Search Friendly Isn’t Bad Writing

In Mrs. Dennison’s sixth grade class, she gave us extra credit to analyze a website and present our analysis to the class. I did the assignment to get the extra credit; at that point the internet did not interest me. I had trouble inserting the new Internet vernacular into my vocabulary and I certainly never thought the Internet would amount to anything of importance. Now, thirteen years later, I work full time battling the complex algorithms of Google geniuses. The internet went from being a miniscule part of my life to the primary source of where and how I spend my time. In deed Mrs. Dennison opened my eyes to the digital world but, my most eye-opening experience has come recently, while working for a personal injury law firm.

I started working for Kramer Law Group in February of 2009. Before being hired, I considered myself a “casual internet user”. I had a Facebook account, email accounts, paid my bills online, but a majority of my time on the internet was for leisure. I knew the internet was a great tool to keep people connected and a great avenue to do business. As days passed I became more acclimated with my job and began realizing working how competitive and important the internet is to the livelihood people worldwide. I realized that the internet, for many, is used for something more than leisure. It literally means the difference between having and not having a sustainable income. In addition to a different appreciation for the internet, working at the law firm has helped me see the way the internet has changed the way I read and write, and the way I hope to run my business in the future.

My first week on the job I was introduced to a term called search engine optimization or “SEO”. I knew of the importance of getting adequate placement within search engines but I wasn’t sure how it was done. I was put to work developing “search engine friendly” content for a website and two blogs. SEO friendly writing is quite different from normal technical writing. I had to insert phrases like Utah personal injury attorney or Salt Lake accident lawyer in locations that didn’t seem natural in normal writing. I questioned the professionalism of that sort of writing because I thought people would hate reading a blog entry rich in search engine friendly terms. My boss told me that although it may look and sound funny, it gets to people to the site. It doesn’t do any good to write correctly if know the site has no traffic. The purpose is to drive traffic to a developing website, not to write absolutely perfectly. Learning this, I started to notice that many blogs and websites are written with search friendly terms. Perhaps, the internet generation does not realize the writing is different because we have become so accustomed to reading blogs and websites.

Yet another way my job has opened my eyes to some of the nuances of digital world is the articles and types of things I read. Most everything on our websites is short and sweet. Likewise, internet writing follows that same format. We, as browsers, choose what we want to read so those articles must be aesthetically pleasing, clear and concise. People want to read a short article then travel to the next. Writing on the internet is much different than developing characters in novel, writing on the internet requires wording to catch the eye and keep interest for a few short moments.

Perhaps the most eye opening experience that has come from my work at the law firm is the realization that internet based marketing can really put the little guy on the map. Large corporations spend millions of dollars on advertising. Internet marketing, although still not cheap, allows for the little guy to better compete with the big guys. Internet searches are becoming the way people find businesses

Technology has changed the way they world operates in more ways than I can put on paper. I can’t imagine going to college pre-computers or working without the internet. I often ask, what or how would I do this if I didn’t have the internet? My time at the law office has opened new doors in the digital world.