As a copywriter, I’d love to tell you that every site on Web needs tons of copy. However, simple truth is not all do. Many sites simply produce better sales when they use more graphics than words. Since search engines are hungry for words you simply have to use copy if you plan to get ranked high. Quite a dilemma, isn’t it?

So what do you do if you’re a graphic designer, if you sell jewelry, or if you have another site that needs more pictures than copy? Don’t despair. There are some strategies that can help you reach a happy medium satisfying both your visitors and engines.

1. Use Descriptions - Place keyworded descriptions under each graphic on your pages. Just a sentence or two for each one can add up and give you enough room to achieve good keyword saturation.

2. Break Copy Into Sections - Instead of having all 250-350 words of copy in one place, break your copy into small sections. For example, place a headline and three sentences at top of page, a few words under your bottom navigation bar, and a short paragraph above your “Order Now” link. The engines will find words regardless of where on page they are, but your visitors won’t be overwhelmed by seeing all copy in one place.

Managers Who Leave PR to Others

You’re a business, non-profit or association manager who needs to achieve your organizational objectives on schedule. Since public relations should be helping you do just that, why leave it wholly in hands of others?

In your own best interest, get personally involved in your public relations effort and ask PR team servicing your department, division or subsidiary a few questions.

Are they focused on a workable, comprehensive plan for producing those key external audience behaviors like customers coming back for repeat purchases; new prospects starting to sniff around; capital donors asking for more information, and others deciding to specify your services or products, and similar good stuff?

Ask PR folks how they feel about using fundamental premise of public relations as a guide to PR work they are doing for you. For that matter, what do you think about these two sentences? People act on their own perception of facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving- to-desired-action very people whose behaviors affect organization most, public relations mission is accomplished.

The nice thing about that premise is that it shines PR spotlight directly on those outside groups of people with a large say about how successful you’re going to be – namely, on your key external target audiences.

Then ask your PR team how they feel about using these tools to capture perceptions, and thus behaviors of your most important outside audiences.

For example, do you and your PR people really know how your organization is perceived by those target audiences, and are you all really aware of behaviors that flow from those perceptions?

Because that’s where rubber meets road – target audience behaviors that help or hinder you in achieving your operating objectives.

To find out what target audience members think about your organ- ization, you and your PR team must interact with them and ask a lot of questions. The alternative is to spend considerable money on professional survey work, but let’s assume that’s not really an alternative at this point in budget cycle.