growing at more than 50% year on year (according to NetRatings) some marketers have yet to realise what effect the revolution in retailing and online search will have on their copywriting efforts.

An increasing percentage of purchases (both on- and offline) begin with some form of internet search. Marketers need to understand that traditional copywriting and marketing-speak is under threat from the irresistible demands of search marketing and keyword optimisation.

The consensus among experts at this month’s Search Engine Strategies Conference was that overly-crafted and intricate language in your website is going to produce poor search engine results and impact on sales. Marketers and copywriters need to make sure that they are writing in the same language that their customers are searching in.

When the man on the street searches for “running shoes” he will see websites that feature such simple terms, not those using marketing-speak like “all-terrain footwear with pronation control”.

Now is the time for marketers to revisit all of their online copy. It could be that the power of Google is about to form a fundamental shift in marketing language.

Rory Brown,

Managing director,

Search Engine Strategies London SW1