Fix Generic or Machine-Written Website Copy in Downing
Replace interchangeable marketing language with specific, verifiable service scope, processes, limits, terminology, examples, and customer information.
Website copy often feels machine-written because it could belong to almost any business.
The problem is usually not the tool that produced the draft. The problem is missing information.
Find the interchangeable language
Common warning signs include:
- long strings of adjectives;
- claims such as “trusted,” “premier,” or “best-in-class” without evidence;
- vague benefits;
- repeated three-item lists;
- canned transitions;
- broad promises with no defined scope;
- conclusions that merely repeat the introduction.
Ask whether a competing business could paste the paragraph onto its own site unchanged.
If the answer is yes, the copy needs more substance.
Replace generalities with real facts
Useful specificity can come from:
- actual service scope;
- real process steps;
- meaningful limits;
- technical terminology customers need;
- verified examples;
- genuine service-area information;
- recurring customer questions;
- clear next steps.
Do not invent details simply to make the writing feel more human.
Remove claims the business cannot prove
Editing should make the page more accountable, not more colorful.
If a claim about experience, speed, quality, reputation, results, or local standing cannot be supported, remove it or replace it with something factual.
Keep useful machine-assisted writing
A paragraph does not need to be discarded merely because software helped draft it.
If it is accurate, specific, useful, and appropriate to the business, keep it.
The editorial standard should judge the content, not guess who or what wrote the first version.
Vary structure because the subject requires it
Natural writing changes shape when the information changes.
Do not mechanically insert slang, typos, sentence fragments, or random rhythm changes to simulate personality.
For a related next step, see Fix a Homepage That Talks About the Company Instead of the Customer in Monticello and Write Useful Service Descriptions Instead of Vague Sales Copy in Canton.
For authoritative guidance on this subject, see Google's SEO Starter Guide.
See Also
Switchboard can help Downing and Northeast Missouri businesses turn generic drafts into specific, verifiable pages that actually describe the business.
- Categories: Website Content
- Tags: #Trust, #Content Clarity, #Editorial Quality