Remember the old Wendy’s/Clara Peller “Where’s the beef?” commercial? The point Wendy’s was trying to make with that particular piece of advertising was that Wendy’s hamburgers were bigger and better than its competitors.

While conducting a content audit for a client, I recently visited several sites that reminded me of that famous commercial. These particular web sites left me asking, ”Where’s the information?”

Web sites that are lean on information may look visually appealing or be quick to put up and easy to maintain, but they often leave site visitors hungry for more. Much more.

In the examples I came across, sometimes there was an egregious lack of information. Like the site that had all the contact info — except a phone number.

Other times the lack of relevant content was a little more subtle, potentially causing a site visitor to miss an important service offering or guarantee — which could send them straight a competitor.

I’m convinced that lack of relevant information is a result of one of four things:

• Bad planning
• Poor copywriting
• Company-centric focus
• Fear of being transparent

One simple solution to strengthen your content offering is to make sure your copy answers six basic questions plus my “no-fail-get-to-the-core-issue” question:

1. Who?
2. What?
3. When?
4. Where?
5. Why?
6. How?
7. What’s in it for them?

And while I don’t usually tout my services in my blog posts, it may be worth mentioning that I offer a comprehensive copy critique that can help you avoid the “Where’s the information?” recoil from your site visitors.

Possibly related posts

• Big copy challenges we don’t talk enough about (0)
• The Search for Relevant Content – Part 4 (0)
• The Search for Relevant Content – Part 2 (0)