Applying Newton’s first law to your Web content.

Newton’s first law goes something like this: An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

If your content is at rest, you can pretty much count on it staying that way. Unless, that is, you begin to infuse it with a bit of optimization. Content can be defined as anything and everything on your Web site. You should view every piece of it from page titles and descriptions, to text and images, to videos and blog posts as an opportunity to wrap your unique message around—this is the unbalanced force that will get your content moving.

At the root of the issue, in the core of your content, lies a message that needs to be communicated. In order for it to be communicated, it has to be found. Everything in that content should be working toward the same goal. This means that trite business jargon doesn’t cut it. It means that your links don’t just say “click here.” And it means that just having a Web site up to put www on your business card won’t get you any favor with the search engines. Adding descriptions to your images, titling individual pages, and using proprietary language in your headlines are all simple steps toward optimization. Take inventory of your content, speak to your customers and frugally make every megabyte count.

So this sounds good, but you’re not the content-keeper. How can you get things moving? Talk to your Web firm, your IT department and, of course, the fine people of Introworks. There’s no guarantee that people will want to buy what you’re selling, but by applying some smart force to your Web you’ll increase the odds of them finding you when they’re ready.