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Writing Effective Search Engine Optimized Copy for the Web
By Peter O'Flynn (c) 2009 

Writing SEO copy can be like negotiating a minefield. Get it
right and your website will attract new customers via search
engines and increase sales. Get it wrong and new customers
simply will not find your site. The good news is, there are
some simple things you can do that will make all the difference.

As far as the search engines are concerned, they want to find
the most relevant content for each user's search. They do this by
looking at two things. The first is inbound links, which tell
the search engines how important you are. The second is the
content, which tells the search engines what you do and how
relevant you are for each particular search.

Think Web Pages, not Websites

Google looks at each of your web pages on its own merits, rather
than looking at your site as a whole. So, when you are planning
the structure of your website, you need to think about your key
areas. Make sure that each area has its own page. That way, you
can optimize each page for a particular product, offering or
benefit.

For example, if your website sells electrical products, divide
the site into separate pages for broad areas such as kitchen
appliances, then create individual pages within these categories
for products such as washing machines and irons.

Keyword Research

It is crucial that you get your keywords right, so rather than
guessing, use keyword research. Single keywords tend to have
more competition, making it difficult to get good organic search
rankings for them, so it is far better to be more specific and
choose keyword phrases.

For example, an airline should use 'cheap flights to Malta'
rather than 'flights'. This also helps to ensure you get good
quality traffic. People are more clued-in these days about
search engines and know that more specific keyword phrases are
more likely to deliver what they are looking for.

Emphasise your USPs

In the same way that USPs (Unique Selling Point or Proposition)
are important when you are writing sales copy, they are just as
relevant to SEO copy. If you offer something unique, it is worth
including it in your keyword phrases. If for example, your
airline is the only one offering flights to a particular city,
include that in your keyword research.

Building Keyword Phrases into your Copy

Content is king. There is no point in attracting lots of people
to your page, if what they find is nonsense. Nobody likes to
read copy that has keyword phrases clumsily or inappropriately
dumped in the middle of every sentence. It is important to get
the balance right and make sure that the keyword phrases are not
getting in the way of the readability of the page.

Start by writing a first draft of your page, focusing on what
you want to say. Then look at how you can incorporate your
keyword phrases without losing the essence of the content.

For example, if you mention that your airline offers a huge
range of European flights, you could expand on that by saying
that these include 'flights to Italy' and 'flights to France'.
Or you could change 'European flights' to 'cheap European
flights' if that is one of your keyword phrases.

Focus on two or three keyword phrases per page. If you have too
many, you will end up diluting them and they will be less
effective. It is worth getting someone to sense check your copy.
They will soon be able to tell you where the keyword phrases are
getting in the way of readability.

Keyword Saturation

Each page needs to consist of well written copy, laced with your
chosen keyword phrases. Approximately 5% of your content should
be keywords. It is important not to go over 10%, though, as
search engines may think you are spamming and penalize you with
a low ranking. Measuring keyword density is the only way to
ensure your keyword phrases are appearing prominently to search
engines.

The Importance of Headings and Links

Search engines view titles, headings and links as being
particularly important, so try to include your keyword phrases
in them. It is often easier to work keyword phrases into titles
and links than trying to wedge them into a sentence, so this
kills two birds with one stone. Words that are in bold are
considered of higher relevance by the search engines, so it is
worth putting your keyword phrases in bold. It also helps users
to pick out the relevant points.

Remember your Meta Tags

As well as building your keyword phrases into the copy, they
need to be included in the page titles and meta tags. If you do
not do both, your site will not be indexed for those keywords.

To Misspell or not to Misspell

This is a tricky one. You will notice when you do your keyword
research that people often spell things incorrectly when they
are searching. On the whole, best to avoid these in your copy.
Your website is a reflection of your company, so peppering it
with what looks like typos probably won't help to enhance your
professional image. However, sometimes Americanisms are the more
popular spelling (eg. organization rather than organisation), so
it is worth considering these, but make sure you are consistent,
so they don't look like a mistake.

Last but not least, here are a couple of web copywriting tips:

- Know your Audience
If you have a clear picture of who you are talking to, it is far
easier to pitch the tone and type of information at the right
level. Create a mental image of your target customer, then
imagine you are talking directly to them.

- Short and Sweet
The first couple of sentences are crucial. In a web environment,
you are competing with a never ending supply of information, so
you have got to grab peoples attention from the outset. Make
them really relevant, so that your reader knows what you have
to say is what they want to read. Then, once you have their
attention, you have to keep it. Keep sentences and paragraphs
short and to the point. Web audiences need relevant information
quickly. Assume that your audience has a limited amount of time
to hear what you have to say.

Remember, once your site is up and running, it is important to
monitor and analyze its performance so that you can make
improvements where necessary. It is also crucial to regularly
update your content because the search engines begin to ignore
pages that are not updated regularly. Users want to know your
site is kept up-to-date and see fresh, innovative content, so
be sure to provide them with it to keep them coming back.

Achieving good rankings is only half the battle. The web is a
competitive environment, so once you have good rankings for
your key phrases, you need to make sure you keep them.

10 Simple Steps to Writing Effective SEO Copy for the Web

1. Carefully plan your site map to ensure that each product or
   benefit has its own page.

2. Be specific, use keyword phrases rather than keywords.

3. Use a keyword research tool to get your key phrases right.

4. Get the balance right. Do not let your keyword phrases get in
   the way of what you are trying to say.

5. Keyword phrases should make up around 5% of your copy and no
   more than 10%.

6. Build your keyword phrases into headings, links and meta tags.

7. Put keyword phrases in bold.

8. Keep your content punchy and to the point.

9. Once launched, monitor and analyze your site, then make
   improvements where necessary.

10. Update content regularly to keep users coming back and
    ensure the search engines do not ignore your site.

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Peter O'Flynn (http://www.marketingteamdirect.com/) is Creative
Director of Marketing Team Direct
(http://www.marketingteamdirect.com/) - the digital marketing
agency (http://www.marketingteamdirect.com/digital-marketing-_29/)
that offers a complete range of integrated online marketing and
SEO services (http://www.marketingteamdirect.com/digital-marketing-_29/)
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