I recently visited a small-town mom-and-pop restaurant and ordered a classic BLT. When the sandwich arrived, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was so overloaded with bacon that you couldn’t even see the tomato, the lettuce was barely hanging on, and the bread was somewhere in there, probably hiding under the pile.

While I love bacon, when I took that first bite, it was all bacon. No balance, no texture, no contrast. The elements that make a BLT great were completely lost. And that’s when it hit me: I’ve seen this exact same thing happen with websites.

Some websites, especially in the industrial and B2B space go heavy on content. They stuff every page with long paragraphs, technical details, every keyword they can think of, and entire brochures of copy pasted straight into the site. All in the name of trying to rank higher in Google or ‘optimize for AI.’

But here’s the thing: just like that overloaded BLT, too much of even the best ingredient can ruin the experience.

When Content Goes From Helpful to Overwhelming

Web visitors don’t read websites the way they read books or even brochures.

• They skim.
• They scroll.
• They look for answers.

And when they land on a wall of text with no clear direction, they often bounce frustrated and confused.

Search engines are a bit more patient, but they also rely on structure, clarity, and keyword relevance. So when your content tries to do everything at once, it ends up doing nothing well.

The Sweet Spot: Writing for Humans and Search Engines

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to choose between writing for people or writing for Google. You can do both—if you follow a few key principles:

Start with the visitor: What do they want to know? What problem are they trying to solve?
Be clear and conversational: Write like a real person talking to another real person.
Use structure to your advantage, include:

• Headings
• Bullet points
• Short paragraphs
• Keywords placed naturally help both readers and bots understand your content.

Avoid filler: If a paragraph doesn’t serve a purpose, cut it.
Include a clear next step (also known as a Call To Action): Tell your visitors what to do next… call, click, download, or contact.

Think of Your Website Like a Sandwich

Yes, really. Bacon is great. But it’s the combination of bacon, lettuce, tomato, and bread that makes the BLT a classic.

In the same way, great website content is a balance of

• Information
• Structure
• Personality
• Simplicity

Too much of one ingredient even a good one can throw it all off.

Plenty of bacon, sure. But make room for the lettuce (clarity), tomato (visual flow), and the bread (structure) that holds it all together.

Is Your Website Stacked Too High?

If your website is starting to feel more like a bacon overload than a balanced meal, it might be time for a redesign

At Upstream Marketing, we help industrial and B2B companies design websites that help you with both people and search engines. We’ll help you trim the fat, keep the flavor, and serve up a website that leaves your visitors satisfied.

Hungry to get started? Reach out and let’s talk about how we can bring balance back to your site.