| Do you write your own copy for your business | | | | If you are targeting "music lessons" you probably |
| website? Could you be doing it better? Many people | | | | already have the words "lessons," "piano," "singing," |
| have "heard somewhere" that "SEO" or "search | | | | "violin," "guitar" et cetera sprinkled throughout your |
| engine optimization" is important...but they're not sure | | | | site. You can easily start optimizing by turning the |
| why, or how to go about it. And the thought of | | | | solo words into phrases: |
| hiring a big fancy firm to take care of it for | | | | Piano lessons, singing lessons, violin lessons, children's |
| thousands of dollars makes them scared. Does this | | | | piano lessons, adult singing classes, private singing |
| sound like you? Well take heart, if your site has | | | | training in Vancouver, beginner violin lessons, |
| existing copy, this article explains how you can make | | | | advanced guitar classes... |
| simple changes yourself that will help your site grab | | | | Using Punctuation |
| more targeted traffic from search engine rankings. | | | | Make sure to separate slashes like products/services |
| Optimizing for Keyword Phrases | | | | into products and services or products / services. |
| Before you begin SEO copywriting, it's important to | | | | Search engine spiders ignore brackets, quotation |
| understand that you want to optimize for keyword | | | | marks and hyphens, so using them won't hurt you. |
| phrases rather than single words. Why? Trying to | | | | FAQ optimization: |
| optimize for "restaurant" is near impossible! If you are | | | | If, for example, you sell headsets, you can use an |
| a Japanese restaurant, you would be competing with | | | | FAQ page to use keywords. |
| "fast-food restaurant," "Italian restaurant," "Greek | | | | Frequently Asked Questions About: |
| restaurant," "restaurant in Boston" et cetera. | | | | * Corded Headsets |
| You will have better success optimizing for longer | | | | * Binaural Headsets |
| phrases like: | | | | * WIFI Headsets |
| * "Japanese restaurant in Vancouver" | | | | * Bluetooth Headsets |
| * "Vancouver sushi restaurant" | | | | * Monaural Headsets |
| * "Vancouver Japanese restaurant" | | | | Not only can you use keywords in a reader-friendly |
| * "best Japanese food in Vancouver" | | | | way, the bullet points tell the search engines that |
| * "Vancouver sushi bar" | | | | these things are important on your page. |
| These terms will bring you better targeted traffic. | | | | Local Keywords |
| People looking for Japanese restaurants in Vancouver | | | | If you have a specific city or region you would like to |
| will likely type in one of the above rather than | | | | optimize for, try and include that word in your page |
| "restaurant." | | | | titles as well as 2 - 3 times in the copy (for a page |
| If you offer services like "dog grooming," you would | | | | of 250 words). |
| also want to include variations like "pet grooming" | | | | Contextual Links |
| "groom your dog" and "dog groomer." Not only does | | | | Contextual links are hyperlinks within your copy - also |
| this make you relevant for the variations that users | | | | called "anchor text." This gives a bit more weight in |
| naturally type, but it will make your copywriting | | | | search engines so it's a good idea to name your |
| sound more natural than if you used "dog grooming" | | | | external links to other sites with keyword phrases as |
| 10 times on one page. | | | | well as hyperlinks to your own pages. Example: |
| Creating Specific Pages for 2 - 3 Keywords | | | | Last week, I reviewed several karaoke bars (link to |
| You want to optimize for all the important products | | | | your review on another page of your site) in |
| and services you provide. However these may | | | | Vancouver. Far and away, my favorite is Kawasaki |
| require their own detail pages. Trying to optimize the | | | | Sushi and Karaoke Bar (links to other site). |
| home page for everything you do or sell will not | | | | If it makes sense to do so, try and turn existing |
| show the search engines what is specifically | | | | keywords into internal or external links. |
| important on your page because it appears | | | | Various Spellings |
| EVERYTHING is important! Try not to optimize for | | | | Even if 50% of searchers type "loose weight" you |
| more than 2 or 3 separate phrases per page. | | | | do not want to optimize for misspellings. There are |
| Another benefit of creating focused pages around | | | | cases where two forms of a word are correct. For |
| products and services is you capture buyers in later | | | | example "birth mother" and "birthmother." Try to |
| buying stages. For example, if Mary types in: "blue | | | | optimize for both phrases but on different pages. |
| widget XYZ replacement cartridge," she knows | | | | That way you have a chance to be found for both |
| exactly what she is looking for and is more likely to | | | | phrases, but it won't look like a mistake. |
| buy than someone who is looking for blue widgets. | | | | Checking your keyword frequency |
| Finding Keyword Phrases with Keyword Research | | | | Use this tool if you want a quick count of the |
| If you need keyword phrase ideas, go to the Google | | | | frequency and percentage of words on your page or |
| Keyword Sandbox tool at: | | | | a high ranking competitor's. Though there is no magic |
| Enter in your general keywords to get more | | | | formula for keyword frequency and percentage |
| suggestions, or enter in your URL under the "Site | | | | (density), this is useful to gauge approximately how |
| Related Keywords" tab to have the tool extract | | | | many times you should include a on a page to rank |
| potential keywords based on your existing copy. You | | | | well. |
| could also do this for a competitor's site to glean | | | | Is this all Greek to you? |
| from their SEO efforts. | | | | Not every business owner has time to take on his or |
| To get a feel for search volume, select from the | | | | her own copywriting, nor does every company have |
| "Choose Data to Display" dropdown menu: "Global | | | | the trained staff to do so. For this reason, many look |
| Search Volume Trends" to get an idea of what | | | | to outsourcing search engine optimization, including |
| forms of your keywords are searched the most. For | | | | copywriting, to Internet marketing consultants. If you |
| example, you might discover that search for | | | | don't feel your organization has the resources to |
| "computer distributor" more than for "computer | | | | take on SEO copywriting in-house, you would benefit |
| distribution." You want to optimize for the highest | | | | greatly from specialized expertise. An SEO |
| search volume phrases more often. | | | | professional can also help you identify the keywords |
| Note that this tool is based on global search trends | | | | you should be targeting using keyword popularity |
| and has its limitations. Some niche phrases may be | | | | tools. Even if a consultant's hourly rate is more than |
| very important to your business even though their | | | | you value your own time, a professional can |
| search volume is relatively low. "Harrison Hot Springs | | | | accomplish higher quality work in less time that it |
| vacation," for example, would not be a high volume | | | | would take you, the end result of increased |
| search term although it might be a profitable niche | | | | professionalism, search engine rankings and sales |
| keyword for you. | | | | make it well worth the investment. |
| Improving Existing Copy | | | | |