
<p class="has-drop-cap">My client had invented a term and they wanted to make it the focus of their SEO strategy. It was a clever term, really. A <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portmanteau" target="_blank">portmanteau</a> that jammed part of one word describing their product with part of a second word. It was really rather a genius sort of word that fit their new concept perfectly.</p>



<p>The inventive folks at Llama.io (<a href="http://llama.im" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">now Llama.im</a>) created a physical greeting card with a creative twist. When you scan the barcode on the card, your cell phone accesses a personal video message from the sender. Now you can close the distance from a loved one and deliver a more nuanced and personal message. One part physical card, one part digital message.</p>



<p>To emphasize this, Llama.io coined the word “phygital.”</p>



<p>It is a clever term. A <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portmanteau" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">portmanteau</a>, jamming the words physical and digital together, just as their product did. It was really rather a genius sort of word that fit their new concept perfectly.</p>



<p>But I saw right away it would make for a lousy SEO strategy. </p>



<p>Not because it translated poorly.</p>



<p>It was not like Chevrolet&#8217;s famous decision to name their new 1962 model the &#8220;Nova.&#8221; Sure, we know that a nova is an emergent star. However, in Spanish, this translates to &#8220;no go.&#8221; </p>



<p>Not because its words had a second NSFW meaning, like the North Korean video streaming service <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/24/north-korea-launches-a-netflix-style-streaming-service-called-manbang/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Manbang</a>. </p>



<p>They were convinced that their clever new term was the perfect encapsulation of their product. And they were right. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">So what was the problem?</h2>



<p>So, if it&#8217;s safe for work, and clever, and sums up their work well, why did I think they should not build an SEO strategy around it?</p>



<p>And how should I tell them? </p>



<p>They were a new client. I was worried about how they would receive the information. I tried to be gentle, but direct. </p>



<p>No one searches for a word they don&#8217;t know.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img src="https://thebestwordsllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/pexels-photo-3769697.jpeg" alt="anonymous person with binoculars looking through stacked books" class="wp-image-118"/><figcaption>The point of SEO is to help people find you when searching for something like your product. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/anonymous-person-with-binoculars-looking-through-stacked-books-3769697/">Pexels.com</a></figcaption></figure>



<p>I wasn&#8217;t sure how they would take it. They had invested a lot of time and energy in their product. </p>



<p>But I was NOT telling them the product was bad, or the new word was not a great description. </p>



<p>I was telling them that this word was simply not going to be the lead magnet they hoped. It was simplest to be straightforward and let them know.</p>



<p>Not that they had a bad concept or idea.</p>



<p>They came to me not just to complete a task, but to make their product and their SEO approach productive. I could complete the writing as assigned, but I would not be doing my work unless I told them the truth. </p>



<p>I held my breath, and said it as gently as possible. But I kept the main point the same: </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>no one searches for a word they don&#8217;t know.</p></blockquote>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">&#8220;Phigital&#8221; had a place</h2>



<p>The term had a place, just not as their primary SEO search driver. I was able to incorporate it into their blog post and it lives on prominently at their website.</p>



<p>But their primary search terms were &#8230; well, in the interest of keeping client information confidential, I will just say that we choose a much more specific set of search terms. </p>



<p></p>

My Client Invented a Term. I Said They Couldn’t Use It
