The Copywriting & Design Blog

At the top of their web pages (below the title bar), many companies like to have both their company name and a tagline describing their business. If they’re smart they include one or two top keyphrases, not just a vague slogan or tagline. Too often, however, those key words end up embedded in a header graphic . . . and that’s not good for generating leads. Here’s why:

Google and other search engines seek to provide the most relevant search results possible for any phrase searched. In determining how relevant a given web page is, one of the factors they evaluate most heavily is the text (both headlines and body copy) on the page.

So it’s essential that the key phrases that describe your business appear on your web pages.  The problem is, search engines can’t “see” any text that’s embedded in a graphic object, such as a .jpeg or .gif file. And if they can’t see the text, they can’t index the page based on those words of text . . . which, in turn, reduces the chances that the page will rank highly on the results page when the given phrase or word is searched.

It’s no mystery why this problem occurs. Smaller companies increasingly realize that their logo has to convey more than just their business name and visual identity. So they ask their logo designer to include the key descriptive words about the business, usually at the bottom of the logo design, so those words are closely associated with the logo.  The finished logo design, usually a .jpeg or a .gif, is then handed to their web site designer for placement on the company’s web pages. And once it’s there, everything looks fine . . . but in the fact is, an opportunity to improve search-engine rankings has been missed.

When looking at a web page, how can you tell if a piece of text is embedded within a graphic?  Try moving your mouse so the cursor hovers over the text you’re wondering about: If the cursor changes from an arrow to a little vertical line, the text probably is not in a graphic.

Next, left-click (that is, press and hold the left button of your mouse) and drag your mouse within this text: is the copy now highlighted in blue? If so, the copy is NOT part of a graphic, and therefore is visible to the search engines.

Granted, in the quest for better search-engine rankings, there are other opportunities to place keyphrases on pages. But considering how intense the competition is for rankings on virtually any search term, an issue like this can make a difference. And considering how easy it is to put keywords as plain text below or beside a logo, there’s really no good reason not to.