Category: Copywriting

Home > Blog > Copywriting

A Look At Infographics

It’s possible to express a thought, an emotion or a viewpoint in any number of ways – these different modes of expression are exalted as art forms if executed well and form the foundations of culture. Wordsmithery (a made up term referring to effective and powerful use of written language) is no exception and is a craft I often attempt to exercise in order to move people, encourage positive thought and of course get visitors to websites. I’m not going to quote any of the appropriate clichés here, but to put it simply: sometimes words don’t have quite the impact required.

When it comes to statistics, words (and of course their good friend: numbers) may comprehensively succeed in providing the bulk of the salient information that one wishes to convey – but the result can be lengthy and boring. Similarly, short of using Comic Sans or Word Art, it’s hard to add visual flourishes to reports on the findings of a research body, or to engage a passing eye and achieve impact on the page with just enjambment, alliteration and very self-indulgent punctuation. To succeed in these cases you need something which expresses the facts whilst also engaging the viewer and breaking often complicated concepts down into comfortably masticated chunks. In this area of communication the infographic is king.

Example 1 – Recruitment 2010…at a Glance

The title of this infographic concisely expresses the function of this infographic and the infographic itself concisely, clearly and imaginatively expresses the facts and figures that the originator Blue Octopus Online Recruitment wanted to share:

Although many will find statistics pertaining to recruitment in 2010 absolutely fascinating…the majority of ‘pleasure-browsers’ probably won’t. This infographic caters to both parties by playing with colour, graphically expressing facts and figures and providing both negative and positive findings in a clear and balanced way.

Example 2 – The True Cost of Asbestos

This infographic from Lighthouse Health and Safety was created to try and raise awareness of the harm that asbestos exposure continues to inflict on a large number of people every year. Much like the previous example, the image serves to graphically demonstrate statistics which are generally never shown in a manner more exciting than a generic bar chart. It grabs attention, pleases the eye and imparts important knowledge, see:

Whilst the recruitment infographic still had an air of business-iness about it, this example plays more with colour and utilises more elaborate and creative imagery. Given that it aims to share a message with the widest possible audience, the almost playful presentation of very serious facts and emphasis on visual depiction over lexical elaboration show just how short the average attention span is.

So, if you want to show off some mind-blitzing facts and figures in a way which also appeals to the aesthetically minded you should probably at least consider an infographic…I personally think they’re ace.

(PS: If you would like to help spread the message about the dangers of asbestos exposure on your blog or website then please visit http://www.lighthouseriskservices.co.uk/true-cost-of-asbestos.html - it’s a cause which I don’t personally believe is given enough consideration and the infographic looks brilliant!)

Home > Blog > Copywriting

Are You Putting Enough Emphasis On Your Website Content?

Search Engine Optimisation is a science which is perpetually in flux. With each new day come fresh announcements which claim to revolutionise not just the industry but also the internet at large. Alongside these announcements are an almost limitless stream of blogs and articles written by self-labelled ‘SEO Experts’ which purport to provide guidance as to the definitive strategy to put your website at the top of search results. Opinions differ greatly as to the importance of various on-page factors, the worth of links from directories and all manner of other factors, whether minor or major. The one thing which is consistent throughout all of these competing claims and assertions is that they should not be the basis of a complete overhaul of your existing SEO strategy. Not only is Search Engine Optimisation a highly competitive arena but also one in which nothing can be known for sure: in fact there are so many variables that it is nigh on impossible to ascertain for sure why a website is or isn’t ranking as well as it apparently should.

Rather than claim that I have it from an informed source that Google’s search algorithm contains a specific command or that I can obtain your website as many back links as there are stars in the sky: I purely wish to share one idea, and it is by no means a new or original concept, just something which I fear many people have neglected in order to pursue quick fixes or forum derived trends. That one idea is that you spend some time on your website content. By this I don’t mean contact an overseas organisation who will string together reams of text for next to nothing, nor am I referring to the practice of syndicating the work of others blindly. Using a word or page count as your only measurement of quality will count for nothing: in the long term, the short term, or any other time constraint you wish to consider.

Spending time on your website content will not only mean that your website is more likely to be visible in the results pages of searches for relevant long tail phrases (which as we know account for more than 70% of all searches made through Google), but actually makes your website itself considerably ‘better’. By ‘better’ I mean that people will be glad to have found it, visitors are more likely to pay attention to your message, and a prospective customer is considerably more inclined to make the transition to satisfied customer. In short, your website content is key in terms of getting people to your website, engaging them and converting them. Great content can serve the role of ‘link bait’ and engage people to the extent that they link to it, it can be published as an article or blog to elicit interest from 3rd party publishers, it can be used to generate traffic through social media sources and can persuade the undecided potential product purchaser of your credibility and service.

Personally I can think of no other factor which has anywhere near the same impact on the success of a website than its content. Best of all: it’s been that way for years and won’t be rendered pointless by the ‘next Google update’.

If you would like to discuss your website’s content or any other aspect of Search Engine Optimisation then get in touch with the Web Vitality team: specialists in SEO Manchester and Web Design Manchester…and more than happy to help out those based elsewhere in the UK and beyond!