Copywriting as an SEO Tool
When you think of search engine optimization, you probably think of link exchanges, strategic keyword placement, and other technical tricks that are supposed to help you get a high web site ranking. While all of these methods are important for good search engine optimization results, good copywriting can also be used as an excellent tool for search engine optimization. When done correctly, copywriting can complement all of the technical aspects of your web site and draw more traffic to your business. Learning about how copywriting can be used as an Search Engine Optimization SEO tool can help you to understand why good copywriting is so important and make the decision to hire a copywriter for your Search Engine Optimization SEO efforts.
Persuasive Content - Search Engine Optimization SEO Tool
When people visit your web site, you need to have persuasive content that drives them to take action. That action might be making a purchase or requesting more information. In any case, professional copywriters know how to write compelling copy that brings people to perform the action you desire. When you hire a professional copywriter to write your web site copy and provide articles and other content for your site, you are making a solid investment.
Keyword Optimization - Search Engine Optimization SEO Tool
Keyword optimization is a very important part of search engine optimization. When you select keywords to be used on your site, those keywords need to fit naturally into the content that you place on your site for visitors to access. If you're not a professional writer, using these often lengthy words and phrases naturally within your text can be difficult. Professional copywriters can incorporate your keywords into copy without making it sound like you are keyword spamming. Having natural-sounding text will help keep the attention of your visitors and will make your site more appealing for new users.
Content Development - Search Engine Optimization SEO Tool
When you set out to fill a web site with content, you may become overwhelmed at the thought of coming up with many topics to use. Your specific knowledge and skills may limit you to writing about only a few topics. A professional copywriter with experience conducting research and writing on a wide variety of topics can write about any topic you assign and make the words compel readers to take action. Your list of four or five content ideas can easily become a list of one hundred ideas with the help of a professional copywriter.
Text Quality - Search Engine Optimization SEO Tool
When you're not a professional copywriter, proofreading and editing your web site text may be the furthest thing from your find. However, having web site text with glaring spelling errors and grammar mistakes that make the content difficult to read gives users a negative impression of your business. Hiring a professional copywriter will help you to have the highest quality content to help your business maintain its professional image.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
10 Ways to Tackle Keyword Research and Selection
10 Ways to Tackle Keyword Research and Selection by Michael Murray, VP of Fathom SEO Search Engine Optimization
You need to be extremely careful with keyword research so that you don't miss excellent opportunities or aim so broadly that you target phrases that will never rank well. Here are 10 strategies to guide you along the way:
1. Know your potential customers. We can't tell you how many businesses we've met who simply pick keywords out of thin air. They don't talk to customers or hot prospects in order to determine what might be a useful set of keywords.
2. Start with core words. A core set of keywords - even if too broad - can stimulate creative thinking.
3. Look at the industry. Examine industry trade group web sites and related newsletters to find potential keywords.
4. Study competitors. Some companies make a bigger deal of competitors' keywords than they should, but it's still a useful strategy. Invariably, a competitor will be using a strong keyword or phrase you don't want to miss. Often, however, they load their web sites with single keywords that aren't appropriate. If Internet users are seeking cookware, their search terms shouldn't be laundry-based words. Yet we came across that very example. Be careful which words you use.
5. Be specific - add other words to your primary phrases. If you sell metal, try metal stamping or metal stampers. Or, how about metal stamping companies? Words like services, companies, products, accessories, and many others can really pay off. Ok, everyone wants to rank #1 for terms like "toys" and "sports." It would take more time and budget than you may have to land such terms (through META updates, content adjustments and links).
6. Visit Wordtracker. It's a great tool even if it only collects a sampling of actual searches (more than 300 million). You'll get a good sense of how frequently someone may search. Here is their URL: http://www.wordtracker.com
7. Use your intuition. Don't hesitate to try some ideas; Wordtracker and other sources can confirm whether you have a search term people might or might not use.
8. Limit your selection. Come up with a list of words - 10, 20, 30, maybe 50 or more. But don't get so many that you can't manage them all.
9. Tie keywords to site planning. Pick keywords you can work with over time. Make sure you don't plan to drop a page from the web site or change it so often that your target keywords may be knocked off or irrelevant every 30 days.
10. Study your log files. Web analytics is a great tool if you want to see how your visitors are searching. Study the results and you will come up with a revised set of keywords.
You need to be extremely careful with keyword research so that you don't miss excellent opportunities or aim so broadly that you target phrases that will never rank well. Here are 10 strategies to guide you along the way:
1. Know your potential customers. We can't tell you how many businesses we've met who simply pick keywords out of thin air. They don't talk to customers or hot prospects in order to determine what might be a useful set of keywords.
2. Start with core words. A core set of keywords - even if too broad - can stimulate creative thinking.
3. Look at the industry. Examine industry trade group web sites and related newsletters to find potential keywords.
4. Study competitors. Some companies make a bigger deal of competitors' keywords than they should, but it's still a useful strategy. Invariably, a competitor will be using a strong keyword or phrase you don't want to miss. Often, however, they load their web sites with single keywords that aren't appropriate. If Internet users are seeking cookware, their search terms shouldn't be laundry-based words. Yet we came across that very example. Be careful which words you use.
5. Be specific - add other words to your primary phrases. If you sell metal, try metal stamping or metal stampers. Or, how about metal stamping companies? Words like services, companies, products, accessories, and many others can really pay off. Ok, everyone wants to rank #1 for terms like "toys" and "sports." It would take more time and budget than you may have to land such terms (through META updates, content adjustments and links).
6. Visit Wordtracker. It's a great tool even if it only collects a sampling of actual searches (more than 300 million). You'll get a good sense of how frequently someone may search. Here is their URL: http://www.wordtracker.com
7. Use your intuition. Don't hesitate to try some ideas; Wordtracker and other sources can confirm whether you have a search term people might or might not use.
8. Limit your selection. Come up with a list of words - 10, 20, 30, maybe 50 or more. But don't get so many that you can't manage them all.
9. Tie keywords to site planning. Pick keywords you can work with over time. Make sure you don't plan to drop a page from the web site or change it so often that your target keywords may be knocked off or irrelevant every 30 days.
10. Study your log files. Web analytics is a great tool if you want to see how your visitors are searching. Study the results and you will come up with a revised set of keywords.
White Hat SEO vs. Black Hat SEO
There are two general terms of SEO techniques:
Black Hat SEO
White Hat SEO
White hat SEO is SEO that is “approved” by the search engines. This is classified into good design, using optimum, etc. These types of services tend to produce the results that last for weeks on end (and even longer!).
Black hat SEO is the exact opposite of white hat. The search engines do not approve of these tactics and will certainly remove your site or ban it from their indexing if discovered.
White hat tactics are named so if they conforms to the search engines’ guidelines and involves no deception. This is actually one of the key factors to note. Aside from following the rules and guidelines, white hat SEO is also about making sure that the content that a search engine indexes and ranks is the same content that a user will be able to access. White hat SEO is quite similar to web development that promotes accessibility, although the two are not identical.
Black hat SEO is a way of attempting to better rankings by deception and other tactics. One black hat technique involves using hidden text, (like colored text that is invisible to the reader). Another method gives a different page depending on whether the page is being requested by a human visitor or a search engine, a technique known as cloaking.
Search engines have various ways to punish black hats once they are discovered. These tactis include reducing rankings or eliminating them.
SEO that is “debatable” (not white hat nor black hat) is considered grey hat. A very good example of a grey hat tactic is purchasing links. This is a risky way of conducting SEO but not as obvious as other black hat tactics.
Black Hat SEO
White Hat SEO
White hat SEO is SEO that is “approved” by the search engines. This is classified into good design, using optimum, etc. These types of services tend to produce the results that last for weeks on end (and even longer!).
Black hat SEO is the exact opposite of white hat. The search engines do not approve of these tactics and will certainly remove your site or ban it from their indexing if discovered.
White hat tactics are named so if they conforms to the search engines’ guidelines and involves no deception. This is actually one of the key factors to note. Aside from following the rules and guidelines, white hat SEO is also about making sure that the content that a search engine indexes and ranks is the same content that a user will be able to access. White hat SEO is quite similar to web development that promotes accessibility, although the two are not identical.
Black hat SEO is a way of attempting to better rankings by deception and other tactics. One black hat technique involves using hidden text, (like colored text that is invisible to the reader). Another method gives a different page depending on whether the page is being requested by a human visitor or a search engine, a technique known as cloaking.
Search engines have various ways to punish black hats once they are discovered. These tactis include reducing rankings or eliminating them.
SEO that is “debatable” (not white hat nor black hat) is considered grey hat. A very good example of a grey hat tactic is purchasing links. This is a risky way of conducting SEO but not as obvious as other black hat tactics.
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