In Which Tense Should You Write Your Website Copy?

We’ve recently had a few clients reach out to us, concerned that their campaign websites are not ranking as well as expected for candidate name searches. Generally, this has to do with the age of the site, the existing content that ranks and whether the campaign website copy actually mentions the name of the candidate.

It’s true. We often seen websites that barely mention the name of the candidate in the text. A search engine cannot know what a web page is about if there isn’t enough relevant text on the page.

Another factor that influences how quickly or how well Google ranks a site is the tense in which the content is written.

Writing in the first person narrative means writing from the “I” point of view. Such as: I am running for office. I have the necessary skills and ability to do the job. My background is in…

The third person form is to write from the omniscient point of view. Such as: Bob Smith is running for office. Bob Smith has necessary skills and ability to do the job. Smith’s background is in…

See the difference?

Writing in the first person is:

• More personal sounding
• Replaces the candidate’s name with ‘I’
• Tends to become stilted and boring in delivery
• Can kill your search engine rankings if the candidate’s name is never mentioned

Writing in the third person is:

• More authoritative
• Allows more ‘branding’ by mentioning the candidate’s name more often
• Generally better for semantic search engine ranking

[bctt tweet=”Want your name to show up in Google searches? Write website content in the 3rd person. http://ow.ly/hkGq30gBkhi”]

While you are free to express yourself as you choose, we recommend writing the bulk of your web content in the third person. That way it sounds stronger, tends to be less repetitive, and will probably provide an SEO edge in ranking.

First person narrative is more appropriate for a candidate’s ‘open letter to voters’ or personal message.

Tips for adding the candidate’s name to first-person copy:

• If you want to use first person narrative, create ‘pull quotes’ to include the candidate’s name into the copy. Repeat a line of copy, but instead of using the ‘I’, use the the candidate’s name instead.
• Add a call to action at the bottom of your page or pages. For example, “Vote Jane Smith for Mayor on November 3”. Now you have the name and position sought together. You may want to make this text an H2 or H3 header.
• Use the name and elected position on the page description metas throughout the site.
• A domain name that includes the name of the candidate is helpful.

But no matter what tense the material is written, be sure that the candidate’s full name is included somewhere in on each page of the website. Use a name in the page titles as well.

Looking for sample campaign website copy and content?

Visit OnlineCandidateResources.com. Access is free for all Online Candidate clients. It’s designed to help give your website – and campaign – a winning edge.