SEO Content / Copy + Humour?

[Baz Watkins]

Hi all,

Just a quick 'possibly weird' question, which may be in the wrong place as well.

Can humour work in the context of website copy?

The reason I am asking is I have written two forms of content for my new site, both are SEO friendly, one is written seriously but with a splash of humour, the other is just serious business client blah. Which one should I go with?

To clarify my new site will be aiming towards the creative digital agency end of things.

B.

 

[cmcp]

2 Googlebots laughed when they crawled this.

 

[Baz Watkins]

Ha...made me giggle..

2 Googlebots laughed when they crawled this.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Your copy should reflect the personality of the business. You should write as you speak, so that when people make contact they will get what they expect. This is one of the biggest mistakes many businesses make IMO, their website doesn't present the business as it is.

 

[JacquelineM]

2 Googlebots laughed when they crawled this.

hahahaha

Hi all,

Just a quick 'possibly weird' question, which may be in the wrong place as well.

Can humour work in the context of website copy?

The reason I am asking is I have written two forms of content for my new site, both are SEO friendly, one is written seriously but with a splash of humour, the other is just serious business client blah. Which one should I go with?

To clarify my new site will be aiming towards the creative digital agency end of things.

B.

Yes it can but it's very subjective to the market, would YOUR target market be open to the humour ... you should know them best .

If you can't answer that yourself, you need to get into their mind more

Jacqueline

 

[Chunkford]

Your copy should reflect the personality of the business. You should write as you speak, so that when people make contact they will get what they expect. This is one of the biggest mistakes many businesses make IMO, their website doesn't present the business as it is.

But wat hapens if u cant spel pruperly and you're grammars isn't da chizzel?
There gunna fink ure a wierdo bro

 

[OldWelshGuy]

But wat hapens if u cant spel pruperly and you're grammars isn't da chizzel?
There gunna fink ure a wierdo bro

Slong as der weerdo is you customer den tings cool bro.

 

[terryuk]

Aha I thought UKBF was full of old men, but seems quite hip


AHA

 

[MASSEY]

2 Googlebots laughed when they crawled this.

Didnt know you had a sense of humour

 

[Igneous D]

It's a bit of a difficult one - but I think humour has a place but it depends on the angle and ensuring the target get it! I know a blogger that did a sarcastic top 5 Twitter tips (things like follow everyone, tweet your every move, etc) - he had 100's of complaints from people that followed his tips and then found out it was bad advice!

Igneous Marketing

 

[bbrij87]

See bots don't know which context you have written. What you need to do is to A-B testing. See which leads to more conversion or say less bounce rate. The context varies from industry to industry and is related to nature of product/service you are offering.

 

[anthonylane13]

Personally, I think humour is a great way to show that you're a real person, and give your business a human face. Of course, it depends to some extent on what kind of humour it is (I don't recommend smut!) and how well written the copy is in general, but chances are it will make your site stick out in customers' minds, and if they're looking at a few companies, they'll probably remember yours.

Of course, loads of other things come into it, like design, usability, headers, taglines etc. There's no point in using humour if visitors never get past your navigation menu, or choose not to read your content for any reason.

If you'd like some feedback, I'd be happy to have a look at your copy and give you my opinion. PM me for my email address.

 

[garyk]

As mentioned above I think its important to inject personality into copy, not necessarily humour for the sake of it. I notice alot of copy writers tend to be self-deprecating which is fine as long as every post doesn't follow the same pattern.

 

[Baz Watkins]

Here is an excerpt of what I was considering, this is a rough draft and in no way final.

"By being upfront and transparent about our prices, we are breaking a golden rule. Most digital agencies shy away from doing this, as they prefer you to phone up so they can hook you in with fancy marketing speak.

We love fancy marketing speak, but we think it’s unfair to spend your time just to hit you in the face with a price you weren't expecting. So we decided that showing our 'knickers -This has a strikethrough enabled' rates was the dignified way to go. We like to quote on a per project basis, but we also understand the need for potential clients to get an up front idea of the cost of website design and marketing.

The prices quoted below act as a guideline only, each project is different, so don't be afraid of the range, it's just the best way we knew how to be both accurate and vague at the same time."


Thanks in advance. B.

 

[JamesF]

Hi

[FONT=&quot]I agree - it should reflect the personality of the business. If you were a clown or comedian offering your time to entertain at parties then it might be accepted. If you are serious business offering accounting services or more corporate this can turn people away.[/FONT]

 

[alanc]

So we decided that showing our 'knickers -This has a strikethrough enabled' rates was the dignified way to go.

Personally, I don't feel this is particularly funny, or appropriate, in the context (but I don't know your target market).

it's just the best way we knew how to be both accurate and vague at the same time.

This could really do with better wording.

 

[reggiemental]

Can humour work in the context of website copy?

It's certainly worked for us, although my type of humour probably isn't to everyones' taste. We have some 'humour' on our Contact Us page and the feedback we've had over the years definitely warrants keeping it in place. Ok, the site isn't a delight to look at, (I fall in Sir Earl's camp, if it aint broke don't fix it!).

Yes I know, the way things are done these days on a Contact Us page is to have a simple form, map view and address with not much else. I prefer to have a bit of fun!

It certainly hasn't put people off from contacting us. In fact, the page has generated quite a bit of extra business for us over the years.

Here's the page: Meet The Team

 

[alanjgrainger]

I'm a big fan of putting a bit of personality into copy, I get a bit bored of all the "Apprentice" style jargon that gets banded about, especially on corporate sites (not every sentance has to end with the word 'solutions'!)

When it comes to the prices page however I think it's important to be concise, get the information across as clearly and as waffle free as possible. On these kind of pages people are seeking information, so to put unnecessary words in the way may well make them switch off.

My advice would be for copy with personality on home and product pages (if applicable) and in articles and blogs, but get right to the point when people have clearly visited a page seeking specific information.

 

[JacquelineM]

So we decided that showing our 'knickers -This has a strikethrough enabled' rates was the dignified way to go.

To me that's distasteful but that's just my opinion, your market might think differently

I'd split test and let the response/reaction stats tell you the answer.

Jacqueline

 

[Baz Watkins]

Thanks to all replies, I have made the amendments recommended.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I've forgotten... was it Ogilvy or Hopkins that said, "People don't buy from clowns".

I don't particularly agree, but it's very hard to make humour work.

Steve

 

[Ali-v-8]

Its a type of link bait.. people will want to show others and it could gain your website links (inadvertently)