SEO, or search engine optimization is easy.
Time consuming and methodical for sure, but relatively speaking, it's easy.
It's about creating a niche, a specific place to be that is getting searched,
and building pages that lead a user logically from that very specific search query
into whatever specific thing or idea you are selling.
Easy.
These particular SEO copywriter tips are about choosing and researching your keywords.
I might drift into some other things as is my tendency, but I hope you leave with some
more knowledge about whether or not you should make an SEO investment, and just where those
dollars would be best spent.
And just to be clear--I am using Google as a catch-all term referring to all the major search
engines.
SEO copywriting tips in action
The theory: zeroing in means cashing in
Example: Let's say "buying boats" is a very competitive
(and valuable) keyphrase. Appearing in the top-10 of this in Google can mean thousands
of new visitors to the ranking site. If one user out of 500 or 1000 is good for $25,000, you
can see how a top-10 ranking (and thousands of targeted visitors) can mean millions to your
bottom line.
So let's say a company would really like to do well in this "buying boats" market, but knows
going after a keyphrase so internationally competitive is going to be at a minimum very costly, and
because it is so competitive, even expensive efforts might not get any decent results. Losing
money is never what they want to do. Trying to compete for a very popular term is often like throwing a handful of sand at a mountain...
even solid online marketing efforts and bigger budgets seem to drift away on the breeze, and the mountain remains unchanged.
If you were to go straight after "buying boats" you go head-to-head with every guy who wants to try to
sell boats anywhere...and there are always guys with deeper pockets and less scruples than you thought possible.
They too, know the monetary promise of ranking well in "buying boats" and are doing everything possible
to get in there and cash-in. They will often flood you out of the market by any means necessary,
resorting to "black hat" techniques if they think they can get away with it.
They can often beat you simply because they are more cutthroat. At this point, I'd suggest, as I always do, to stay far away from
shortcuts or questionable techniques, but that is a long-winded topic best left for the ranting of another page.
Back to task: Let's say this company is opening a new office to sell boats in Texas, and wants to get some quick
return on promoting their grand opening. The site owner could target very specifically
worded keyphrases like "Texas boat buying" "buy boats in Texas" "Texas boats"
and so on. Thinking like the end user--the boat buyer--you begin casting a smaller, but
more productive net.
Assuming the company's site is already being hit by Google a couple times a week, creating and adding
new pages focused on these search terms should show a quick return. The new pages should
be quickly indexed--I have personally made new pages rank as high as #1 often
in less than 5 days if the site's already well-indexed. By using more specifically phrased "lures" if you will,
you can rank much more quickly and specifically. This increased, researched and targeted
exposure becomes a promotional powerhouse for a brand new company.
Now, it is clear these Texas-specific pages won't get searched as much as the much more general
"buying boats" does, but believe me, if you choose your key phrase based on research, they will get searched.
But it is a great place to start building out a regionally-specific SEO strategy...one in
which it is often easier to see more immediate results.
So think of attacking more web conversions like attacking a big beast with a long tail. I can't
remember which theorist came up with that analogy of the modern economy, but it is very accurate. You go
after the tail, and there's plenty to keep busy with...why go after the biggest part of the beast
first? You'll get there soon enough, after you have learned to control the tail.
Putting these SEO copywriting tips to practical use
Put yourself in the shoes of the user you know will spend money with you. What are they
typing into Google to find out what they need to know? Is it buying used boats, boat prices,
saltwater boats, low cost boat rates, boat shops in Texas...you get the
point. There are hundreds of things they are searching, and any one of them might be the golden
ticket for your business. You can --and should -- actually do some quick and easy research
and see how many times each term is searched. There are plenty of good SEO tools out there, and
most are free...just search "SEO tools" in any search engine, and find some you like.
Once you get comfortable with some SEO tools, create a big list of key phrases--any combination of what you
think people will search in relation to your offer. Prioritize the list, so you know which
terms should go out as fully developed pages first, and stay on your site the longest. These are the keyphrases you'd use to describe
your business in a large, encompassing way--like buying boats. Then one at a time, build a page specific to answering
a more detailed search on each keyphrase you researched (like "buying new boats in Texas"), and link that sub-page into one of your main ones (buying boats, or its equivalent).
Link your new page in your site map, and if you can also link it from a text link on your home page, that is an ideal situation.
If you can get this far and everything is coded well, you will see results--I absolutely promise you. Traffic spikes
and prolonged increases in search-driven web visits are
no great mystery. It is in good linking, good coding and good, strategic writing. Period. And it can
be done correctly, on or under budget, and achieve something pretty remarkable from zero in just a couple months, about every time.
Once your site is established and indexed (read: trusted) in Google, you can often see results for new efforts
in less than a week.
Get some trained SEO help
I'd get help if you aren't comfortable with any part of this--especially the coding parts,
because above all, your coding MUST be solid. But you can certainly save money by getting some free tools
out on the internet, and start to research your keywords, and developing a breakdown of associated terms.
You know your customers better than anyone, right? This in and of itself will be a huge cost
savings--as well as the inevitable starting point of any SEO strategy. Develop a huge list of keywords,
and then go after them methodically. ALWAYS be answering your user's needs, and do it in a premeditated,
very methodical manner. Give them what they want, and quickly lead them into action. Don't cheat, and
build well.
See?
Wasn't that easy?
Want some more SEO copywriter tips?
Click here to see 5 SEO Copywriter techniques that you can use.
Call (770)591-5526 or email today for a free consultation with
SEO copywriter Marty Lamers from Articulayers.
Download a print-ready version of selections from this web copy here.
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