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One search industry professional considers rewriting copy a last resort, a step that should be undertaken after other business-boosting efforts fail.

Change can be good, except for times when it isn't. Some site publishers may want changes in the words they present to visitors, but it may be in their best interest to convince them to stay the course.

Karon Thackston at Marketing Words had some thoughts on the topic. In the context of a discussion with a client who continually asked for copy changes, Thackston recounted how keeping existing copy intact really was working for the client:

My question to her was always, “Is your copy still converting the way you want it to?” She answered yes every time to which I advised, “Leave the copy alone.”

“But what about my rankings?”

“Is business suffering?”

“No, we’re swamped.”

“Leave the copy alone.”

“But it’s over a year old. Don’t you think it needs to be refreshed?”

“Is your copy still converting the way you want it to?”

“Yes.”

“Leave the copy alone.”

We’d have this same discussion every 3 or 4 months.

Instead of new copy, Thackston recommended an article distribution campaign to boost the ongoing linking campaign. "Getting top 10 rankings shouldn’t be your primary goal. Attracting and keeping more business is what it’s all about," Thackston said.

We also see an issue with breaking the familiar information for existing customers as a potential problem. Converted customers represent long-term value to a business; they know how to find you and what to expect when they do.

Disrupting what the regulars see may not be enough to send them away from a website, but it could slow down a transaction during their re-acclimation. Visitors need to understand changes to copy don't mean changes to the business itself; it may mean posting a simple "we've updated to serve you better!" type of message.

But if the site continues to perform as expected, new writing may be something that can be placed on hold until conditions change.