 Copywriting Makeover:
Search Engine-Friendly Can Also Mean Visitor-Friendly
By
Karon
Thackston © 2005
When it comes
to search engine optimization, copywriting plays a big role. You want to
have excellent copy that appeals to both your visitors and the engines in
order to create pages that will rank highly. However, sometimes there can
be potential problems with fitting copy into certain types of sites. Due
to space constraints, page layout requirements or other issues, some site
owners hesitate to include SEO copy thinking it will detract from the visitor's
experience. It won't if you do it right!
Gigmasters.com is a database site that allows visitors to search for any
number of entertainment options then book them directly from the site. They
segmented their target audience by the events visitors would book entertainment
for (i.e., wedding entertainment, birthday party entertainment, etc.) Pages
were then created for each entertainment type.
The Problems
Gigmasters.com wasn't ranking highly for its keyphrases on a number of pages.
In fact, for the page we're focusing on in this article (see the original
copy here:
http://www.copywritingcourse.com/gigmasters-original-wedding.pdf),
Gigmasters.com wasn't ranking in the top 50.
The page desperately needed more copy. The concern was that visitors would
be distracted by the addition of more text. After all, customers who come
to a site to book entertainment are going to focus on the information in
each performer's bio. not the copy on the category page, right? As we found
out, this was not at all true.
In addition to quantity (word count), the page also needed quality. The one
paragraph of copy that was on the page was rough and sounded awkward.
The Solutions
Writing copy that appeals to the site visitors and the search engines should
be the goal of every SEO copywriter. You never want to sacrifice one for
the other. However, I knew that adding a long block of copy right in the
middle of the page would not be using good judgment. Good thing nobody ever
said all your copy had to be in one place!
By breaking the copy up and adding short blips under each section of the
page, we were able to include enough text to support the chosen keyphrases.
At the same time, we were able to help visitors make the best choices for
their wedding entertainment.
The Rewrite
For this particular page, the target customer was someone in need of wedding
entertainment. The visitor might be a bride or the mother of a bride looking
for a wedding band (a wedding music band, that is), a DJ or some other form
of wedding reception music. Most often the site visitor was a bride,
however.
I never want to include copy strictly for SEO purposes if possible. The copy
should always have a dual purpose: to help the visitor and to boost rankings.
To accomplish this with Gigmasters.com, the introductory paragraph of copy
spoke directly to the bride-to-be. It gave her the feeling that Gigmasters.com
understood how important the music for her wedding and reception are.
Under each music classification, the bride was given ideas or suggestions.
Statements like, "The gentle melodies played by a harpist or flutist during
the prelude to your ceremony can add an air of distinction" and " Do you
want your guests to dance? Consider a Latin band or swing band to pick up
the beat" prompted visitors to think through their selections and evaluate
all their options before deciding.
Each section of copy used at least one primary keyphrase to boost support
of those terms with the engines. The copy was carefully written so as not
to sound forced or stiff when including search terms.
The Results
You can view the updated copy here:
http://www.copywritingcourse.com/gigmasters-updated-wedding.pdf.
What happened after the changes? Within just a few weeks the page began to
rise in rankings dramatically! Currently, the page has great rankings with
various engines for various keyphrases - several in the top 10 with Google
and Yahoo.
And conversions? They are holding steady if not increased some according
to site partner Kevin Kinyon, further proving that search engine copywriting
can be helpful to real people, too.
Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO copy that impresses the engines
and your visitors at
http://www.copywritingcourse.com.
Be sure to also check out Karon's latest e-report "How To Increase Keyword
Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)" at
http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.
About the Author:
| Customer Service
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