Are search engines spoiling the fun?

In his latest newsletter, Gerry McGovern mentions the hard-hitting anti-drugs campaign currently running in the UK. What puzzles him is the name of the web site that you're directed to for more information. It's talktofrank.com. Not immediately obvious why, is it?

Gerry's point – apart from puzzlement – is that this is hardly search engine friendly. People in need of help through drug abuse are not very likely to remember that the TV ads are based around some imaginary character called Frank. Fortunately, says Gerry, the web site itself has been sufficiently optimised that those who search will find.

This reminds me of another discussion going on over the future of our famous tabloid punning headlines. They are hugely inventive and entertaining in print, but search engines have little sense of humour. So a play on words online is still amusing, but don't help bring users to the web site.

Is this such a problem? Well, if you're still using keywords effectively in your copy, your tags and anywhere else that can be used, it may not be an issue.

There is another problem with “clever” online copy though. And that's the global nature of your audience.

I've been writing in print for companies with a European market for many years. They have always been aware that humour doesn't travel well. Even if you're not actually going to translate your copy, you're still talking to an audience for whom English is a second or third language. Making your content hard to understand by including in-jokes and language humour is just not polite, and won't win you any customers.