photo credit: Jayegirl99

How to weave keywords into your copy

In our last post, we outlined some basic strategies for researching your keywords or keyphrases. Assuming that you now have a list of keywords you are confident your potential customers are searching with, it’s time to weave them into your site.

First, choose 2 – 3 keyphrases for each web page. Make sure that the keyphrases are relevant to the content of each page. For example, if your keyphrase is “natural remedies for acid reflux,” then the page should have information on this topic.

The best spots for keyword placement

If you’ve done any reading on the Internet about SEO and keyword placement, you know that there are certain “hot spots” where the search engines will look to find keywords that a searcher has requested. These places include:

• The main headline of each page
• The first, middle and last paragraphs of copy
• Subheads
• Active links – These are the links within the content of your site that link visitors to other pages. Instead of saying “click here,” try to use a keyphrase. For example, “Learn more about keyword research here.”
• Title tags – This is what is shown in the grey bar at the top of your browser. Look up there now and you’ll see that it carries the title of this blog post. This is one of the most important locations for keyphrase placement.
• Tags on images – Any photos, logos or other images that you use on your site cannot be “seen” by search engines. You or your web developer can add a textual tag containing a keyphrase called an “alt tag” to each. You can also add a photo caption with keyphrases.
• Site map – Site maps are not commonly used for sites unless they have a large number of pages and even then, they are usually just a listing of the pages on the site. But a site map is valuable to both search engines and your site visitors to show them around. It is also a smart place to add your keyphrases. Next to the name of each page, add a short keyword-rich description of what can be found on that page.
• Testimonials – Testimonials from customers sprinkled throughout your site give you and your business credibility. They are also a great place to add keyphrases. Without losing the intent of quotes supplied by your customers, try and fit in a keyphrase or two. For example, if your keyphrase is “graphic design” and the testimonial says, “Jane provides solid service,” change it to read: “Jane provides solid graphic design service.” Note: Be sure to ask the person whose testimonial you’re altering for permission.

Avoid the urge to stuff keywords into every nook and cranny

Now that you know where to put your keyphrases, it’s tempting to just jam them in everywhere – but don’t succumb to temptation! This is called “keyword stuffing” and doing it will accomplish two things: give you a black mark from the search engines, which frown on this activity; and turn off your visitors because your copy will be choppy and odd-sounding.

In the next post, we’ll talk about how to write keywords into your website so your copy flows as smooth as silk.

Related posts:

1. A neophyte guide to keyword research – Part 1
2. SEO. The quicker fixer upper – NOT!
3. Three things you need to know before talking to a web developer

While digging in the dirt and learning how to make my garden grow, it struck me that there were some definite similarities between creating a beautiful garden and writing engaging copy.

1. Know and understand before you dig

It’s hard to imagine what those little plants will look like once they’ve matured, but understanding their requirements – be it sun, shade, fertilizer or bees – enables you to treat them properly and address their needs so that they do what you want them to.

Before digging into copy, we have to know what kind of “garden” we want to grow. Who will read your words? What are their needs and desires? Why would they want your product or service? And what action will we want them to take once they read the copy? Sign up for a newsletter? Buy something from you?

Writing copy without having a sense of the people we want to speak to – and what we wish to say to them – is like throwing random packets of seeds on the ground in the hope that the right plants will come up.

2. Save only what needs to be there

OK, this hurt a little, but we dug up the entire garden and didn’t put everything back. We even bought some new plants to take their place! That’s because my garden was a discombobulated mess of things that I liked and that I thought needed to be there. But in actual fact, with everything squished into one area, plants were getting root-bound and stagnant, the soil couldn’t support their nutritional needs, and nothing was working.

It’s common to want to say everything upfront, and especially natural to want to “we we we” all over the place. However, just because we think it needs to be there doesn’t mean potential customers agree.  If it’s not serving the needs of your target market, it’s just a bunch of words that are getting in the way of your intentions.

Copywriting is far more effective when the story invites readers in and gradually reveals itself in a comfortable, engaging way. Lead with the points that resonate with them and provide supporting details later on to flesh your message out.

Most of the excess plants found their way into the back garden. So, there was a place for them after all.

3. Keep it simple, clear and focused

The rule, Janine told me, is to keep the same plants together in groups of uneven numbers to enhance the overall appeal of the garden. What’s more, don’t overcrowd them. Leave breathing space between the plants for a clean, streamlined look.

In keeping with our garden analogy, copy messages that support a thought thread should always be grouped together. For example, if you sell time management software, you could devote a block of copy to explaining the ways in which it improves productivity. Another copy block might detail how easy it is to use. A third section may talk about the research behind this quality product. And another section would tell the customer how to purchase it. You get the idea.

Make clean breaks between your copy blocks with subheads, and use shorter sentences, colloquial words and bullet points where appropriate. This enables your reader to easily scan the material and absorb the information in a more comfortable way.

4. Tie everything together with a unifying theme

To finish things off, we laid a layer of mulch between the plants. Not the usual brown chips of cedar either: we used coal-black mulch. We added a small flagstone walkway and two black trellises for the clematis to climb. The final effect is a wonderful combination of greenery, dashes of brilliant colour, and classic black accents.

The lesson here is that your story must have a theme for a few reasons: to attract attention, to help your message flow, and to make for an enjoyable read. Start with a creative headline that sets the tone. Carry that theme through in the subheads. Support it with copy that is fresh and alluring. Add visuals that are linked to the theme for more impact.

5. Ask an expert for help

I am so excited to watch my little garden blossom over the summer. But I couldn’t have done it alone. I don’t have the time or the experience to do the job right. I needed someone who had the know-how and the vision to turn it into something really special.

This lesson speaks for itself. If you’re having trouble coaxing your garden to grow, perhaps it’s time to hand the shovel over.

Related posts:

1. My new mantra – I want copywriting work that makes me feel good

Wrong.

As I tell all of my clients, SEO is not a quick fix, but an ongoing effort. While it may appear to work initially, this could be but a blip in the radar. If you look away, your SEO efforts fizzle. And then you’re back at square one. Here’s why:

If your site wasn’t designed with SEO in mind in the first place, your SEO efforts are more of a band-aid. Perhaps you’ve had some new title and meta tags created and added some keyphrases in strategic places. But this will only take you so far.

A solid SEO strategy goes deeper into restructuring the architecture of the site, coding it in such a way that it is easy for the engines to read and follow, writing pages that specifically target highly researched keyphrases, using keyword-rich hyperlinks that lay down a scent and lead visitors logically from page to page, and much more.

If your site doesn’t have fresh, changing content, both the engines and your visitors eventually lose interest. Your site needs to be dynamic, with lots of juicy stuff for visitors to consume. As the engines see it, if your site is static, then it won’t be valuable for searchers. That means it eventually drops down on the results pages.

If your site isn’t popular with other sites, it won’t be popular with the engines. An oft-ignored SEO tactic is link building. The more links you have coming into your site, the more popular it is perceived to be to the engines. To get links, you need to engage in tactics such as online press releases and articles, plus social media channels like blogging and Twitter.

If your site isn’t engaging your visitors, they won’t stick around. The real reason you want to optimize your site is not to get better rankings and more traffic, but to get more qualified traffic coming to your site to buy your product or service.

A well-optimized, well-written and well-planned site will be a rich bed of content for your visitors. Your dynamic site will give your visitors what they want in the form of copy that engages them and offers a solution to their problems, and an active blog and/or articles that keep them informed. Other ideas include a free newsletter, ebook, white paper or report that they can download and refer to, a contest, a coupon or a free product sample.

If your website is offering what visitors are looking for, they stay awhile. Your bounce rate (the rate at which visitors leave your site) decreases. Your conversion rate increases.

If you’re serious about optimizing your site, don’t apply a band-aid. Your site wasn’t created overnight (I hope not anyway), and your SEO shouldn’t be either.

Related posts:

1. A neophyte guide to using keywords – Part 2
2. A neophyte guide to keyword research – Part 1
3. Why free press release sites may be all you need

1. Determine what the content of your site will be.

All too often, I am called in to write a site after the architecture has been determined and the site development is well underway. The result is copy that needs to be force-fit – sometimes at the expense of the site’s usability.

2. Know what updates you will want to make.

Building a site is like building a house. Once the rooms have been established, it’s difficult to add on more rooms. Future pages, like a Blog or Partners page, can be worked into the architecture up front, and activated at a later date. Knowing what additions you want to make down the road saves a lot of time and money.

3. Know who your audience is.

Gone are the days of slapping up a brochure on the web. Brochures are generally talking about a company, not talking to potential customers. Consider your customers and what would involve them in your product or service. Might they be motivated by a contest, interested in a FAQ page, or more apt to buy with an easy-to-use shopping cart system? There are plenty of ways to involve potential clients, but a web developer needs to know what tactics you want to employ in advance.

Christine also suggests that you provide a list of sites you like and dislike, even if they are not selling a product or service similar to yours.

Related posts:

1. Giving credit on the web where it’s due
2. SEO. The quicker fixer upper – NOT!
3. A neophyte guide to using keywords – Part 2

In this frank discussion about grammar, Robin talks about many of the more common mistakes people make as well as some spelling issues that are specific to the web world. It’s well worth a read for anyone who is confused about web site vs. website or e-mail vs. email. And what’s the plural of e-mail anyway? You may be surprised!

Related posts:

1. Blogging. An excuse for poor communication?