Recently, I received a request for proposal (RFP) from a prospective client and in that proposal I read what I thought was either a typo or some insider acronym. The word was, “foci”. Have you ever heard the term, foci, used before? I had to Google it.
Foci: n. Plural of focus. A central point of attention. A point at which rays of light meet after being refracted. The point of origin of an earthquake. The primary center from which a disease develops.
Wow, do I feel illiterate. Turns out the word has been in use for about 300 years. But, my point is that from time to time we need to take a fresh look at the language being used by our target audience and ensure that our search engine optimization (SEO) strategy reflects modern and contemporary semantics.
Perhaps a more relevant word used in an example like this would be, “selfie” or “selfy”. Do you know what a selfie is? It is a self-portrait, a self-shot, or a photo taken of yourself with your mobile phone or some other compact, handheld camera. It’s only been about 5-6 years since the iPhone hit the market and changed the way we take pictures. The iPhone and apps like Instagram has totally revolutionized our modern culture and introduced new words in our vernacular, such as “selfie”. So, from time to time, perhaps 3-4 times per year, you should take a fresh look at the types of key words and keyword phrases that your prospective clients are using to refer to companies, products, and services like yours.
