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Writing for Search Engines
By Susan Esparza, Bruce Clay, Inc. (c) 2007

Much of the time when we take on a new client, one of our
recommendations is that they increase the amount of unique,
keyword-targeted, text content on their site. We generally
recommend having at least 250 words of content per page, a
number that continues to grow as the years go by. Ten years ago
our minimum was 75 words. However, as competition on the Web
becomes greater, the barrier to entry gets higher as well.
Search engines are seeking even more expert content as a way to
determine the most relevant sites for a particular keyword.

Conversely, there is no maximum number of words you can put on
any one page so long as you are adding quality content. You'll
notice that some BruceClay.com pages are over 5000 words.
However, before you go after a strategy of building lengthy
pages, remember that you want to build depth of content in your
site. It's not about saying everything you have to say on one
page. While it is possible to rank for a one page site, it is
very difficult. It is much easier to establish a site wide
theme, supported by depth of content and good internal linking.

Pages should be structured to address customer questions or
product information as they become relevant. This can seem to be
a daunting task for many people, but it's actually quite
manageable as long as you start your copywriting project off in
the right direction.

Search engines want to be treated like any other visitor to your
site, but while they are coming closer to the ability to mimic
human judgment, they're not there yet. Search engines can still
have trouble trying to accurately define what a page is about if
the content is written in anything but a clear and well-defined
style.

To understand what you should be writing, you first need to
understand a little bit about the history of the search engines.
The first search engines were set up for the people who were
using the Internet at the time. Because the population of the
early Web was largely researchers, scientists and educators, the
focus of search engines was to bring back pages that fit the
thesis model. This model persists today in the way Web pages are
written: a title, description and some keywords that help define
what the focus of the paper or page is.

In order to write effective pages to support your search engine
optimization goals there are a few guidelines you should keep in
mind. Assuming that you have generated a solid keyword list (See
Lisa Barone’s article, Five Steps to Effective SEO Keyword
Research (http://www.seo-news.com/archives/2007/apr/12.html),
and have assigned the words to pages, your next step should be
to brainstorm the best way to represent the keywords in an
informative way.

Brainstorming works best if you throw out all your filters.
Don't critique any of your ideas, just write them down. The idea
is to get out everything--great ideas and garbage alike. At this
stage, no idea is too stupid. You can narrow it down later.

If you are writing content for your own Web site, your first
response might be to feel frustrated. What on earth are you
going to write about? Everyone knows everything that you could
possibly tell them and you're not a writer anyway. But that's
just the thing, they don't and you are.

Let's pretend that your business is selling cowboy boots.
Brainstorm everything you can think of that relates to cowboy
boots, even if it's only somewhat related. Once you have all
your ideas down, pick a few of the best. For example, you'll
want to focus a section of your site on the keyword "buy cowboy
boots". Everyone, you think, knows about how to buy boots. It's
just a matter of finding the right fit and style. You don't need
to explain it to your site's visitors. But it's one of your
keywords so you sit down and simply write all the obvious
information.

You are an expert in your area. Of course you know how to check
the fit of your boots and which styles will work best for which
people. It's obvious to you that your jeans should be tucked
inside your boots if you're working outside and that you should
take certain steps to care for your boots. But for most people,
that's not the case. That's why they're coming to your site in
the first place. Your expertise is a valuable resource for the
development of content. Explaining something that is obvious to
you is probably the best way to introduce new customers to your
products.

When I write my first draft, I like to keep the keywords that I
want to incorporate on the page in mind. I'll tape them to my
monitor or put them at the very top of the document. However, I
don't worry about densities or forcing them in. If it doesn't
sound natural to use the keyword, I don't use it. The first
draft is just to get the information out. Use your keywords as a
guide for the content.

Once you have a first draft, take a look at the tone of your
piece. Are you writing to the right audience? Is your content
engaging and informative? Does your content solve a problem or
help the customer make a decision? If you're in a highly
technical area where your customer isn't likely to know enough
to ask intelligent questions, have you educated them enough to
feel comfortable?

Revise your draft with these ideas in mind. Knowing your
audience means putting in the kinds of words that they will be
looking for, the same kinds of words that will help them
understand what the best choice of products will be for them.

After your next draft, the best thing to do is ask someone else
to read it over for you. The best person for this task is
someone who fits the profile of a site visitor. Have them read
it to see if it answers their questions in an easy to understand
way. If not, revise the content to meet their understanding.

Once you have a final draft, incorporate your final product into
the destination page and use the SEOToolSet's KDA
(http://www.seotoolset.com/tools/free_tools.html) or any other
page rating tool to determine the strength of the document.
Tweak it if necessary. Keep in mind what your linking strategies
will be and how the content will support the Web site theme as a
whole.

The final thing to remember about writing for search engines is
that there is no magical formula for writing the perfect copy.
It takes work and attention to detail to meet the needs of both
the search engines and your human visitors. The best thing to do
is start writing and go from there.
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Susan Esparza (sesparza@bruceclay.com) is a senior writer at
Bruce Clay, Inc. (http://www.bruceclay.com).
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