The next session I attended was Copywriting for Search Success, featuring speakers Jill Whalen, Founder and CEO of High Rankings, and Heather Lloyd-Martin, President and CEO of SuccessWorks Search Marketing.
Great session - lots of good information. It was a fantastic follow up to the Keyword Research Tools & Techniques session.
Why? Because first and foremost, this session addressed the pressing questions: What do you do with all the keywords you generate from keyword research?
Jill was up first- here's a run-through of her presentation:
SEO copywriting is not:
- bolding / italicizing keywords (you don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. keep it natural)
- writing a certain number of words (there is no magic number. use as many or as few words as it takes to get your point across)
- writing to a specific keyword density (don't try to fill a quota. it will come across as awkward and clunky. not natural at all).
- optimizing for one keyword phrase
- repeating keywords a certain number of times
When it comes to SEO copywriting, remember:
- search engines don't know who you are
- websites aren't online brochures. People coming to your site most likely don't know anything about you.
- explain who you are and what you do right away (on your homepage)
Every page must provide:
- specific information on what you offer
- plain language that naturally uses keywords
Good content is the key. But what IS good content?
- content = the pages on your website
- good content speak to your target audience on these web pages
- good content answers questions, solves problems, and provides information.
- content that is king is content that's truly written for your users, while keeping the search engines in mind.
- Find a happy medium used by both parties.
When writing a balanced copy:
- users come first
- be descriptive
- watch out for keyword stuffing
- avoid "the history of..." no one cares about the history of your niche product!
Good content starts with:
- keyword research. Uncover words that people use to find sites like yours.
- base copy around those words. Answer their search query on that very page.
- keywords that are the most relevant, specific, topical
Homepages should include...
- keywords should describe the company / website.
- broad phrases, even highly competitive pages.
- internal links to more specific info
- just a taste of keywords - don't stuff all of your keywords onto your homepage.
Remember: the goal is to have professionally written copy that naturally uses keywords.
Product / Service Queries
Traffic driven from Google fall under three categories (recall the three types of searchers from my last post)
- Some are just looking for products and services
- Some are comparing company offerings
- Some want to buy
Help them land on the most appropriate page on your site. Don't be afraid to sell them your stuff. Tell them the benefits of your site. Tell them why you're better than your competitors.
Product-level Pages:
- Here, you should be very specific keyword phrases
- Include strong keyword-rich headlines
- Include keyword rich anchor text points to these specific pages
News / blogs / article pages:
- Use natural long-tail keywords
- Don't use PDF files! They are indexed, true, but they don't have the best usability
- Do post PRs on your website - all publicity counts
News / blog posts titles:
- Use descriptive titles. Avoid cute, witty titles - they won't help you rank.
- Don't use non-descriptive anchor text i.e.: "read more" "click here" - not helpful at all.
Where to use keyword phrases:
- Title tags (duh!)
- Meta descriptions (though these won't show up in Google unless they're using a part of the keyword
- phrase that a person searched for)
- Anchor text (clickable part of the link)
- Clickable image alt attributes and alt tags (treat the tag as if it was the text-based anchor text)
- Navigational anchor text
- Headlines - doesn't HAVE to be in an H1
Essentially, anything that'll be good for a user will be good for a search engine. Search engines want what's best for users.
AVOID:
- spider traps - content has to be visible to Google
- graphic headlines, flash and splash pages, some javascript navigation
- these are invisible to your site
Jill's nitty-gritty SEO writing tips:
- Be descriptive. Add keywords wherever you can. "Our services" vs. "Our web development services."
- Edit your existing copy. Find generic words and replace them with keywords
- Avoid single words. Expand single words into longer keyword phrases.
Remember: professionally written copy is key- it brings highly targeted visitors that want exactly what you offer and converts them into customers.
Heather was next up. Her presentation dealt with SEO Copywriting Mythbusters. Here's a run-through:
Why care about content?
Good copy helps build brand, increase conversions, build community, start conversation. The importance of SEO content: How text is written can have a tremendous impact on search positions and conversions. It's not enough to just have content or stick keyphrases in copy.
Your main advantage concerning SEO copy is CONTROL.
- Organic Search - we can't control whether we're number 1 or 101 in the SERPs
- Link Building - we can't control who links to us.
- Creating good content is something you definitely have control over.
What is SEO content marketing, anyway?
- Articles, news releases, blog posts, product pages, subcategory pages, FAQ, Facebook pages, Twitter tweets, white papers, etc. Basically, SEO content marketing is any writing that showcases your messaging, builds your brand and helps make sales.
- Best example: Zappos. One of the smartest e-Commerce players out there. They don't just rely on product pages. They create content people can connect to.
SEO copying myths:
1) SEO content writing is just about getting good search rankings.
- Rubbish! So many clients say: "I want to be number one in Google."
- Well, you can't afford to be that shortsighted. You have to think about the next step. You have to consider conversion rates.
- People who think this way often keyword stuff their brains out.
- There's something more important than shoving key phrases into your copy, such as what the copy sounds like when people read it.
- Create a customer persona.
- You can't effectively write copy if you don't know who you're writing for.
- Know your target audience(s).
- Know your readers' age, fears, expectations, interests, level of education, average income levels.
- Think about how you're going to say what you want to say.
- Match your message to your target audience.
- Consider the benefits of working with you.
- Why are those benefits important to your target audience?
- What specific objections do you have to overcome?
- What is your competition doing and how do you position your company around that?
- What do you want your readers to do? (Purchase? Learn more? Call to learn more?)
- Good writing also helps conversions off the SERPs.
- Sometimes people don't even go to your page if they can tell from the SERPs whether or not your site will be relevant or useful.
2) There is such a thing as a magical keyword density percentage.
- No such thing! In 1999, Altavista required a 5.5% keyword density.
- Absolutely not true anymore.
- Algorithms take so much more into consideration now.
- If you try to hit that percentage, you'll sound so unnatural.
3) You don't need to sweat a good Meta description.
- Not true! Descriptions help conversions off the SERP!
- This is the first opportunity you have to make a good impression on your readers.
- Leverage the Google snippet trick.
- When you're writing your copy, place benefit statements near the first instance of your main keyphrase.
- It will be a good call to action for readers on the SERPs.
4) Your copy must be between 300-500 words.
- No way! Don't stretch content out to meet what you think is a min requirement for search engines.
- You'll piss off readers with irrelevant content there simply for filler.
- Use keyphrases naturally in the copy, and write with readers in mind.
- But once you're stretching it out too long, just stop.
- Generate SEO content rules: keyphrases in headlines and subheadlines, keyphrases in hyperlinks, etc.
5) The best title format is keywords separated by commas.
- Not true. Titles are like headlines. They're the anchor text in the SERPs.
- What's more insightful? A title of Keyword : Keyword : Keyword or Keyword Company Location ?
- Title structure tips: write your title like a headline.
- Think clickability.
- Keep your titles around 70 characters.
- Include main keyphrases in title.
- Explain what landing page is about.
- Include benefit statements such as free shipping.
- Experiment with including your phone number.
6) I can optimize one page on my site and get rankings.
- No way! You should strategize your content based on page type.
- You're going to want to optimize your pages differently depending on if they're product pages, subcategory pages, articles, FAQ pages, seasonal pages, blog pages, etc.
7) Writing won't help rankings. It's all about incoming links. Linking is the new SEO!
- Not totally true. You definitely want to have links, they're helpful and beneficial.
- But in order to have good incoming links, you have to start with good content.
8) My site is only relevant for 2-3 keyphrases.
- Not true. Remember the three type of search intentions: Purchase, Research, Awareness.
- Different keywords for each level of the consumer body language.
- Focus on the research phase.
- Make your website a resource for incoming browsers. Pretend they don't know your industry.
- There are tons of keyword opportunities here.
9) There's nothing we can do.
- That's just not true! There's always something you can do!
- Beware of the website mullet a.k.a. outdated copy.
- The worst offenders: press pages, conference event pages, product pages, old articles that are outdated.
- Set up an editorial plan to update the old copy.
- Write / edit a few pages a month - babysteps until you get more budget / resources / time to do a bigger overhaul.
Wrapping up with leveraging content opportunities
- Can't change the existing template? Start a blog.
- Need to help conversions? Add customer reviews.
- Have no idea what to do? Hire a consultant.